Project are we there yet, was was a earlier thread but seems to have been lost in the cyberspace (I cant even seem to find it with a search) and was dead long before that. It started as a build thread but due to delay in getting the fins ready for assembly it slowed down until there was no interest from you guys, or even me. I now have the fins beveled and their last coat of paint is drying as we speak. The fin tab and section where epoxy fillets will touch have been covered with tape, the fillets will be painted by hand after the rocket is assembled. I plan on having the first flyable design of this rocket ready for a flight in April, and for some K motors in May. The design (see attached rocksim file) is a 2.5" CF airframe with a conical bass wood nose cone, the alt bay/coupler tube is phenolic and will have an internal CF reinforcement... Rocket is dual deploy with drogueless at apogee, and an anchor brand parachute at 500-700'. Fins are hand beveled G10 (1/8") and will be tacked on with CA, and then the fin section will be injected with thin epoxy to secure the fins in place. Motor mount is 54mm, has an aeropack retainer and is secured to the airframe with 3 3/4" long centering rings.
The 3/4" rings were needed because they are so thin, they would be very delicate to handle in the smaller regular sizes, like 3/16" and 1/4" rings. My plan for tonight is to tack the fins in place, and fill the fin area with the thin epoxy (it will have a small amount of milled fiber added to it). Then after several days of curing I will glue the aft CRing into place, and glue th aeropack retaining body into place. I will then make the cosmetic fin fillets and the booster section will be finished. All that remains after that is CFing of the coupler tube and building the alt bay. So far I have the 4 fins cut out and ready to be tacked into place, the upper 2 centering rings are glued on and the motormount/CR assembly is glued in place. The CF tube is also slotted.
First flight will be an I300T, this will prove the design is stable and will make sure the recovery and tracking systems work as planned. If this flight goes A OK a K870R EX wimpy red motor is the plan... at the annual Dairy Aire launch in fresno. It is simulated at mach 1.41 and over 9,000'. Also planned for this rocket is a K1100T and K185W. The K870R is a 5 grain K, and is probably the most impulse this rocket will see... for now. In the near future of May two 38mm strap on boosters will be used to boost the rocket, they will then be released and the standard rocket will go on with an added kick. A K1100T airlit should result in extremely high speeds, but my guess is a K185W will be used for the effect. Two I435's, I300T's or I600R's will be used on the ground, depending on conditions and availability. I am now going to get the fins tacked into place, and take some pictures of the entire rocket to post. Last but not least, the electronics package onboard will be a MAWD for dual deployment and max alt report, and a beeline transmitter.
The 3/4" rings were needed because they are so thin, they would be very delicate to handle in the smaller regular sizes, like 3/16" and 1/4" rings. My plan for tonight is to tack the fins in place, and fill the fin area with the thin epoxy (it will have a small amount of milled fiber added to it). Then after several days of curing I will glue the aft CRing into place, and glue th aeropack retaining body into place. I will then make the cosmetic fin fillets and the booster section will be finished. All that remains after that is CFing of the coupler tube and building the alt bay. So far I have the 4 fins cut out and ready to be tacked into place, the upper 2 centering rings are glued on and the motormount/CR assembly is glued in place. The CF tube is also slotted.
First flight will be an I300T, this will prove the design is stable and will make sure the recovery and tracking systems work as planned. If this flight goes A OK a K870R EX wimpy red motor is the plan... at the annual Dairy Aire launch in fresno. It is simulated at mach 1.41 and over 9,000'. Also planned for this rocket is a K1100T and K185W. The K870R is a 5 grain K, and is probably the most impulse this rocket will see... for now. In the near future of May two 38mm strap on boosters will be used to boost the rocket, they will then be released and the standard rocket will go on with an added kick. A K1100T airlit should result in extremely high speeds, but my guess is a K185W will be used for the effect. Two I435's, I300T's or I600R's will be used on the ground, depending on conditions and availability. I am now going to get the fins tacked into place, and take some pictures of the entire rocket to post. Last but not least, the electronics package onboard will be a MAWD for dual deployment and max alt report, and a beeline transmitter.