Who is NARTREK Gold?

Is anyone here NARTREK Gold?

I really enjoyed the NARTREK Bronze and Silver phase.
I have procrastinated on my NARTREK gold design. I need to sit down and design a scratch build.

I have designed several scratch builds in the past, but I wanted something different for my NARTREK gold. I want to use my RRC2 as the altimeter to check altitude. I am thinking of 24mm to keep the cost per flight down. The rocket could fly on E and F motors.

I have thought about tube fins or a rocket like the Fliskits Long Overdue that starts out as 24mm and becomes larger to hold the altimeter.

Did anyone have any unique NARTREK gold designs?

Thanks

I got my NARTREK gold a few years back. Unfortunately, I have lost the rocksim file due to a hard drive crash.

Originally I was going to use 24mm motors as well, but ended up with just good ol' 18mm motors due to the variety without having to do reloads. My design was just about as sleek as it gets. Long ogive cone, BT-50 tapered to BT-20 tailcone, waferglass fins. In my early test flights, I cracked up my altimeter, so I did it the hard way... With the drop streamer! When I got my results back, there was a hand written congratulations in the margin saying that I was the first person in many years to try to do it that way....

Good luck with your gold! I really enjoyed the process, but have slowed down now that I'm into the advanced projects.... It's taken me a couple of years to actually start doing the first one that I selected, PMC.

I have considered an 18mm design, but I don't think it could lift the RRC2 altimeter and battery.

There are a lot of motors in the 24mm range too.

Good luck with it mwiggins. It looks like great fun and has encouraged me to join NAR. I am trying to get enough money to do so. It seems like it would be a great tool in giving one direction.

I got gold a couple years ago using a basic 18mm payload design. Actually used BT-20 tubing in the payload, and a BT-50 lower ssection. I might still have the Rocksim at home, but boring design.

I named it the Harry S (after the rocket king, not the president).

For altimeter, I went with a really slick little Pico model, about $40, that fit inside the BT-5 with room to spare. I think they're no longer available, but bet you could do just about as well with a Perfectflite for around $80.

I actually used A, B and C motors for mine, so kept the cost way down.

Can't say it's unique, but it sure was/is a fun flying model. Goldie-D-X is a 24mm HP Streamer model, got some out-a-sight flights on D12-7's

Good luck on your Nartrek Gold project. Hope you have a much fun as I did

I love the gold paint job for your NARTREK Gold project.

The working name that I have for my NARTREK gold rocket is
"Gold Dust".

I did mine with 13mm motors and a Perfectflite altimeter that fit in BT-50.

I ran an A-motor altitude contest that used standard nose cones and streamers--it worked really well on a corn field--the silver streamers would point the way to your rocket! I used the data for my Nartrek R&D project.

After doing it both ways, I'll recommend using standard streamers for getting data points--high reliability, low cost, and good accuracy.

I built a nothing-special BT-55 payloader with a 24mm mount and flew on D12s to 875' and C11s to 375'.

--tc

Originally posted by chanstevens
I got gold a couple years ago using a basic 18mm payload design. Actually used BT-20 tubing in the payload, and a BT-50 lower ssection. I might still have the Rocksim at home, but boring design.

I named it the Harry S (after the rocket king, not the president).

For altimeter, I went with a really slick little Pico model, about $40, that fit inside the BT-5 with room to spare. I think they're no longer available, but bet you could do just about as well with a Perfectflite for around $80.

I actually used A, B and C motors for mine, so kept the cost way down.

Click to expand...

This one?

Amazing little device - fits in just about any rocket with LOTS of room to spare

You could also (for $20 more) go with this little electronic wonder - full logging altimeter.

I am working on my NARTREK Gold design right now.

Here is my design so far. I though about using tube fins, but you can not easily add tube fins in Rocksim 7.

I have to add a bulkhead to the coupler.

Noob question.....

What is nartrek gold?

Hey Hilltopper-

Don't ever be afraid to ask questions around here. Nearly everyone was new at some point and is more than happy to share their info.

NARTREK is a self-paced skill improvement program. Here's a link to the page on the NAR site:

https://www.nar.org/nartrek/index.html

Lots of fun working your way through the program. Give it a shot!

I finished gold a couple years ago (I think)... Mine wasn't very unique, but I did the Math by hand and it worked. I checked it by Rocsim later. Lemme see if I still have a pic...

Originally posted by PunkRocketScience
Hey Hilltopper-

Don't ever be afraid to ask questions around here. Nearly everyone was new at some point and is more than happy to share their info.

NARTREK is a self-paced skill improvement program. Here's a link to the page on the NAR site:

https://www.nar.org/nartrek/index.html

Lots of fun working your way through the program. Give it a shot!

Click to expand...

Thanks I am used to other message boards and getting flamed. I have never gotten that here and the others are not rocket ones either. But I don't hesitate to point out when I have a noob question when it is one. There isn't anything wrong with been a noob. I have been a on again off again rocketeer since I was a Kid but now I think it has stuck.

I did my NARTREK Gold about 4 years ago. I did not have RockSim at the time, so did the math by hand, checked it with the computer (MAcWRASP, or something like that), did a cardboard cut out, etc.

It did well on C's, not so hot on B's. Looking back, I could do a much better job now. But I did write up a detailed report. I found that to be the fun part of the project.

I won't share the photo. I don't want you guys laughing at me.....

Originally posted by Justin
I finished gold a couple years ago (I think)... Mine wasn't very unique, but I did the Math by hand and it worked. I checked it by Rocsim later. Lemme see if I still have a pic...

Click to expand...

Justin, that's a really cool looking rocket! Can you tell us more about it (size, engines, etc.). I love the paint scheme...

It was a four fin payloader in 18mm. I borrowered a perfectflight altimeter from TRF'er Adam Selene.

Here's the diagram I sent along to George Scheil, the NARTEK director. Hope this looks okay. I had to convert it from Apple Works 6...

As you can see it was not single diameter stable, but it was consistant, rocsim and manual calculations within a couple MM, and worked as predicted (taking into account rocsim's rather optimistic view), which is the NARTREK Gold goal.

It was kinda stressful big fun...

Originally posted by Justin
As you can see it was not single diameter stable, but it was consistant, rocsim and manual calculations within a couple MM, and worked as predicted (taking into account rocsim's rather optimistic view), which is the NARTREK Gold goal.

It was kinda stressful big fun...

Click to expand...

At first glance, the design kind of struck me as a slightly modified
WAC Corporal. The black, white and yellow paint scheme looks
very scale like. Have you thought about making the engine mount using 24 mm, but use an interchangable 2050 mount so
18 mm motors can still be used? A design like this begs for a
D12-5!