"College Funds" Yet another scratch build.- Up in flames at Hellfire 18

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Did the av-bay end cap split in its attempt to intrude into the av-bay coupler itself?

How much BP did you use?
 
CarVac said:
Did the av-bay end cap split in its attempt to intrude into the av-bay coupler itself?

How much BP did you use?
Click to expand...
Just 1.1g. Not much at all. It was different then 4F that comes with reloads. The BP I had had the consistency of flour.

I think it was a little to quick and the charge holder pushed back into the bulkhead, breaking it.

it sucked.

Alex
 
Aksrockets said:
Just 1.1g. Not much at all. It was different then 4F that comes with reloads. The BP I had had the consistency of flour.

I think it was a little to quick and the charge holder pushed back into the bulkhead, breaking it.

it sucked.

Alex
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that happened because you drilled the charge holder partway into the bulkhead... How many plies did you drill through?
 
CarVac said:
I'm pretty sure that happened because you drilled the charge holder partway into the bulkhead... How many plies did you drill through?
Click to expand...

It was drilled through the first bulkhead.

IF I can repair this in time, it will just get a BP canister not attached to the bulkhead and slower BP.

Alex
 
Put the bp in the finger of a vinyl or latex glove with the ignitor in the middle. Also, I have bp pre weighed in .5 g increments if you need some. The damage doesn't look like anything some fg and 5 min epoxy won't fix :wink:
Ken
 
kenstarr said:
Put the bp in the finger of a vinyl or latex glove with the ignitor in the middle. Also, I have bp pre weighed in .5 g increments if you need some. The damage doesn't look like anything some fg and 5 min epoxy won't fix :wink:
Ken
Click to expand...
That sounds good! I'm borrowing BP from Tim T (lawndartman) at the launch, but if he can't make it, I'll have to take you up on that!
Kenstarr said:
The damage doesn't look like anything some fg and 5 min epoxy won't fix :wink:
Click to expand...
Let's hope so. I really want to fly this thing!
To start, I'm getting rid of the nasty broken stuff any way I can. Sandpaper, Orbital sander and file make pretty quick work of the broken peices.
20130214_174019.jpg
Luckily, The only thing broken was the bulkhead and a little bit of AV bay hardware. I'm really glad I didn't have my Altimeter in there. that would have really ruined my day.
This is how im spending valentines day!

Alex
 
Here is the video of the test. You can tell the BP had much more "crack" then other tests I've seen.

[YOUTUBE]IPfkB7WG_nw[/YOUTUBE]


Alex
 
Yeah, it seems that way: not an overly large ejection force magnitude, but with more brisance (all the force at once).

If you keep things from breaking, using that powder might actually reduce heat and burning particle damage versus regular BP.
 
Aksrockets said:
This is how im spending valentines day!

Alex
Click to expand...

Not a bad way! My wife and I think it's a dumb holiday! As for your video, didn't seem overly energetic but I agree with CarVac's comments. That powdered powder has quite the kick! Using something like 4F just gives you more controllable and consistant results. I guess that would be the same if your powder was a consistant size anyway regardless of the granule size.
-Ken
 
The only thing to do now is to make it better and stronger. Now that you have an idea of the kinds of forces involved, get working on a new one! :grin:
 
Well, I was able to fix her up completely last night so she will be flying today (I357T). This will be my first DD flight. Motor backup with the main at 600'. I'll get some video. Wish me luck!

Alex
 
Aksrockets said:
Lets just say ejection charge testing DID NOT go well.
<img src="https://www.rocketryforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=118022"/>

Alex
Click to expand...

Been there... Although in my case I blew a fist size hunk out of the body tube...

What happened?

Edit: darn this ipad and its inability to show recent posts!!! Good luck on the flight this is a gorgeous rocket
 
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I ended up not flying today. I got it all prepped an ready to fly last night, drove to the launch and found out that the waiver was not called in so the maximum thing I could fly was a G.
Oh, well there is always next month.

Alex
 
Aksrockets said:
I ended up not flying today. I got it all prepped an ready to fly last night, drove to the launch and found out that the waiver was not called in so the maximum thing I could fly was a G.
Oh, well there is always next month.

Alex
Click to expand...

What? That seems like a pretty huge oversight. Did anyone get the message out before folks actually drove all the way out there?
What a hassle/bummer. I'm glad now I didn't get to this launch - I was hoping to be able to make it, but (as is often the case) money/time conspired against me. Seems like this time they actually saved me though. That would have been a long expensive drive to just launch a couple of midpower rockets.

Jeez,
s6
 
kenstarr said:
Put the bp in the finger of a vinyl or latex glove with the ignitor in the middle. Also, I have bp pre weighed in .5 g increments if you need some. The damage doesn't look like anything some fg and 5 min epoxy won't fix :wink:
Ken
Click to expand...

