Level 2 certification flight

I certified level 2 today at the DARS monthly high power launch in Gunter TX using an Aerotech J250 on my trusty old Madcow DX3 4".

Special thanks to George and Sam for all their help and advice. I originally was going to attempt the certification with a two-stage but it's not 100% ready and this was hard enough as it is. I used a StratologgerCF to handle dual deployment with motor ejection as a backup for the drogue. After the flight, the altimeter beeped out 3,700 feet which was about perfect. Openrocket simulation put it at 4,097 feet and thrustcurve predicted ~3,500 feet.

Nice flight. Congratulations. Welcome to L2 .

Awesome, congrats!!

Edit - as I was asked 3 seconds after my L2 success, when is L3?

Way to go Chad!! Congrats!

Good job!
This is almost a twin to my L2 flight in April. DX3 is a great rocket.
Mine has the 54mm motor mount. I flew it once on a 54mm DMS J450 to 4377ft. I got some CTI 54mm hardware and would like to try it on a K motor when I can travel to a large site.

tOD said:

Good job!
This is almost a twin to my L2 flight in April. DX3 is a great rocket.
Mine has the 54mm motor mount. I flew it once on a 54mm DMS J450 to 4377ft. I got some CTI 54mm hardware and would like to try it on a K motor when I can travel to a large site.

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Yes, i can't say enough good things about the DX3. I have the 4" cardboard 54mm motor mount version and did my Level 1 on it with a 54mm to 38mm adapter and H100. That poor thing has survived one failed deployment crash plus my hacking to figure out build/finishing techniques and it still delivers. I think the 4" body tube is the best for newcomers to HPR because you can easily get a hand all the way down the tube for things like centering ring fillets, rail buttons, etc.

Dustin Lobner said:

Awesome, congrats!!

Edit - as I was asked 3 seconds after my L2 success, when is L3?

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yeah i'm at a crossroads,
I set a goal for myself to follow the workbench 2.0 build thread and launch to > 100k' at BALLS next year. My plan for L3 is a scaled down version of that workbench 2.0 build. L3, AFAIK, has to be done with a single stage design so I guess I will do L3 sometime early-2020 flying the booster as a stand alone rocket. Tripoli North Texas flies with a team near Waco TX that has a waiver to 20k feet. I want to fly the scaled down workbench 2.0 build at least 3 times there then comes the BALLS build.

On the other hand,
L3 class motors are very expensive and it's not like you can take an M to your local club and fly unless you have an out of the ordinary local club. Honestly, i'd like to do more mid-power and even low-power because I can take my boys out to the local park and launch there. On a G, you can still fly altimeters and do dual deployment and all the advanced stuff. Finally, my wife has been begging me to start a rocket club at my kid's elementary school but i have a bad habit of overcommitting myself. If i choose to do that it will consume what little free time i have.

Chad,

Completely understand the conundrum. I'm planning my L3, but it won't happen until spring of 2021 because I'm getting married next year and that's taking most financial resources.

I started a rocketry club at work - one of my co-workers kids are homeschooled so it's evolved into coworkers and homeschooled kids. The lucky part is that my coworker lives on 25 acres, so we have an always available launch site to use for low and mid power stuff. Honestly, the biggest time commitment for me has been building rockets...been trying to motivate people to partake by launching as many of my own as I can, lol. Also spent a fair bit of time and money building the infrastructure - a 4 launch pad saw horse, electrical/fire control box for it, etc etc. Now that that initial effort is complete, I've been able to focus more on rockets themselves.

Regardless of what you do, good luck. As far as the L3 goes, I guess what I'd say is be realistic in what you plan and commit to. If it's out of reach for the next couple of years, that doesn't make you a failure, lol.

Chad said:

I certified level 2 today at the DARS monthly high power launch in Gunter TX using an Aerotech J250 on my trusty old Madcow DX3 4".
...

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Congratulations. You did the prep and followed your plan yesterday. Good show !

Congratulations!

Congrats on your L2!

Yes, very nice flight! Congrats!

Congratulations! Text book approach for a L2 certification attempt. Big heavy rocket with a small J motor. Not to mention engine ejection as backup. For me it was a coin toss between the Madcow Torrent or the Super DX3. The only reason I chose the Torrent was because it was a bit heavier and Apogee had a nice video on how to build it. There is someone at a club I fly with that has a DX3. That baby takes a lick'n and keeps on tick'n. How about a photo or two of your DX3?

Great job on your L2 flight

Way to go!

Chad said:

I certified level 2 today at the DARS monthly high power launch in Gunter TX using an Aerotech J250 on my trusty old Madcow DX3 4".

Special thanks to George and Sam for all their help and advice. I originally was going to attempt the certification with a two-stage but it's not 100% ready and this was hard enough as it is. I used a StratologgerCF to handle dual deployment with motor ejection as a backup for the drogue. After the flight, the altimeter beeped out 3,700 feet which was about perfect. Openrocket simulation put it at 4,097 feet and thrustcurve predicted ~3,500 feet.

Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations and welcome to higher power!

Great flight! I was there and saw it.
Motor back up....smart flyer!
Way to go! Congratulations!

Well done Chad and congratulations on your L2 cert.

Your L3 cert plans seem solid and there shouldn't be any issues moving up when keeping to the same build points as your L2 rocket.

A 100,000 two stage for BALLS in less than a year is ambitious and a super high goal in more ways than one.

Good luck Chad!

C'ya out there

John

Congrats!