Mach 1 rocketry- Portia dual deploy sport rocket build.

I figured since Mach 1 is a relatively new company (which I have no affiliation with) I'd post my experience and impressions as I go through the build process. I actually bought three of their kits as a special order. As I understand it, their webpage https://www.mach1rocketry.com is still WIP and they won't be able to take online orders until February for delivery in April. I placed the order in late September and after great communication from the owner, I took delivery in early December of two of their Portia kits (one was for a fellow co-worker who is going for his L3 next month). The kits came well packaged in one large box. The large box had the Speed Demon components wrapped in bubble wrap and filler paper, and the Portias were in two separate boxes inside the bigger box, and their components were similarly packed.

The components were all individually wrapped, the nosecone being a very nicely filament wound model with aluminum tip. After the obligatory dawn dish soap bath, I laid out the components and weighed each one individually to compare with the .ork file provided on the webpage. The results were pretty close, with my total coming to 67.2 Oz without any glue, paint, electronics, etc. So the .ork file is fairly spot on.


Given the weight, I'm going with a 16" drogue and a 40" main, and will use a redundant Adept22 setup... but more on that later...

The instructions that are online are fairly good. (14 page PDF) I found that the build is pretty straightforward, but that instructions don't necessarily give you the details on the A/V sled assembly, other than a photo of half of a completed one. Having done a few of these before, it wasn't a big deal, but otherwise the instructions are good with quite a few techniques for building outlined and referred to.

I also wanted to do some comparisons of the components with other vendors. I found that the fiberglass tubing is VERY precise from one end to the other, but is a little bit thinner (.15mm) than what I've seen from Madcow. The tubes I received were more precise than Madcow's however, not deviating more than a couple 100th's of a mm.
I included I.D. and O.D measurements for those interested.

Fairly straightforward motor assembly 38mm mount, in a 54mm tube. There are FOUR centering rings, but the two middle ones are joined together and make a spacer guide for the split fin design. A Kevlar braded flat tape (1/2in) is included in the kit and is a simple knotted pass-through on the top centering ring.

I will drill out the A/V bay bulkheads and assembly while the epoxy dries, and will pick up on the fin assembly tomorrow afternoon. The center points are "pre-started" which is nice.

So after an overnight cure in front of the space heater, the motor mount is good and solid. I put the A/V bay and nose cone together today. It's nice that the nose cone also has a payload area and comes with a fitted FG sled for it. The main A/V also comes with a fitted sled and some robust hardware. I did my eyebolts off center as I plan on adding some charge wells and needed the space. The instructions have them mounted in the center.

The build is looking pretty good so far, looking forward to the final result!

You can save a lot of weight by reducing the size of your hardware. A 54/38 rocket can easily use aluminum #10 all-thread for the altimeter bay and 10-24 welded eyebolts from AeroPack. This will also save you a lot of space, as 54/38 rockets can often pretty pretty tight quarters.

I also love to use tie-rod ends from McMaster in lieu of eyebolts. Saves space and weight without sacrificing much strength, if any.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#3798K35

Not to pile on, but agreed, there is a lot of metal weight in there.

patelldp said:

You can save a lot of weight by reducing the size of your hardware. A 54/38 rocket can easily use aluminum #10 all-thread for the altimeter bay and 10-24 welded eyebolts from AeroPack. This will also save you a lot of space, as 54/38 rockets can often pretty pretty tight quarters.

I also love to use tie-rod ends from McMaster in lieu of eyebolts. Saves space and weight without sacrificing much strength, if any.

https://www.mcmaster.com/#3798K35

Click to expand...

Thanks! I think I've got some of the #10 in a box in the garage.

Two sets of fins completed as of today. I'll get the third set on tonight. Forgive the surface texture on the fillets, I have a really nice sanding appliance that I use on the router, the finished result will be VERY smooth.

Last fin set on today and in front of the heater for curing. Will use my sandpaper wheel dremel tool tomorrow to clean up all the fillets and then work on prepping for paint. (Duplicolor metallic red flake)

First sanding pass and primer. Will sand and fill fillets one more time. The rest looks great. Bought some Duplicolor Candy Apple Red Classic Metal Flake paint.

Just realized that I also uploaded a 3D printed Nosecone I made for a scratch build... the one with the A and W bottle... not part of the Portia kit.

First and second coats of paint on. Two more to go, then vinyl (stickershock INCLUDED in the kit) and a clear. Then recovery system... Hoping to fly at the February LUNAR launch...

It's been to wet to paint recently, but finally got around to putting on a 3rd and 4th coat. In all 3 cans of Duplicolor Inferno Red Metallic and one can of primer were used, making this my most expensive paint job ever on a rocket, and there's still vinyl and a clear coat to go. Looks nice though. The metal flake in the paint really catches the sun.

Just a coat of clear over the top and a motor retainer to go and I'm done. Looking pretty good! I 3D printed in PETG a white retainer to accent the lettering. Looking for a maiden flight at the Feb. 3rd LUNAR Launch on an I357T. Sims to 2300 feet and Mach 0.44, so a nice shakedown.

All done! Clear is on and beautiful.

I want to see this real nice sanding appliance for your router. I hate sanding filits! Nice build. Glad to see a new vendor in High power.

captbk said:

I want to see this real nice sanding appliance for your router. I hate sanding filits! Nice build. Glad to see a new vendor in High power.

Click to expand...

Thanks... it's a drum setup. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b2/9c/49/b29c4983bfeab65b3c8d87fa8c26574e.jpg

swatkat said:

Thanks... it's a drum setup. https://i.pinimg.com/736x/b2/9c/49/b29c4983bfeab65b3c8d87fa8c26574e.jpg

Click to expand...

Simlar to the photo attached. Smaller diameter drum to match the fillet curve.

Missed last month's flight for my son's pinewood derby, so this month was a must. PERFECT maiden flight. I 3D printed the retainer in white to match the decals @ LUNAR Snow Ranch Launch March 10, 2018. Simulations had it at ~2300 feet . Onboard Altimeter read out 2268'. 10" Drogue, 40" main recovery.

https://youtu.be/kX_H6xFUtjw

In flight photo courtesy of Rob Heil....