Mach1 3" Daedalus Build Thread

AV Bay time! It's actually already done - I started my build with it. I have a build thread at the link posted. Let's just say it's VERY custom and quite possibly the star of this whole rocket. Check it out! https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/not-just-another-av-bay.153024/

That looks like the same countertop we have (although hard to say for sure).

Rocket looks fantastic, can't wait to see it in paint. Almost a pity to hide that AV-bay inside...

The structural part of the rocket is done! I created an infographic for my non-rocket friends on social media. The next thing to do is make a camera mount for my Mobius Maxi that will be strapped to this. I have a thread on the 3D printing forum where that process will take place. The link to that thread is here: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/mobius-maxi-shroud-design-and-build-thread.153988/

Ok I designed a built a thing to hold my camera for a flight. Pictures below. It will be sanded completed smooth and look like it was machined, not 3D printed. It's removable so I can decide to use it or not. I'd cover the holes with machine screws to keep ejection gases from escaping.

To be honest I am not sure if I like it though. It is bulky and there is no real good way to model it's drag effects with Rocksim or OpenRocket. I have decided that I would NOT use this when I use big motors because sacrificing altitude when burning a $200 motor just seems dumb. I could use this for flights below the 4700' AGL waver as a cool novelty... I'm also toying with designs to hide the camera inside the rocket and leave just a little portion protruding for the camera lens. Idk... what do you think? I'm conflicted.

Put a Loki I405 in that and you’ll be impressed. How did you to prepare the glue joints? I’m going to start my second try with a fiberglass kit soon. Last time I scored everything nicely with an xacto and 60 grit paper but my glue failed. Used BSI 30 minute

I used Rocketpoxy for this build. I like it A LOT. For the fins I pitted the fins with a drill so the epoxy could flow into the pit and get an extra good hold. You can see that on post 20.

Do you let it sit per instructions before use for fillets or use it right after mixing?

I use it right away. It’s too hot to wait as it will cure way too soon. I’ve used it on three builds without any issue. One of my rockets only had the drogue deploy. It basically hit the ground at 50mph and everything was just fine.

I spent a lot of time thinking about what this rocket will look like painted. I had my 3 and 6 year old boys help me out. I printed 6 outlines of the rocket on some paper and asked my kids to color them however they want. Then I took the ideas they came up with and started modeling them on the computer. We did this 3 or 4 times - taking their ideas and tweaking/combining them into new ideas until I got 16 renders. Having a child think tank around sure is helpful! Now I need to figure out what one I like most...

How cool is that! Great idea! Second and third to last have my votes although they all look pretty darn good.

I vote for 7th from the left

Wow, good luck with making a selection. They all look great!

I'd like to save your pics for later inspiration, if that is okay by you and your boys!

I like the one all the way on the right, very stealthy. Or, for slightly more decoration, 5th from the right.

General color scheme decision seems to depend on whether you're a Bengals fan or a Mets fan.

Some good options in there, I like the 4th from the left, 10th from the left, and all the way on the right.

Neat idea.

Mugs914 said:

I'd like to save your pics for later inspiration, if that is okay by you and your boys!

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By all means!

I'm in for far right, with all flat paint.

boatgeek said:

I'm in for far right, with all flat paint.

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All flat? Not going to happen. I’m trying to hit an altitude of 10k. This thing will be polished as shined and smooth as I can get it. What about metallic orange?

An L1000 will put it right at 10,000' with an average paint job.

I don't know your landing surface but a 70" main chute with a drogue would be plenty.

Ian A Dalton said:

All flat? Not going to happen. I’m trying to hit an altitude of 10k. This thing will be polished as shined and smooth as I can get it. What about metallic orange?

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Gloss would look nice, too. I'm just a sucker for flat paint even if it robs a little altitude. I'm also a fan of simple paint jobs, but I'm just lazy like that.

crossfire said:

I don't know your landing surface but a 70" main chute with a drogue would be plenty.

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I already have an 84” Rocketman chute. I’m also landing on a very hard dry lake bed so a little slower descent rate is not going to be scoffed at.

Ian A Dalton said:

I already have an 84” Rocketman chute. I’m also landing on a very hard dry lake bed so a little slower descent rate is not going to be scoffed at.

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Yes the extra chute will work great for that surface. Do you have a launch date?

Eric said:

An L1000 will put it right at 10,000' with an average paint job.

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Sadly, per Rocksim, OpenRocket, and RASAero - it wont hit 10k on an L1000. I think I'll go with a CTI L935 - but will make a final decision after paint.

crossfire said:

Yes the extra chute will work great for that surface. Do you have a launch date?

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Yes, I fly with Tripoli Vegas and this will fly at the Oktoberfest regional launch on October 19th.

Ian A Dalton said:

Sadly, per Rocksim, OpenRocket, and RASAero - it wont hit 10k on an L1000. I think I'll go with a CTI L935 - but will make a final decision after paint.

