Getting my micro feet wet.

Hello fellow micro rocketeers, I just got my first micro rocketry related items, with more planned. First I had to find motors for sale in Canada, & luckily I did. If I can get any more, I dont know. I also got a bunch of LPB to muck with & lose I think I got a good deal on the stuff.
So first thing is I had to find a suitble launch rod, so I went down to Canadian Tire & found a car brake pedal spring that had what seemed to be a suitable thickness,stiffness & length for $4. I got it home to see that the rod is just a tad too thick, but that the plastic bricks have enough material on LL that I could file them out a bit & with a few min I got them to fit perfectly onto the 0.07" rod. I cut the rod at 12" long, so by time it's mounted it will have about 10" exposed. I got a few great tips from micromeister & soon I'll order some parts from Fliskits, since they got most of what I want. Building it light enough will be my biggest challange I think, along with finding more motors in Canada.
As you can see in pic I got the older style igniters, can I just clip my miniclips onto the ends of them since I dont got a silo launcher?(nor want one) Also so I dont assume wrong, are the mmx 1 & 2 motors the same physical size? TIA!

CRC said:

Hello fellow micro rocketeers, I just got my first micro rocketry related items, with more planned. First I had to find motors for sale in Canada, & luckily I did. If I can get any more, I dont know. I also got a bunch of LPB to muck with & lose I think I got a good deal on the stuff.
So first thing is I had to find a suitble launch rod, so I went down to Canadian Tire & found a car brake pedal spring that had what seemed to be a suitable thickness,stiffness & length for $4. I got it home to see that the rod is just a tad too thick, but that the plastic bricks have enough material on LL that I could file them out a bit & with a few min I got them to fit perfectly onto the 0.07" rod. I cut the rod at 12" long, so by time it's mounted it will have about 10" exposed. I got a few great tips from micromeister & soon I'll order some parts from Fliskits, since they got most of what I want. Building it light enough will be my biggest challange I think, along with finding more motors in Canada.
As you can see in pic I got the older style igniters, can I just clip my miniclips onto the ends of them since I dont got a silo launcher?(nor want one) Also so I dont assume wrong, are the mmx 1 & 2 motors the same physical size? TIA!
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First up -
Don't judge the performance of the MicroMaxx engines by how they work in the Quest MMX Saturn V and MMX Shuttle.
It looks like you've got a few of each!
Micromeister will explain how to enlarge the fins on the Saturn V so it is stable.

When you get the lighter FlisKits kits and parts you'll see what these engines can really do.
I'll leave it to the experts on how to adapt and install the igniters.

hcmbanjo said:

First up -
Don't judge the performance of the MicroMaxx engines by how they work in the Quest MMX Saturn V and MMX Shuttle.
It looks like you've got a few of each!
Micromeister will explain how to enlarge the fins on the Saturn V so it is stable.

When you get the lighter FlisKits kits and parts you'll see what these engines can really do.
I'll leave it to the experts on how to adapt and install the igniters.

Click to expand...

Yeah - we don't call those things LPBs (little plastic bricks) for nothing!

Try putting a micromaxx motor mount in a Mosquito, Quark or 220 Swift - they fly great and you can actually recover them!

CRC:
At your favorite Hobby shop look in the Music wire rack for a section of .049" or .050" Hard Music wire, Stainless is better but Plain old hardened music wire works just fine. Cut a length of 9" and 12" long. 9" is fine for just about all micro models up to about 14grams. larger, heavier the 14grams models do better on a 12" rod. Better yet is to invest in a MakerBeam 10mm rail (amazon.com) and some Micro Rail buttons from Randy at www.rail-buttons.com as soon as they become available The Rail gives Arrow straight boosts even in higher breeze to windy days. (Note! Micros generally do not like breezes over 10mph)
It can also Help to bend a Z in the bottom 3/4" of your .049" x 9 to 12 inch long lunch rods. this little trick helps to adjust for varying model diameters with using a fixed micro clip set-up.

The Old style igniter can be made a bit easier to work with by taking the plastic plug assemble apart. grip the top ears with a couple pair of pliers and pull straight apart. The plug will separate into two halves with the igniter and tape strip inside. Carefully lift out the igniter/leads & tape strip which can now be used like any other mod-roc igniter. see pic below.
Even easier is to purchase a roll of 30ga. Nichrome wire. cut into strips no more then 2inches long fold a tight doubleback at the center and allow approx. 3/8 to 1/2" to insert into the motor nozzle. Use with the old Wadding ball between the lead legs secured with a very short section of 1/4" Masking tape. I usually make up these bend Micro igniters while watching TV, bending about 100 during a half hour show.

We've already talked about how to make the Quest Saturn-V LPB stable I'll add a photo of mine below so you can See this very easy fix.

Hope these things help get you started! Just wait til you get a couple of Fliskits Micro to the max models. You might want to try the Doo-Hickey or Tiny Triskelion just for fun, They are both superb flying models.

Awesome pics! lots of info you put on then, very helpfull!!
I got my first mirco launches done this past weekend, here is the best pics I got, all the others were just blur or of sparks. I cant wait to get some real micro rockets & get a proper flight. Fun lil buggers though!

Congrats on the first MMX launches!
I find the MMX engines take a few seconds to ignite if you are using a typical 6 volt Estes controller.
Just hold down the button and don't take your eyes off the rocket. It'll go when you least expect it.

When you get a "real" tube and balsa MMX rocket you'll be surprised at how high and fast they can fly.
(I don't fly the Quest plastic models anymore except for the Critical Mass and No Mercy style.)