Serac
Well-Known Member
I am in the process of building a DD rocket. Now that I am actually in the construction process, I am coming up with questions whose answers I'm not finding in my HPR book or on forum searches. Maybe they're just basic?
1. For electronic deployment of the drogue, the charge canister is facing down. Is this correct? If so, is there concern about the acceleration of the rocket boost emptying the charge canister? What is done to mitigate this?
2. I haven't seen much on packing the charge canister. The canister has a hole in the bottom for the igniter, black powder is placed in the canister around the igniter, and then some sort of wadding is placed in the canister above the black powder. How much wadding? What is the wadding material? How tightly is it packed? I have some experience in muzzle loading cannons. For cannons at least, the amount and density of the wadding makes a very significant difference. Charge canisters look like mini cannons to me - a better description of wadding technique seems important. Is it?
3. For the main chute, I see that some people deploy the nose cone, and others deploy the body tube between the nose cone and the altimeter bay (and keep the nose cone undeployed). Is one approach better? My first inclination would be the latter: this way I can install shear pins and some cutting metal in the altimeter bay and keep all the complexity in one spot. Is one approach more prone to a zipper?
Thanks!
1. For electronic deployment of the drogue, the charge canister is facing down. Is this correct? If so, is there concern about the acceleration of the rocket boost emptying the charge canister? What is done to mitigate this?
2. I haven't seen much on packing the charge canister. The canister has a hole in the bottom for the igniter, black powder is placed in the canister around the igniter, and then some sort of wadding is placed in the canister above the black powder. How much wadding? What is the wadding material? How tightly is it packed? I have some experience in muzzle loading cannons. For cannons at least, the amount and density of the wadding makes a very significant difference. Charge canisters look like mini cannons to me - a better description of wadding technique seems important. Is it?
3. For the main chute, I see that some people deploy the nose cone, and others deploy the body tube between the nose cone and the altimeter bay (and keep the nose cone undeployed). Is one approach better? My first inclination would be the latter: this way I can install shear pins and some cutting metal in the altimeter bay and keep all the complexity in one spot. Is one approach more prone to a zipper?
Thanks!