What did you do rocket wise today?

eggtimer rocketry
madcow rocketry
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
20190211_160924.jpg Internal fillet fin locks
20190201_190826.jpg Test fit
20190211_182210.jpg After setting the fin (left) and dried then inserted the fin lock and epoxied into place, the upper fin is now ready for it's internal fin lock
 
Sneaking in a little personal project printing into a pull-pin switch run today. First prototype of a nosecone tracking sled for my Falcon 3 is running as I type. Sled will hold a TeleGPS, Missileworks T3 and a Featherweight Tracker. That is a lot of stuff in a tiny area, so I need to check the fit of everything before I work in cable tie downs, battery retention and antenna supports (outside of the 1/4" dowel rod holder for the teleGPS antenna). I will probably take advantage of the extra room on the Featherweight side to mount the antenna there pointed aft (I'll use a cable to connect the tracker to the antenna) to keep the 900 MHz antennas apart. Everything, including trackers, fits in a 57 mm circle, so I should be good with respect to the nosecone walls.
triTrack_2.JPG triTrack.JPG
 

Attachments

  • triTrack.JPG
    triTrack.JPG
    37.4 KB · Views: 51
Fixed paint issues on my Estes Crossfire ISX, and my daughter's Generic. Glitter paint is a PITA, but the candy colors look awesome under a mile of clear coat. Generic is not a difficult kit in the least...all issues have been user headspace and timing related.

Ordered my next one today since the ISX is about to be finished. Indicator should be here this week. I plan on trying to do some things to it, but we'll see. A lot of my plans aren't necessary for performance, but more to practice different techniques. Also no glitter paint lol.
 
Cl(VII) said:
Sneaking in a little personal project printing into a pull-pin switch run today. First prototype of a nosecone tracking sled for my Falcon 3 is running as I type. Sled will hold a TeleGPS, Missileworks T3 and a Featherweight Tracker. That is a lot of stuff in a tiny area, so I need to check the fit of everything before I work in cable tie downs, battery retention and antenna supports (outside of the 1/4" dowel rod holder for the teleGPS antenna). I will probably take advantage of the extra room on the Featherweight side to mount the antenna there pointed aft (I'll use a cable to connect the tracker to the antenna) to keep the 900 MHz antennas apart. Everything, including trackers, fits in a 57 mm circle, so I should be good with respect to the nosecone walls.
View attachment 374443 View attachment 374444
Click to expand...

Please post some pics of the the finished prototype.
 
Nytrunner said:
You reaaaaallly don't want to lose that rocket I see
Click to expand...

No, I reaaaaallly don't as this will be an L3 attempt. If the main shakes loose at 25k I want every chance to find it. This is also about learning though. I try to pack as much learning into each flight as I can, and this gives me the chance to test 3 trackers at 25k. A little nose weight won't hurt this rocket either, so may as well be useful nose weight.

In reality all that is BS, I just over-think and over-engineer everything, it's almost to the sickness level. The above are just examples of the stories I tell myself to justify it.
 
Cl(VII) said:
...In reality all that is BS, I just over-think and over-engineer everything, it's almost to the sickness level. The above are just examples of the stories I tell myself to justify it.
Click to expand...

I love it! You can also tell yourself that this is a great way to get data directly comparing the three systems.
 
Ran a CFD study on a scratch build!
 

Attachments

  • NX Kuiper Assembled 1.png
    NX Kuiper Assembled 1.png
    636.3 KB · Views: 92
  • NX Kuiper Assembled 2.png
    NX Kuiper Assembled 2.png
    642.3 KB · Views: 84
  • NX Kuiper Assembled 3.png
    NX Kuiper Assembled 3.png
    702.1 KB · Views: 99
Assembled a forward closure for my 75mm with head-end ignition feedthroughs.

Configured altimeters and tested for my Nike Apache. Both Nike and Apache main altimeters now complete, tested and ready to fly at Easter.
 
Forging ahead on a long term project; building the Binder Design Raptor. Modeled up some simple centering rings for the Raptor that have slots in them to capture the fins... after all, this bird has 12-fins, 8 of which mount through-the-wall.
 
Jonathan 7 said:
Ran a CFD study on a scratch build!
Click to expand...

What parameters did you chart and what data did you gather?


