Ahh! Not what I need....but I have a good weekend coming up:D

Man, I'm stressed. I ordered some 5.5" tube and other components to extend and lighten my Phoenix so I can fly it this weekend @ Freedom (O-Berg). The tubing didn't come when I needed it last Friday...it came TODAY! And wouldn't ya know it-it wasn't even my order! Mine got mixed up with someone elses!! They recieved mine, and I recieved theirs. I'm not going to mention the vendors' name, but I'm not that mad at them....it was just human error. It happens. But what's stressing me is that the person that's recieved my package has already shipped it back to me via UPS! Once again, not their fault, they were just being courteous, but it won't get here in time!!!! So I was on the phone all this afternoon trying to get with the vendor (busy signal for a while), and I finally got through. I explained that I HAD to have it by Friday...Saturday at the latest (I'll have to fly unpainted if it comes then). So he said he'd do the "best he could" to get it here. So I have no idea at this point. It would also really suck to go and not fly, especially b/c I have a sponsor donation for the rocket!! So, as of now I don't know what's gonna happen. Whew. Know I'm not blaming anyone... it was just an accident that turned into something big. I just needed to blow off some steam.

At any rate, if it all works out, I'll be having my biggest, most complex flight yet this weekend. I'll be putting the hopefully-soon-to-be "AIM-54E Super Phoenix" up on a center J400SS, airstarting (2) H128W's or I205's @ 1 second. After burnout of those motors, I will be airstarting (2) I212SS motors. All of this is with my new PET2 timer. My first use of a timer with my own rocket (Rocketfreak and I have used one in a joint two stager before). Then, the rocket will also have an RRC2 onboard. This will be my first time using an altimeter. I'll do dual deployment w/mains @ 500' or 300'. I'll also be carrying a Calculus project onboard. Yeah, I'm a bit nervous, but I'm exited, and if it all works out it's gonna be AWESOME! Oh, and words of advice are greatly appreciated...but do know this: I do know what I'm doing....it's just some big firsts! Whew...

That is a bummer man!

Tell me how the PET works I am looking into one and have no experience with electronics so need something simple but reliable.

Also keep us updated how the altimeter goes I am also looking into the RRC.

Good luck with the flight and getting the materials!

Don't worry...everything about the flight, good or bad (if it happens) will be posted

Originally posted by marvSRG
Don't worry...everything about the flight, good or bad (if it happens) will be posted

Click to expand...

...and pictures too...

Good luck to you on your flight. I understand what it's like to be stood up by a shipment. Believe me, I've had to go to an event without AP motors before because a shipment didn't arrive in time!

don't forget pics
I hope you get it done in time
hope the launch is a success

Dude... good luck with that. What's the calc project? I'd like ideas for when my turn comes around Oh, and I'd go with mains at 500' or 800'... you'd be surprised how low that looks when your big investment is falling that fast!

David,
Thanx for the reccomendation on the mains. The calc project is a device that holds three eggs that will be dropped from a certain height @ the school. The idea is to drop it without the eggs breaking. Rocketfreak and I figured we'd go ahead and test it from the height of drouge deployment...that'll definately proove if it works or not! And it's not just a padded container...there are certain design limits in the construction (like size, etc...) that are expressed in the directions. There will be calc formulas or something applied to it when we do it in class. We don't know those yet. Right now we just have to design a container that meets the requirements, and make it work. I couldn't think of a better way to test it

WHEW. A new order was FedExed to me today...I should get it tomarrow. The Phoenix will fly! I just have a lot of work to do

Oh yeah! The stuff came...the Phoenix will fly! I just finished glassing the booster tonight, and tomarrow I'll have to trim, prime/sand (many times), paint, and apply decals to it tomarrow. The same goes for the upper section except I have to glass it...no big deal, actually, though. I'm using the GLR EZ-Glass sock on the upper section, so I'll just slip it on, slap on the epoxy, let it dry, and finish it. Other than finishing the whole rocket and glassing the upper section, all I have to do other than that is finish designing and building the payload bay (put in coupler). It's a lot, but not too much to handle. It will be done and everything will be ready to go for Freedom tomarrow night. And even with only a day, the rocket will look great! I'm not slacking on this one! If you're going, I'll see you Sunday and Monday @ O-Berg...

did it fly?

Marv,

I think my wife and I were parked next to you on Sunday; we were in the blue Neon...

Ok, ok....yes, it did fly...sort of. I spent ALL day carefully putting her together and getting expertise advice on my electronics and doing everything just right. After a brief rainshower I loaded her on the pad, installed the igniters and got ready to go. The motor configuration was changed a bit because there was a mix up on the sponsored central motor. It was to be a J400SS, but it ended up being a J330 standard. Twin H143SS two grains were to airstart @ 1 second, adn twin 3-grain I212SS' were to airstart .5 seconds after burnout. We hit the button and the J lit up. That motor hits HARD (plenty enough to initate a G-SWITCH...you see where this was going..) Now it was time for airstarts. No H's no I's no joy The rocket reached a pathetic 760ft. and the altimeter did its job and popped the 'chute. To add to my frustration, the little plastic loop on the nosecone for shock cord attachment snapped, and the nose came in hard but sustained no damage. The rest of the rocket landed fine other than a mysterious approx. 1"X1.5" hole on the side of the upper section. Fixable, no problem. But still I wonder.... Anywho, I walked over to her and sure enough...the timer was still beeping the launch signal!!!! It was supposed to initiate w/2.5G's for .5 seconds. Everyone agreed that the rocket had way more acceleration than that. One person mentioned that they couldn't get their PET2 to initiate unless he kicked it with something like a K1100T. So, no joy. It was still fun and the launch was great. I got to help John Clifton set up and fire a cluster of (1)K1000 Red Polish Rojo immediately airstarting (3) 38mm J400 Blues. AWESOME. I also helped him send his "Emily's Hornet" on a full M2500 with Tom Binford smokey propellant in it! It went 8000-9000'. All in all I had a great time, and next year I will return with the Phoenix, and I'll get it then!!!!! I'm thinking of renaming her Redemption Power....

-Time for a G-Whiz!

Oh, and thanks to Tom Binford, Dennis Welch, Alan Adamson, Rob Haskins and many others for their help!!!!

O man that is a bummer. I guess I wont get one now. Maybe a Gardei then. A gwiz would be nice but to much money