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What is your estimated final weight?

My 3" Peircer went to 10,050' on an L1000, flight weight was 138oz without motor. I thought you would gain a little more with that boat tail.

And I like paint scheme #5.

Eric said:

What is your estimated final weight?

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It's currently sitting at 159 ounces for everything except paint. The fin pockets added some weight and the 3D printed AV bay added some too.

Arsenal78 said:

Put a Loki I405 in that and you’ll be impressed. How did you to prepare the glue joints? I’m going to start my second try with a fiberglass kit soon. Last time I scored everything nicely with an xacto and 60 grit paper but my glue failed. Used BSI 30 minute

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Follow this guide: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...our-government-doesnt-want-you-to-know.58389/

Today I will cover recovery harnesses, deployment testing (and advice needed), a possible Eggtimer bug, and paint scheme.

Recovery Harnesses:

I guess I am a bargain hunter and if I can make something cheaper and of same or higher quality than what is commercially available, I will. To that end, I ended up finding 100' of 1/4 tubular Kevlar cord with a rating of 1900# break force shipped to me for $59.99. Can't beat that price. So I got it, and sewed my own three loop harnesses. I also bought Nomex fabric for next to nothing and made my own chute protectors. Everything when you add up materials and such saved me about $50. Not a whole lot to be honest, but more fun than just buying it online IHO.



Deployment Testing:

Yesterday Rob702Martinez and I went out to the lake bed to do some deployment testing of the rocket. I had two video sources of the event but neither of them panned out. Needless to say 2 grams will get the payload section to separate and 1.5 will get the drogue out. However, I might need to do a deployment test for the drogue again. I'm planning on going mach 1.2 so I am wondering if it is advisable to put a sheer pin or two on the fin can to keep it with the AV bay before the charge goes off. I'm concerned about drag separation...

I absolutely love my AV bay design. Rob can attest to how easy and straightforward the testing was. Because the deployment charges are self contained and there is zero wire management, re-loading for another deployment test was as simple as unscrewing the spent deployment canister and screwing a new one in. It really was the easiest thing - and it worked flawlessly. Check out post 31 if you don't know what I am talking about.

Also, I burned 4 holes in my brand new main because my protector is not long enough. An 84" chute being shoved in a 3' time causes it to be quite long. The chute protector needed to be a little longer. I'll be making a new one AND patch up this chute....

Possible Eggtimer bug:

One of the reasons why I don't have video of the deployment tests is because the charges went off before they were supposed to. For those of you who may not know, all but one Eggtimer altimeters are WiFi enabled for arming. This also allows for the testing of deployment charges from a distance and wirelessly. The way they are supposed to work is by you connecting your phone to the WiFi SSD they broadcast, then go to a special test web site on your browser, select the channel to test, enter a security code, then the web page refreshes, goes to a count down page, counts down from 10 and sends a signal to ignite the charge. Easy and straight forward. I love it. However, what I learned is that once the countdown reaches zero and the charge is lit, the arming code and signal can be sent again simply by refreshing that page. Doing so does not restart the countdown either - reload the and refresh and charge is lit. So what we did, not knowing this, was test, reload the charge, then refresh the countdown page and BOOM the charge went off immediately again. I need to contact Cris to see if that is a bug and if he knows about it.

Paint Sceme:

I've settled on how this rocket will look. I am going to go simple and elegant for this one. I'll start paining it sometime this week or upcoming weekend. It will be labor intense as I am going to go for a polished finish.

I am going to shamelessly rip off that paint scheme for my X-celerator. Very nice.

When I went to test the deployment charges I also went to test the Eggfinder GPS range. The original plan had the tracker in the AV bay with the antenna sticking out and shielded from ejection gas by a plastic compartment. I hoped the range would not be too impacted by the fully threaded bay and eyebolt. My preliminary tests showed promise. I did this because the nose cone also was fully threaded with an aluminum tip and I was designing my AV bay from the ground up so I figured I'd give it a try.

Testing this at the field reveals an ugly truth. I got a maximum of 3400' range before the signal was lost. Since I am aiming for a flight that will go 10,000' AND every Oktoberfest launch is windy as all get out, I need to do better.

Here is my next plan. I cut the thread rod that secures the aluminum tip way down and put a washer as a stopper on it and locked the nuts in place. Next I'll 3D print the tracker bay for the nose cone. It looks complex but it is actually really straight forward. In short there is a tube epoxied into the nosecone that is threaded on one end. The sled houses the tracker and battery and has a threaded cap on the other end. I simply slide sled in the tube and screw into place. The eyebolt is replaced with Kevlar epoxied through at two points.

Doing this with 3D printing will cost me $2.10. Not bad for something cool! Printing will take 10 hours, assuming there are no failures and my threading is printed smooth enough to work as planned.

I found that bug while testing my ejection charges too. I was holding the AV bay in my hand, but luckily, I only had an e-match attached.

Cris fixed it; just update the firmware.