What did you do rocket wise today?

[rharshberger]

Tested out my fly-away rail guides today on my Go Devil 38. I just wonder about the friction they cause before leaving the rail. Flight was 200' short of sim. They worked flawlessly and were off within 5' of clearing the rail.
View attachment 293873View attachment 293874
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I vote it was more a variation in the sim than a significant loss due to the fly away rail guides. What was the total altitude the rocket was simmed to?

 

[TopRamen]

My first carbon tube was 24mm and about the same length. Extra epoxy on the outside is just insurance for sanding!
What cloth did you use? You got a nice spiral pattern from the weave.

Thanks!

It's 3M 6oz. cloth that was given to me by a friend here who knew I'de put it to good use.
My first tube was a single wrap around a 13mm mandrel, and the ejection charge had it's way with that one, then I discovered peeling off the glassine on a tube and did two wraps of my second 13mm tube.
That came out good so I stepped up to 24mm.
To keep everything tight, I epoxied the very first half inch to the stripped tube the day before I did the actual rest of the layup, so that I would not have things sliding all over the place when the whole piece of cloth was wetted out.
I'm glad I did, as it was still very nerve-wracking, and a few fibers got wild and loose on me.

 

[TopRamen]

I vote it was more a variation in the sim than a significant loss due to the fly away rail guides. What was the total altitude the rocket was simmed to?

Right, Sims are just sims.
They usually vary from actual flights based on a number of variables that they simply cannot account for.
On a rocket that size I assume accurate to within 200ft. is actually pretty good for a sim.

 

[Flyfalcons]

Backyard launch! Four flights, two of my daughter's rockets, one mine, and one of mine that my daughter loaned to my wife to fly. Family fun!

Yesterday I attended our club launch where we maidened my daughter's Super Neon XL (beautiful in Testors Gloss Custom Grape and silver), and also maidened my my new little Estes Nike Smoke. Great little rocket, drew lots of attention!

 

[Cl(VII)]

Spent 3 hours setting up for two rocket classes tomorrow. A total of 40 kids will learn about rockets, decorate cardstock saucers as teams and fly them...this is going to be exhausting.

 

[TopRamen]

Spent 3 hours setting up for two rocket classes tomorrow. A total of 40 kids will learn about rockets, decorate cardstock saucers as teams and fly them...this is going to be exhausting.

It may be exhausting, but thank you for doing it.
Those are some lucky kids, and they are probably going to love it!
I applaud your efforts!!!:clap:

 

[RocketFeller]

Spent 3 hours setting up for two rocket classes tomorrow. A total of 40 kids will learn about rockets, decorate cardstock saucers as teams and fly them...this is going to be exhausting.

Very nice, that is the kind of thing those kids will remember for the rest of their lives.

 

[ActingLikeAKid]

Recovering from a long brutally hot day of flying rockets in SC yesterday. I think I'd rather launch in 25F than 95F conditions.
(that said, the flying was good, despite a bit of a breeze, and we had a good time)

 

[Igotnothing]

Unloaded two rockets from my wife's van that she took to her school to show the kids for rocket day. Reaper 3 and Fatty 2x4 are mostly indestructable so she let the kids handle them. I hope that was some inspiration.

 

[tomsteve]

over the last 2 weeks ive been refinishing 1200 sq ft of oak floor and putting down new baseboard molding as a sidejob.
how is that rocket related?
monies for rocketry related stuff!!!

 

[dixontj93060]

over the last 2 weeks ive been refinishing 1200 sq ft of oak floor and putting down new baseboard molding as a sidejob.
how is that rocket related?
monies for rocketry related stuff!!!

Good to keep your goals front-and-center!

 

[o1d_dude]

Mailed out a rocketry package this morning.

 

[Cl(VII)]

40 kids (39 good ones, 1 I wanted to launch) through the rocket class today. 8 saucer flights and a good time had by all. If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I've had a Coors in the freezer for about 10 minutes getting just right.

 

[krusty]

Got my campervan cleaned up and listed on ebay. This was the van that was to take me to all my rocket launches. After 2 years of nothing but stress about it, I'm looking forward to selling it and moving on!

Going to get a trailer for all my rocket stuff now Much more practical! I may not be able to sleep in it, but that's not an issue.

Krusty

 

[TopRamen]

Finally! Last day of school this year for my Son!
No more having to make him get up and do things at the time of day I've already been up and done many things.
I sense some pleasant mornings filled with rockety things on their way....



Yes, Spell Check, "Rockety" is a "Word".

It also does not know igniter, coupler or stuffer, so it is obviously not smarter than us.
Quite the contrary.

And no, I did not mean Rocketry with the R.

 

[krusty]

40 kids (39 good ones, 1 I wanted to launch) through the rocket class today. 8 saucer flights and a good time had by all. If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I've had a Coors in the freezer for about 10 minutes getting just right.

Fantastic! Saucers are the best for school launches!! I did a launch last year and the year before - First launch had 40+ and the second 50+ kids involved I had great support from the teachers - they helped run the launch on the day, as well as the students having two weeks before the launch to build their rockets. At the end of the students launching, I did a demo launch - one was an Estes Mean Machine on a D - that's a good flight that doesn't go too high, and an Art Applewhite Saucer on a G64 - nice and noisy!!

Enjoy the Coors!

Krusty

 

[KenRico]

Sanded some MsRiley fins this morning

Kenny

 

[TopRamen]

40 kids (39 good ones, 1 I wanted to launch) through the rocket class today. 8 saucer flights and a good time had by all. If you'll excuse me, I'm tired and I've had a Coors in the freezer for about 10 minutes getting just right.

