Nose cone of rocket

Hello! Pretty new to the world of rocketry. I was wondering what shaped nose cone would get me closest to 800ft I've heard that shape like parabolic nose cone is good just wanted to see what you thinks best.

Thanks Ben!

Welcome, you have a lot to learn. A question like that has many many variables and cannot be answered so simply. The mass and motor play a huge factor in altitude as do the diameter of the rocket and the size and shape of the fins. Even the smoothness of the paint will effect maximum altitude. Please provide us with as much information as you can. Also try downloading a simulator like OpenRocket (Free) or RockSim (Trial) and play with some designs and see.

Altitude attained is not specific to nose cone shape alone...

There are many other factors involved such as wind, weight, thrust, cross section, finish, ect...

Why 800 feet? What is special about that number?

By the way, welcome to the forum...

For low altitudes like 800ft any nose cone will get you there with the right motor. A Haack profile nose cone is the most aerodynamic, followed by an Ogive/SecantOgive, then Conical (conical and ogive might switch places), and lastly an Ellipsoid (short and fat). I the parabolic style would get you there easily depending on the motor and size of the rocket, lots of factors in the design of the rocket determine the altitude it reaches. I would suggest getting a copy of Open Rocket (its free) which will allow you to design and simulate different designs and motor combinations to reach the altitudes you desire (within reason of course).

Looks like I was late to the part by a couple of minutes...

Welcome the forum and the most opinionated bunch of hobbyists on the internet (excepting politics and religion forums).

Thanks for the input guys I'll try that software out! Oh and the 800ft mark I haven't got a clue it's just in the rules!

800 feet is the target altitude for this years TARC contest. You're getting down to the wire for a qualifying flight Ben. As far as shapes, I might try a nice blunt-tipped ogive: https://www.balsamachining.com/dwgs/cones/BNC70AJ.pdf

Good luck !

Hi samb, are you participating in this years competition? And also what software is that you've got for the nose cone?

benrichardson said:

Hi samb, are you participating in this years competition? And also what software is that you've got for the nose cone?

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I'm a little north of the age demographic Ben but several members of our club (Dallas Area Rocket Society)are mentoring teams and we have had some practice flights going on club launches. The pdf file is from Balsa Machining Services web site. I believe Bill uses some kind of CAD software to generate that file.

https://www.balsamachining.com/# click the Cones & Transitions drop down box.

Speaking of mentors, yours should have some opinions about nose cones and simulation software like Open Rocket: https://openrocket.sourceforge.net/

Nice! Thanks for letting me know! Much appreciated.

Here are some random hits from a search for "low drag nose cones". Hope this helps.

https://rocketdungeon.blogspot.com/2013/08/nosecones-can-be-such-drag.html

https://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions1/flight/Nose cone.htm

Thanks man you've been a great help!

Oh and quickly the nose cone shouldn't be hard to create on a lathe and vac form right?

benrichardson said:

Oh and quickly the nose cone shouldn't be hard to create on a lathe and vac form right?

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It shouldn't but then again, I've never vac formed anything and I haven't seen a lathe since wood shop class in like 1972. The BMS link I provided is one source of parts; Apogee is another: https://www.apogeerockets.com/Team_America_Challenge?zenid=1c5cddd97767a65adea979872fa8f243

Assuming you use one of the nose cone shapes suggested by rharshberger, the shape of the nose is probably the least of your concerns in determining altitude. It does make a difference, but other factors will have a larger impact. Among the critical factors are the mass of the rocket, the level of workmanship in assembling the rocket, the motor you use, the quality of your fins, etc.

Some TARC teams have been working together for several years and have experienced mentors. If you are just getting started on a design you are seriously behind the power curve since you have to have results turned in by March 30th. I hate to sound discouraging, but you are very late to the party, so you shouldn't expect much form your efforts this year. Maybe you should view this as gaining some experience to do a better job next year.

Oh don't worry I'm not expecting a win, just go try my best and learn!

Here is a link to an old Rocketry Magazine.

https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ModelRocketry/Model_Rocketry_v03n08_06-71.pdf

In the Article about the D-Region Tomahawk, there is a part where they mention the difference in altitudes that could have been accomplished by simply changing the ogive of the Nose Cone.
It may not be of much relevance to your initial question, but it is interesting and helps to illustrate the concept we discuss.

Picture isn't the best however being my first time I think this went pretty well and once vac formed should be good!

Thanks TopRamen! I'll give it a look!

There's quite a bit of information on nosecone shapes and drag, such as



from https://rocketdungeon.blogspot.com/2013/08/nosecones-can-be-such-drag.html

That said, your nose cone looks good.

Thanks gna!