So lets skip the discussion about MD rockets with external rail guides not being "true" Minimum Diameter and all that.
I have a Wildman Mach 2 I am building, 54mm MD kit.
It will have 4 , 4-40 LumaDyne inserts in the middle of the airframe with titanium screws to hold a Aeropack MD retainer. For ease of install and assembly etc. So there will already be some very small surface disruption.
Right now a tower is not an option unless someone has one for sale that is in the budget.
The only other options are Fly Away Rail Guides or ACME Conformal Rail Guides.
My Questions/Concerns are;
Fly Away Rail Guides-
Do they usually break when the fins hit them?
Who makes the best kind?
Is there any question of an unstable flight or unsafe liftoff if a malfunction occurs?
Are they reliable?
Any other advice or experience or observations?
Conformal Rail Guides-
I have a set of the aluminum ACME ones.
Can these be properly bonded to the Airframe? With JB Weld, Aeropoxy, rocketpoxy?
Any experience with these being broken off?
Is there any question of an unstable flight or unsafe liftoff if malfunction or breakage occurs?
Are they reliable?
Any other advice or experience or observations?
I would plan to have these pinned/pressed into the airframe with 2-56 steel pins on all 4 corners, with the pins being flush on the inside of the airframe and outside of the rail guide, then bonded.
Thanks
I have a Wildman Mach 2 I am building, 54mm MD kit.
It will have 4 , 4-40 LumaDyne inserts in the middle of the airframe with titanium screws to hold a Aeropack MD retainer. For ease of install and assembly etc. So there will already be some very small surface disruption.
Right now a tower is not an option unless someone has one for sale that is in the budget.
The only other options are Fly Away Rail Guides or ACME Conformal Rail Guides.
My Questions/Concerns are;
Fly Away Rail Guides-
Do they usually break when the fins hit them?
Who makes the best kind?
Is there any question of an unstable flight or unsafe liftoff if a malfunction occurs?
Are they reliable?
Any other advice or experience or observations?
Conformal Rail Guides-
I have a set of the aluminum ACME ones.
Can these be properly bonded to the Airframe? With JB Weld, Aeropoxy, rocketpoxy?
Any experience with these being broken off?
Is there any question of an unstable flight or unsafe liftoff if malfunction or breakage occurs?
Are they reliable?
Any other advice or experience or observations?
I would plan to have these pinned/pressed into the airframe with 2-56 steel pins on all 4 corners, with the pins being flush on the inside of the airframe and outside of the rail guide, then bonded.
Thanks