@CameronMakesRockets --
If you want to experience the joy of glassing a 54mm LOC Tube for it's own sake then by all means go for it.
OTOH, if you've got typical thru-the-wall 1/8 inch Plywood fins joined with decent Epoxy on LOC 54mm tubing, glassing the tube may not be necessary.
And I don't know of any rule-of-thumb to decide when you need glass ...
I flew a more-or-less stock LOC Vulcanite H97 with airfoiled fins and good epoxy filets four times on AT J570-W Motors without any issues.
Each of the J570 flights went supersonic.
These are Rho-Normalized Drag -vs- Velocity Plots for several flights on different motors of that same Vulcanite. Note the inflection in the Drag -vs- Velocity Plots around 330 m/sec:
Somewhere along the way it came in ballistic, probably because I forgot to Arm the AltAcc but the Fin Can survived and it is still flying today, 25 years later.
YMMV so go for the glass if it sounds like fun ( I enjoy getting a nice wrap on a carboard tube )...
-- kjh
These are the flight parameters from my last flight at Turkey Shoot 1999 with an Alpha Version AltAcc with a new 50G Accelerometer:
Code:
$ cat ../../altacc/prodata/pack/dat/ts991127/j570.prm
Title = Flight 2 at Turkey Shoot '99, Nov 28, 1999
Rocket = Vulcanite # [O] Rocket Name
MMfg = Aerotech # [R] Motor Manufacturer
Motor = J570-L # [R] Motor Designation
Batch = NOV 03 1998 # [O] Motor Manufacturer Batch Id
Date = NOV 28 1999 # [O] Launch Date
Time = 10:30 # [O] Launch Time
LMass = 2.144 Kg # [R] Launch Mass with units
DMass = 1.232 Kg # [O] Rocket Mass less Motor Mass with units
MMass = 0.912 Kg # [O] Motor Mass with units
FMass = 0.360 Kg # [O] Motor Mass with units
PMass = 0.552 Kg # [R] Propellant Mass with units
Diam = 2.230 in # [R] the Rocket Diameter with units
Temp = 62 F # [R] Site Temperature with units
Press = 963 mb # [O] Site Pressure with units
SiteAlt = 1420 ft # [O] Actual Site Altitude with units
VWind = 3 mph # [O] Wind Speed at launch time with units
Theta = 0 deg # [O] Launch angle with units
TBurn = 2.1250 sec # [O] Burn Time with units
TCoast = 2.1875 sec # [O] Coast Phase Begin Time here (default=TBurn)
TEnd = 21.5625 sec # [O] Time to Min Velocity with units
CalFile = /exp/dev/altacc/prodata/pack/dat/ts991127/test7.cal
DataFile = j570.dat # [O] original AltAcc proread file
DragFile = j570.eqn # [O] file with drag vs velocity pairs
Notes
No wind. Straight up. Lost Rocket until I spotted it on the
Lakebed about one mile east. Beauty Flight ! High Accel but
did not ever peg the Altacc, even at 45.8 G's !!!
End Notes
And this is the AltAcc PRODUCE Report ( 16 Hz data rows skipped ; Pressure Altitude not adjusted for site temperature)
Code:
$ grep '^#' ../../altacc/prodata/pack/dat/ts991127/j570.flt
#
# AltAcc Firmware: AltAcc II - v2.026
# XDucer Type (1): Motorola MPX4100
# Flight Mode: Drogue to Main Mode
# AltAcc Data file: j570.dat
# Calibration file: /exp/dev/altacc/prodata/pack/dat/ts991127/test7.cal
#
# AltAcc Gain Factor: 3.2046 GHarrys / G
# AltAcc Minus One Gee: 88.3408 GHarrys
# AltAcc Zero Gee: 91.5454 GHarrys
# AltAcc Plus One Gee: 94.7500 GHarrys
# Launch Site Pressure: 224 Orvilles ( 28.46 in Hg )
# Launch Site Altitude: 1378 ft MSL
#
# Drogue Fired at Time: 21.6250 sec ( 8868 ft AGL )
# Main Fired at Time: 157.0625 sec ( 545 ft AGL )
#
#
# Time Accel Press Sum Accelerat Velocity Altitude PressAlt
# sec units units units ft/sec^2 ft/sec feet feet
# ========= ===== ===== ===== ========= ========= ========= ========
#
# MSL Pressure Altitude: 8784 ft
# AGL Pressure Altitude: 8868 ft ( 21.62500 sec )
# Max Inertial Altitude: 9955 ft ( 21.56250 sec )
# Maximum Velocity: 1353.7 ft / sec ( 1.68750 sec )
# Maximum Acceleration: 1474.12 ft / sec^2 ( 0.12500 sec, 45.8 G's )
# Minimum Acceleration: -337.55 ft / sec^2 ( 2.12500 sec, -10.5 G's )