Looking for L3 advice

Happy Holidays All!

I am ready to buy a kit to use for my Tripoli L3 attempt. I am a big fan of Wildman rockets; I got my L1 and L2 on Wildman kits.
I am looking at the Gizmo-XL and Intinidator 5, but I am open to looking at other kits/vendors.

Any suggestions or opionions on kits for L3 attempts would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Andy

I did a 10 inch Nike Smoke from What's Up Hobbies. It was defintely low and slow. I also have an Ultimate Wildman and Darkstar. Both fly well and I would defintely go G10 or G12 tubes.

I'd go with the Ultimate Darkstar you ordered several years ago from me .......and.....

Whatever you go with should be tried and true. You can save the fancy new stuff for after you get your L3. L3 is not really the time to try out the latest fad. Many attempting L3 go way overkill on making the rocket strong for the way up. Most L3 failures tend to be recovery issues rather than airframe failures.

I've witnessed plenty of L3 successes along with quite a few failures. Some have even failed multiple times. The plain simple designs with well proven electronics and recovery systems tend to work the best.

Hey Rick! Long time no see. How are things with you? I have been flying at MMMSC in Berwick, ME. I can fly high power, and I can make a trip in a single day. It is not much further away than CMASS, and you can fly up to O-class there. I am not sure if anyone has yet, but they have a great field.

I think all of the level 3 capable rocket kits available have advantages and disadvantages. My advice would be build something YOU like, and something that will challenge your skills a little bit.

atlcdp said:

Hey Rick! Long time no see. How are things with you? I have been flying at MMMSC in Berwick, ME. I can fly high power, and I can make a trip in a single day. It is not much further away than CMASS, and you can fly up to O-class there. I am not sure if anyone has yet, but they have a great field.

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I think that we have had a couple of M motors there in Berwick. I have seen one, so I know there has been at least one! The issue more than anything in Berwick is the 10,000 foot waiver. The M-class motors get up near 10,000 pretty quick on a stock Ultimate as you likely know. I think that if you were going to do up a L3 certification at MMMSC you'd probably want to lean more towards the "slow and low" (or at least slower and lower) or plan on adding ballast to keep the rocket under the waiver.

That is just me. Not that I have ever thought about my L3 at Berwick and done some exploratory investigation into what would work well at that field or anything.

That said I hope that you got for L3 at MMMSC - I'd love to see it. Keep us posted!

A lot of people go with prefab kits , OK that's nice, but show off or challenge your skills.
I design your own, use Rocsim or Openrocket programs to help, keep it simple.
When done you will have a better feeling about yourself and skill sets.
When I did mine it cost less than 200 dollars (- main chute, borrowed ) and Altimeters.

believe it or not, cardboard tubes(unglassed) plywood fins ( fiberglass in a center layer)
did have a Fiber glass NC (PML 6").

I still fly her today on everything from a M650 to a N4000

[YOUTUBE]voRZOoTg_pM[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]0UlwqNX_aB8[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]ptw_3E_EPyk[/YOUTUBE]

The Ultimate Darkstar sims to a mere 6848ft. on an Aerotech M2400T with no other mass added. Fast motors are a low waiver's best friend.

Build what makes you happy -- a rocket that makes you happy is something you're likely to fly again.

A rocket that makes someone else happy and which was picked by someone else is likely to get relegated to a corner in the garage.

Your certification is all about you

-Kevin

+1 for the I 5.
I used one for my L3. On an M1297 it hit 9200'.
I like 3" & 4" rockets. One reason being you can rack them by yourself. 5" & 6" not so much. Talking Wildman type kits.
Ext. Wildman on a M1297 should hit around 12k.

I vote Gizmo( cause i want to see one ;-) i think it will my choice when l3 time). I will be watching for whatever build you do!

Good advice from Troj.

I used a Rocketry Warehouse F150 for L3. Great flight on a M1297.

If you think you might need more than a 10k waiver, you might consider driving a bit further to Tripoli Cherryfield. We have a 25k waiver and a huge recovery area. A great spot for an L3 attempt I think.

Good luck with your L3

Aaron