What did you do rocket wise today?

Started the fillets on Marks saucer

Finished externals on PunisheR

Fixed broken tip on cast fg 4 inch nc and did a round of putty and primer.

Kenny

Put together Eggfinder TRS and LCD. 3 hours to solder both, 2.5 hours to verify that they come up correctly.

Ari.

I set an unofficial world record for the smallest 2-stage dual deploy recovery model rocket flight at todays NSL 2015 event in Orangeburg SC

Joined up at my local Maker space & have been talking to some members about getting some fins 3D printed!!

Krusty

Worked on some designs for my next rocket made out of old plotter tubes. I am trying to figure out how to do the coupler and install the fins. This will be my first scratch build.

Also the Open rocket quick sim seems to be borked on my computer

B787_300 said:

Worked on some designs for my next rocket made out of old plotter tubes. I am trying to figure out how to do the coupler and install the fins. This will be my first scratch build.

Click to expand...

Check out this video -

[video=youtube;iH3HesegWv0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH3HesegWv0[/video]

Shows how to take a tube and make your own coupler

Krusty

Filled and primed some more on the FrenzyXL, AvBay finished, time to ground test later this week.

Yesterday: L1 Cert
[video=youtube;svxeHGaId-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxeHGaId-Y[/video]

Finished Astron Elliptic II, Estes Jetliner and PSII Ventris. About to start masking the Saturn V... 😬. Or maybe I'll sand the LOC Caliber ISP.

Glued in the shock mount and attached the nose cone and parachute. So that about wraps it up for now on the Der Red Max. I will figure out what I am going to do with the decals later.

I also replaced the shock cord and parachute on my old Silver Comet that had a meltdown It had about ten years ago.

Tried to fit my 36" CATO chute and 15 ft. of nylon into the payload bay of my Madcow Frenzy 54. It was not easy. There's really not very much room in that payload bay, but I think it'll work. I'd like some opinions as to "how tight is too tight" I had to stand it up on end and lean on the NC to get everything in. Too tight? Ideas?

Nate

nute said:

Tried to fit my 36" CATO chute and 15 ft. of nylon into the payload bay of my Madcow Frenzy 54. It was not easy. There's really not very much room in that payload bay, but I think it'll work. I'd like some opinions as to "how tight is too tight" I had to stand it up on end and lean on the NC to get everything in. Too tight? Ideas?

Nate

Click to expand...

Does it have a FWFG NC? If so you can switch the coupler around so that the bulkhead is up inside the NC, that'll gain you a some extra room, though as long as it ground tests ok I think your good; using 1/4" kevlar would probably save some room too over the nylon.

RocketHunter said:

Does it have a FWFG NC? If so you can switch the coupler around so that the bulkhead is up inside the NC, that'll gain you a some extra room, though as long as it ground tests ok I think your good; using 1/4" kevlar would probably save some room too over the nylon.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that's a good idea, I'll give it a try. Have you used rivets to secure the coupler to the cone? I ask because with the coupler shifting slightly higher as I pack everything together, it's giving me nightmares drilling holes for shear pins.

Nate

Started my build of the Estes Leviathan and got some first coats on a couple other builds I have underway (CiCi Glider, MiniMax, Phoenix Bird).

nute said:

Thanks, that's a good idea, I'll give it a try. Have you used rivets to secure the coupler to the cone? I ask because with the coupler shifting slightly higher as I pack everything together, it's giving me nightmares drilling holes for shear pins.

Nate

Click to expand...

Try using #4 machine screws (flat head type that have the slight cone under the head) and just thread the FG, the machine screw can be threaded in and will hold great then you profile the top of the screw to match your cone/airframes shape.

Zeroignite said:

Yesterday: L1 Cert

Click to expand...

Congrats!

Zeroignite said:

Yesterday: L1 Cert
[video=youtube;svxeHGaId-Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxeHGaId-Y[/video]

Click to expand...

Awesome! Congrats! That's my girl!-sorry you moved, I had hoped to meet you in person fly with you one day. Straight smoke and good chutes always to you.

