I wasn't really sure what to title this thread. It's not active stabilization, because I want to include rockets that are aerodynamically stable. And, it's not just the up part because I'm interested about controlling recovery. Anyway, hopefully the title is appropriate.
I have some fundamental questions about controlling amateur rocket flight. For starters, I believe we all know you shouldn't use any amateur aircraft as a weapon. Also, our codes (TRA & NAR) say that you shouldn't aim a rocket at a target. If there's something else that applies please let me know.
A number of people are developing types of active stabilization systems. Some, are using things like Thrust Vector Control (TVC) to stabilize rocket flight without fins, or in my case with fins and ground launched, and some are using control surfaces to guide rockets for stable vertical flight. This could be very important for staged rockets and high alt flights; stay in the launch & recovery area. Also, I've heard of projects that would use something like active controlled paragliding to help in recovery. So, the rocket goes up where ever, and instead of drifting off, it glides back.
Here's the first question: What if you are trying to stay above the launch pad/location? Say, you use a GPS coordinate (the pad) in an active program that controls the rocket so it stays vertical and over the pad. Is that OK?
Question 2: How about guiding the rocket to a specific recovery location?
Are the laws different for rockets than say amateur drones in this regard?
Question 3 is more of a technical question: I often hear of roll, pitch, and yaw applied to stabilization systems on amateur rockets. And, I think about every system I've seen uses 4 fins for control surfaces. I'm interested why. Seems to me that a rocket is roll axis symmetrical (like if you were looking down), and really, there's only roll and pitch. So, if you control roll orientation, you could control pitch. And, a rocket can roll a lot more quickly than it can pitch, particularly a rocket that is already aerodynamically stable. Hopefully, you see what I'm trying to describe (I'm not an aeronautical engineer) and can help me understand the control issues.
Thank you,
Richard
I have some fundamental questions about controlling amateur rocket flight. For starters, I believe we all know you shouldn't use any amateur aircraft as a weapon. Also, our codes (TRA & NAR) say that you shouldn't aim a rocket at a target. If there's something else that applies please let me know.
A number of people are developing types of active stabilization systems. Some, are using things like Thrust Vector Control (TVC) to stabilize rocket flight without fins, or in my case with fins and ground launched, and some are using control surfaces to guide rockets for stable vertical flight. This could be very important for staged rockets and high alt flights; stay in the launch & recovery area. Also, I've heard of projects that would use something like active controlled paragliding to help in recovery. So, the rocket goes up where ever, and instead of drifting off, it glides back.
Here's the first question: What if you are trying to stay above the launch pad/location? Say, you use a GPS coordinate (the pad) in an active program that controls the rocket so it stays vertical and over the pad. Is that OK?
Question 2: How about guiding the rocket to a specific recovery location?
Are the laws different for rockets than say amateur drones in this regard?
Question 3 is more of a technical question: I often hear of roll, pitch, and yaw applied to stabilization systems on amateur rockets. And, I think about every system I've seen uses 4 fins for control surfaces. I'm interested why. Seems to me that a rocket is roll axis symmetrical (like if you were looking down), and really, there's only roll and pitch. So, if you control roll orientation, you could control pitch. And, a rocket can roll a lot more quickly than it can pitch, particularly a rocket that is already aerodynamically stable. Hopefully, you see what I'm trying to describe (I'm not an aeronautical engineer) and can help me understand the control issues.
Thank you,
Richard