In a scratch build I'm working on, I'm considering rear ejection. I'm not sure it really matters, but this be might an opportunity for me to build a rear ejection kit in the mean time, just to see exactly how this is done in proven kits.
What are some popular or successful, current kits with rear ejection? Scale kits usually have a better chance of making it to the collection, but in this case, anything from 2" to 6" diameter could be interesting.
Scratch build might be easier.
There is a way to “cheat” that makes rear ejection easier to load and more reliable,
The downside on rare ejection is that much of your space is filled up with the inside extended motor mount, leaving you minimal room for your recovery system. One way around this is to downsize the extension of the motor mount to all the way up to the nose. Specifically you can often go down one body tube size. You can extend the tube all the way to the nose. Cut off the base/Eyelet end of the nose, and you can extend your tube all the way into the nose (which is gonna get glued in anyway.)
Downsizing the inside tube GREATLY increased the space between tubes for recovery gear, making it easier to pack and less likely to stick.
The smaller central tube gets a bit more “charred” just in front of the engine block, a problem easily alleviated with a rolled up piece of aluminum can (yes, aluminum IS flammable, but less than regular paper tubes and the heat from ejection is short lived.)
The smaller tube is a bit weaker, doesn’t hurt to reinforce it with and extra layer of same body tube (cut lengthwise on one side, wrap around and glue) or a small adjacent carbon fiber rod or spar.
Two pluses for rear eject (in addition to preserving your fin arrangement.)
If you extend the tube all the way INTO the nose cone you can put the nose weight on the front edge of the TUBE, this makes the nose cone and body segment lighter, so less impact damage on the nose tip (which is literally the “down side” of rear eject. Putting a bit of tape on the nose tip at launch isn’t aesthetically optimal but pays dividends if it lands on rock, concrete, or asphalt.)
Also, with centering rings in front of and behind your chute, you don’t need wadding,
Good luck!