D'oh! just wasted time priming and sanding a full length 3.0 COUPLER tube-crap! Oh well-just glad I didn't paint the darned thing! Too many birds in the build queue at once...

fyrwrxz said:

D'oh! just wasted time priming and sanding a full length 3.0 COUPLER tube-crap! Oh well-just glad I didn't paint the darned thing! Too many birds in the build queue at once...

Click to expand...

And Lo, the Less than Minimum Diameter Rocket was born. . . .

Kenny

fyrwrxz said:

D'oh! just wasted time priming and sanding a full length 3.0 COUPLER tube-crap! Oh well-just glad I didn't paint the darned thing! Too many birds in the build queue at once...

Click to expand...

I feel your pain...but....:rofl:

Especially after what KenRico had to say.

I just cleaned my casings from the weekend (white vinegar really does work!) and have started planning a repair for a cracked fin root on my Super Jart.

A quick question: when I did my L1 cert, several people mentioned offhand that I can submit the paperwork online. However, I see no mention of it via the NAR site, and google yields nothing. Do I have to snail mail the forms, or is there an alternative?

Lots of sanding followed by lots of priming.

Status Update:

Cherokee D PSII upscale is in paint, needs decals applied
Der Red Max is in final paint
Goblin is in final paint
Omega (ver 3.0) has been reprimed following its bad experience (fell after being primed).
Omega (ver 2.0) is now in primer
Omega (ver 1.0 is getting fillets
Citation Patriot II is in primer
Der Big Red Max is ready for primer
EAC Viper is getting fillets
Velociraptor (BT-60 Downscale ver 1.0) is in primer, but the talons aren't very satisfactory... new concepts dreamed up for ver 2.0
Extreme 12 has fins on the sustainer
Maxi Icarus II (ver 2.0) now has fins, needs fillets before primer
Yellow Jacket PSII Upscale is awaiting fillets

I'm sure there's more, but I need to get busy on schooling.

Received two packages today at work. First was from MadCow....should be my 2.6" Nike Smoke....I've wanted this one for a while.

Also received a package from AC Supply. Should be an Estes Mercury Redstone.

Good day......good day. :wink:

ArizonaSportsman said:

Received two packages today at work. First was from MadCow....should be my 2.6" Nike Smoke....I've wanted this one for a while.

Also received a package from AC Supply. Should be an Estes Mercury Redstone.

Good day......good day. :wink:

Click to expand...

I ordered the Redstone from Hobbylinc months ago and I'm supposed to get it in July! I hope yours arrives safe and sound.

RocketHunter said:

Does it have a FWFG NC? If so you can switch the coupler around so that the bulkhead is up inside the NC, that'll gain you a some extra room, though as long as it ground tests ok I think your good; using 1/4" kevlar would probably save some room too over the nylon.

Click to expand...

Thanks again Coleman, I tried turning the coupler around and packing everything in, and it finally worked!

A ground test with 1.2g worked very nicely, albeit slightly energetically.

[video=youtube;oDtMxwtI5k4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDtMxwtI5k4&feature=youtu.be[/video]

nute said:

Thanks again Coleman, I tried turning the coupler around and packing everything in, and it finally worked!

A ground test with 1.2g worked very nicely, albeit slightly energetically.

Click to expand...

I'm glad it worked! My only advice (from personal experience) is if you're packing the parachute in the NC cavity, make sure that the length of the shock cord measured from the parachute attachment point to the base of the NC is as long/longer than the extended length of the parachute and its shroud lines. If it's not, the cord can go taught and not pull out the parachute. This may just be common sense, but I had to learn it from experience :lol:

I received packages today from both eRockets & BMS containing:
among a few other odds and ends. I also wrote most of the assembly instructions for the Noctua kit I'm preparing for my nephew. I think we tend to take how to put together a LPR rocket - at least until trying to write down what to do. There are a lot more step to detail then I realized!

Painting the tube fin rockets... dang they are a lot more difficult to get uniform coverage than the standard ol' fins. I should pics here soon of my daughter's Barbie one. The son wants a fade and polka dots on his, so that'll take a few more days of layers and masking...