Hades Arrow Mortar

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by Brian McIlmoyle

The issue with these things is that to make it light enough to be safe.. it won't fly..

sure once all the propellant ( water ) is expelled I expect it is quite light...

but what about the bonehead who walks in front of the tube just as you drop the bomb and takes half a kilo of plastic and water in the face at launch velocity?

I abandoned my own mortar project for exactly this reason. US military doctrine for dropping a motor down a tube is to follow through downwards such that the loaders head is below the barrel end and thus well out of the way of the launched round. After firing early proof of concepts, I found myself wanting to drop the round and keep my eyes up downrange to see where the round landed. This puts the loaders head above the barrel end and potentially in the way of the projectile if something unexpected happens like a loss of balance. I never got hurt, but I just couldn't see the general public deploying an effective mortar safely. We don't have the discipline.

An emplacement also needs strict area control to assure that other players don't walk past the firing axis. Obstructions like a sandbag ring could prevent the uninitiated from walking past the barrel during firing, but this kind of site building is not typical in most airsoft skirms. Mortar crews must be well trained for them to be safe.

All these safety issues coupled with the need for the round to be light (so as to be safe downrange) makes it difficult to make something with a significant effect at the impact site. That and you have to be willing to lose the round too.

[Danke]

Originally Posted by MadMax

I abandoned my own mortar project for exactly this reason. US military doctrine for dropping a motor down a tube is to follow through downwards such that the loaders head is below the barrel end and thus well out of the way of the launched round. After firing early proof of concepts, I found myself wanting to drop the round and keep my eyes up downrange to see where the round landed. This puts the loaders head above the barrel end and potentially in the way of the projectile if something unexpected happens like a loss of balance. I never got hurt, but I just couldn't see the general public deploying an effective mortar safely. We don't have the discipline.

An emplacement also needs strict area control to assure that other players don't walk past the firing axis. Obstructions like a sandbag ring could prevent the uninitiated from walking past the barrel during firing, but this kind of site building is not typical in most airsoft skirms. Mortar crews must be well trained for them to be safe.

All these safety issues coupled with the need for the round to be light (so as to be safe downrange) makes it difficult to make something with a significant effect at the impact site. That and you have to be willing to lose the round too.

I'd say set it up with a long tube, like an 84 so taller than a player's head. Then setup with a firing pin vs. drop fire. That way the gunner has his eyes on the prize.

All that said, there will naturally be a few people who want to drop the elevation and direct fire it. They're the ones who wreck it for everyone.

If you had your own back forty it's be fun to have a BBQ and supercharged lawn darts day. Just imagine 2 mortar teams dueling.

For use in a game I could only see this ever being used by the event staff, and as icing on the cake to add character vs. something used constantly during play.

[m102404]

Some guys I know pull out their launcher at select games...it's more of a bazooka / air cannon type of afair.

It fires a bag of BBs at a time and there's a pretty lenthy safe MED. It's used as indirect fire (it's mostly used as a prop in very controlled circumstances). Feels like a 12g going off.

Their description of how it'll blast a 1" bolt clean through car doors sets the "it shouldn't be directly shot at anyone...don't leave it lying around for dummies" stage pretty clearly.

They don't bring it out very often for the reasons that it's use is often very limited (no-one really wants to be obliterated en-masse by a down pour of BB's from the sky)...and that it'd be very dangerous if an idiot got their hands on it. The usefulness/risk isn't worth the fun factor at general games.

[Tankdude]

I've made these rockets before when I was young.
It is how I broke my first pair of glasses.

[MultipleParadox]

Add parachute, make it rain BBs in Mid-air, you've got something gameable

[Grey Ops]

Originally Posted by Conker

LEDs = electrical = will fail sooner than later.

Maybe chemlights? Crack, shake, cut open, paint liquid on the round, wait 5 mins to dry, and should light for a couple hours. Definitely not as long as the whole thing would, but should be long enough.

Just an idea.

As soon as you crack open a chemlight, you only have a couple minutes of any kind of glow left. You have to have an anaerobic environment for the glow to persist. That's why in Predator 1+2 they had to reapply the KY Jelly/Cyalume mix like crazy to keep his blood "fresh". :P

[Curo]

Well there also is glow in the dark paint but that stuff is iffy in brightness.

