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Looks like you are local. We probably know each other, but I can't place the screen name. Either way, I've got a large vinyl cutter and can take .svg files easily. If that isn't available though, I'm sure we can find something that does work. You can even come over to the rocket shop and...

Turns out, you are totally right. This tube is beefy. Almost 4 pounds. I was originally scared of doing 1 layer, but that is what I will do for the second tube. The most thrust this rocket is designed for is a K250 which has a peak thrust of less than a 100lbs. High performance that doesn’t...

So we’ve got a start on the H and I records, let’s start up the J and K records. This starts with the body and a new process for me to learn: removable mandrels. Recall that for the H and I, they used a thin wall paper tube and the carbon was laid up directly on top of that. Well, I’ve been...

Is there a DMS version? The one I just bought from Aerotech is the LMS version they’ve been making for a long time.

Thanks so much for the great comments. I have multiple flights worth of experience with high power clustered flights with a couple 5 and 7 motor O impulse motors. The I40 motors offer an interesting challenge and opportunity. Unlike my other large clusters, there just isn’t room for redundant...

Now that 3D printed parts were finished, it was time to assemble the capsule. The first thing we did was CA all of the sections together. @jpoehlman sliding in another segment ahead of CA gluing. Due to warping and other printing irregularities the base was not perfectly circular. To...

I am very excited to announce an exceptionally cool project that @jpoehlman and I are working on together. Some may know that I happen to have an affinity for short and fat rockets. A couple years ago I started progress toward a 1/6th scale Falcon 9. Turns out, that is very hard. At over 38ft...

The tube I was laying up for the H and I record rockets was so impossibly thin, I doubt it could have soaked up very much epoxy at all. When I layup big sonotube tube rockets, I do make sure to pre-wet out the tube to prevent too much soaking. The challenge with these dang sleeves is that they...

It doesn’t have to, and you might be hinting toward the fact that some NAR record rockets will attach their chute to the body tube center of mass to encourage the rocket to come down horizontally versus vertically. This has the benefit of using the body as some of the drag producing element on...

Thank you Steve for chiming in and congratulations to you and your daughter for setting NAR and FAI records! (If I thought the TRA single stage records were tough, the NAR and FAI competitions just blow my mind. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at the RC Boost Glide since combining hobbies...

The Tripoli Records categories have some strange and unique cut offs. As you mentioned the Handicap records end at G, but for the Single-Stage Records, they end at F, for the Hybrids it ends at H, and the EX categories go down to 24mm motors. There are a ton of complicated and probably...

No! Shhhhh. That’s a secret still. (That project is for a completely different Tripoli Record category!)

Thanks Mark! The H Handicap Record is definitely one of the most competitive record (as is the K). In the record listing it lists a 3 pound launch weight, and that has been my goal to beat. I think I will get there, but we shall see! Good luck on the I motor flight at BALLS this year! I hope I...

You bring up a great point Kevin. As I am planning electronics in the nosecone, I am planning the parachutes to be right below the shoulder. My plan right now is to install a thin plate/bulkhead in the body, below the shoulder with enough space for the parachute/nomex/shock cord. This should...

Thanks for the suggestion. That is actually how I usually make tubes. I’ve got plenty of peel ply in stock, that I might give it a try. I wanted to give the heat shrink tube a try, but so far it has been a disappointment. I don’t want to give up on it too soon as I understand with any composites...

I guess I’m not ever “sure” that I’ve wetted out completely, but getting the sleeve onto a pre-epoxied pour out cardboard mandrel sounded really awful. I use a pretty hands-on laminating technique (with gloves of course) so I’m pretty happy with how much epoxy I am able to massage into the tube...

This is the current planned motors. H45W I65W J140WLB K250W L851W (not optimal, but a motor I have in stock) M795CLB M1600R + 3xK1100T + 3xK456DM (Very tentative plan)

Great question! Lots of parts of this project is new to me, so for the H and I rocket airframes, you saw that I bonded the carbon directly to the tube without pulling it out. On the J and K airframes, I chose to remove the cardboard mandrel after carbon application. Lots of pros and cons to...

Great question, it definitely *could* include part of the nosecone and tailcone, but at least 8ft of the rocket must be bigger than 7.5 inch in diameter. A silly (but relevant) example is the O handicap record is currently held by Project Sasquatch which even though the body tube is only 6ft...

I've got my registration in. Looking forward to my farthest east rocketry adventure!