Cl(VII) said:
A few tweaks needed, but not bad for a first draft. Fits great in the NC, plenty of room all around.
Click to expand...

Any chance of interference with the transmitters all aligned in the same orientation like that?
 
Tobor said:
Awesome. I dig the way you used the internal space as pockets for the LiPos. It's one of those "I wish I had thought of that" ideas that gets the gears turning.
Click to expand...

That is one of the best part about this place. I can;t count how many times I've seen something on here, and had that same reaction.

jqavins said:
And publish a paper.
Click to expand...

I'll let you know what I find out anyway. I suspect all three will work well at 25k.

Nytrunner said:
....Any chance of interference with the transmitters all aligned in the same orientation like that?
Click to expand...

Probably not from the TeleGPS, but the 900 MHz transmitters have me wondering. I'll try to think up something clever, but I'm not going to fret too much.
 
Last edited:
Version 2. The battery cover is removable, and recesses into the base 2 mm. Going to use a central 3/8" dowel rod as the support for all antennae. I'll just print spacers that attach to the dowel. This is much easier than making 3 independent support systems. I think this will also let me mount the FW antenna perpendicular to the MW T3.


sled2.JPG sled1.JPG
 
Cl(VII) said:
Version 2. The battery cover is removable, and recesses into the base 2 mm. Going to use a central 3/8" dowel rod as the support for all antennae. I'll just print spacers that attach to the dowel. This is much easier than making 3 independent support systems. I think this will also let me mount the FW antenna perpendicular to the MW T3.


View attachment 374527 View attachment 374528
Click to expand...
Sweet.
Question: Any chance this sled could become a production unit? Maybe with multiple mounting hole patterns for various trackers on each face?
 
Tobor said:
Sweet.
Question: Any chance this sled could become a production unit? Maybe with multiple mounting hole patterns for various trackers on each face?
Click to expand...

That would be tough. The wide variety of batteries alone would make it difficult. Also, the T3 mounts very differently than other trackers. One of my production sleds goes through many more iterations than this one is going to (I hoping I can live with this one). That said, I learn with each new thing I design, so I could see some features of this sled working their way into future production items.
 
Cl(VII) said:
That would be tough. The wide variety of batteries alone would make it difficult. Also, the T3 mounts very differently than other trackers. One of my production sleds goes through many more iterations than this one. That said, I learn with each new thing I build, so I could see some features of this sled working their way into future versions.
Click to expand...
Okay but.... If ya ever do a production unit like this, I would definitely be interested.
 
neil_w said:
Could someone point to a source of the correct type of wire? There are *so* many different varieties. What weight and material?
Click to expand...
If you look at any generic windscreen wiper blade you'll see a strip that's exactly like the flat metal strip used as a retainer for estes b/c/d motors. You can get these for free by chatting to your local garage owner. Or look at the street when you're walking and you'll see these "strips" everywhere. Only when you don't need one in a hurry though......
 
IMG_2011.JPG IMG_2011.JPG
Some low and mid-power fun. The only change I made was to the Apogee Texas Twister in that I replaced the nylon hinge cloth (supposed to be glued on with thin CA) with Dubro Hinge Tape. I feel this is a bit more secure. Neither rockets have flown yet.
 
IMG_2004.JPG

Final phase for my LOC 4" Goblin. Just need to attach the rail buttons and away we go. I'll be using JLPR on either this rocket or my LOC Park Flyer Hyperloc (in progress). I'm also building a Nose EBay for an altimeter as well. My Jolly Logic Altimeter will go there. The only big disappointment in this rocket was my technique. I didn't do a very good job on making the fin fillets look nice . . . as you arent' too close . . .

Mark
 

Similar threads

NTP2
What do you do (or did) for a living?
6 7 8
Replies
239
Views
7K
John Kemker
John Kemker
KenECoyote
Is it really a model rocket if you don't launch it?
4 5 6
Replies
158
Views
5K
bjphoenix
B
T
First-time UK Rocketeer looking for help!
Replies
5
Views
271
LD124
L
ljwilley
What do you think of my V2 rocket?
Replies
18
Views
2K
JPalmer621
J
M
Free Almost Free Model Rocket Building Service
Replies
1
Views
973
mh9162013
M

Latest posts

Back
Top