RocketFeller
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- Sep 15, 2009
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Having successfully completed our build of a carbon fiber upscale of the Binder Design Dragonfly, our school rocketry team is looking towards the next couple years' project. This year's rocket was big, slow, and dumb. For next year, we would like to build something small, fast, and smart.
I like the idea of a boosted dart. It has a lot of similarities to a two-stage flight with a bit less complexity. It also seems somewhat safer to set up and fly.
The current idea is to build a minimum diameter 98mm rocket next year. This rocket would serve as the booster for the boosted dart, with the interstage coupling and the dart to be completed in 2017/2018.
The booster will be made from carbon pre-preg with a Max Q fin can and a 6:1 ogive fiberglass nosecone. It will have a standard DD setup that will be replaced by the ISC in the finished product.
The dart will most likely be a FG tube for RF transparency. It will also have a Max Q fin can. I would like to go with a 54mm dart, as we hope to utilize a Kate system ( a very cool GPS device built by Vern K of Multitronix) and that is the required MD. I have seen that some people machine the nosecone from solid brass/copper, while others use solid urethane cones. I was thinking of using either a fiberglass cone partially filled with resin or possibly a tungsten/resin mixture. I will have to play around with simulations to see how to get the most altitude out of it.
I am not exactly sure what to do for the ISC. I have read some build threads and it looks like centering rings and a central pin or rod seems to be the most common setup. I think that I would like to incorporate a separation charge to ensure it separates at the proper time. However, I have also read that drag separation can be utilized and sometimes K.I.S.S. is the way to go.
I would love to hear from people who have flown a boosted dart, or for that matter from people who have thought about flying one...
Thanks!
I like the idea of a boosted dart. It has a lot of similarities to a two-stage flight with a bit less complexity. It also seems somewhat safer to set up and fly.
The current idea is to build a minimum diameter 98mm rocket next year. This rocket would serve as the booster for the boosted dart, with the interstage coupling and the dart to be completed in 2017/2018.
The booster will be made from carbon pre-preg with a Max Q fin can and a 6:1 ogive fiberglass nosecone. It will have a standard DD setup that will be replaced by the ISC in the finished product.
The dart will most likely be a FG tube for RF transparency. It will also have a Max Q fin can. I would like to go with a 54mm dart, as we hope to utilize a Kate system ( a very cool GPS device built by Vern K of Multitronix) and that is the required MD. I have seen that some people machine the nosecone from solid brass/copper, while others use solid urethane cones. I was thinking of using either a fiberglass cone partially filled with resin or possibly a tungsten/resin mixture. I will have to play around with simulations to see how to get the most altitude out of it.
I am not exactly sure what to do for the ISC. I have read some build threads and it looks like centering rings and a central pin or rod seems to be the most common setup. I think that I would like to incorporate a separation charge to ensure it separates at the proper time. However, I have also read that drag separation can be utilized and sometimes K.I.S.S. is the way to go.
I would love to hear from people who have flown a boosted dart, or for that matter from people who have thought about flying one...
Thanks!