mollwollfumble
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- Joined
- Nov 18, 2013
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I am a complete beginner in rocketry and this is my first post. One month ago I didn't know that Estes rockets came with igniters, so bought separate igniters, and didn't know that body tubes could be bought, so bought multiple motor retainers instead. I have just two launches, a kit rocket (Atomic Sky using C6-7) and a home-built 4-stage Estes C6 rocket.
In addition to the launches I've done tests on flammability and strength of glues and tapes, I did a 3-stage Estes C6 test in my garage by firing the rocket upside down with the body tube held by a retort stand and clamps, and I've been solving in a spreadsheet the differential equations for minimum fuel to given altitude.
I'm here on the forum looking for two things, the first is what someone else has tried (in the way of a diary or lab book) and how the trials went in the way of altitude etc. Traps for beginners to avoid. How to reliably attach fins. How to improve build quality. What works and what doesn't?
The second reason I'm on the forum is that I want to work up through a series of tests to massively multistaged (eventually to at least 12 stages and possibly as many as 30 stages). So far I've been attaching stages together with a single turn of sticky tape, and every stage has fired correctly in turn. I already have a solution to the flight stability problem - my home-built launch used a single set of fins to stabilize the first 3 stages of the 4-stage rocket (the fins fell off prematurely then) by attaching the fins to rods that were glued to the last stage. So I need advice from someone who has already successfully launched rockets with 5 or more stages. My 4-stage rocket only reached about 400 ft when calculations suggested that it should have made 1200 ft before the fins fell off. Have you ever launched a rocket with 5 or more stages?
In addition to the launches I've done tests on flammability and strength of glues and tapes, I did a 3-stage Estes C6 test in my garage by firing the rocket upside down with the body tube held by a retort stand and clamps, and I've been solving in a spreadsheet the differential equations for minimum fuel to given altitude.
I'm here on the forum looking for two things, the first is what someone else has tried (in the way of a diary or lab book) and how the trials went in the way of altitude etc. Traps for beginners to avoid. How to reliably attach fins. How to improve build quality. What works and what doesn't?
The second reason I'm on the forum is that I want to work up through a series of tests to massively multistaged (eventually to at least 12 stages and possibly as many as 30 stages). So far I've been attaching stages together with a single turn of sticky tape, and every stage has fired correctly in turn. I already have a solution to the flight stability problem - my home-built launch used a single set of fins to stabilize the first 3 stages of the 4-stage rocket (the fins fell off prematurely then) by attaching the fins to rods that were glued to the last stage. So I need advice from someone who has already successfully launched rockets with 5 or more stages. My 4-stage rocket only reached about 400 ft when calculations suggested that it should have made 1200 ft before the fins fell off. Have you ever launched a rocket with 5 or more stages?