Madcow 4" Pike Noseweight

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nute

nute

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Hey all,

To anyone who's built one of Madcow's 4" Pikes, where did your CG end up, and how much noseweight did you add? I'm finishing up major construction on mine, and noseweight is going to be one of the next steps.

Thanks!

Nate
 
If it's a kit and the instructions don't say anything about adding nose weight, why are you planning to add any? Did you vary from the assembly instructions? Make the fin can too heavy?
 
The Madcow instructions do state nose weight is required but they leave the amount up to the builder. I opened the Rocksim file from the Madcow site and it shows mass override on the nose cone adding 16 ounces (assuming a cone with no ballast is just over 6 ounces). Even with the extra pound in the nose, stability with a J is shown as marginal with CG about 2 inches ahead of CP. George
 
Yup, gltruett got it. They say you'll have to add noseweight, but don't mention how much. I'm just looking for some experience to help guide me.

edit: I should mention I've never added noseweight before, so this is uncharted territory for me.
Nate
 
Nate, do you have the plastic cone or did you upgrade to fiberglass?
 
Your CG will depend on how you built it and what motor you put in.

Mine is stable (over 1 caliber) when set-up for dual deploy and a 5 grain J. That includes a Madcow Av-bay, single altimeter and 9v, and main harness with a 54" PML chute.

If I recall correctly, when I remove the av bay and re-install the coupler for motor eject single deployment, it's a little under one caliber with a 2 or 3 grain motor. I just stuff a t-shirt or towel in the payload bay and that's enough to get it stable. I've added nose weight to a couple of my rockets (Madcow Patriot and Phoenix) but for the Pike I just do the t-shirt trick. That way I don't have extra weight in the nose when I don't need it.

There are a few different ways to add nose weight. Do you need some pointers?
 
gltruett said:
Nate, do you have the plastic cone or did you upgrade to fiberglass?
Click to expand...
I've got the standard plastic NC, I'm planning to do the noseweight similarly to John Coker's method


Exactimator said:
Your CG will depend on how you built it and what motor you put in.

Mine is stable (over 1 caliber) when set-up for dual deploy and a 5 grain J. That includes a Madcow Av-bay, single altimeter and 9v, and main harness with a 54" PML chute.

If I recall correctly, when I remove the av bay and re-install the coupler for motor eject single deployment, it's a little under one caliber with a 2 or 3 grain motor. I just stuff a t-shirt or towel in the payload bay and that's enough to get it stable. I've added nose weight to a couple of my rockets (Madcow Patriot and Phoenix) but for the Pike I just do the t-shirt trick. That way I don't have extra weight in the nose when I don't need it.

There are a few different ways to add nose weight. Do you need some pointers?
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info Exactimator, I'm still finishing it up, so that helps- I'm hoping I won't have to add too much weight; I'm planning to mostly fly it on the larger motors, and I too have the Madcow AV-bay. I haven't done noseweight before, but I've done some reading and I think I have a pretty good idea of what I'll do, but yeah, some pointers would be appreciated :)

Nate
 
For permanent weight I do the dowel, BB and epoxy technique shown here. It's pretty easy. https://www.apogeerockets.com/Advanced_Construction_Videos/Rocketry_Video_84

For variable weight, I drill a hole large enough to get a 1/4" toggle bolt into the nose cone, anchor part inside with the threaded portion sticking out the bottom. Then I add fender washers and nuts as needed to get the balance right.

I mark my rockets with the CP and minimum CG point at one caliber (in this case 4"). That way, in the field I can prep the rocket and quickly to a check on the actual CG and stability.
 
Found a photo. That's it on the right, obviously. No nose wight in it, but the Phoenix next to it has quite a bit. Both fly well.

An interesting side note on the finish: That's silver Monokote trim wrapped around the rocket. It looks nice on the ground, but disappears in the sky. Even sitting on the pad, looking at it from the launch table it seems to fade into the background.

When launched, after a certain point, all I can see is the smoke trail from the delay until the bright orange drogue deploys. I'll catch an occasional glint form the sun as it tumbles back down, but without the orange drougue I'd lose it.

Seems the best color for visibility in the air is either black or red.

20131214_112442_resized.jpg
 
Great looking rocket!

Thanks for the help!

Nate
 

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