What did you do rocket wise today?

Started assembling an Estes Big Daddy. Threw out the thrust ring and motor clip, and also replaced the stock shock cord with 300# Kevlar and 1/4" Bungee from Apogee.

Decided to go with birch ply to replace the supplied balsa fins on my Estes 3228 V2 mod build....got a nice sheet from the hobby shop, used one of the supplied fins as a template and laid out the 4 fins. This was my first time doing something like this and the only other time I've worked with ply has been with fins and centering rings in Pro II kits.

I probably could have picked an easier fin than the V2's for my first go at ply! I have a Dremel with all sorts of attachments so cutting out the basic area around the fins wasn't too bad....but the devil is in the details on these! Took about 3 hours start to finish, but after a lot of careful and precise use of cutting wheels and sanding drums, I ended up with 4 reasonably good base fins.

Next up is the final finishing touches...beveling the leading edges, sanding the surfaces, perfecting the fin tab fit into the boattail. The, of course, installing them. But wow, it was harder than I thought it would be...not physically....just tedious. Like I said, could have chosen an easier pattern for my first try at ply.....

Performed a post-mortem analysis on my Terrordactyl. She will fly again with not too much effort. But my eggtimer TRS took a beating on landing. Cris has already been helpful in advising me how to repair it.



It looks like my electronics worked well: Both the drogue and main changes fired, but they didn't separate the airframe. There is black soot everywhere inside the payload and booster. These were identical to the charges that I had ground tested, but I suspect that the powder wasn't packed tight enough. It probably dispersed during the flight. I need to work on my charge prep technique. Lesson learned.

Increased my spring painting queue by completing my AT Mirage and WM Punisher Sport. Started fillets on Estes Scion. Started Estes Vagabond.

Last week my seven year old son learned how to use a drill press by making a stand for rockets with 29mm MMTs.

Cleaned up the garage a bit, tried to corral the rocketry stuff back into its corner.

Didn't really get to do anything rocketry related, but there was a package on my doorstep from Penrose CO... and I didn't order anything from Estes.

Can't wait for Christmasresent::happydeer::hohoho:

BDB said:

Performed a post-mortem analysis on my Terrordactyl. She will fly again with not too much effort. But my eggtimer TRS took a beating on landing. Cris has already been helpful in advising me how to repair it.

View attachment 306727

It looks like my electronics worked well: Both the drogue and main changes fired, but they didn't separate the airframe. There is black soot everywhere inside the payload and booster. These were identical to the charges that I had ground tested, but I suspect that the powder wasn't packed tight enough. It probably dispersed during the flight. I need to work on my charge prep technique. Lesson learned.

Click to expand...

OH - I hate it when that happens!!!!

It's Mouser Part # 927-A2235-H for the GPS module.

Also try 1-inch heat shrink as a preventative measure. :dark:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetai...1Cxsi6jmTj0QAqLW/OOhK32oeJNu7/c9%2bKGMti1gw==

I filled out the paperwork to start a hobby rocketry company.

Ravenex said:

I filled out the paperwork to start a hobby rocketry company.

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Whaaaa???? Details?

fyrfytr310 said:

Whaaaa???? Details?

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I will be waiting to post an official announcement until all the details are done. So far I have filled out the paperwork to register an assumed business name, created a web domain, did a market survey (https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137397-New-rocketry-product-feedback-request), and started to make the production tooling. I still need to build the website/store, talk to potential vendors and distributors, negotiate pricing, build initial inventory, and do some quality testing. Once that is complete (mid January-ish) I will make a big official announcement.

Built a really cool Jeweling Jig with Dollhouse Parts.:
It's a single axis table, with Beeswax as the bearing between MDF plates.:wink:






I'll get around to making these things pertinent to Rocketry eventually, and hopefully sooner than later.
I have some joinery skills, and I know how I want to build my Factory in the Spring.
Right now I have a Clock to make from a Saw Blade.

Ravenex said:

I will be waiting to post an official announcement until all the details are done. So far I have filled out the paperwork to register an assumed business name, created a web domain, did a market survey (https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137397-New-rocketry-product-feedback-request), and started to make the production tooling. I still need to build the website/store, talk to potential vendors and distributors, negotiate pricing, build initial inventory, and do some quality testing. Once that is complete (mid January-ish) I will make a big official announcement.

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Very exciting!

Got an order in to Aerotech for a 24/60 casing to go with my 24/40 motor kit. (Can use the fore/aft closures) Also ordered D, E, F RMS reloads, First Fire Mini and First Fire Jr. igniters.

Now I'll have RMS systems for: 18/20, 24/40, 24/60, 29/40-120.

Read another chapter of "Modern High Power Rocketry 2"

I worked on my V2 some. Sanding epoxy is horrible, but filing isn't too bad.
Went to my bud's house where my stuff is stored and found a Hercules kit so I could get scans to a fellow TRF member.
Found my wife's camera while I was there, so pics are now available. Have to learn how to posts pics again.
Looked up all kinds of stuff wishing I had money (daily event)

Ordered WAY too much rocket stuff...Mac performance kit, and all the extras. Loki motors and cases.

