ThirstyBarbarian
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I like long-burn motors (3 seconds or more) but I'm not a big fan of moon-shot flights, especially those that require dual deployment and/or trackers.
Often rockets that are built around low-thrust, long-burning motors such as Estes F15 (3.5-second burn), or CTI mellow yellow loads (around 4.4 seconds) are designed for high flights. The rockets are light so they can get off the pad with enough speed to be stable, but then they are also built skinny so that they can keep climbing for the full burn.
I'm interested in building a rocket for long burn motors with a low mass that can get stable quickly, but with high drag that will hold it back once it's up to speed.
An extreme example is a saucer. Once they reach a certain speed, they don't really go any faster, and their drag balances their thrust for the remainder of the burn.
I don't want to build a saucer, but I'd like to build a rocket that has some of those same characteristics.
I'm thinking the rocket will need fat fins for drag. Back-swept fins to keep the motor forward. Large-diameter but light body tube. Lightweight nose cone. Avoid heavy materials such as plywood.
Some types of designs I think might be good for inspiration are the Mosquito, Baby Bertha, and Der Red Max. I'd like to scale the design for 29mm motors such as the Estes F15, or possibly CTI G33, H42, or H53 mellow loads. It does not need to built to withstand higher thrust motors.
Anyone have any ideas for design, materials or techniques? Thanks!
Often rockets that are built around low-thrust, long-burning motors such as Estes F15 (3.5-second burn), or CTI mellow yellow loads (around 4.4 seconds) are designed for high flights. The rockets are light so they can get off the pad with enough speed to be stable, but then they are also built skinny so that they can keep climbing for the full burn.
I'm interested in building a rocket for long burn motors with a low mass that can get stable quickly, but with high drag that will hold it back once it's up to speed.
An extreme example is a saucer. Once they reach a certain speed, they don't really go any faster, and their drag balances their thrust for the remainder of the burn.
I don't want to build a saucer, but I'd like to build a rocket that has some of those same characteristics.
I'm thinking the rocket will need fat fins for drag. Back-swept fins to keep the motor forward. Large-diameter but light body tube. Lightweight nose cone. Avoid heavy materials such as plywood.
Some types of designs I think might be good for inspiration are the Mosquito, Baby Bertha, and Der Red Max. I'd like to scale the design for 29mm motors such as the Estes F15, or possibly CTI G33, H42, or H53 mellow loads. It does not need to built to withstand higher thrust motors.
Anyone have any ideas for design, materials or techniques? Thanks!