BT-60 nose cones for high performance

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dlrflyer

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I've been thinking up some ideas for a high performance rocket that is BT-60 sized. Where I'm stuck is trying to determine what readily available nose cone is the best choice. I have some PNC-60NA(Patriot) and PNC60AH(MeanMachine) in my possession. I'd rather stay with plastic if possible. I think a PNC-60RL would work nicely, but are they available anywhere? What cone do you guys/girls think would be best?
 
Remember that you can get just about any shape from BMS.

As I recall, a 3:1 elliptical shape is the most streamlined, but there's always new research going on.

Cone shape is important, but don't neglect:

* Preciseness of fin alignment.

* Streamlining of fins.

* Smooth, even fillets.

* Filled, sanded, polished body tube.

* Minimal launch lug, if you can't use a tower.
 
Do you mean supersonic?
Do you mean very high subsonic and transonic?
Do you mean highest possible altitude (and subsonic all the way)?
Can you add a few notes to explain?

An elliptical profile is a very good one for purely subsonic flight (less than M 0.8). A half-ellipse with a length-to-diameter ratio of around 1 to 2 is probably the shape you need for minumum drag.

If your rocket is going to get to high subsonic speeds then you get into a complicated optimization problem. Lots of math, and I'm feeling lazy tonight, so I'm not going into it deeply now.

For supersonic flight on the kind of motors we have available you will definitely need a proper supersonic shape like a cone. There is lots of info already posted here that you can pull up with a search using keywords like supersonic, Mach, and conic.
 
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