Another option since you like duct tape, tear off a 4" peice, start a fold down the middle, lenghtwise. Lay your match in the grove and pour your powder over it. Close the tape around the powder and match. Quick, easy, and cheap, but works great.
 
stealth6 said:
What? That seems like a pretty huge oversight. Did anyone get the message out before folks actually drove all the way out there?
What a hassle/bummer. I'm glad now I didn't get to this launch - I was hoping to be able to make it, but (as is often the case) money/time conspired against me. Seems like this time they actually saved me though. That would have been a long expensive drive to just launch a couple of midpower rockets.

Jeez,
s6
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what the waiver issue was. Somehow the club tried to call it in too late.
Yes, if there was a launch to skip it would have been this one. I feel bad for Lawndartman (tim t). He drove all the way down from colorado. He had some pretty sweet motors he was going to burn too.

Alex
 
Oh man that was a big boo boo, I was going to fly my IRIS on the Loki J396 today. Good thing I pushed it to next month. "WHEW" my rocket trips are limited.

TA
 
Aksrockets said:
Just 1.1g. Not much at all. It was different then 4F that comes with reloads. The BP I had had the consistency of flour.

I think it was a little to quick and the charge holder pushed back into the bulkhead, breaking it.

it sucked.

Alex
Click to expand...

Suggestions...

Sounds like home made meal powder. Lose it, and use commercial 4F. You'll get more consistent results. Meal powder can be pretty darn hot stuff, or it can be quite weak, depending on who made it, how, and with what.

Personally, I prefer the little micro-centrifuge vials. But if you like the bulkhead mounted charge holders, think about some handgun brass. Get some spent cartridges. For small charges, 45 ACP, or even 9mm, should work fine. Clean it inside and out with a scouring pad, punch out the SPENT primer, and affix w/ epoxy, without drilling and weakening the b/h. The "rimless" design of both cartridges (they have recessed rims) should allow them to be affixed well. Put a drop of epoxy in the primer pocket and thru the flash hole, too.

Just something to run up the flagpole, see if anyone salutes it.
 
cherokeej said:
Suggestions...

Sounds like home made meal powder. Lose it, and use commercial 4F. You'll get more consistent results. Meal powder can be pretty darn hot stuff, or it can be quite weak, depending on who made it, how, and with what.

Personally, I prefer the little micro-centrifuge vials. But if you like the bulkhead mounted charge holders, think about some handgun brass. Get some spent cartridges. For small charges, 45 ACP, or even 9mm, should work fine. Clean it inside and out with a scouring pad, punch out the SPENT primer, and affix w/ epoxy, without drilling and weakening the b/h. The "rimless" design of both cartridges (they have recessed rims) should allow them to be affixed well. Put a drop of epoxy in the primer pocket and thru the flash hole, too.

Just something to run up the flagpole, see if anyone salutes it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestions. Interesting idea with the spent casings I have a bunch. I'll do more tests soon.
kenstarr said:
I was told the person responsible for calling in the waiver was sick and there was some communication breakdown. I mostly felt bad for the Colorado folks that came out.
Ken
Click to expand...
I know. That must have been a 4+hr drive. Well, I did get to talk and trade with Tim, which is always nice. He had a K500 something-or-another purple motor that was ready to go.

Here is a picture of the rocket that didn't get to fly!
Screen Shot 2013-02-28 at 9.45.56 PM.png

Alex
 
I've just about got the paint finished on this.

I didn't have any black tape, but I did have masking tape an a lot of time on my hands. I decided to paint the black accents instead of tape them. It wasn't too hard and they turned out okay.
I also got paint on the fincan. I did a coat of blue on the fins, let it cure overnight, masked it and did a coat of black.

DSC05137.jpg

DSC05138.jpg

DSC05140.jpg

The next thing to be painted is the cone. I'm considering doing just grey instead of the blue.

Alex
 
Aksrockets said:
I've just about got the paint finished on this.

I didn't have any black tape, but I did have masking tape an a lot of time on my hands. I decided to paint the black accents instead of tape them. It wasn't too hard and they turned out okay.
I also got paint on the fincan. I did a coat of blue on the fins, let it cure overnight, masked it and did a coat of black.

View attachment 121527

View attachment 121528

View attachment 121529

The next thing to be painted is the cone. I'm considering doing just grey instead of the blue.

Alex
Click to expand...

I actually like the paint scheme on the rocket, more than I did in the drawings. Looking good!
 
Thanks, captain! I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out,myself. I suppose I could have gotten a little cleaner paint lines, but it looks more or less like I imagined it would. I can't wait to get this in the air!
More testing this week. Ill try and do the charge testing soon with 4f powder in a glove finger.
This will be flying on Saturday, pending weather!

Alex
 
kenstarr said:
The rocket looks NICE! When you planning on crashing it, I mean launching it? I've about got a big scratch build done myself.
-Ken
Click to expand...

Saturday! I357T. Will you be going?
What is this scratch build you speak of?

Alex
 

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