Hybrids For 2016

Previous Thread:

Hybrids 2015

Another flying season gone-by, and a new one is just ramping up... what are your goals for flying hybrids during the 2016 flying season? Anything and everything hybrid related is welcome!

* Motors
* Vehicles
* Ground Support (GSE)
* Research motors discussion (within the limits of a non-research forum)
* Electronics
*Altimeters; Vent sensors; GPS etc etc
* Commercial/Professional advancement hybrid discussion
* College development (i.e. Stanford etc etc)
* Events/Launch coverage
* New flyer questions

Fly the 54mm and 38mm 4' Contrails I didn't get to last year!

What I do in 2016 depends on how much time I spend on these things. Here is what is on my plate:

Go to at least two launches and fly hybrids

Mentor a new hybrid flyer

Build a website to market my GSE products and possibly have tips and tricks.

Work on a full scale MIM-104 Patriot.

need to get my AT Hybrid up and running. Got all the schematics, just need a disk and pellet.

Looking forward to gaining some experience with hybrids on RATTworks hardware. (Thanks in advance Karl!)

so....

LDRS is going to be at Lucerne Dry Lakebed in June.... That isn't too far for Karl or Bill.

For 2016, west coast hybrid meet at LDRS?

I plan to launch this one



Group hybrid cluster launch?

Im just saying....

anyone on board for this?


Mike K

How fast does the car go when you ignite the motor?

kramer714 said:

so....

For 2016, west coast hybrid meet at LDRS?

I plan to launch this one
View attachment 278358

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Mike, what will you be flying in that?

either a C6-4 or a Contrail M1491

Flown it 5-6 times now on the Contrail

Salvage-1 said:

How fast does the car go when you ignite the motor?

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'The Boy' for years has wanted to put a smoke generator in it for the drive up to ROC launches.

kramer714 said:

so....

LDRS is going to be at Lucerne Dry Lakebed in June.... That isn't too far for Karl or Bill.

For 2016, west coast hybrid meet at LDRS?




Group hybrid cluster launch?

Im just saying....

anyone on board for this?


Mike K

Click to expand...

I am thinking of attending LDRS. It would be great to meet up with you Mike. I think a pair of rockets on M1491s might be in order. I am thinking of piping them in series so that they are full at the same time. Wire the igniters parallel and launch them like a cluster.

Does anyone have any experience with these mini and micro engines?: https://www.micronitrorocketry.com. They look like a cheap and fun way to experiment with hybrids for novices like me. What kind of launch equipment do they need?

karlbaum said:

I am thinking of attending LDRS. It would be great to meet up with you Mike. I think a pair of rockets on M1491s might be in order. I am thinking of piping them in series so that they are full at the same time. Wire the igniters parallel and launch them like a cluster.

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I can work with that!

BTW I have 2 GSE setups easy to do 2 at once.

Mike K

Does anyone have any advice on a first step into hybrids? I have also looked into the micronitro motors, but not sure if those can be flown at a normal NAR launch or not.

spowers42 said:

Does anyone have any advice on a first step into hybrids? I have also looked into the micronitro motors, but not sure if those can be flown at a normal NAR launch or not.

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Best bet is to find someone who flies them at a launch and ask questions and check them out first hand. No one around? Then prepare to jump in with both feet!

Jason

Well 2016 could be a lot of fun!

If I get everything together I'm going to do a two stage. Contrail L2525 to a K234. Hope to put another cluster of 3 up again, just not sure what motors at this point.. Other than that anything I can fly I will! Been a long time since I flown something neat like a J800. Too many motors and not enough time! Really would love to get my hands on a RATT Tribred. Something I'd like to say I've flown some day.

Jason

I really need to fly something this year. I recently machined another 4-inch motor for use with a 5 pound nitrous tank. Maybe I can build a rocket for that. I just ordered 4 K tanks of nitrous for testing this upcoming year. I also purchased a very nice carbon fiber tank that holds just over 22 pounds of N2O. I need to get started on the 6-inch case for that motor.

I enjoy testing much, much more than building a rocket.

Edward

Perhaps find someone in your area who likes to build, and team up.

Gerald

I've tried that route. No one here flies 'fart motors'

Edward

The most simplistic Hybrid system in my opinion is the Contrail.
I made my first Level 3 attempt on a Contrail M-1491. Filled and then lit instantly.
It screamed like a banshee and echoed off the nearby trees.
Only fart was near the food vendor, too many hot dogs!

Dave A said:

The most simplistic Hybrid system in my opinion is the Contrail.
I made my first Level 3 attempt on a Contrail M-1491. Filled and then lit instantly.
It screamed like a banshee and echoed off the nearby trees.
Only fart was near the food vendor, too many hot dogs!

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Nice, do you have any pics of your Level 3? I have known about Contrail for many years, and have been tempted many times to purchase, but I always end up going with their (now defunct) competitors.

