Area Rule: My Next Big'un

CarVac said:

I'm not holding my breath, but in case it does happen I do want to L3 with it: there are some M-impulse configurations that I would not be able to fly (L935+6 I243's, for example).

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Hate to tell you this, but I flew 2 or 3 M's (don't remember) before I certified. Just find a friendly L3 with at least some idea of what you're up to (won't be to difficult, I'd guess). Is this an airstart or all on the pad?

Jim

JimJarvis50 said:

Hate to tell you this, but I flew 2 or 3 M's (don't remember) before I certified. Just find a friendly L3 with at least some idea of what you're up to (won't be to difficult, I'd guess). Is this an airstart or all on the pad?

Jim

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Oh, true. I've even done an N...

I like the idea of lighting them all on the pad, but with the smaller ones set off by onboard altimeters so that it can't lift off on a little poot and tip over before the central motor pressurizes.

CarVac said:

Oh, true. I've even done an N...

I like the idea of lighting them all on the pad, but with the smaller ones set off by onboard altimeters so that it can't lift off on a little poot and tip over before the central motor pressurizes.

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Good plan. I saw that happen once with a central P motor. It was not a good outcome.

Jim

CarVac said:

Tools -> Photo Studio

Hint: decrease the angle of view to the minimum to reduce the perspective distortion.

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I just downloaded the latest version of Open Rocket. It keeps getting better and better!

Wow,,,,,,,,,,
That is georgous.............
Come on man,,,,,,,,,,,
Get to cookin,,,,,,,
Epoxy,,, razor knife,,, ruler,,, pencil,,,,,
Stop the tease man,,,,,,,,,,
Have a heart....................

Teddy

onebadhawk said:

Wow,,,,,,,,,,
That is georgous.............
Come on man,,,,,,,,,,,
Get to cookin,,,,,,,
Epoxy,,, razor knife,,, ruler,,, pencil,,,,,
Stop the tease man,,,,,,,,,,
Have a heart....................

Teddy

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Sorry man, I'm taking it easy as I perfect the design. I intend there to be zero black powder (nor even a substitute) in this rocket at any time. That's how I roll: I spend a year thinking, and then only when I'm satisfied do I start putting things together.

CarVac said:

That's how I roll

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You should change your tag to "Rolls before building" although that does have other connotations...just hurry up and roll I would love to see this one come to life.

...daang, I did /not/ know OR could do that. Gotta play with that feature!
And yeah, sounds like your tagline is apt. I've read through some of your past build threads, and am looking forward to this

CarVac said:

Sorry man, I'm taking it easy as I perfect the design. I intend there to be zero black powder (nor even a substitute) in this rocket at any time. That's how I roll: I spend a year thinking, and then only when I'm satisfied do I start putting things together.

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I feel as though there's a bit of a condescending twang to this comment, a sort of resentment toward others here on TRF? At this rate, TRF will be a subscription service by the time we break ground on this project.

I guess I don't understand how you can "perfect" a design such as this. Ditch the cluster, put in a 4" motor mount, and kick it up on a large and optimized carbon-case EX motor. I call that perfect.

patelldp said:

I feel as though there's a bit of a condescending twang to this comment, a sort of resentment toward others here on TRF? At this rate, TRF will be a subscription service by the time we break ground on this project.

I guess I don't understand how you can "perfect" a design such as this. Ditch the cluster, put in a 4" motor mount, and kick it up on a large and optimized carbon-case EX motor. I call that perfect.

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It isn't the overall design I am perfecting, just the recovery system. I am plotting something involving DC motors and springs...

There is also the finance aspect to it: my budget spreadsheet for it is sitting around a thousand dollars which I don't really feel comfortable spending right now. I don't want to cut rings and fins until I get the tubes, and I don't want to get tubes until I know the recovery system design because that will dictate the internal tubes and I don't want to pay shipping more often than I need to.

CarVac said:

Sorry man, I'm taking it easy as I perfect the design. I intend there to be zero black powder (nor even a substitute) in this rocket at any time. That's how I roll: I spend a year thinking, and then only when I'm satisfied do I start putting things together.

Click to expand...

Do you plan on CO2 for the recovery? Servo?

Nevermind, I was to slow you answered above.

I'm with ya Carlo,,,
You can't do one thing until something else is done......
Everything with me is that way.........
Everything must be done in the correct sequence............

I understand,,,,,,,,,
But I still can't wait.............
Ill see you Saturday................

Teddy

It Is Time.

I bought parachutes (96" Spherachute LT and medium-sized Apex drogue) and the body tube and the nosecone.

More to come in the next few weeks. Next will be materials for the internals (from Giant Leap) and eventually, once the design is settled (I need to see the parts in real life to get a sense of scale), I'll make an Upscale CNC order for fins and rings.

Ooooh. I've been waiting for this. op:

This is gonna be smokin beautiful Carlo,,,,,
For sure....
I can't wait to see the finished product.....

Teddy

The eggtimer altimiter supports pulse modulation you could use a servo for deployment. Neat design BTW.


TA

thobin said:

The eggtimer altimiter supports pulse modulation you could use a servo for deployment. Neat design BTW.


TA

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I decided to do something different instead of servo deployment. I will use a tube to direct the apogee charge past all the recovery hardware, and use a chute cannon for the main parachute. They're labeled in this diagram.




The electronics will be around the motor tube in a very long (15 inches) donut-style avionics bay, and the entire 48" length of Blue Tube will be removable, exposing the whole av-bay for easy access. This additionally lets me trust the Blue Tube: even if it warps from humidity, or gets wet in a stream, I can easily replace it, and I can avoid extra weight by not fiberglassing it. And if I ever decide that I do want servo deployment, it should be an easy retrofit, simply replacing the body tube with one that doesn't have the cannons glued into it.

Beyond that, the entire back end will be pretty much waterproof and warp-resistant. I noticed that Giant Leap, unlike PML, sells 48" 54mm tubes, so I'll use that for the core motor tube. It'll probably be fiberglassed for strength. I'll also use phenolic for the outboard motor mounts, making it unlikely to sustain damage from landing in the irrigation channels common on East Coast launch sites.

My next point of concern is the transitions.

I have a roll of kraft paper which I hope to use to form the base for the transitions, which I will fiberglass over. Should I make spars to support it? How should I best transition from the cone to the body tube without leaving a ridge sticking out past the outer diameter?

It's been a very long while, but I've gotten drawn back into the hobby. Taking it slow, but I do still have plans to build this...

I'm going to ditch the clustering, and I'm ditching the parachute cannon in favor of a deployment bag and perhaps a 3-ring release actuated with Archetype (Prairie Twister?) cable cutters to retain it under drogue.

I've also shortened the second transition and correspondingly steepened the trailing edge of the fins. I think it gives it a more aggressive look.

Watching! I just got back into this all too