How to recover a really tiny booster stage??

It will house an Estes D size motor. How to get it back and find it afterwards??

Is it minimum diameter, or do you have centering rings of some kind?

Is this a scale model where there is a “dress code”? If not, start with fluorescent colors and/or Mylar tape.
Is this a short gap with tumble staging? If so, you may not need anything other than a couple good spotters.
Does your design allow for a “pod” that can deploy a streamer?

No dress code, bright colors needed. Streamer will go in the 4" section that I have marked. Should pull out upon ejecting the booster stage. I know she will tumble with no streamer. I just want to be able to find it after it is back down.

Silver tape on one fin for flash.

Assign someone to watch and recover the booster. Trying to do both yourself is playingrocket roulette

Nytrunner said:

Silver tape on one fin for flash.

Assign someone to watch and recover the booster. Trying to do both yourself is playingrocket roulette

Click to expand...

Done that already

Hmmm, minimum diameter yes?

That nixes stuffing a tuny bit of streamer in there

Build a lot of them.

Not MD. Bt55 tube with 24mmt. Not lots of room, but I think just enough.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bird-B-Gone-Deterrent-Flash-Tape-MMFT050X/
this stuff really catches the sun and makes it easier to see on the way down and in the grass. You can also hear it flapping in the breeze on the way down, unless the sustainer motor is too loud for that.



or put a mini MilkBone dog biscuit in there and let your dog find it! Probably not enough room for a keychain personal alarm or "screamer" strapped on there, is there?

Pulling a plastic streamer out of a small space may work, but it may get singed by sustainer jet.

Always go with lowest possible motor on SUSTAINER for first flight (consider adapter to go DOWN to an A8-5, low impulse, big nozzle, lights reliably.)

I assume you are using BP non-electric staging, so suspect you plan on using a D12-0 for booster. If you can get your total mass with the D12 down to 113 grams plus difference in mass between D12-0 and a C6-0 with adapter (not sure what adapter weighs, the difference in motor weights is about 18 grams) you can use a C on the booster, so it won’t stage very high. You can even go with a B, though when I have tried that, it staged on the rod. Felt pretty silly looking all over the place for the booster (we never saw it stage, and the sustainer deployed the chute, where the heck did the booster GO?!) and finding it the one place I didn’t expect, on the blast plate after sliding back down the rail!

Hope for a low wind day, and a flat field (mown grass if possible) with dedicate spotters for booster and sustainer (plan this ahead of time, I’ve had cases where all three of us were following one or other segment )

Hope you get two straight trails and two short walks.

It staged on the rod!!! Recovery made easy.

I might just have to try that

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bird-B-Gone-Deterrent-Flash-Tape-MMFT050X/202347479
different link for "Bird B Gone Deterrent Flash Tape"

and it is made of Mylar, I think.