Need to flight test an altimeter, was going to put in a know worthy rocket with e match wired into a empty vial. E match fired upon recovery, altimeter is working. What other ways have you used for flight testing?
Altimeter flight test
- Thread starter David Schwantz
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A shop vac on the ground ?
Here is an example I lost my mind on. I build a LOC ISP in the colors and decals of a D-region Tomahawk for the I-65 contest at 2018 NSL in Geneseo.
After I had the perfect flight mini in the LOC ebay I used the Shop vac test and the "starter" was not firing. Then I noticed I had not sealed the front of the ebay around the eye bolt and fixed that. Next test A-OK
When it came time to fire my rocket in the contest the Master Controller said all rails had to point 20 degrees into the wind, and So I only came in 3rd but had the lightest one in the contest.
After I had the perfect flight mini in the LOC ebay I used the Shop vac test and the "starter" was not firing. Then I noticed I had not sealed the front of the ebay around the eye bolt and fixed that. Next test A-OK
When it came time to fire my rocket in the contest the Master Controller said all rails had to point 20 degrees into the wind, and So I only came in 3rd but had the lightest one in the contest.
I had a PF Stratologger suffer a hard landing on a flight a number of years ago. The unit seemed to be OK, but I wanted to flight-test it to ensure full functionality. I used the below steps.
1. I Chose a reliable dual deploy rocket and selected a motor (believe a G motor) that would only get it up to about 800 ft so I could easily see the whole flight.
2. I configured the Stratologger for dual deployment and used the normal sized charges, but reversed the positions of the drogue and main chutes. The motor delay was adjusted for a few seconds after apogee.
Purpose of above was to test if the Stratologger would purposely deploy the main at apogee, and if not, the main would still deploy via the motor charge for a safe landing.
3. Stratologger would also deploy the drogue at a lower altitude (400 ft I think), even though this had little effect on the decent rate.
The test flight was safe and worked as planned with the Main deploying at Apogee, followed by a puff from the motor charge a few seconds later, and finally the little drogue came out at 400 ft. Looked backwards, but the Stratologger has been back in reliable service for over 7 years.
1. I Chose a reliable dual deploy rocket and selected a motor (believe a G motor) that would only get it up to about 800 ft so I could easily see the whole flight.
2. I configured the Stratologger for dual deployment and used the normal sized charges, but reversed the positions of the drogue and main chutes. The motor delay was adjusted for a few seconds after apogee.
Purpose of above was to test if the Stratologger would purposely deploy the main at apogee, and if not, the main would still deploy via the motor charge for a safe landing.
3. Stratologger would also deploy the drogue at a lower altitude (400 ft I think), even though this had little effect on the decent rate.
The test flight was safe and worked as planned with the Main deploying at Apogee, followed by a puff from the motor charge a few seconds later, and finally the little drogue came out at 400 ft. Looked backwards, but the Stratologger has been back in reliable service for over 7 years.
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I just used an Estes Dragonite on little Estes (A8-3 ish) motors in the front yard. You can see everything. It (the mounting of the electronics) wasn't exactly pretty. I was testing air starts at the same time, but this will work.
mtnmanak
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I have been thinking about this for a while. I have dozens of flight computers from various manufacturers that are waiting to be used, but most of them are Eggtimer ones I have built. I would love to have a flying test system.
I have a lot of LOC 7.6" parts laying around. If you build out one of their ebays with the maximum amount of space, you can fit a really large sled in there. probably something on the order of 6.5" x 14". That is a lot of real estate. I am thinking of just making a simple rocket that flies well to about 1000' and build the sled with a power bus and some kind of modular mounting so I can mount a whole bunch of computers to the sled at once. I am thinking I would make the rocket itself single deploy using an Eggtime Apogee module and then use Christmas lights on all the test computers. I was planning to point a camera at the sled and then be able to match the video to the flight times to see if the computers work as planned. I could also use it to test air starts on the way up.
It definitely feels like a Rube Goldberg solution compared to a vacuum test on the ground, but mostly it is because I get bored making regular rockets and just feel like building something different
I have a lot of LOC 7.6" parts laying around. If you build out one of their ebays with the maximum amount of space, you can fit a really large sled in there. probably something on the order of 6.5" x 14". That is a lot of real estate. I am thinking of just making a simple rocket that flies well to about 1000' and build the sled with a power bus and some kind of modular mounting so I can mount a whole bunch of computers to the sled at once. I am thinking I would make the rocket itself single deploy using an Eggtime Apogee module and then use Christmas lights on all the test computers. I was planning to point a camera at the sled and then be able to match the video to the flight times to see if the computers work as planned. I could also use it to test air starts on the way up.
It definitely feels like a Rube Goldberg solution compared to a vacuum test on the ground, but mostly it is because I get bored making regular rockets and just feel like building something different
Sounds like you want to put all your Eggtimers in one basket.I have been thinking about this for a while. I have dozens of flight computers from various manufacturers that are waiting to be used, but most of them are Eggtimer ones I have built. I would love to have a flying test system.
I have a lot of LOC 7.6" parts laying around. If you build out one of their ebays with the maximum amount of space, you can fit a really large sled in there. probably something on the order of 6.5" x 14". That is a lot of real estate. I am thinking of just making a simple rocket that flies well to about 1000' and build the sled with a power bus and some kind of modular mounting so I can mount a whole bunch of computers to the sled at once. I am thinking I would make the rocket itself single deploy using an Eggtime Apogee module and then use Christmas lights on all the test computers. I was planning to point a camera at the sled and then be able to match the video to the flight times to see if the computers work as planned. I could also use it to test air starts on the way up.
It definitely feels like a Rube Goldberg solution compared to a vacuum test on the ground, but mostly it is because I get bored making regular rockets and just feel like building something different
mtnmanak
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After the last note, I looked around in my shed to see what parts I had forgotten about. I have a whole set of PML 12" parts I bought a long time ago to make a giant Goblin! I was looking at the coupler tube I bought for the the ebay and a rough calculation reveals the possibility of a 22" x 10.5" sled 
If I used both sides of the sled, that is 3+ sq ft of room to play with! Looks like I found my summer project...
If I used both sides of the sled, that is 3+ sq ft of room to play with! Looks like I found my summer project...
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