muddymooose
Hoopy Frood
Since I got back into rocketry as an adult the most appealing aspect to me has been continuously "pushing the envelope." My L1 and prospective L2 builds have been comprised of polymers, fiberglass, and plywood and I've enjoyed learning about their physical and chemical properties and how to best bond them for maximum strength.
While researching L3 and beyond, it would appear that complete fiberglass or carbon fiber airframes are the way to go. I'm talking high-acceleration, high-velocity, high-altitude stuff. At the same time, the cost and complexity of working with these materials seems to increase exponentially with performance goals. As a career machinist and metal-worker, this has given me pause. Personally it seems to me like doing L3+ work with aluminum alloys would be far less expensive and easier.
Yes I understand that the model rocket safety code says "no metal" and the high power code says "minimal ductile metal only when required." I would never build an aluminum rocket and recklessly launch it for ***** and giggles at a casual local site. However I would like to note that 20 pounds of carbon fiber will do as much damage at 600 mph as 20 pounds of metal at 600 mph.
That said, I'm intrigued with building a high-performance alloy rocket. Is BALLS the only launch where this sort of thing can fly? I'm not out to driving from Michigan to Nevada for something this cool, just curious if there's anything else around. Anyone have experience building alloy rockets?
While researching L3 and beyond, it would appear that complete fiberglass or carbon fiber airframes are the way to go. I'm talking high-acceleration, high-velocity, high-altitude stuff. At the same time, the cost and complexity of working with these materials seems to increase exponentially with performance goals. As a career machinist and metal-worker, this has given me pause. Personally it seems to me like doing L3+ work with aluminum alloys would be far less expensive and easier.
Yes I understand that the model rocket safety code says "no metal" and the high power code says "minimal ductile metal only when required." I would never build an aluminum rocket and recklessly launch it for ***** and giggles at a casual local site. However I would like to note that 20 pounds of carbon fiber will do as much damage at 600 mph as 20 pounds of metal at 600 mph.
That said, I'm intrigued with building a high-performance alloy rocket. Is BALLS the only launch where this sort of thing can fly? I'm not out to driving from Michigan to Nevada for something this cool, just curious if there's anything else around. Anyone have experience building alloy rockets?