First off, let me state that my boss's wife gave me a coffee mug that reads, "Hold on. Let me overthink this..." Now @hcmbanjo's "Cylcone" is a real piece of work. He has already advised me to build it light, little or no paint, etc. Well, nutjob that I am, I had wanted to look at the theory and development that Chris had linked to but now even the Wayback machine isn't getting it.
See, I know that a mapleseed recovery is a careful balance of CG, moment of inertia, drag, overall weight, etc. to get you to your correct spin rate. But it's almost against my religion not to airfoil, or at least shape the leading and trailing edges somewhat. Aerodynamics! But if that throws the balance off, or increases the spin rate due to the lower drag and mass moment of inertia... And if I sand the nosecone flush with the tube... but I could make up some lost weight with paint and even reflective mylar strips from some streamer stock (Mylar balloons bought by my brother-in-law for my wife's65th 39th birthday). And would a thin coat of white followed by some flourescent orange be too much paint? Ah, if I just understood the design parameters and sensitivities!
I thought about building it naked, unsanded fins, etc. and then checking the mass and balance location and working it from there, always attempting to bring it back to the same place. But that doesn't help (unless one takes special pains) with the mass moment of inertia or the effects on drag that set up the spin rate.
Has anyone else built this one? Does anyone have the theory workup in their files anywhere? And how would one adhere reflective mylar to a rocket? Super glue? NO, NO don't turn this into a glue thread!
Thanks all! I'll continue overthinking this!
See, I know that a mapleseed recovery is a careful balance of CG, moment of inertia, drag, overall weight, etc. to get you to your correct spin rate. But it's almost against my religion not to airfoil, or at least shape the leading and trailing edges somewhat. Aerodynamics! But if that throws the balance off, or increases the spin rate due to the lower drag and mass moment of inertia... And if I sand the nosecone flush with the tube... but I could make up some lost weight with paint and even reflective mylar strips from some streamer stock (Mylar balloons bought by my brother-in-law for my wife's
I thought about building it naked, unsanded fins, etc. and then checking the mass and balance location and working it from there, always attempting to bring it back to the same place. But that doesn't help (unless one takes special pains) with the mass moment of inertia or the effects on drag that set up the spin rate.
Has anyone else built this one? Does anyone have the theory workup in their files anywhere? And how would one adhere reflective mylar to a rocket? Super glue? NO, NO don't turn this into a glue thread!
Thanks all! I'll continue overthinking this!