Estes Big Daddy

[vdotmatrix]

Hi everyone:

I am building this little rocket and found in the estes engine chart 2 engines choices:

E9-4 and E9-6

what difference would a 2 sec. delay make on this rocket?

thanks in advance

 

[Gillard]

E9-4 would be best, an E9-6 would have ejection past apogee. The Dig daddy is a chunky thing, long delays aren't good for it, especially if it arches on boosting.
check out the flights on the EMRR reviews:
https://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/all/est_big_daddy.shtml

 

[shreadvector]

If launched PERFECTLY straight up using a 1/4" dia x 6' long steel launch rod with zero wind, the E9-6 will be OK. If there is any wind at all or not launched perfectly vertical, you should use only the E9-4.

 

[TheAviator]

The Big Daddy also flies well on all of the Aerotech 24mm E and F motors. Personally, the E15 SU, E18 RMS, and F24 RMS are my favorites, but don't let that influence you.

You can also CHAD stage it by strapping a D12-0 to the bottom of your E9-4. It is still plenty stable even with that motor hanging out the back.

 

[vdotmatrix]

The Big Daddy also flies well on all of the Aerotech 24mm E and F motors. Personally, the E15 SU, E18 RMS, and F24 RMS are my favorites, but don't let that influence you.

You can also CHAD stage it by strapping a D12-0 to the bottom of your E9-4. It is still plenty stable even with that motor hanging out the back.

WOW!

 

[gpoehlein]

The Big Daddy also flies well on all of the Aerotech 24mm E and F motors. Personally, the E15 SU, E18 RMS, and F24 RMS are my favorites, but don't let that influence you.

You can also CHAD stage it by strapping a D12-0 to the bottom of your E9-4. It is still plenty stable even with that motor hanging out the back.

Yeah - but I can tell you from personal experience, don't try to fly it on anything higher than an E9 with the stock parachute. I flew mine on an Aerotech E18 and shredded the chute at ejection. The rest of the rocket held up just fine.

 

[cjl]

Yeah - but I can tell you from personal experience, don't try to fly it on anything higher than an E9 with the stock parachute. I flew mine on an Aerotech E18 and shredded the chute at ejection. The rest of the rocket held up just fine.

That's just a matter of selecting the right delay and ensuring that you don't fly it on a windy day or off a long, flexible rod (that will cause rod whip). The stock chute should be fine for E18s, F24s, F39s, and more, so long as the delay is correct.

 

[GRIFFIN]

WOW!

I'm building one with a 29 mount tofly on an H motor... I have heard of a 38MM mount Big Daddy also!! now thats WOW.

 

[JimJarvis50]

...(that will cause rod whip).

I just hate rod whip ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/11803405@N08/4344596987/sizes/o/

Jim

 

[H_Rocket]

I have one that I beefed up a bit and have flown with a 54-427 (I117).

 

[DM1975]

I put a 29mm motor mount in mine too. Flew it on a F39 and shreaded the parachute. It recovered with one damaged fin (thank god I papered the fins with card stock) but is repaired now. Pick a good delay and listen to the above posts. It is a great little rocket.

 

[GRIFFIN]

I just hate rod whip ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/11803405@N08/4344596987/sizes/o/

Jim

Awesome!!!

 

[JimJarvis50]

Awesome!!!

That's a slightly-enhanced stock Big Daddy on a J-250. We thought it would be humorous to launch it off our 20-foot supported rail, except that it was so far away, we couldn't hardly see it. Fortunately, I have this wonderful Photo by Nadine.

Jim

 

[slogfilet]

I just hate rod whip ...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/11803405@N08/4344596987/sizes/o/

Jim

I love how that pic really plays with your perspective! My mind instantly assumed the rod was a "normal" size, the motor was a small sparky... and the rocket was itty bitty.

 

[JimJarvis50]

I love how that pic really plays with your perspective! My mind instantly assumed the rod was a "normal" size, the motor was a small sparky... and the rocket was itty bitty.

That rocket has played with the "perspective" of a few LCO's too.

Jim

 

[Neutronium95]

I hope to make a minimum diameter Big Daddy, from what I have seen, a 1g 75mm motor might just fit in it, leaving the nose for parachute, tracker and altimeter.

 

[Handeman]

I put a 29mm motor mount in mine too. Flew it on a F39 and shreaded the parachute. It recovered with one damaged fin (thank god I papered the fins with card stock) but is repaired now. Pick a good delay and listen to the above posts. It is a great little rocket.

The right delay is critical, but if you wrap the shroud lines around the chute instead of folding them inside, the chute unrolls and takes longer to deploy, allowing the speed to drop a little more. That won't always save a chute, but it can help.

 

[DM1975]

That's how I had the chute wrapped up. It was just an all around bad day for me and my rockets in general when it happened. Nothing that can't be fixed and done better next time though.

 

[Handeman]

That's how I had the chute wrapped up. It was just an all around bad day for me and my rockets in general when it happened. Nothing that can't be fixed and done better next time though.

