What did you do rocket wise today?

kcobbva said:

That looks really nice. Mine is mostly built - on hold for a different antenna as you used here.

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Thanks. It was a fun build. I've never soldered anything intricate before doing this and the quark, so I have learned a lot in the last week. The most important lesson was patience, and choosing the right tip for different aspects of the build.

I flew two rockets today! An Aerotech Arreaux on an F-21 and an old Estes Yellow Jacket on an A8-3. Both flew well. More importantly, saw some others fly great rockets. This was my first launch in a long time.
I also learned a good lesson. It can be a pain when Aerotech single use White Lightning motors oxidize. The C slot nozzles get hard to fins and like to bend/break copperheads. Oh, and don't forget to bring the Copperhead Igniter clip. All good though, the guys with the pads had good solutions.

o1d_dude said:

Went to Home Depot and browsed the Rocketry Department...er...stainless fasteners section. Bought some wing nuts, nylon lock nuts, nuts, flat washers, and a three pack of all-thread couplers...all of this in 8-24 size.

Spent the rest of the day regretting my purchase of an HP OfficeJet 7645 All-In-One printer at Costco today. Normally I'd have checked the reviews before purchasing but the $30 discount led me astray. Amazon reviews showed this device earning 48% ONE STAR ratings. Costco's reviews were similarly bad. It goes back unopened tomorrow along with the two-pack of print cartridges. The search for a modern printer continues.

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Printer shopping my browser always heads to Staples they are quick to ship


ATM staples shows https://www.staples.com/HP-Officejet-Pro-e-All-in-One-Printer-8610-/product_159212


might be worth a look at

Len B said:

I flew two rockets today! An Aerotech Arreaux on an F-21 and an old Estes Yellow Jacket on an A8-3. Both flew well. More importantly, saw some others fly great rockets. This was my first launch in a long time.
I also learned a good lesson. It can be a pain when Aerotech single use White Lightning motors oxidize. The C slot nozzles get hard to fins and like to bend/break copperheads. Oh, and don't forget to bring the Copperhead Igniter clip. All good though, the guys with the pads had good solutions.

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I have always burned the end of Copperheads to separate them and then use regular clips.

its been much sanding, masking and painting for my part...

michigander said:

Printer shopping my browser always heads to Staples they are quick to ship


ATM staples shows https://www.staples.com/HP-Officejet-Pro-e-All-in-One-Printer-8610-/product_159212


might be worth a look at

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Add on one of these continous ink systems and ink gets cheap, I use one on my HP C6250 and love it. https://www.cisinks.com/continuous-....html?osCsid=0b2f53db27af9ea7be38310d4aaf2a1c

Finally found the Brackets for the Booster Struts for my SA-5 build! Modified Suspender Slides from the Jo-Ann Fabrics.
They will require some material removal, but they will work exactly how I need them to, and having them in hand allows me to go ahead and make up the struts.
Also bought a bunch of glues and some nylon rip-stop for streamers and chutes.
Oh, and an extra Steel Rule, as they are easy to misplace.

Watched pnobile and DJs mix a batch of wimpy red... Got my interest going. Maybe EX is on my future....

This

CzTeacherMan said:

Watched pnobile and DJs mix a batch of wimpy red... Got my interest going. Maybe EX is on my future....

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It's so much more "scientific".

I glued the fins on a Quest Icarus and an Estes Fat Boy. I used Qualman fin alignment guides and the fin alignment looks great.

Best regards,
Brian

Cut some body tubes. No feeling like starting out a couple of new builds! Except maybe finishing them...

The flight was last weekend, but just posted the video today. Estes Ventris on a CTI G126 with a Jolly Logic Chute Release. Estimated 1700' with CR set at 400'.
https://youtu.be/S4tMZNhKVFY

I worked on several painting projects over the weekend, since the weather is finally mostly warm enough:


Two Estes kits, two Semroc kits & two home builds. Left to right: BT60 Black Brant III, Der Red (green) Max, Astron Sprint XL, Ruskie, 3" Astron Cobra, and Cherokee-C. Obviously, a couple still further painting to finish, as do a couple of others that I've started painting but haven't finished yet. Decals to follow too.

