54 mm Deuce Rebuild

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After seeing Burl's CHAD camera mount on his Test Mule #9 rocket at the July Orangeburg launch, I decided to make an addition to my Deuce.

Kodak Zi6 solid state camcorder -

Deuce Camera 2a.jpg

Deuce Camera 3a.jpg
 
The camera just drops into the box. Not shown is the 2 strips of closed cell foam that cushion the camera and prevent motion during flight.

Deuce Camera 6a.jpg
 
I will prime and paint the box yellow. At the pad, it's just a matter of starting the camera, then mounting it to the base of the rocket between the motor tubes. It will run about 30 minutes on a pair of AA batteries.

Deuce Camera 7a.jpg
 
That is a really cool idea. I may have to try that with mine :D
 
It is indeed! Was way cool seeing it go up in person too! :D I was prepping a rocket when the LCO(Johnnie) announced the flight, and that the main was to come out at 1500'..I thought, 'WHAT?!?! Tom NEVER has his main come out that high!'. Forgetting that he had the camera in there!:rolleyes:..Too bad there wasn't another Gorilla case on site, cause Tom wanted to send it up next with a pair of sparkies!:y: THAT would be cool to see! Maybe we will get that chance come Freedom Launch!
 
That is a VERY intense video and i have often wondered what that view point would look like on the Deuce. That and the Tres are the only two designs (that I know of) where you can locate a camera dead center like that.

Very kewl :)
 
Wow, that's such a great place to put a camera! I love the view you get with it. No interference at all, except for the flames, unlike you would have with a body mounted cam. I'd like to see a video with a cleaner burning motor for an unobstructed view.:eyepop:
 
I'd like to see a video with a cleaner burning motor for an unobstructed view.:eyepop:
The motors were CTI J210 Classic propellant. There aren't any other commercial motors with a cleaner burn :)
 
The motors were CTI J210 Classic propellant. There aren't any other commercial motors with a cleaner burn :)

Yeah there are commercial motor with a cleaner burn, Aerotech Blue Thunder and Warp-9 reloads.

There is the Aerotech J180T which is a c-slot Blue Thunder reload for the 54/852.
 
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Yeah there are commercial motor with a cleaner burn, Aerotech Blue Thunder and Warp-9 reloads.

There is the Aerotech J180T which is a c-slot Blue Thunder reload for the 54/852.

Pretty much every thread about motors I expect an Aerotech related response from you.

Why can't I be the Northwest Aerotech representative?
 
Pretty much every thread about motors I expect an Aerotech related response from you.

Why can't I be the Northwest Aerotech representative?

Well rocketjunkie said cti classic propellant is the only clean burning commercial propellant on the market and it isn't the only one. I was just pointing out Aerotech makes cleaning burning propellant too.
 
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The motors were CTI J210 Classic propellant. There aren't any other commercial motors with a cleaner burn :)

Oh, I didn't see the caption where it said it was with J210's. I couldn't even tell it was Classic though. Looked like some whites. White thunder/white lightning.
 
Wow, that's such a great place to put a camera! I love the view you get with it. No interference at all, except for the flames, unlike you would have with a body mounted cam. I'd like to see a video with a cleaner burning motor for an unobstructed view.:eyepop:

Assuming that was electronic based ejection, could the delay element have been greased to prevent the tracking smoke from appearing in the video?
 
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After seeing Burl's CHAD camera mount on his Test Mule #9 rocket at the July Orangeburg launch, I decided to make an addition to my Deuce.

Kodak Zi6 solid state camcorder -

Here's a question - do you know if the Zi8 (1080p) is the same size? If so, I'll definitely get one to mount on my deuce - the video would be awesome.
 
Yeah there are commercial motor with a cleaner burn, Aerotech Blue Thunder and Warp-9 reloads.

There is the Aerotech J180T which is a c-slot Blue Thunder reload for the 54/852.
I fly more Aerotech than anything else. Blue Thunder has as much smoke as CTI Classic. Warp 9 might be cleaner but the burn time and thrust level isn't compatible with the Deuce. I did hear something about a J99 though, sounds very interesting and I would like to try a pair. I like the J180 and would love to see C-slot Blue Thunder reloads for the 54/1280 and 54/1706 cases. One of my favorite motors was the old SU J285.
 