Began a new Saw Blade Clock Project for a Christmas Gift to a Fellow Forum Member and Friend.:




Thank You Adrienwapkaplet, I'm about to own an H.B. Woods 36" from the 1800's, and would not be where I am now without your help and gift of my first Bandsaw. I need to build a concrete and fiberglassed reinforced base for the one I am about to get, but the one you gave me has been a real champion and allowed me all sorts of opportunities to cut things for people that can't cut things for themselves.
Why has this truth been denied to me throughout my life?
It seems wholly unfair that I should discover machining this late in life, but thank goodness i got the wake up call at an age where I can do something about that too.
I'm feeling quite blessed and prodigious right now, and considering the length of the Days here, that is a feat unto and in of itself.
My optimism has paid off, as has my ingenuity and intestinal fortitude.
Nobody gets paid to speak of me like that anymore, so I must commend myself from time to time when I have advanced my Skills as a working Craftsman.
Everyone who even decides to see what machining is all about will benefit from the simple lesson of the wheel and primitive metallurgy, so that is a real learning experience right there!
There is reason and Rhyme to History, and the Ages of Primitive Wood/Metalsmithing are the things of Modern Strife too, but people are petty for the next silly thing, and things are allowed to be too silly since the Guilds of the earlier times were working for better times.
I believe that with the amazing "Google Enabled-Geneosity" we have at our fingertips nowadays, we could up our game a bit, and re-create the "Age Of Engineering"
I'm not saying that folks are not already doing really great work in the departments of advanced thinking, but it seems the Products themselves are becoming unusable on purpose. I even had to deal with this when I worked for the Army, so it is an industrial reason that the product had a failure.
Of course it is cheaper to ship an entirely new product than a simple structural member.
It is all so backward and degenerative that I have to obtain as many machines to be able to do production grade work.
After I have the 36" Bandsaw, I can create a mill, and that can power the rest of the works.
I live on a road that happens to have an old water wheel Creamery as my next door neighbor. I could likely hang a new water wheel for free if I cut them in on half of the juice and make a custom replaceable Turbine so they know the thing is legit and won't overload their household. The installation can be done by a real Electrician so that everyone is up to code and covered by insurance. I know of a reputable local Electrical business, and I went to School with some of them, then encountered them in real life, so I think I have someone in my to start asking on a quote.

Cleaned some motor hardware following Saturday's LUNAR launch at Snow Ranch. Ballistol is the stuff that those magical baby wipes want to be when they grow up. I also use it on my G-Locks. The label says it works well on wood(?) and leather(?)...say what?!

Rearranged my motor hardware case to accomodate the new CTI 54mm cases I bought recently. Was able to pick up the closure and DAT as well.

Re-folded my Goblin 5.5" main and drogue chutes for storage.

Have made a horrible miscalculation with the Ascent Stage of my 1/16 R/C Lunar Module Quadcopter!



OK, just kidding. Decided to get in a little practice of how to assemble the cardboard model patterns that are in 1/48 scale. So the partially built 1/48 Ascent stage is sitting on top of the GPS module "tower" that keeps the GPS module and its compass above the other electronics. Did some computer work with the 1/48 cardboard pattern files to copy and paste 300% scaled up patterns for Ascent Stage parts onto 11 x 17 size paper ("poster" stock, though not as thick as poster paper). Got them printed at OfficeMax. A few are visible in the background of this photo.

Broke a friggin' carbide drill in a piece of stainless steel. And I'm seriously torqued off about it.

cherokeej said:

Broke a friggin' carbide drill in a piece of stainless steel. And I'm seriously torqued off about it.

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Yikes! and Good luck or Best Wishes offered,~!

cherokeej said:

Broke a friggin' carbide drill in a piece of stainless steel. And I'm seriously torqued off about it.

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Sorry....but that is a clever play on words.....

Best I could do to clean it up. Not allowed to type what I wanted to say about it.

I've come to the conclusion that I don't much care for stainless steel.

wrapped a gift for the Woosh gift exchange and baked a loaf of snack bread for the club party .
Rex

made it through 185 pages of the High Power thread on here.

frustratingly looked online for wiring...still looking

BDB said:

Performed a post-mortem analysis on my Terrordactyl. She will fly again with not too much effort. But my eggtimer TRS took a beating on landing. Cris has already been helpful in advising me how to repair it.

View attachment 306727

It looks like my electronics worked well: Both the drogue and main changes fired, but they didn't separate the airframe. There is black soot everywhere inside the payload and booster. These were identical to the charges that I had ground tested, but I suspect that the powder wasn't packed tight enough. It probably dispersed during the flight. I need to work on my charge prep technique. Lesson learned.

Click to expand...

What experience has lead me to do is ground test. Take the value that gives me good separation on the ground,and add about 25%. There are loads in the airframe that ground testing cannot replicate so a bit more is better.

Replenished cleaning supplies for RMS motors in the field kit.

been practicing patience!!
I ordered up a couple more winter builds( I think ill be good into next summer) and parts last Saturday. have a pemberton kraken comin from erockets and been tracking it in the mail(should have been here Wednesday). apparently USPS decided this needed to venture all over ohio and southeast Michigan. funny thing is I got another kit from texas I ordered same day. it was here Monday.

Assembled and tested my 4th Eggtimer Quark, this one I modded a bit for a upcoming 24mm MD project. The mod is to keep the height down by ditching the terminal blocks I usually use, by using wire wrap posts instead and seating them deep enough that they are only the same height as the transistors (the posts are actually pin headers salvaged from old computer boards). The wrap connections are very secure, its no wonder they used wire wrapping in the early Mercury and Apollo programs iirc. Now nothing is taller than the two parts I cant control the height of, the buzzer and the transistors, total thickness is now just under .375". The jumper pins were also cut off a bit and the black plastic strip on them removed after soldering in place so the jumpers could be used without mods. I actually did this one last night.