Attained L1 today

[billdz]

My son Paul and I traveled to W. Palm Beach to take the Level 1 High Power Rocketry certification test with the Florida Spacemodeling Association. We failed on our first try with the PAUL DZ (LOC Expediter) on an H115 because of a manufacturing defect on the tie bar (see photo). On our second try, with the PAVEL 3 (Wildman Darkstar Jr) on an H135, all went well and we got certified with a flight of 2011 feet. Windy day but JL Chute Release saved us a lot of walking. The TeleMetrum/TeleBT combo worked great and the "live audio reports from the rocket" attracted a lot of attention. L2 soon, I hope.

The video cameras had issues and we could only manage to make this video of the day:
https://youtu.be/Zot_jU1ELb4

​

 

[MALBAR 70]

Congratulations. Welcome to the world of big rockets and empty wallets.

 

[qquake2k]

Congratulations on the L1!

 

[michigander]

Congrats on L1

Eye bolt or kevlar loop are common upgrades to fix / not use plastic loop on nc

L2 that darkstar jr will do it

 

[tim cubbedge]

Congrats on L1. By the way, those NC loops are meant to fail!

 

[markkoelsch]

Congrats on the cert.

 

[Coop]

Congratulations! Well done!

With plastic NC's like that, I usually drill a couple of 1/2" holes in the thing and pass the shock cord through the holes for attachment. Far more secure than any of the molded loops...


Later!

--Coop

 

[Nathan]

Congratulations, welcome to HPR! Yeah, replacing the thin plastic loop with a kevlar loop is a good idea anytime but an absolute necessity with large plastic nose cones, like on a Minie-Magg for example.

 

[byoungblood]

Congrats! Glad to see you're getting some mileage out of that Darkstar Jr.

 

[ThePlmbr]

Congrats on your level one flight!

 

[ozwald]

Congratulations on your certification. Enjoy the journey

 

[blackjack2564]

Welcome to High power! :dark:

As others have mentioned....NC did not have malfunction....it's a bad design, I'm surprised the RSO didn't catch how you attached shock cord.

 

[chris m]

Yes welcome to high power . You will have a lot of fun . Just like everyone else there is different ways to attach harness to a nose cone . Never stock

 

[Arisia]

Congrats on your Level 1.

Is Rocket Rick still running the Florida Spacemodeling Association ?

 

[fyrwrxz]

Happy L1! This is to let you know you are officially certifiable. The only requirement is to spend 104% of your income on rockets-welcome!

 

[ksaves2]

Congrats on L1

Eye bolt or kevlar loop are common upgrades to fix / not use plastic loop on nc

L2 that darkstar jr will do it

Ditto, Congratulations, I hate when that happens and don't trust those plastic "thingies" I go so far of using a high grade epoxy with a plywood bulkhead and finishing screws around the periphery. Haven't had an NC subvert that. I've done toggle bolts but they eventually start to rip through the base. Kevlar loop is down, dirty and a very workable easy way out to get a cert in the can. Kurt

 

[blackbrandt]

Congratulations! Open up your wallet.

 

[Kruegon]

Welcome to high power. You will find sitting much easier now. An empty wallet isn't nearly as uncomfortable. Good job and good luck working towards L2.

 

[billdz]

Congrats on your Level 1.

Is Rocket Rick still running the Florida Spacemodeling Association ?

Yes he is, he is in my video.

 

[zeotherm]

Congrats! Glad it went well, Ben though there was a set back

 

[MikeyDSlagle]

Congrats on your Lvl 1. Lots of fun ahead.

 

[KenRico]

Congratulations on the Level 1 achievement.

Kenny

 

[Bat-mite]

Uh oh! Another fool is entering the world of chronic debt!

Just kidding. Congratulations!

 

[EeebeeE]

Congrats. I cut off the coled end of the shoulder and use a coupler bulkplate in the NC. That way I can put an eyebolt through it. After you cut off the end, leaving most of the shoulder, rough sand the inside where you are attaching your bulkplate. If you are going to use your nc to house your tracker and/or other electronics, drill the appropriate-width hole in your bulkplate then attach the eyebolt to it. I have found that a generous amount of LocTite epoxy for plastics works very well. Make sure you have a good bead on both sides of the bulkplate.

 

[Nick@JET]

Woohoo congrats on your L1!! Now it gets serious

 

[boatgeek]

Congratulations! Look on the bright side: with the failed nosecone loop, you *had* to fly again. I'm sure they had to twist your arm real hard, too!

 

[kcobbva]

Congratulations. Welcome to the world of big rockets and empty wallets.

+1 Congratulations!

 

[Zeus-cat]

Congrats. To save money, pout your wallet in your L1 bird and shove the biggest motor you can into it. Lose the wallet now and you will save a lot of money in the long run.

 

[BDB]

+1 Great idea.

 

[Caley]

Big Congrats on L1 Cert. Thank you for telling us what happened on the first try. I definitely will be looking into replacing the plastic loop with something more robust. Caley Ann