Here's a question - do you know if the Zi8 (1080p) is the same size? If so, I'll definitely get one to mount on my deuce - the video would be awesome.
The Zi8 is the same size, 2.5 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches. It appears to be about $50 more and uses Li-Ion batteries instead of the NiMH batteries of the Zi6. I picked up the Zi6 at my local Wal-Mart.
 
Assuming that was electronic based ejection, could the delay element have been greased to prevent the tracking smoke from appearing in the video?
With CTI motors, I wouldn't want to tamper with it. With Aerotech motors, no problem or just use an inert slug to fill the space.
 
I fly more Aerotech than anything else. Blue Thunder has as much smoke as CTI Classic. Warp 9 might be cleaner but the burn time and thrust level isn't compatible with the Deuce. I did hear something about a J99 though, sounds very interesting and I would like to try a pair. I like the J180 and would love to see C-slot Blue Thunder reloads for the 54/1280 and 54/1706 cases. One of my favorite motors was the old SU J285.

Blue Thunder to me seems to have less smoke compaired to cti classic propellant.

The J99N is a very nice motor with about a 10 second burn time. I flew one in my Firestrom 54 clone to 5K. I too would love to see C-Slot Blue Thunder reloads for the 54/1280, 54/1706, and 54/2560.

BTW nice video.
 
I do not know, I kinda like seeing the flames! It would be interesting with redlines. The idea of disabling the tracking smoke is a good one for this application.
 
I'd love to try one with something like K700s with the tracking smoke greased over. Massive flame and smoke, followed by absolute clarity.
 
could the delay element have been greased to prevent the tracking smoke from appearing in the video?

No. If you grease the bottom face of the delay grain, it will still burn once the motor comes up to pressure. You would not be able to inhibit the delay from burning. If you want absolute clarity, you would have remove the delay element.



Justin
 
No. If you grease the bottom face of the delay grain, it will still burn once the motor comes up to pressure. You would not be able to inhibit the delay from burning. If you want absolute clarity, you would have remove the delay element.



Justin

Not true. I've done it intentionally, and it will prevent the delay from burning if you grease it rather liberally.
 
Not true. I've done it intentionally, and it will prevent the delay from burning if you grease it rather liberally.

My L2 rocket which I flew back in 2002 was flown with at K-700W for my L2. I LIBERALLY greased the entire plugged forward closure with SuperLube. I purposefully caked the face of the delay as well. Upon recovery of the rocket and requisite inspection of the motor, the entire delay was consumed.

Based on your statement of "not true", I must be a liar then? WTF? :confused2:

Please note I did NOT say EVERY time you grease the face of the delay, it will still burn. I learned many moons ago that blanket statements are generally not the best practice.

I just realized, I have an M-1315 loaded that is planned to fly next week Friday. I'm sure that 75mm delay WON'T burn right???



Justin
 
My L2 rocket which I flew back in 2002 was flown with at K-700W for my L2. I LIBERALLY greased the entire plugged forward closure with SuperLube. I purposefully caked the face of the delay as well. Upon recovery of the rocket and requisite inspection of the motor, the entire delay was consumed.

Based on your statement of "not true", I must be a liar then? WTF? :confused2:

Please note I did NOT say EVERY time you grease the face of the delay, it will still burn. I learned many moons ago that blanket statements are generally not the best practice.

I just realized, I have an M-1315 loaded that is planned to fly next week Friday. I'm sure that 75mm delay WON'T burn right???



Justin

Put some money on it. I bet you win.
 
Put some money on it. I bet you win.

Now you're talking! ;)

If I were a betting man, I would imagine that Cjl was able to inhibit a 38mm delay, not a 54mm or 75mm... That's speculation on my part. I have empirical data from my experiences from roughly (12) K-700's and (8) M-1315's ALL with heavily caked delay faces. I'm 20 for 20.



Justin
 
Now you're talking! ;)

If I were a betting man, I would imagine that Cjl was able to inhibit a 38mm delay, not a 54mm or 75mm... That's speculation on my part. I have empirical data from my experiences from roughly (12) K-700's and (8) M-1315's ALL with heavily caked delay faces. I'm 20 for 20.



Justin

With my 76mm EX's, I always inhibit the FORWARD end with epoxy. This is then potted in a crap-load of grease in the cavity. I wouldn't even trust grease on the forward end of the delay grain, even though it's not in the main combustion chamber. That's a lot of heat over a lot of area, I have a feeling that grease would just boil away at those conditions.
 
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