I know what you mean about bad days. I flew on my birthday. Started out great! 2,500 ft flight landed 150 ft. from the pad. 2,000 ft flight landed between the pads and the LCO, then the rocket gods wished me a happy birthday. Wind picked up and I had two lawn darts because the 29/40-120 ejection charges didn't go off. Lost a Perfectflite Alt15K altimeter in one too.

 

[vdotmatrix]

Should I round the leading and trailing edges sand and seal the fins before i attach them to the body?

 

[Trident]

Should I round the leading and trailing edges sand and seal the fins before i attach them to the body?

I always do any sanding of edges before attachment. I find that if I want to sand tapers, such as on the trailing edge, it helps to have them near the end of your bench top. That way I can have my hand low, even around the edge of the
bench top, to facilitate sanding at a low angle, get a low angle. I can also more easily see what I am doing, in terms of taking off the right amount of material, and getting a nice, smooth, even taper.

One technique to seal fins before gluing them on he body tube is to support the fins with pins, pushed up thru the bottom of a flat piece of balsa, and into the root edge of the fin. That way you can seal both sides, and there is less chance of getting sealer onto the root edge. You definitely do not want to seal the root edges, or you have no glue penetration when attaching them to the body tube.

 

[MarkII]

[Musing] Hmmmm, let's see..........Pro29 in the center........plus........8 x 18mm surrounding it........4 of those lit on the pad, 4 airstarted.........Hmmm......

Or maybe...........F39T in the center...........plus 6 x Quest D5 surrounding.......3 lit on the pad, 3 airstart..........but it would cost $34 per flight..........Hmmm..........

MK

 

[ScrapDaddy]

[Musing] Hmmmm, let's see..........Pro29 in the center........plus........8 x 18mm surrounding it........4 of those lit on the pad, 4 airstarted.........Hmmm......

Or maybe...........F39T in the center...........plus 6 x Quest D5 surrounding.......3 lit on the pad, 3 airstart..........but it would cost $34 per flight..........Hmmm..........

MK

wow, that's a job for MicroMeister, aka Mr. cluster. Now how bout this, a I200 in the center and 8XD21..... What's the proper way to pronounce "Shread".....?

 

[Brent]

I have one of the older Big Daddy's. I built it with a 29mm loc motor tube and some left over plastic slotted NCR 3" centering rings. I cut plywood fins for it and I removed the base of the nose cone to allow more room for a parachute. I fly it quite regularly on G-80's.

 

[MarkII]

wow, that's a job for MicroMeister, aka Mr. cluster. Now how bout this, a I200 in the center and 8XD21..... What's the proper way to pronounce "Shread".....?

ScrapDaddy: Tell me, how long is the body tube of a Big Daddy? And how long is an I200? How much nose weight would you need? How large of a parachute would you need? And once you accommodate the I200 and the nose weight, where would you put it? Finally, what would be your plan for igniting all 9 composite motors on the pad? What are the materials that the Big Daddy is made of? What would be the maximum acceleration and maximum velocity it would undergo on that motor combination? Unless you can answer these questions, how do you know that the Big Daddy would shred during boost? What simple things could you do to make it stronger if you did find, based on your analysis, that it was at risk of being torn apart by the launch stresses?

Also, what would putting 8 D21s in it do for it? Would it make any appreciable difference over launching it on just the I alone? You are adding a great deal of complexity, not to mention expense, for what purpose again? (And do tell us, please, how much this would cost in motors for one flight.)

People in this hobby don't just slap together high power rockets and then chuck any old motors into them and wait to see how they launch in order to find out if they will even fly. Can a rocketeer that has no experience with launching rockets on clusters, let alone high power rockets, make a casual observation like that without doing an iota of analysis?

MK

 

[ScrapDaddy]

Well I know the 29/360 case is around 12 inches, you could use rear ejection to get the parachute out. The big daddy uses Mod-roc stuff, 1/8 balsa laser cut fins, and an estes BT-80 tube.

 

[MarkII]

Sorry, I think I was a bit too harsh and confrontational there. You don't need to answer my previous post.

MK

 

[ScrapDaddy]

Sorry, I think I was a bit too harsh and confrontational there. You don't need to answer my previous post.

MK

No worries, And I200 in a Stock Big Daddy was a bad idea to begin with however a I200 in an upscale would look great!
I just find it strange how threads never stay on topic after post 5 or so.

 

[powderburner]

The big daddy uses Mod-roc stuff, 1/8 balsa laser cut fins, and an estes BT-80 tube.

Doesn't the BD use a 3 inch airframe tube and NC?

(BT80 is only 2.6 inches)

 

[Brent]

Doesn't the BD use a 3 inch airframe tube and NC?

(BT80 is only 2.6 inches)

Yes indeed the Big Daddy does use a 3" tube. It also uses the Nose cone that was made for the Estes Pro Patriot.