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StefanJ said:
I wrote that article. Please note that these simple nichrome igniters work best with 12v launch systems.

Building your own sturdy 12v (or greater) launch system is a nice project! You can use a car battery as a power source.
Click to expand...

Great tip!!! will be making some today.
 
rbelknap said:
Please, please, PLEASE don't try to retrieve the rocket yourself. Call the power company and have them do it. I've heard stories of people who electrocuted themselves trying to retrieve rockets from power lines.

Okay back to "Welcome to the forums and welcome back to the hobby! You and your kids are gonna have a blast!" (hehe - see what I did there?)

Also, one thing to watch out for with the estes ingniters: it can be pretty easy to get a shot circuit if the wires touch (inside the motor) below the pyrogen, so be careful when inserting the igniter plugs.

I really like Quest Q2G2 igniters for LPR stuff. Longer leads, and platsic coated wire to avoid shorts. I usually get them from my club's on-site vendor and then I keep the estes igniters that come with my motor packs as backups. (I burned through almost my whole stash of those at my son's cub scout district Rocket Jamboree replacing bad igniters on the pads.)
Click to expand...

+1 on the Q2G2s. I've never had a misfire using one of these. Just be careful that your launch controller's continuity test doesn't fire the igniter. That has apparently been an issue with the estes launch controller.however, this could be remedied by placing a resistor in sereies with the continuity lamp. Down the road, if you ever get into HPR, the Q2G2 is excellent for use in electronic deployment systems, due to it's high reliability and low curent requirements.
 
As others have already said - Welcome. Looks like "daddy" is having more fun than son, but then that's to be expected. This is a great hobby for young and old alike. By the time your 2 yr old is 6 he should be an "old" hand at pushing the Choom button; and probably be starting to build his own. That's when you'll really have to keep an eye on your wallet:wink:
 
Rick51 said:
What causes the nose cone to seperate and deploy the chute?
Click to expand...

It's an ejection charge. 1st you have the burn then you have the delay smoke and lastly you have an ejection charge which can be thought of as a backfire to pressurize the tube and force the nose cone out.l
 
I've had a look on YouTube and found a good video that shows an Estes B6-4 being tested -
[video=youtube;T15CaYzchv8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T15CaYzchv8[/video]

You can clearly see the thrust stage, delay stage and eject (where it would push off the nose cone and parachute) :)

That's a lot of flame to be burning inside a cardboard rocket!!

Krusty
 
Wow, that is a lot of flame from the ejection charge! I have trouble believing that the flame at ~12sec wouldn't light a second-stage motor-- maybe it doesn't last long enough?
 
Rocketbuilder said:
Wow, that is a lot of flame from the ejection charge! I have trouble believing that the flame at ~12sec wouldn't light a second-stage motor-- maybe it doesn't last long enough?
Click to expand...

The flame will happily light a 2nd stage BP motor, but there's a couple of differences between a 'single stage' motor such as this B6-4 and a booster motor like a b6-0 -

With the B6-4, the delay may result in the rocket starting to tip over and if it was to light a 2nd stage (sustainer) motor, your rocket may be horizontal or, worse still, pointing towards the ground! Using a B6-0 lights the sustainer before the rocket has a chance to tip.

The B6-4 has a clay cap covering the top of the black powder while a B6-0 doesn't. You may find that the nozzle of the sustainer gets clogged with the clay from the B6-4 and fails to light.

Krusty
 
krusty said:
The flame will happily light a 2nd stage BP motor, but there's a couple of differences between a 'single stage' motor such as this B6-4 and a booster motor like a b6-0 -

With the B6-4, the delay may result in the rocket starting to tip over and if it was to light a 2nd stage (sustainer) motor, your rocket may be horizontal or, worse still, pointing towards the ground! Using a B6-0 lights the sustainer before the rocket has a chance to tip.
Click to expand...
True, but it seems like with some minimum-diameter, minimum mass rockets a short delay between stages would be ideal.

krusty said:
You may find that the nozzle of the sustainer gets clogged with the clay from the B6-4 and fails to light.