Decided how to configure my CF Mongoose 54, and started the NC tracking sled. I'm going with using the electronics bay as the anchor point for motor retention, tower launch, DD via cable cutter out of the payload section, RRC3 with Eggtimer Quark backup (both on Magnetic switches), and Eggfinder and antenna in the NC. I'm trying to make as much as possible mechanical attachment, so there will be a few 4-40 set screws used. I'm doing it this way because every commercial case except the Loki 54-4000 will fit in the stock booster, and for that one exception I can add an extra 12" piece of CF airframe to the booster using the motor case as the coupler and it will be held in place by the internal motor retaining rod running to the electronics bay (basically a CF tube sandwich held together by the aft retainer and the vent band). Only thing I really haven't decided is if I will tip-2-tip the fins. I don't want to overbuild this one...I want every scrap of performance I can get from it.

Ordered some SS, long shank eye bolts. I wish I hadn't standardized around M6 eye bolts a couple years ago (my tracking sleds threads onto the shank for retention). They were cheap then, but now I can't find a supplier that meets the desired shank length (yes I checked ebay, McMaster, Grainger, Fastenal, and myriad domestic boat and rigging companies), so I had to order them from the UK. I ordered 10, so I could justify the shipping.

I guess I shouldn't complain about a $4 eyebolt when it is vital for the successful recovery of a combined $500+ rocket, electronics, recovery gear, motor case, etc.

this..https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...terest-in-a-quot-My-Design-quot-build-contest

Installed (2) new 4' long Honeywell LED shop lights. I got these from Sam's Club over the weekend. I went from not having quite enough work space light to having a bit too much!

rfjustin said:

Installed (2) new 4' long Honeywell LED shop lights. I got these from Sam's Club over the weekend. I went from not having quite enough work space light to having a bit too much!

View attachment 289947 View attachment 289948

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Very nice. I need to do the same in my shop. The way my bench is situated the lighting is behind my back when I'm working. Same goes for my lathe...I think I need 2 of those fixtures for my 12' long bench and 1 fixture for my lathe.

Became an official BAR !!!

rfjustin said:

Installed (2) new 4' long Honeywell LED shop lights. I got these from Sam's Club over the weekend. I went from not having quite enough work space light to having a bit too much!

View attachment 289947 View attachment 289948

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DanP said:

Very nice. I need to do the same in my shop. The way my bench is situated the lighting is behind my back when I'm working. Same goes for my lathe...I think I need 2 of those fixtures for my 12' long bench and 1 fixture for my lathe.

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Very nice, but I am unfamiliar with this concept of too much light over the workbench. Placement is key though. When I did garage/shop I used 4 separate 4' led strips/tubes and spaced them around the 4x8 bench area to avoid the shadow issue.

rfjustin said:

Installed (2) new 4' long Honeywell LED shop lights. I got these from Sam's Club over the weekend. I went from not having quite enough work space light to having a bit too much!

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The amount of light required is determined by the task. There are actual numbers for particular or generalized tasks. Additionally, you need increasingly more light as you age. I don't think you have too much light (and it looks like it's the right color, too).I don't have access to the Industrial Engineering textbooks I used at work, but this might help:
https://www.humanscale.com/userfiles/file/tasklightingsolutions.pdf

Cleaned my workbench to facilitate installation of a pair of JBL speakers and a Cambridge Speakerworks Microworks sub woofer. I now have bodacious sounds while working on rockets.

In the course of this installation, I sorted many rockets, parts, and such. Now I've got to find a place for them.

milehigh said:

Became an official BAR !!!

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welp, i woke up, so imo that constitutes something rocketry wise.:kill:
ordered up some stuff to make my own ignitors, then ordered up parts for a 429 scratch build plus a 2 stage mongoose.
shower, then order up some motors and off to get sandpaper and other consumables then stop at auto parts store for some paints(ive got an idea for a pretty wild paint scheme for my estes PSII nike) and see how much the matrix primers they carry cost.
then i have GOT to clean up my shop. think its time to open the overhead door and give her a thorough dusting. its only been 5 months since the doors been open.

Threw in on Wildman's LDRS Punisher Sport special.

I decaled two recent builds, both with vinyl from Stickershock:

EXPjawa said:

I decaled two recent builds, both with vinyl from Stickershock:

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That's some good use of green pigment :wink:

Scotty Dog said:

That's some good use of green pigment :wink:

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That's one of my specialties!

Got the rear fins on a MMX Sparrow AIM-7 Build, but then I had to bring the Dog to the Vet for a regular appointment, and then I had to go take my Mom shopping, and now I'm thoroughly tired, so like the past few days, I did very little rocketwise today.
Finally a decent set of paper fins that are not two dimensional. Gotta start somewhere. The wings for this are finished too, and hopefully I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow so I can finish it.

EXPjawa said:

That's one of my specialties!

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Is that florescent green? Brand?