What did you do rocket wise today?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Finished the motor-tube-ectomy on the Plan B Mark I. Looks like it will fly again, after I graft on a new motor-tube and forward airframe.

newmotortubein.jpgmotortubeout.jpg

I gave a few minutes thought to trying to splice onto the remaining section of motor tube in the original airframe. Wouldn't save any time, and would only save the the cost of about 6.5 inches of 29mm motor tube, about 30 inches of BT80H, and a centering ring.

leftovers.jpg

I think, instead, I'll fabricate a fin can and one rocket will become two. Its scary to think that they've started to reproduce by mitosis. I am already running out of hangar space.
 
Finished the motor-tube-ectomy on the Plan B Mark I. Looks like it will fly again, after I graft on a new motor-tube and forward airframe.

View attachment 331999View attachment 332000

I gave a few minutes thought to trying to splice onto the remaining section of motor tube in the original airframe. Wouldn't save any time, and would only save the the cost of about 6.5 inches of 29mm motor tube, about 30 inches of BT80H, and a centering ring.

View attachment 332001

I think, instead, I'll fabricate a fin can and one rocket will become two. Its scary to think that they've started to reproduce by mitosis. I am already running out of hangar space.

Are we related or something?

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?141195-My-first-2-stage/page3

(nice colour scheme by the way... [emoji6] )


My initial thought was: that looks like the booster from my 2stage.

Maybe convert the old fin can into a BP booster?
 
Last edited:
Are we related or something?

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?141195-My-first-2-stage/page3

(nice colour scheme by the way... [emoji6] )

My initial thought was: that looks like the booster from my 2stage.

Maybe convert the old fin can into a BP booster?

That's a pretty cool 2 stage. Did you figure out what happened with the JLCR? I've only flown mine once (in the Plan B MkII, as a matter of fact -- a 76mm version of the very rocket I am dissecting here). It deployed at 150m, just like I asked it to, but now -- maybe -- I understand why the LCO on that flight was a little dubious as he read my flight card out over the PA.

The old fin can is getting a new motor tube (with a new forward CR) and forward airframe and will be painted in the same "please-don't-lose-me" orange/purple livery. It will be the "Plan B MkIb" or something. I'll install a baffle this time, I think.

There is enough motor tube below the centering ring in the remaining airframe to accommodate a 240 mm motor. I was thinking maybe an upscaled Photon Disruptor? Or maybe some version of an Aerobee or ARCAS. Something that will go on a G or H. Whatever, it will wait until after I finish the repairs on the 65mm WAC Corporal which has to be cored out and rebuilt in pretty much the same way. It was a bad (boreal) summer for motor tubes.
 
That's a pretty cool 2 stage. Did you figure out what happened with the JLCR? I've only flown mine once (in the Plan B MkII, as a matter of fact -- a 76mm version of the very rocket I am dissecting here). It deployed at 150m, just like I asked it to, but now -- maybe -- I understand why the LCO on that flight was a little dubious as he read my flight card out over the PA.

The old fin can is getting a new motor tube (with a new forward CR) and forward airframe and will be painted in the same "please-don't-lose-me" orange/purple livery. It will be the "Plan B MkIb" or something. I'll install a baffle this time, I think.

There is enough motor tube below the centering ring in the remaining airframe to accommodate a 240 mm motor. I was thinking maybe an upscaled Photon Disruptor? Or maybe some version of an Aerobee or ARCAS. Something that will go on a G or H. Whatever, it will wait until after I finish the repairs on the 65mm WAC Corporal which has to be cored out and rebuilt in pretty much the same way. It was a bad (boreal) summer for motor tubes.

Went back to look for it Sunday and the corn field has doubled in heigh from 4->8’ high in the two weeks since I lost it. No way I was wading into that.

I’m hoping it turns up when they harvest it.

I’m chalking it up to being my first actual costly loss, and a lesson that every flight doesn’t need to have an expensive altimeter in it.

Oh... and I have a new found healthy respect for fields full of corn...
 
Went back to look for it Sunday and the corn field has doubled in heigh from 4->8’ high in the two weeks since I lost it. No way I was wading into that.

I’m hoping it turns up when they harvest it.

I’m chalking it up to being my first actual costly loss, and a lesson that every flight doesn’t need to have an expensive altimeter in it.

Oh... and I have a new found healthy respect for fields full of corn...

My dad ran several of my rockets through the combine when I was a kid. I wouldn’t count on harvest helping the recovery.


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
I said hoping, not relying!!

After I had two locals bring my other lost airframe to the fence next to the road JUST as I drove out of the launch paddock on Sunday, I’m already feeling like a lucky SoB... [emoji12]


I just feel sorry for the poor bugger who gets bits of JLCR and A3 in their cornflakes next year...
 
I just feel sorry for the poor bugger who gets ... JLCR and A3 in their cornflakes next year...

Are you kidding? If either one made it to the box intact, it'd be the coolest cereal prize ever. Think the best I ever got was a Quake-mobile Mining Machine that used a rubber band to shoot little injection-molded gear-shaped choking hazards at your eyes (I cannot remember how I voted in the 1972 Quake v. Quisp election).

I didn't see that you'd lost the chute release. That sucks. I was asking if you knew why it failed to deploy, as you describe in the thread you linked above.

