Two newest clone builds. The LHS is open so heading to the park to launch streamers afterwards.
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18mm. I got confused with the rear fins and cut along the grain, but I papered the fins and strengthened the edges with thin CA. Should be fine on a standard motor. That's why I needed to visit the LHS cause I was running out of balsa and thin CA so bought lots. I used TB Quick & Thick for the first time on the fillets. Honestly, I'm not that impressed.Nice job. I like the Aim-9. I still have the one I built in the 90s and I scored a new kit off ebay for a reasonable price. What size motor? The Aim-9 is also on my clone list. Is the fat boy an exact clone, not scaled?
As always looking forward to the video!
I forgive you... *this* time.Sorry @neil_w, I forgot to move the GoPro further away from the rockets. I remembered for the last launch of the Ion Pulsar.
The trade winds were up to 15mph so decided to launch streamers. To me, this is extreme rocketry; launching in gusty winds and land the rockets within a 150m park. First went to the LHS to buy balsa and thin CA. I went yesterday because the Mayor announced the lesser restrictions on Tuesday but not to be. The owner said they've made more money on the opening day then they woulda for the past 4 weeks. I spent $100 there today. Hard on the employees though...
It definitely wasn't a C motor day. The trade winds will end on Saturday so time to get out the D motors for Sunday. The DIY controller wasn't igniting and one of the B6-4 motors didn't work, so time for diagnostics to see what's going on.
Sorry @neil_w, I forgot to move the GoPro further away from the rockets. I remembered for the last launch of the Ion Pulsar.
Amazingly yes. God bless epoxy...Nice flights.
You seem to have mastered the JIT (Just In Time) chute deployment in a few of those!
Does your Ion Pulsar still have all three legs?
Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Y axis labeled with 4 and 11? Is there special significance to those numbers?Thursday morning at Sandy Beach looks really good.
It's okay this afternoon in Waipahu, better on Monday and Tuesday. I'm making pizza now then heading to the park. I'll shoot a few test rockets to see how the upper winds doing.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale maybe ?Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Y axis labeled with 4 and 11? Is there special significance to those numbers?
Nice
Today was mostly C and D motors on a light wind day. The Comanche-2 modified was a repeat from a previous launch with the tracking video this time. On a cloudless day like this, the only thing the iPhone8 has to focus on is the tracking smoke at apogee but sometimes not enough. The ground videos were epic with the sun shining through the smoke.
The Green Vortex with the C6-5 and Deep Space Transport with the C5-3 were flawless. The new AIM-9 Sidewinder with the C5-3 was epic. In the Nike Smoke, I removed the paper connector for the shock cord and inserted a Kevlar cord through the motor mount and around the tail end. I then plugged the hole with CWF and thin CA.
The Crossfire ISX clone worked great with the B6-4. I tried the motor that failed previous and still didn't work so need to find an alternative method for it. The Mars Longship with the D12-3 was the best flight. The Fat Boy clone with the C11-3 snapped the shroud lines so maybe need to add more wadding or use a streamer instead. It landed okay without a parachute except for a small gouge in a fin. I think the thin CA along the edge kept it from cracking the fin.
I added the altimeter and SQ11 camera to both the Bull Pup XL and Honest John. The altimeter worked great but the camera only worked at the end of the Honest John flight. It works great on its side except the rocket fills half the screen. I'll try the FOB camera again next time. The Bull Pup went to 539 feet and the Honest John to 401 feet.
Today was mostly C and D motors on a light wind day. The Comanche-2 modified was a repeat from a previous launch with the tracking video this time. On a cloudless day like this, the only thing the iPhone8 has to focus on is the tracking smoke at apogee but sometimes not enough. The ground videos were epic with the sun shining through the smoke.
The Green Vortex with the C6-5 and Deep Space Transport with the C5-3 were flawless. The new AIM-9 Sidewinder with the C5-3 was epic. In the Nike Smoke, I removed the paper connector for the shock cord and inserted a Kevlar cord through the motor mount and around the tail end. I then plugged the hole with CWF and thin CA.
The Crossfire ISX clone worked great with the B6-4. I tried the motor that failed previous and still didn't work so need to find an alternative method for it. The Mars Longship with the D12-3 was the best flight. The Fat Boy clone with the C11-3 snapped the shroud lines so maybe need to add more wadding or use a streamer instead. It landed okay without a parachute except for a small gouge in a fin. I think the thin CA along the edge kept it from cracking the fin.
I added the altimeter and SQ11 camera to both the Bull Pup XL and Honest John. The altimeter worked great but the camera only worked at the end of the Honest John flight. It works great on its side except the rocket fills half the screen. I'll try the FOB camera again next time. The Bull Pup went to 539 feet and the Honest John to 401 feet.
I'll have to look into your suggestion. Should the parachute shroud lines be the new crossed over or the old side to side like this?Nice enthUUUUUUUUUsiam for your helicopter deployment! I occasionally have some come down inverted, I have also see that sometimes but not consistently with the Cosmic Cobra/Helicat nose cone.
Very nice camera flights, especially first one, you nailed the fin alignment, almost zero rotation on ascent,
Something to try if you want to get fancy in the future. Put in three shock cord anchors 120 degrees apart, each cord the same length and each cord attached to two ADJACENT shroud lines (for a six line chute.). Add a spill hole.
Pack it carefully, with no twisting of the lines (this works best with a large diameter rocket.)
When done right, the rocket hangs pretty much straight down, with no rocking or rotation. So your “down” video (which HOPEFULLY is significantly longer than your up video) is much steadier.
Looked like an absolutely gorgeous day there, too.
We are at the midpoints in Tennessee. Spring and Fall are gorgeous, just seem to be way too short!I'll have to look into your suggestion. Should the parachute shroud lines be the new crossed over or the old side to side like this?
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I would have to glue the shock cords to the inside of the BT, right? Most of my rockets have Kevlar cords attached to the MM, but some don't like my Mercury Redstone.
We're definitely in the end of summer here where the weather could kill you unless you're on a beach. The problem with Oahu is we have no high mountains like Haleakalā and Mauna Kea where the temps can drop to near freezing. The summer has been 90F to 92F everyday. Winters are usually 82F to 84F. Not a lot of variability here, except when a hurricane comes at us...
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