split recovery

At a local low power launch I saw a number of people with a nose cone parachute, airframe parachute, and no connection between the two. Why would someone want to do that? I suppose it makes sense for certain delicate payloads and controlling the way they touch down, but I cannot think of any other reasons, and I am not sure all these people had payloads to begin with.

There have been kits over the years that separate and have their own chutes. Usually on bigger LPR rockets so they can have smaller chutes. It's difficult to stuff a big chute in a skinny rocket.


Jerome

I do this with my interceptor-e, I really don't want the nose banging into the fins etc. if you do it right the nose and airframe descend at the same rate and land fairly close together.
Rex

I know the Quest Courier does this. It's probably the most common one I see that does at LUNAR low power launches. It's an egg payloader. Two smaller chutes are probably easier to fit in the body than one larger one, and separating the nosecone/egg payload carrier will help it recover slower/more gently. Not that I see many of them flying with a payload, either.

What I can't figure out is why I see so many couriers slapped together assembled with hot-glue.

Any chance these were TARC teams practicing? The 2015 rules require that the rocket come down in two independent pieces.

You are tempting me to buy an Quest Courier just to loft and egg...
However, I'd like to know how the Estes "Scrambler" compares. Assume the same engine, if that makes a difference.
Which would you recommend,given a raw egg passenger?

Kirk G said:

You are tempting me to buy an Quest Courier just to loft and egg...
However, I'd like to know how the Estes "Scrambler" compares. Assume the same engine, if that makes a difference.
Which would you recommend,given a raw egg passenger?

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Kirk:
The Courier is likely a bit heavier then the Eggspress or Scrambler but does have a very nice molded plastic two piece Egg capsule. I don't have the Quest Courier model but do have a couple Clear Egg capsule nose cones same as the Black plastic cone in the kit.

Just a little word of warning concerning flying raw Eggs. it is ALWAS best to carefully package and securely tape the Egg in a plastic sandwitch bag (Not a ziplok which take up way to much room). Then carefully install the egg in the capsule with some form or soft packaging fore & aft to cushion the egg during liftoff, ejection and landing.
If using a Plastic parasheet for recovery, I hightly recommend two things
a) use over the canopy shroud lines. B) install a spill hole in the apex of the chute to help dampen out air flow dump Oscillation during decent.

OH! one more thing; It's also a very wise Idea to open returned egg capsules over a Trashcan just in case

Micromeister said:

Kirk:
The Courier is likely a bit heavier then the Eggspress or Scrambler but does have a very nice molded plastic two piece Egg capsule. I don't have the Quest Courier model but do have a couple Clear Egg capsule nose cones same as the Black plastic cone in the kit.

Just a little word of warning concerning flying raw Eggs. it is ALWAS best to carefully package and securely tape the Egg in a plastic sandwitch bag (Not a ziplok which take up way to much room). Then carefully install the egg in the capsule with some form or soft packaging fore & aft to cushion the egg during liftoff, ejection and landing.
If using a Plastic parasheet for recovery, I hightly recommend two things
a) use over the canopy shroud lines. B) install a spill hole in the apex of the chute to help dampen out air flow dump Oscillation during decent.

OH! one more thing; It's also a very wise Idea to open returned egg capsules over a Trashcan just in case

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...wouldn't it be better to open it over a fry pan?

The venerable Centuri 'chuter 2 comes immediately to mind. Aside from any practical reasons, sometimes it's just fun.

Rex R said:

I do this with my interceptor-e, I really don't want the nose banging into the fins etc. if you do it right the nose and airframe descend at the same rate and land fairly close together.
Rex

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Great point! I hope it is as gorgeous as the last one I saw in person, too.

75Grandville said:

Any chance these were TARC teams practicing? The 2015 rules require that the rocket come down in two independent pieces.

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Weird. Any idea why TARC would enforce that?

I like to think it is...however I know it has a few issues .
Rex

watermelonman said:

Weird. Any idea why TARC would enforce that?

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TARC changes the rules slightly every year so that teams need to optimize for the new paramaters. (Instead of re-flying winning designs from previous years.)
At least that's my understanding of why they do it.

rbelknap said:

I know the Quest Courier does this. It's probably the most common one I see that does at LUNAR low power launches. It's an egg payloader. Two smaller chutes are probably easier to fit in the body than one larger one, and separating the nosecone/egg payload carrier will help it recover slower/more gently. Not that I see many of them flying with a payload, either.

What I can't figure out is why I see so many couriers slapped together assembled with hot-glue.

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At least it wasn't electrical tape (instead of centering rings) and rubber cement (for the fins)... Don't laugh, an Ebay purchase I made (for the old style Porta Pad II) included the remains of the seller's attempt at building a rocket with just such materials. It obviously was never finished, nor launched. The BT-50 was kinked, but I was able to recycle some of it into one of my clone builds (as the motor tube).

rbelknap said:

TARC changes the rules slightly every year so that teams need to optimize for the new paramaters. (Instead of re-flying winning designs from previous years.)
At least that's my understanding of why they do it.

Click to expand...

Hah, that makes tons of sense. Thanks!

My scratch built Atlas Mercury had the capsule and Atlas substainer return seperately. The capsule looked cool under its own chute. On one launch, the capsule drifted into a tree and hung there for a year and a half, until the tree blew down. I recovered the capsule and have never flown it in the seperate recovery mode since.