29mm Minimum diameter Blue Thunder G80T

[niels popping]

Was about time to make a rocket for my G80T collection
Really the hardest part was finding a body tube.
was looking for G10, or carbon,
but PML was the only thing I could find

Hope you want to enjoy this building thread,
more pictures coming later this day.
My girlfriend is waiting so I need to stop building rockets and talk about it

 

[niels popping]

I couldn't find a coupler, or bulkhead so I need something else
I cut a piece of the 29mm tube ad make there a coupler from,
added epoxy with micro carbon fibers to make the bulkhead where I apply the eye bolt.

 

[chadrog]

My girlfriend is waiting so I need to stop building rockets and talk about it

That's never leads to any good... Look forward to the details! (Of the build, that is)

 

[niels popping]

Now its time to make the fins,
I want to keep it cheap, so I didn't used carbon or G10
to avoid excessive weight and to be sure it will be strong enough I used cardboard with a layer of iron, so the glue points doesn't crack when the body tube heats up.

But don't try this, your fins wont be smooth
well at least it was worth to try

 

[niels popping]

the G80-10T

compared to the rocket

 

[niels popping]

I get some crime alarm systems from the store , 1.5 $ each.
at home I Dissembled the alarm, and modified it to a bleeper,
with an magnet on a Remove Before Flight tag you can turn of the bleeper,
when you get the tag away your bleeper goes of.

anyway the PML 1.1" nose cone was really heavy, about 85 gram,
I cut out the eye bolt that was melt into it, and drill out some of the passive nose cone, now its mas is reduced to 45 gram, and I put the battery from the bleeper inside the nose cone

 

[niels popping]

The recovery uses a 30 feet long cord,
6 feet from the nose cone a streamer is placed.
18 feet from the nose cone, a 12" chute for some extra drag.

because this rocket weights inclusive the engine about 300 gram,
The G80-10T Minimum diameter boost up to about 4000 feet ? I think, Rocksim thinks the same, but reality is always different.
I want to avoid a long walk to find my rocket,
so A small chute with a streamer must be good.

Now its waiting , waiting until the farmland is dry, the sun shines the sky's are blue , and the temperature is well over 25 degrees Celsius .

than I get my collection of HD camcorders ou of the closet.
so count down can begin

 

[GDJ]

I like! You have the same mass as my Quest High-Q, but with thinner tubing and better aerodynamics.

That thing is gonna haul!

 

[niels popping]

I like! You have the same mass as my Quest High-Q, but with thinner tubing and better aerodynamics.

That thing is gonna haul!

I think my next one 'll be a 2 stager

 

[GDJ]

I think the cold makes us northerners slightly nuts......but in rocketry that's a bonus!

 

[shreadvector]

Is there a motor hook protruding below the launch lug? (Or is that just an illusion from the photo anlge?)

Why not use a G80-14 instead of the G80-10? If it is low drag, minimum diameter and there is no wind at launch, it could very well coast for 14 seconds.

Was about time to make a rocket for my G80T collection
Really the hardest part was finding a body tube.
was looking for G10, or carbon,
but PML was the only thing I could find

Hope you want to enjoy this building thread,
more pictures coming later this day.
My girlfriend is waiting so I need to stop building rockets and talk about it

 

[stealth6]

I believe the rocket is pointing in the wrong direction here. I am under the impression that this particular situation is to be avoided. Just a tip.

(insert appropriate "sarcasm" smiley icon here)

s6

 

[niels popping]

Is there a motor hook protruding below the launch lug? (Or is that just an illusion from the photo anlge?)

Why not use a G80-14 instead of the G80-10? If it is low drag, minimum diameter and there is no wind at launch, it could very well coast for 14 seconds.

Yeah thats the hook,

The only motor with the longest delay I could find by my dealer, sierrafoxhobbies.com

was an G80-10T

 

[niels popping]

I believe the rocket is pointing in the wrong direction here. I am under the impression that this particular situation is to be avoided. Just a tip.

(insert appropriate "sarcasm" smiley icon here)

s6

hihi, nothing to be afraid of,

I just tested the onboard camera and hold the rocket in my hand while I aim the camera to the sky.

this rocket hasn't fly yet

 

[niels popping]

WOW G80 10T 5400 feet, ( rocksim)
G80-14T 6100 Feet ,

and thats with the camera mounted

 

[scsager]

5000 feet+ is probably about right.