Kudos to you!
Somebody has to inspire them.

 

[rocketgeek101]

Attended my first club launch of the year this past Saturday! Uploaded the video to YouTube today

[video=youtube;Ezogi3FNvvA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezogi3FNvvA[/video]

 

[TopRamen]

Attended my first club launch of the year this past Saturday! Uploaded the video to YouTube today

[video=youtube;Ezogi3FNvvA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezogi3FNvvA[/video]

Epic Launch Vid!:clap::headbang:

Full screen recommendation heeded and worth it!

 

[rc dude]

Passed my L2 exam with a 100%, and did a little work on my rocket for my upcoming attempt Saturday.

 

[blackbrandt]

Found both TAPs for my L3 project I will be starting soon.

 

[ActingLikeAKid]

Redid a set of fillets on my Wildman Punisher. I turned the rocket slightly before they cured so they were heavy on one side and thin on the other. AND. IT. BUGGED ME. Probably no big deal - it's a FG kit with FG fins, but ... it bugged me. So some sanding and pulling and now they look better. Paint coming soon.

Also had some leftover epoxy so I repaired my Chuter Two and my Phoenix Bird.

 

[chrisudy]

Decals on Super Neon XL. Printed and applied old school decals for two Estes Wizards that have been sitting around since I built them with my Cub Scout den 3 or 4 years ago. First coat of white on the Estes . And I pulled out the Pro Series Nike Smoke to start.

Chris

 

[TopRamen]

Made my very first composite centering ring. I need to make one from lite ply tomorrow so I can compare the two, but I already can tell that this one will win.
Yes, it looks large, but it is to test my technique and make everything easily testable. It can be scaled down or up, but I wanted to know if my method would even make a nice usable CR before I thought about making them for actual builds. I was also a little miffed at real life at the time I made it, so I wanted to do a layup of anything to relax my nerves, and this fit the bill perfectly.
It's one layer of 6oz. CF, 1 layer of 3/32" or similarly thin balsa, then 2 layers of juxtaposed .75oz glass cloth.
It is extremely thin, lightweight and rigid.
The best part about it is that it takes five minutes from raw materials to finished product if you don't count cutting out the center hole or the sanding afterward to true the edges, meaning you could sit down with raw materials and knock out 12 rings per hour.
At smaller scales, I believe the production speed would increase on some form of exponent.
I'm going to use this instant laminating method to make some fins tomorrow.
It's raining outside now, and this is definitely an outside job!






I'm also figuring how to role a tube with this method.

I'm going to go find a paper printable quadcopter or something similar tonight, template it, and make it from this exact same composite structure just because I can with the exception that I will also CF the outside of the biased-glassed layer, so it all looks uniform.
I will make the contoured parts with the same method too, so long as they are simple parts like ducted fans cowls and struts or landing gear.
Anyone got any suggestions?




And I know little about RC, so I'll put the frame in the yard sale section, so that atleast someone who is into them can try to get it airborne,
It will be free ofcourse, but only if you promise that you'll stick a motor in it and fly it.
It won't be custom built to order if I don't even know what I'm trying to do, but I will guarantee that it be based on a proven design if research yields one.
Surely someone has made drawings or templates of various quadcopters, and there must be millions of profile pictures of actual models that will be easy to scale and print with my $29 dollar HP Walmart Special.

 

[neil_w]

Epic Launch Vid!:clap::headbang:

Full screen recommendation heeded and worth it!

Ditto! I just watched it again full screen. *Love* the drone video.

 

[ActingLikeAKid]

The best part about it is that it takes five minutes from raw materials to finished product if you don't count cutting out the center hole or the sanding afterward to true the edges, meaning you could sit down with raw materials and knock out 12 rings per hour.

What are you using to cut those circles?

 

[TopRamen]

What are you using to cut those circles?

My hands ofcourse.
I don't have room for anything more than my drill press, and it is out of commission for like two years now.
I got me an old fashioned twist the handle drill and a circle cutter that X-acto makes that you can find in the clearance Isle at Walmart for $2.
The only CR component that actually requires cutting to size is the Balsa Wood.
So much easier on the "Tooling Needs".
The other layers are actually cut as squares before application, and only become round after cutting and sanding, that they may be oriented properly in biased fashion for strength. It's easier to make a diamond out of two squares than two or more circles.
I imagine if you did not do that, the final part would lose most of it's magical properties, as it would require more or heavier layers.


The super thin Balsa would not take kindly to the impact of a motorized tool anyhow.
There may be ways, but you may also use a nice sharpened cookie cutter for wood this thin if you need to.
I like cutting atleast one of the circles, so I feel the part. I press the other materials on with gloves, so I get to feel that part too.
I always need to be doing something with my hands.

Even my terrible typing skills work my hands in a way that I find quite therapeutic.

 

[TopRamen]

What are you using to cut those circles?

Forgot to mention, to cut the raw cloth squares, Painters Masking Tape and Dollar General Scissors.
Scissors are not worth buying quality versions of when you regularly use them to cut composite cloth.
They are sometimes a single-use item, so stock up.

 

[ActingLikeAKid]

I like cutting atleast one of the circles, so I feel the part. I press the other materials on with gloves, so I get to feel that part too.
I always need to be doing something with my hands.

Even my terrible typing skills work my hands in a way that I find quite therapeutic.

I get it, man. There's something that happens when you're doing a physical task that you enjoy - your brain kind of checks out and starts tidying things up.