Nosecones...effective?

[Urb4n0ninj4]

I saw Scott Manley do a test of the efficiency of the nose cones on some RT10 SRBs, and it looked impressive.

But I did the test myself on the larger, BACC SRBs and didn't seem to get any promising results.

I set one off, straight up, no nose cone, no extra attachments or anything and it got to a an altitude of 17,820m, with a speed of 1252.5 m/s at the moment the fuel ran out

After adding just a nosecone, it only reached and altitude of 17,577m, and a speed of 1245.4m/s when the fuel was exhausted.

I'm not a scientist (by any stretch of the imagination), but the way I tested it was doing individual SRBS (separate launches all together) and then recorded the data at the time the fuel ran out, then observed two launched side-by side (one with and one without a nosecone) to observe changes in real time, and sure enough the SRB without a nosecone gained altitude slightly faster than the one with (pics below)

If anyone has any input that would be fantastic, or suggestions on how I could test this further.

Apparently some amount of structural instability is impossible to remove, as one SRB started drifting ever so slightly because the launch structure wobbled when loaded...But this still illustrates the results regardless.

[(An Original Name)]

Nosecones in .22 are only supposed to increase stability during atmospheric ascent, they do nothing for decreasing drag.

[Pipcard]

For the meantime, nosecones actually create more drag instead of doing what they're supposed to do (reduce drag).

[Urb4n0ninj4]

OMG I'm so sorry! I watched so many dang videos I got everything mixed up. Scotts video was with the Ferram Aerospace mod, coupled with seeing the "Nosecone" in the update log, I must have completely mixed everything up...Sorry guys My bad...

Now I feel like an idiot x.x

[quietsamurai98]

I was testing until I realized manley was using FAM.

Edited October 19, 2013 by quietsamurai98

[DevoidLight]

For the meantime, nosecones actually create more drag instead of doing what they're supposed to do (reduce drag).

Technically yes. What they actually do is keep the rocket pointing up, because they have a lower drag than the other parts. They will slow the rocket a little but they are definitely worth having or ships with a heavy take off stage.