Krusty
Click to expand...
Good point. This could very well be why non-booster motors aren't used in situations in which a delay is desirable. I wonder, could you use some kind of mesh to let the flame through, but block the clay? I suppose the clay could just block the mesh, and not enough of the flame would get through. :confused2:
 
Rocketbuilder said:
True, but it seems like with some minimum-diameter, minimum mass rockets a short delay between stages would be ideal.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, nothing wrong with having some coast time. You'll squeeze a little more altitude out that way :)


Rocketbuilder said:
Good point. This could very well be why non-booster motors aren't used in situations in which a delay is desirable. I wonder, could you use some kind of mesh to let the flame through, but block the clay? I suppose the clay could just block the mesh, and not enough of the flame would get through. :confused2:
Click to expand...
Here's a pic that I got from the Skylighter website (here) that shows an E9-6 cutaway -
View attachment 112354
As you can see, the clay cap is quite thin. Hypothetically, it could be removed by scraping it out carefully with a wooden toothpick or similar non-sparking / non static object. (However, removing the cap would be seen as modifying the motor and not allowed under NAR / Tripoli rules). Sometimes the cap will fall out if the motor has been knocked while in transit. If you do want to try a motor with a delay as a booster motor, check the packs in the store - you never know, you might find one that's had the clay fall out :wink:

Krusty
 
krusty said:
If you do want to try a motor with a delay as a booster motor, check the packs in the store - you never know, you might find one that's had the clay fall out :wink:

Krusty
Click to expand...

That would probably still be frowned upon, but you could reasonably argue that you didn't modify the motor, so you just might get away with it!
 
Welcome back to the hobby,,

PLEASE remember one thing that many forget,,, NEVER risk you life with power, and seriously think before climbing a tree to recover a rocket, If the tree is safely climbable, and NO POWER is near, and you MUST climb,, be careful, NO ROCKET is worth your health or life. Every now and then we here of someone who does something unwise, and pays dearly for it.

ENJOY the time and hobby with your son!!!

Tom
 
Last edited:
I want to build a rocket from scratch. What would a good one to start with? Thanks.
 
You can get crayon banks from either the dollar store (good for D and E motors) or from ToysRUs (good for G through I motors). Add motor tube, centering rings, fins, and recovery parts, and you have a scratch built rocket!

G.D.
 
Rick51 said:
I want to build a rocket from scratch. What would a good one to start with? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi Rick51!

Scratch building is a lot of fun :)

First thing I would suggest you take a look at a design and simulation program like Open Rocket or Rocksim by Apogee Rockets.
Both programs will allow you to build your rocket on the computer and get an idea of how stable or how well it will fly.
You can use these programs to see your rocket in 3D, as well! Which is kind of neat :)
Open Rocket is free while Rocksim costs money.

You can get all the parts you need from somewhere like Semroc or Apogee Rockets. I have seen that Estes has a designers pack which includes a bunch of common parts like nose cones, body tubes, launch lugs etc. and would be a good way to start out, too!

If you want some ideas of where to start, take a look at JimZ Rocket Plans and Ye Olde Rocket Plans
Both of these sites have lots of old / out of production rockets with scans of the instructions and fin details. It can be a bit daunting trying to reproduce an old rocket but do take a look as it can be good to look at the old rockets and draw inspiration :)

Have fun!!

Krusty
 
Totally agree with a simm program as a place to start. I have been using OpenRocket (the price is right -- FREE.) You can open a simple example rocket and start tweaking/editing it to your liking. Just keep the stability to around 1.0 by changing your fins (moves CP) or your nose weight/mass (moves CG). Of course this is an oversimplified explanation but it will get you started.

Make sure all your parts are loaded and installed correctly and add the motors you want to use. Then run simulations to see how she will fly on each different motor. Once you get the flight characteristics and landing characteristics (parachute size) you want build what you designed. :grin:

Lots of different vendors selling build parts.
 

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