patelldp
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
- Messages
- 5,647
- Reaction score
- 101
Well, I think I know what happened. From the ground, I had no idea if the rocket had deployed or not. We tracked it all the way up thanks to the 2.5" long smoke grain, but never saw a disruption in smoke trail or any puffs of smoke from either apogee deployment charge. This had me concerned, as I thought both altimeters had failed.
Well, upon researching the data, it appears that the non-vertical flight lead to one of the two altimeters sensing apogee while the rocket was still traveling approximately 540 mph. 1/4" tubular kevlar really doesn't stand a chance in that application, and based on how much of the kevlar is left it appears to have snapped right at the top of the body tube. I had broken the inside edge of the tube with some sand paper so it wasn't sharp, but it didn't matter in this application.
Unfortunate series of events. For future flights, I will be using different altimeters. I had relied on a barometric unit as I was using an older version of a popular accelerometer, but it appears that I had it backwards.
Well, upon researching the data, it appears that the non-vertical flight lead to one of the two altimeters sensing apogee while the rocket was still traveling approximately 540 mph. 1/4" tubular kevlar really doesn't stand a chance in that application, and based on how much of the kevlar is left it appears to have snapped right at the top of the body tube. I had broken the inside edge of the tube with some sand paper so it wasn't sharp, but it didn't matter in this application.
Unfortunate series of events. For future flights, I will be using different altimeters. I had relied on a barometric unit as I was using an older version of a popular accelerometer, but it appears that I had it backwards.