Hi Everyone,
I have been L2 certified for about a year now and am looking on going larger and getting my L3. I am a college student and fly at Tripoli Central California, which is currently closed due to the pandemic. I am in contact with the two TAP's, but was hoping to get some advice so I can give them a good proposal.
At first I was planning on using a Madcow Fiberglass DX3 XL, Aerotech M1350 DMS, and eggtimer electronics for my project, but I think that there may be more affordable options available.
As for rocket kits, I am also looking at some Wildman options (Competitor 4 and the Wildman Extreme) which seem to be roughly comparable at a lower price. I have heard they don't come with any instructions, but that doesn't bother me. Is there any other reason to choose the madcow rocket over wildman's?
The other option I am looking at is Performance Rocketry's Arcas with upgraded nosecone and 75mm motor mount. Has anyone flown this or a similar rocket of theirs? The Arcas is one of my favorite sounding rockets, so I'd love to have something inspired by it as a kit, but I have no experience with canvas phenolic as a fin material. Is it roughly comparable with fiberglass?
I'm sure all of these kits can be built to survive an L3 attempt, but I'd love to hear what people who have built them think.
When it comes to electronics, I am thinking about going all eggtimer. I currently have their LCD gps box, gps mini tracker, and a quark altimeter. All work flawlessly for me, the price is right, and I enjoy soldering them. I am currently considering buying one of their TRS computer systems and using the quark to provide deployment redundancy. However, I soldered my previous eggtimer products in my college's lab space, which is currently unavilible. I'm thinking about getting a Hakko FX-888d. Is that what is still recommended? I'm willing to spend a little extra for a good product that will last a long time without needing to be upgraded, but if there is a cheaper alternative that people love, I'd consider it too.
As for recovery, I am thinking about doing drogue-less dual deploy. That's how I fly the majority of my L2 rockets as it seems to work well. I have a drogue that should work should I decide otherwise, but I'll need a new main. Any advice? I don't want anything fancy, but something relatively cheap and reliable that I don't have to sew myself. I am currently leaning towards one of the standard rocketman parachutes.
Finally, I've found a good deal on special ordering the M1350 from Sirius rocketry, but would anyone be willing to consider loaning me an Aerotech 75/5120 casing on a you break it, you buy it basis? $40 doesn't matter all that much to me, but being able to avoid the worst-case scenario of a 12 week lead time or $75 somewhat is. The other big deal is if I need to launch against, the price of an on-site reoad is about $300 compared to $400 for a DMS M.
I already have most of the other supplies necessary. I have a budget of about $1500 total, of which I am willing to spend about $1100 on my first attempt, so if I end up with minor damage which disqualifies me, I have enough left over to buy a M1350 from BAR for another shot. If I have budget left over from my goals, I'm planning on sticking a camera on the rocket to record the flight.
I'll draft an official proposal for the TAP's latter, but I wanted to first try to nail down my basic details first.
I have been L2 certified for about a year now and am looking on going larger and getting my L3. I am a college student and fly at Tripoli Central California, which is currently closed due to the pandemic. I am in contact with the two TAP's, but was hoping to get some advice so I can give them a good proposal.
At first I was planning on using a Madcow Fiberglass DX3 XL, Aerotech M1350 DMS, and eggtimer electronics for my project, but I think that there may be more affordable options available.
As for rocket kits, I am also looking at some Wildman options (Competitor 4 and the Wildman Extreme) which seem to be roughly comparable at a lower price. I have heard they don't come with any instructions, but that doesn't bother me. Is there any other reason to choose the madcow rocket over wildman's?
The other option I am looking at is Performance Rocketry's Arcas with upgraded nosecone and 75mm motor mount. Has anyone flown this or a similar rocket of theirs? The Arcas is one of my favorite sounding rockets, so I'd love to have something inspired by it as a kit, but I have no experience with canvas phenolic as a fin material. Is it roughly comparable with fiberglass?
I'm sure all of these kits can be built to survive an L3 attempt, but I'd love to hear what people who have built them think.
When it comes to electronics, I am thinking about going all eggtimer. I currently have their LCD gps box, gps mini tracker, and a quark altimeter. All work flawlessly for me, the price is right, and I enjoy soldering them. I am currently considering buying one of their TRS computer systems and using the quark to provide deployment redundancy. However, I soldered my previous eggtimer products in my college's lab space, which is currently unavilible. I'm thinking about getting a Hakko FX-888d. Is that what is still recommended? I'm willing to spend a little extra for a good product that will last a long time without needing to be upgraded, but if there is a cheaper alternative that people love, I'd consider it too.
As for recovery, I am thinking about doing drogue-less dual deploy. That's how I fly the majority of my L2 rockets as it seems to work well. I have a drogue that should work should I decide otherwise, but I'll need a new main. Any advice? I don't want anything fancy, but something relatively cheap and reliable that I don't have to sew myself. I am currently leaning towards one of the standard rocketman parachutes.
Finally, I've found a good deal on special ordering the M1350 from Sirius rocketry, but would anyone be willing to consider loaning me an Aerotech 75/5120 casing on a you break it, you buy it basis? $40 doesn't matter all that much to me, but being able to avoid the worst-case scenario of a 12 week lead time or $75 somewhat is. The other big deal is if I need to launch against, the price of an on-site reoad is about $300 compared to $400 for a DMS M.
I already have most of the other supplies necessary. I have a budget of about $1500 total, of which I am willing to spend about $1100 on my first attempt, so if I end up with minor damage which disqualifies me, I have enough left over to buy a M1350 from BAR for another shot. If I have budget left over from my goals, I'm planning on sticking a camera on the rocket to record the flight.
I'll draft an official proposal for the TAP's latter, but I wanted to first try to nail down my basic details first.
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