Two "Firsts" While Flying this Morning.

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RickGr4

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Last week I decided to buy a bag of Dog Barf and I tried it this morning. I can't believe I waited this long. As I am sure most of you know, Dog Barf is easier, faster, cleaner and performs better than TP style wadding. Based on how little material I used this morning, Dog Barf is going to be vastly less expensive. The bag I bought last week could last a few years at the rate I will probably use it.

Also, I decided to try using a booster. Being it was my first time and my field is small (roughly 1000ft x 500ft) I decided to go conservative. I flew Helios and Flying Colors with an A8-3 and C11-0. Even with the small motors, both rockets powered hard off the launcher and almost went out of sight. Both rockets launched straight and the boosters dropped just a few feet away. Both rockets came down roughly 100ft from the launcher. Other than Helios tangled it's chute just a little bit, both flights were perfect.

FYI, I used two small pieces (1/2" x 1/2") of masking tape to hold the booster on to the bottom of the rocket. It seemed to work fine.

I read in the forum that a few people struggled with boosters but my first experience was very positive. Time to order more booster engines!!!
 
Sounds like fun. Boosters a great, as long as you don't put the sustainer in backwards - ask me how I know. :facepalm:

I'd like to get a bale of dog barf next chance I get. Only thing that beats that is a baffle. Those are nice.

Have you tried a composite yet?
 
FYI, a bale of dog barf generally lasts people a lifetime, and I'm talking huge, HPR rockets. Buy one and done.
 
FYI, a bale of dog barf generally lasts people a lifetime, and I'm talking huge, HPR rockets. Buy one and done.

...unless rodents get into your storage shed and build a nice little nest in it. (sigh) I'll be one of the few that needs to buy a second bale. Next time I will keep it in a pest resistant container!
 
...unless rodents get into your storage shed and build a nice little nest in it. (sigh) I'll be one of the few that needs to buy a second bale. Next time I will keep it in a pest resistant container!

When I bought my bale, I also bought 3 5gal buckets to store it in. I'm in the country, the garage has mice, nothing I can do about it. If you go buckets, I would suggest 4, as I couldn't get all of it into 3. I bought a screw on "Gamma Lid" for ease of access into the bucket I am using.

On the field, a bucket also makes for a semi-comfortable place to park my butt. I flip it upside down to ensue I don't break the lid.
 
...unless rodents get into your storage shed and build a nice little nest in it. (sigh) I'll be one of the few that needs to buy a second bale. Next time I will keep it in a pest resistant container!

Great point. I do get an occasional small critter in my garage. Thanks for the tip.
 
What is this "Dog Barf" you speak of?


dog barf.jpg

Treated cellulose attic insulation. The cool toilet paper wadding substitute. Especially useful in larger diameter (>2.6'') airframes but works in all size models. Available at most big box home improvement stores. My 2009 purchase is still half full but usage patterns vary, naturally.


RickGr4... May I suggest adding some A8-5s with you motor order. I would have guessed that the second stage would still be traveling upwards with some speed after 3 seconds resulting in possible zippers and shroud line shredding.
 
I've found that dog barf works well in large rockets, but it definitely has a minimum useful depth - it seems like if you don't have a layer at least a couple inches deep, some hot particles will still get through.

When I fly mylar or very thin nylon chutes, I do tend to put one sheet of TP wadding on the top of the dog barf pile, and this seems to serve as an effective last line of defense.
 
View attachment 323012

Treated cellulose attic insulation. The cool toilet paper wadding substitute. Especially useful in larger diameter (>2.6'') airframes but works in all size models. Available at most big box home improvement stores. My 2009 purchase is still half full but usage patterns vary, naturally.


RickGr4... May I suggest adding some A8-5s with you motor order. I would have guessed that the second stage would still be traveling upwards with some speed after 3 seconds resulting in possible zippers and shroud line shredding.


Thanks for the tip. I ordered A8-5's. I used A8-3's today simply because I have too many of them.

The picture you posted is the same stuff I bought. $7.99 at nearby Home Depot.
 
Thanks for that. I think this is how I'll do it going forward.

Based on a comment I read in this forum, I have been wrapping my parachutes with two sheets of Estes wadding. Since I started doing this, my parachute failures have dropped to almost zilch. The two sheets of wadding usually eject intact and can often be recovered.
 
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