Even with the beeper, I suggest having as many friends with you at the launch as possible to help watch and recover the rocket. Extra eyes will help - it will be hard to spot at 5000' feet. You may even want to ditch the parachute and just go with a streamer.

I have successfully used a 12ft mylar streamer made from this for very high flights with small rockets.

 

[bjphoenix]

it will be hard to spot at 5000' feet

It will be hard to spot at anytime after ignition. It will be very fast and the smoketrail will be so stretched out that it will be very faint, maybe not visible at all.

 

[GDJ]

Recommend lots of orange chalk in the rocket, just so you can see a big orange cloud when the 'chute pops out. You'll need it.

 

[New Ocean]

I have successfully used a 12ft mylar streamer made from this for very high flights with small rockets.

Ugh why did I buy a $3.99 streamer then?

 

[WizardOfAZ]

Recommend lots of orange chalk in the rocket, just so you can see a big orange cloud when the 'chute pops out. You'll need it.

Interesting. Never thought of using chalk like that. Do you just buy carpenter's chalk from the hardware store, or what is the most ideal and cheap? I have a few rockets I might have to do the same on.

Sounds like a fun launch! Great photos!

 

[GDJ]

Interesting. Never thought of using chalk like that. Do you just buy carpenter's chalk from the hardware store, or what is the most ideal and cheap? I have a few rockets I might have to do the same on.

Sounds like a fun launch! Great photos!

Yep. Carpenter's chalk for chalk like marking. I've used the Red stuff and it comes out as a orange cloud upon ejection. White could be used on sunny cloudless days with success. Black theoretically could work on cloudy days, but I've used the red chalk and it stands out well. Avoid blue for obvious reasons.

I picked up a 500 gram squeeze bottle for under $4 CDN. Even with heavy amounts put in the rocket, it so far has lasted 10 launches and I still have about a 1/3 left.

 

[Adrian A]

5000 feet+ is probably about right.

Even with the beeper, I suggest having as many friends with you at the launch as possible to help watch and recover the rocket. Extra eyes will help - it will be hard to spot at 5000' feet. You may even want to ditch the parachute and just go with a streamer.

I have successfully used a 12ft mylar streamer made from this for very high flights with small rockets.

It will be hard to spot at anytime after ignition. It will be very fast and the smoketrail will be so stretched out that it will be very faint, maybe not visible at all.

That motor is pretty efficient and doesn't produce much smoke. I wouldn't try it without a radio tracker if it's a hazy or cloudy day. Binoculars help a lot. On a clear day with a very skilled (not me) user of binoculars, I have seen a smaller rocket than this visually tracked over 8000 feet.

 

[WizardOfAZ]

Yep. Carpenter's chalk for chalk like marking. I've used the Red stuff and it comes out as a orange cloud upon ejection. White could be used on sunny cloudless days with success. Black theoretically could work on cloudy days, but I've used the red chalk and it stands out well. Avoid blue for obvious reasons.

I picked up a 500 gram squeeze bottle for under $4 CDN. Even with heavy amounts put in the rocket, it so far has lasted 10 launches and I still have about a 1/3 left.

Awesome! I love it!

 

[niels popping]

I've used chalk on a rocket once, white chalk .
but didn't worked that fine at high altitude so I lost that rocket.
it brings excessive weights so no chalk anymore for my.


I try to make the bleeper louder.
and I'm searching for a small transmitter.
the only space thats left for any kind of electronics is the size of a USB-stick

I heard about a transmitter where you can track a fox, but I couldn't find any circuit on the Internet.

does any body have a better suggestion ?

 

[niels popping]

I've placed a small transmitter (866MHZ) inside the nosecone,
with an HT12E microchip Encodes 4 signals,
one tracking signal, ( can be tracked with a spy-finder)
One signal for launch detection,
one signal for apogee ( sensors will detect when cute comes out)
and one signal for touchdown,

with the HT12D those signals can be displayed at my launch controller,

so wile the rocket is aiming for air, +5000 feet, ( out of sight)
the led on my control box turns green when apogee is reached