Mine was loaded in the WAC Corporal when something exploded in my 29/40-120 casing and blew all of the motor guts out. The forward closure popped off and ruptured the top of the motor tube. The motor casing and aft propellant grain segment went out the back, tearing off the motor retainer and leaving the upper grain segment, delay grain, and grain liner in the rocket. Examining the debris, it really looks like the only thing that burned was the pyrogen on the igniter. Those standing nearby when the rocket jumped off the pad, and the casing ricocheted off the blast shield, told me I was lucky that the rocket didn't burn -- which I am told is the usual outcome when the forward closure comes off. I worry though that the overpressure from whatever event could have popped off the closure might have damaged the JLCR.

I've got a cheap hand-operated vacuum pump stashed away somewhere in my shop. When I get a few hours I am going to kluge-up a vacuum chamber and check that the release still releases.
 
I was asking if you knew why it failed to deploy, as you describe in the thread you linked above.

Oh - different events.

The JLCR deployment failure in the build thread, from memory, was me learning how low I could set it - that first time I think I was just too ambitious and I think I had it set for 100ft. I think we impacted before the chute opened.

I’ve settled on 600ft being the usual optimum altitude for the JLCR generally. As for the eventual loss of the bird: JLCR operated flawlessly - it just so happened that the wind at apogee was going the opposite way and pushed the rocket under chute further in the direction it weather cocked.

We watched it fall gracefully right into the corn...
 
Cleaned up the rockets and motor cases I flew at ROCstock and started prepping the rockets and building motors for next weekends launch with TRA/PHX. After six launches in seven weeks, I think I will take Thanksgiving weekend off and restock motors with Wildman's black Saturday sale.
If you missed ROCstock, you missed a great launch! Best weather I have ever experienced on Lucerne dry lake.
 
I mailed off my L2 cert paperwork to NAR, placed a order for hardware with McMaster-Carr, and then I started to lay out my altimeter bay for my Aerobee and decided on what altimeters to use in it.
 
Scored about 100ft of 6" wide orange plastic barricade tape that was headed for the trash can. Ought to make for some nice streamers....

Started looking at getting a Makerbeam and some mirco buttons. Randy with Rail-Buttons.com is away on personal business, so it will have to wait until next month....
 
spent some time replacing the connectors on my new LiPo cell pack(both the main and balance), then spent an hour 'babysitting' the pack while it charged. I have found that given the way I pack my main chute it takes about 100' to open and slow the rocket...I decided that 400' is as low as I care to watch :).
Rex
 
Signed the paperwork for insurance on a university paid trip to a ULA launch site as part of SpaceVision 2017 for placing top three in SEDS with HPR. We have some crazy 2Am departure schedule... Should be cool to see SpaceX, SEDS judges, ULA, Boeing, and other industries. Prof was pissed he has to drive a university van. ULA offers a launch site tour, suddenly it's we're leaving 2AM.... lol.
 
Signed the paperwork for insurance on a university paid trip to a ULA launch site as part of SpaceVision 2017 for placing top three in SEDS with HPR. We have some crazy 2Am departure schedule... Should be cool to see SpaceX, SEDS judges, ULA, Boeing, and other industries. Prof was pissed he has to drive a university van. ULA offers a launch site tour, suddenly it's we're leaving 2AM.... lol.

Love it... nothing motivates quite like shiny things that also soar into space!
 
Reprogrammed Eggfinder mini and TRS to non-default frequencies. Planning on running two separate systems in the 2 stage rocket.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk
 
Finally found enough of my stuff in my new house that I could start working on rockets again. First up is trying to finish my Helo model for the NAR contest.
 
Started thinking about MD altitude optimised birds to start populating the AMRS local Australian records page.

I’m thinking about doing a MD build for each LPR and MPR motor class starting with 24mm D12s...

I’ve also been toying with designs in OR for F class 24mm MDs...

And of course I’m already onto the third iteration of my 29mm g80 blink/disappear machine.

As soon as I figure out how to get an altimeter into an 18mm tube, I might look at A,B and C class birds as well.

I think I must just REALLY like losing rockets... [emoji6]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Started thinking about MD altitude optimised birds to start populating the AMRS local Australian records page.

I’m thinking about doing a MD build for each LPR and MPR motor class starting with 24mm D12s...

I’ve also been toying with designs in OR for F class 24mm MDs...

And of course I’m already onto the third iteration of my 29mm g80 blink/disappear machine.

As soon as I figure out how to get an altimeter into an 18mm tube, I might look at A,B and C class birds as well.

I think I must just REALLY like losing rockets... [emoji6]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Why D12? AT has 18mm D motors in both SU and RMS...

I use the PerfectFlite Firefly for all my altimeter needs. Not as fancy as JL but hurts a lot less to lose ;)

Sent from my LGL44VL using Rocketry Forum mobile app
 
I can't get my JLA3 to fit into an 18mm bird... I'll check out the firefly... thanks.. :)
 
I can't get my JLA3 to fit into an 18mm bird... I'll check out the firefly... thanks.. :)
Rumor is we’ll be able to put AltimeterFours in our tiny rockets soon. (I have no idea when “soon” is.)
 
Tried to get in on the new Madcow Nike Apache, but due to some website issues, failed. Kinda bummed about that, was really excited about it, but maybe this is the universe guiding me towards a LOC 5.5 Patriot instead.
 
Tried to get in on the new Madcow Nike Apache, but due to some website issues, failed. Kinda bummed about that, was really excited about it, but maybe this is the universe guiding me towards a LOC 5.5 Patriot instead.

Madcow just sent out an email Ryan that more would be made available today at the same price but not shipping until mid December, so you didn't miss out.
 
Back
Top