Skyripper, RATTWorks, ProPolymers and Contrail in my opinion are the same level of complexity. All are U/C that you fill and then fire. Hypertek is another level of complexity.

Edward

Skyripper, Contrail, and Ratt are all similar complexity but they each do have their own 'personalities'

Skyripper (54), Pros - best reloads for 54mm, inexpensive well engineered, Cons - tough to get a clean separation for the fill tube (or to keep it from spitting out), push the button, wait, wait, I think I can... Launch. Tough to get the nozzle out after launch tends to stick to the reload.

RATT (29), pros - fun little Motor Geek masochism at its best for the H, Cons - really need a rocket designed for these motors, between the low thrust and long length, nothing off the shelf will work. Having said that I have done some fun rockets for the 29mm. I have al three of the RATT 29mm motors.

RATT (65mm K), pros - this is without a doubt the LOUDEST thing I have ever launched, scares the C#$P out of everyone when it launches, Cons - the size isn't standard for anything, reloads are a bit more expensive. May be my favorite hybrid motor.

RATT (65mm M) got it, haven't launched it yet, really needs a rocket designed just for this motor, it is VERY long 72"!!!

Contrail (75mm M) Pros - push the button and it goes instantly - lights like a solid The fill hose and pyrodex pellet system cuts the fill lines well! Multi port helps the thrust. You get some tracking smoke from the rubber motor that is helpful, Cons - It is a bit more complicates to assemble, multiple hoses and bolts, but we are talking a about an M-Hybrid, it isn't that difficult.

I have done the Hypertek M, the performance was very good, but they are more complicated to launch plus at the M size the reliability could be better.

YMMV

Mike K

One thing that I really like about the design of Contrail motors is that the o-ring seals are where they belong which is between the nozzle/injector and the case. This is the best way to seal off the combustion chamber. O-rings work best when they are compressed between the inside of a tube and the outside groove of the inside part.

I have also had very good success at getting parts and reloads from Contrail.

Figured out the LDRS hybrid project,

Double Ratt, rocket launching on 2 Ratt 65mm K motors. Should be ear splitting loud.

-details to follow-

Mike K

Bought a micronitro mini hybrid which I'm assembling all the pieces for now. It's my first foray into hybrid (I don't know anyone with the GSE for bigger motors) and research (luckily it's pretty easy to start with paper grains) which is complicated enough to learn a bit of knowledge from experimenting but easy enough that I can just stick them in a cardboard saucer and not worry about the hassle of high power for the moment. In addition to the hardware, you need to source o-rings, cream whipping nitrous containers, tools and fuels to make fuel grains out of, something to make burst discs out of, a way to make tiny igniters, and a way to make pre-heater grains. Luckily the instructions that come with the motor are very comprehensive, and anything I didn't already have on hand I was able to get from Amazon. Can't wait to fly the most expensive E motor ever.

smapdiage9 said:

Bought a micronitro mini hybrid which I'm assembling all the pieces for now. It's my first foray into hybrid (I don't know anyone with the GSE for bigger motors) and research (luckily it's pretty easy to start with paper grains) which is complicated enough to learn a bit of knowledge from experimenting but easy enough that I can just stick them in a cardboard saucer and not worry about the hassle of high power for the moment. In addition to the hardware, you need to source o-rings, cream whipping nitrous containers, tools and fuels to make fuel grains out of, something to make burst discs out of, a way to make tiny igniters, and a way to make pre-heater grains. Luckily the instructions that come with the motor are very comprehensive, and anything I didn't already have on hand I was able to get from Amazon. Can't wait to fly the most expensive E motor ever.

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I would love to read more on your experiences with this micro-hybrid. The idea has been around a long time, and it is nice to see that it is still generating interest. Pics and launch reports are a must!!

DRAGON64 said:

I would love to read more on your experiences with this micro-hybrid. The idea has been around a long time, and it is nice to see that it is still generating interest. Pics and launch reports are a must!!

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Will do. What really motivated me were the videos of people on the micronitro website who had built dual-burn or two-stage, tri-burn setups using estes booster motors as both a motor and a fuel grain. So neat!

If you do experiment with the motor design, be sure to apply for rights to post in the research forum, and inquire there for design specifics. Many of us can post in that forum, and can answer your questions. As it is, I may pick up one of these motors myself... a self contained hybrid (no GSE) is always intriguing.

Thanks, I am a lurker in the research forum already. I have flipped through "experimental composite propellant" a bunch of times but never done any EX stuff. Despite the fact that I do all kinds of other dangerous projects indoors I haven't felt comfortable trying APCP at the house because I rent and have very close neighbors. Luckily a lot of the hybrid grains are easier to produce without accidentally igniting aluminum dust/etc, so it will be a good foot in the door for me until my facilities are better.