Anyone flown an Este's Patriot on an A8-3?

[grimlock3000]

I got a Patriot kit at Wal Mart for my wife to paint and fly. It was the largest rocket I could find locally and was the standard WM $8.88 so i think it is a good deal. The whole thing is going to get primed white, she is going to paint colorful caterpillars on it, then the whole thing is going to get a clear coat to protect it. My one major corcern is making sure I get the rocket back after we launch it. It is not big deal if I lose any of my rockets, but my wife is going to be upset if her rocket gets stuck in a tree

The box lists the A8-3 as the lowest powered engine I can use. The Patriot seems pretty big, is the A8-3 powerful enough to get it off the pad safely and reach decent apogee so the chute can come out? I am using a 4 foot one piece launch rod if that matters. Even if the rocket only gets 100 feet off the ground that would be fine. I checked the EMRR database, no one had any A8-3 flights listed.

 

[Fore Check]

I agree that an A8-3 seems a bit skimpy.

I suggest you fly it first on a B6-4 at a field big enough that you know it won't be a problem, and then make a judgement call on the A8-3.


I've got a Patriot too, but it flies on D power.

 

[DPatell]

I modded mine to 24mm and flew it on an A8-3 in my backyard...nice slow flight to 40' or so, but deploys in time. Go for it on a calm day.

 

[rocketsonly]

Funny you mention Patriots in trees with A8-3s... I just finished building one of those one day and had a very strong urge to launch a rocket, even though there were 7 mph winds out side... so I launched one at the lowest angle my launcher would provide down my street. How stupid was that! I knew it would go into a tree! But yea, A8-3s are fine with the Partriots.
-Matthew

 

[carldoc]

When converting the Patriot to use "D" engines, do you need to add any nose weight?

 

[rocketsonly]

I would. Or if you want to find the exact weight, you could use a Barrowman Equations calculator.
-Matthew

 

[Fore Check]

Originally posted by carldoc
When converting the Patriot to use "D" engines, do you need to add any nose weight?

I added a little bit and it works quite well.

Here's what I did:

Well, first of all, I use this handi-tak clay for adding nose weight to PNC's. You can find it at Home Depot by the epoxy adhesives, or you can find it in the business supplies aisle at Wal-Mart. It's the stuff that you use to hang posters and such on the wall without using nails. It comes in a package of 8 "strips" (two sheets of four strips.) The stuff at Home Depot is yellow, the stuff at Wal-Mart is blue. It's cheap, adhere's well (it's designed to be sticky), it's moldable, it takes *forever* to dry out, and comes in conveniently sized strips.

Anyway, a single strip weighs about 1/4 oz., +/- a fraction. I took a single (full) strip, rolled it into a snake, and pressed it up in the front of the nose cone using a dowel. Presto!

RockSim predicted that the Patriot needed about 5 grams of nose weight for a 1.0 stability margin with a D12-5 loaded. 1/4 oz is pretty close to that. I can tell you from flying it in 10-15 mph winds that it flies straight and true.