[Grey Ops]

Originally Posted by Cobalt Caliber

Well there also is glow in the dark paint but that stuff is iffy in brightness.

http://glonation.com/

These guys make some ridiculous stuff. Only glow in the dark paint worth looking at.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by LongStone

Airsoft Air Burst Artillery - YouTube

[/QUOTE]

That is so awesome. Reminds me of a SADARM anti armor weapon design.

[Kingsix]

Sounds like a good concept, the shell wouldn't do too much damage to a non helmeted
player, but in the event of a parachute malfunction getting struck by a AI grenade falling from the sky would suck.

I know alot of players that refuse to wear helmets for many reasons, having artillery lob anything larger than tennis balls is a bad ideal in my books.

Maybe a future ideal would simply be Shell that would come apart and rain bbs earthwards. The 2 part shell is a great ideal Ethier a very simple weighted noise piece that comes apart when the projectile starts it ascent earthward, or a shell using a tilt switch and solenoid to seperate the shell.

I am no engineer, so I'll just leave my 2cents out to others with more formal technical training to nitpick at.

[Kingsix]

Originally Posted by MadMax

I abandoned my own mortar project for exactly this reason. US military doctrine for dropping a motor down a tube is to follow through downwards such that the loaders head is below the barrel end and thus well out of the way of the launched round. After firing early proof of concepts, I found myself wanting to drop the round and keep my eyes up downrange to see where the round landed. This puts the loaders head above the barrel end and potentially in the way of the projectile if something unexpected happens like a loss of balance. I never got hurt, but I just couldn't see the general public deploying an effective mortar safely. We don't have the discipline.

An emplacement also needs strict area control to assure that other players don't walk past the firing axis. Obstructions like a sandbag ring could prevent the uninitiated from walking past the barrel during firing, but this kind of site building is not typical in most airsoft skirms. Mortar crews must be well trained for them to be safe.

All these safety issues coupled with the need for the round to be light (so as to be safe downrange) makes it difficult to make something with a significant effect at the impact site. That and you have to be willing to lose the round too.

I've always wondered why they never upscaled the 40mm grenade say 90mm to make a quasi recoilness rifle. Ethier Shooting Foam or rubber balls for Anti armour or lots of BBS for antipersonal. I guess maybe cost is the major factor.

[R1ghty]

I have to say, If any of these are going to make it into the game, My money is on the air burst.

Like someone else said keep the height of the barrel above 72" and use variable pressure to determine range, not barrel elevation.

[coach]

Originally Posted by Kingsix

I've always wondered why they never upscaled the 40mm grenade say 90mm to make a quasi recoilness rifle. Ethier Shooting Foam or rubber balls for Anti armour or lots of BBS for antipersonal. I guess maybe cost is the major factor.

I ain't carrying 90's! I barely carry my 40's these days. And the 40's already exhaust enough BB's as it is. A 90mm round would be like 4x40mm give or take right?

:evilthought:

Although, if they made them, I'd likely buy some. My only recommendation is that it's an upscaled xmpb4 for quicker loading time. Oh, and some type of a safety for when we run high psi.

:evilgearsbegintoturn: damn you kingsix!

[forcerecon85]

To those who are immediately writing this off, this is progress. Decades ago people said there's no way to shoot each other safely and now it's our hobby. A mortar that can easily be fired and launched is a marvel in itself. We just have to work on the munition that's all.

Regarding helmets, you wear them to protect your head from flying frag and debris so this would give you a reason to wear a helmet. Those who still protest would have to sign a waiver (or have it covered in the field waiver) that if you only wear a boonie with shit flying through the air it's your own damn fault.

I think it's awesome and it's a sign of progress. Give it a few years and our mighty brains and we'll have good tweaks and ideas. I've waited seven years for a mortar and now we have it. I'll wait a few years for a better munition that rain BB death safely on all who oppose me.

[R.I.T.Z]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTEfU...69FUAAAAHgAHAA