So It Begins

I thought I would make a thread about my upcoming level 1 attempt. It's a typical DX3 with a LOC payload section added to the top because I like big things. I didn't do a build thread because there are so many of them. I particularly followed Green Jello's for guidance on mine. I will, however, cover the painting of it and put up a video of the attempt when I make it at Battle of the Rockets on April 5th. Without further ado, some pictures.

Look me up when you get to BattlePark, I would love to get a closer look at that rocket.

Handeman said:

Look me up when you get to BattlePark, I would love to get a closer look at that rocket.

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I certainly would if I knew who people were. I've only been a few times this year and, from what I gather, it wasn't a great year to start due to all the weather. I'm also just not good with names. Maybe you were one of the people I talked to last Sunday.


Anyway, I got done painting the base coat not 30 minutes ago and here is the result:

When you're painting outside, do you ever get bugs in your paint? I hate that!

Bat-mite said:

When you're painting outside, do you ever get bugs in your paint? I hate that!

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I can't say that's ever happened to me. I always assumed that the smell of paint drove bugs away.

Great choice for a L1 rocket Looking good!

Bat-mite said:

When you're painting outside, do you ever get bugs in your paint? I hate that!

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Yup and Yup - does NAR say anything about sending dead bugs up attached to the paint on a rocket?

Edit: Nice looking DX3

Only vertebrates are not allowed, pretty sure bugs are invertebrates

Something wrong with the photo server, latest pics don't show up and you can't quote a message with one of those photo markers in it.

Anyway, We probably did talk last Sunday. If you are there during the Battle of the Rockets on Saturday, I'll be running the LPR pads for the FOGE kids. Just ask any of the LCOs or RSOs for Handeman and they will point me out.

So I'm in the process of deciding what motor to go with and thrustcurve.org is helping me rule out ones that that would be less than ideal/safe. The people I talk to generally say to put the smallest one that I can in. From what I'm looking at now it would have to be one of the (CTI) higher 2-grain H's or one of the lower 3-grain I's. Any experiences or words of wisdom?

Too small of a motor will give you more problems than going a bit larger. Shot for a thrust to weight ratio of 5:1 or better and you will do fine. Make sure to include the motor weight in that calculation.


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Bat-mite said:

When you're painting outside, do you ever get bugs in your paint? I hate that!

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Just a little parasitic drag. I think OpenRocket has a checkbox for it.

Hah, i take it your standpoint is "it's not a bug, it's a feature"?


As to choosing motors, if you're using CTI motors then just goto www.pro38.com and click the motor lists, the CTI website really shines for this, I wish AT would do the same. It makes it very easy to look at burn time and impulse so you can pick which motors to sim depending on your goals.

As others have said, 5:1 should be your minimum thrust:weight ratio. To quickly calculate, take your rockets weight in kilos (google "10lb to kg" where 10 is the weight in lb if you dont have kilos) multiply by 50 (for 5x the thrust, and very roughly 10newtons/kg). This is the minimum average thrust you want to consider - keep in mind that weight should include the weight of the motor, so just check the weight of a motor for the case size you're looking at. For a 2kg rocket, you'd be looking for a minimum of a H100 or I100, preferably more

After much checking and weighing I have decided on the H-152 Blue Streak. I wanted to go with an I but the launches this year have had a tendency to be windy (if they weren't snowed out). :eyeroll: Thanks Nature.

What are are you using for level one motor wise?

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Are you doing dual deploy or motor ejection? Whats the weight of your rocket?

Bat-mite said:

When you're painting outside, do you ever get bugs in your paint? I hate that!

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Oh man. I hate bugs!

Issus said:

Are you doing dual deploy or motor ejection? Whats the weight of your rocket?

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I thought I put the weight down but lo and behold I did not. With the parachute in it now it comes to almost exactly 4 pounds. And it will be motor ejection. I'm working on a cheap, removable DD system that I read about. By working on, I mean started some time ago and forgot about it.

HeavyLight said:

After much checking and weighing I have decided on the H-152 Blue Streak. I wanted to go with an I but the launches this year have had a tendency to be windy (if they weren't snowed out). :eyeroll: Thanks Nature.

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You're right about the launches. I thought last year at BattlePark was bad, but this year was much worse!

qquake2k said:

Oh man. I hate bugs!

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With that many flies you ought to take up fly fishing😉


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TomSmith58 said:

With that many flies you ought to take up fly fishing

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:lol:

"Parasitic drag..." HA! That's what I think of the mosquitoes that get in my paint!


Looks like a solid choice for L1! At ~4lbs, you should be relatively low with the H-152, with a decent end-of-rail speed. That's about what my Red Max weighs, and that thing ate up the 3-grain I's.


Later!

--Coop

I am pleased to announce that I just finished putting the clear coat on and the parachute has also been installed. Also, there were no bugs stuck to the paint. Just a spider crawling on it after it was nice and dry.

On another note, I got an email saying that my binder was on its way when I joined TRA. I had no idea they actually gave members a binder full of useful things. It was probably one of the coolest things I've ever gotten just for joining a club.

We don't have weather problems in Texas!

Andrew

It is done! I attained level 1 this past Saturday at Battle of the Rockets. The only real difficulty was getting it back out of a tree. I will have the video up tonight. I'm also planning on putting the case that I used up on the yard sale and using the funds from that to aid in getting a starter set. That'll give me much more versatility in motor selection as I begin my sojourn into dual deployment and start planning my level 2 project.

As promised, the video of the flight. My apologies for the commentary. I have a hard time shutting up when I'm in a good mood.

[video=youtube;4_cHFC5IxsM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_cHFC5IxsM[/video]

Looks good! Congratulations!

Congrats! Now open your wallet and go for Level 2 :roll: