- Joined
- Jan 27, 2009
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That's really neat. Do you have something to preven the possibility of drag separation (not really separation but slipping back) of the rear portion at burnout to prevent early opening?
I cut about 1/2 of the plastic sheeting out of the gores. The rocket is definitely going to fall a little faster now. I also reglued the brass cross over tubes into the motor mount tube. Finally, I installed the heavier springs on the petals. They are strong enough that the petals snap open when released. I shouldn't have a problem with them staying open anymore.
Sounds like some good improvements. When is the next test flight?
Hopefully tomorrow at Moffett.
Yes?Kit! Kit! Kit!
I got one more flight out of this rocket at LUNAR's launch last weekend. It flew fairly straight and came down at a reasonable rate even with all of the plastic sheeting between the petals removed. Unfortunately when it landed on the concrete runway it bent the 24mm tube that forms the backbone of the rocket. The petals are all bowed and warped from the springs I added too. I think it's time to retire it. At some point in the future I'd like to build another, but I'll probably make it out of 3-4" thin wall fiberglass tubing.
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