Three Quarters of a Hundred Grand with Sunday Silent (75k' Balls Project)

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prophecy said:
From the Telemetrum:

View attachment 273321

Throw it on a graph:

View attachment 273322

Throw it on a satellite image:

View attachment 273323

View attachment 273324

From the Raven:

View attachment 273326

View attachment 273327

Obviously, a little disappointed with the altitude, but the speed was right where I wanted it with the Oxamide propellant. Thrilled with other elements of the flight - trajectory, tracking, recovery, condition of the rocket when we found it - a fantastic base for future projects and a good proof point for some of the systems (ablative, etc) I was testing out.

Would love to post a characteristically engaged and verbose debrief, tell the trip story, etc., but it's become exceedingly clear to me that I need to be done with this now. Catch me in the nosebleeds of various NBA arenas with a cheap beer in hand, otherwise I'll see you all next year. Thanks for following along.

Steve Heller
Click to expand...


Now catch some sleep...;)
 
TRFfan said:
O5000? I thought it was a O3800...
Click to expand...

Hi TRFfan -

What's your background? All of a sudden you're all over this forum with a ton of posts and little to no explanation on your projects or background, other than the fact that you've flown 30 newton seconds this year.

EX motor designations depend on a ton of factors, including the specific batch of chemicals you're using, particle distribution, etc. You can't characterize a propellant and expect it to always be identical if you're sourcing your chemicals from different places as they are available, which is what hobbyists do.

O3800 was my original estimation made with the aid of Burnsim in advance of making the motor. O5000 was Aidan's estimation based on the total impulse divided by the burn time observed in flight.
 
Nice job Steve!

That fincan looks in nearly perfect condition for hitting Mach 3! Do I expect to see a version 2 at Black Rock next year?
 
Wow,mach 3.3, 62K and load her up and fly it again!

Good going Steve, congrats on the flight!!!
 
The only pieces of this rocket that are flying again are the electronics and the recovery items. The strength of every external component has been compromised due to aero heating, flexion, or the motor's pressure. Flying them again in this manner would mean certain failure.
 
Thanks much guys, I can point to specific memories of flying rockets in my youth with pretty much every one of you - so thanks for checking in!

Kurt - the black spot you're seeing is right at the very front of the fincan where there was no ablative, just the black fiberglass fincan tube covered by the high-temp paint. When we performed the messy step on Friday of Cotronics 4525-ing both transition rings and the fincan on the aft end of the case, we were liberal with the glue, since the sanctity of that joint is kinda important - and then went to work cleaning up the excess with acetone. In that particular spot, the acetone removed some of the high-temp paint, exposing the black tube below.

On another note, as Dan alluded to, this rocket was designed to be single use, so it's probably just a trophy piece from now on.

Kyle - early returns say you can expect to see two of these stacked on top of one another next year.

-s
 
Nice project! The temperature ratio of stagnation temperature to ambient temperature for Mach=3.3 is 3.178 using simple gas dynamics. Assuming local ambient temperature is 520 Deg.R. (or 60 Deg.F.) at altitude, which may be on the high side, the stagnation temperature is 1,192 Deg.F. (hot enough to cook fins for a short while).
 
Just finished editing the video.

[video=youtube;SRlT1ZdiDic]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRlT1ZdiDic[/video]

Definitely one of the coolest projects at BALLS and probably the highest mass fraction of anything out there. Congrats on the successful flight! It was incredible to see up close.

-Casper
 
prophecy said:
Thanks much guys, I can point to specific memories of flying rockets in my youth with pretty much every one of you - so thanks for checking in!

Kurt - the black spot you're seeing is right at the very front of the fincan where there was no ablative, just the black fiberglass fincan tube covered by the high-temp paint. When we performed the messy step on Friday of Cotronics 4525-ing both transition rings and the fincan on the aft end of the case, we were liberal with the glue, since the sanctity of that joint is kinda important - and then went to work cleaning up the excess with acetone. In that particular spot, the acetone removed some of the high-temp paint, exposing the black tube below.

On another note, as Dan alluded to, this rocket was designed to be single use, so it's probably just a trophy piece from now on.

Kyle - early returns say you can expect to see two of these stacked on top of one another next year.

-s
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply Steve. What I was referring to was the fin sticking out at the viewer with the almost edge on view. On the middle right side of the leading edge towards the root it looks like some of the laminate fibers are seen right by the leading edge.
Is that an optical delusion due to the angle of the photo or was that where some of the Cotronics 4525B (or IP) wore away from the leading edge? Did you use anything on the leading edges?

Nonetheless, that fincan looks great for what it went through. Dan is probably correct about no more highspeed stuff for the airframe. But..........Like I said, it looks good enough for a low speed pleasure flight. Trophy duty is a nice
retirement too.

If you do a two stager, I'd say this flight was a perfect proof of concept for a future sustainer. When the second stage fires, air density will be less and the heating might be the same when one considers the rocket will reach
a higher velocity starting from a lower density altitude. Maybe someone (aerostadt?) could do the math on that one?:cool: Kurt Savegnago
 
prophecy said:
Thanks much guys, I can point to specific memories of flying rockets in my youth with pretty much every one of you - so thanks for checking in!

Kurt - the black spot you're seeing is right at the very front of the fincan where there was no ablative, just the black fiberglass fincan tube covered by the high-temp paint. When we performed the messy step on Friday of Cotronics 4525-ing both transition rings and the fincan on the aft end of the case, we were liberal with the glue, since the sanctity of that joint is kinda important - and then went to work cleaning up the excess with acetone. In that particular spot, the acetone removed some of the high-temp paint, exposing the black tube below.

On another note, as Dan alluded to, this rocket was designed to be single use, so it's probably just a trophy piece from now on.

Kyle - early returns say you can expect to see two of these stacked on top of one another next year.

-s
Click to expand...

Oh! I am super excited to see that happen!

If you need some 3D printed parts for AV-Bay fin alignment, hit me up. I have an offer you can't refuse.
 
My video, unedited:
[video=youtube;Hc2PiaGAP38]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc2PiaGAP38[/video]

As Alex said, just a truly amazing flight to see up close. Steve also borrowed my launch controller, so I suppose that was my main contribution... :)

It was great to watch Steve and Manny do their thing, which following a successful flight consisted largely of helping me out...as well as messing around and talking in goofy voices. ;)
 

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