Aura Help

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acesb422

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I am moving up in rocketry to bigger motors and higher flights. I ordered and aura from hobbylinc and a f40 I think. I am wondering if you all had any tips as far as recovery or building such as shock cord, and chute or streamer, I will be launching in an area that has more than enough room like a 2 mile by 2 mile section. I want to someday bump to a G but thought i would start with F to get a feel for the power. Thanks.
 
Build it according to the instructions and you'll be fine. I've built two, using Titebond II, and they work well. The shock cord mount does need epoxy, but otherwise a quality wood glue will work just fine.

An Aura on a G will go fairly high, fairly quickly.

-Kevin
 
Rough up the body tube where the fins get glued on the Aura is prone to snapping off fins on landing.Get as much of the glossy coating off of the tube as you can.
 
The Aura is a neat little rocket..A couple pointers:

Fins: Make sure at a minimum you rough up the mounting surface as they will come off on landing(I have had 2 of the 3 fins pop off many times)..Last mod I did was to cut a shallow 'trough' to set the fins in, the body tube is fairly thick, but a little trough of 2 or 3 paper layers thick should do the trick..Makes them almost[/] like Thru The Wall mounting..

Shock cord attachment: I would recommend getting a kevlar 'leader' and attaching it to the front centering ring..The stock cord mounting works, just make sure if you go that way, that it is far enough down from the front of the tube not to interfere with the shoulder of the nose cone...

An Aura on a G will go to ridiculous heights and be out of sight in a blink!
 
So with my F50 blue thunder what kind of heights can i expect and will i be able to see a exhaust trail from that motor at all or will i have to just make a big big streamer?? or do people put chutes on these???
 
So with my F50 blue thunder what kind of heights can i expect and will i be able to see a exhaust trail from that motor at all or will i have to just make a big big streamer?? or do people put chutes on these???

I rarely launch my Aura on anything bigger than an E because it disappears.

I have had issues with fins popping on hard landings with the streamer but that's not been an issue for a while. When the streamer that came with it finally gave out, I replaced it with a 12" X chute from UMRS and that has made it easier to spot and helped with the fin popping. It still comes down fast which is good since it is coming from quite a ways up.
 
So with my F50 blue thunder what kind of heights can i expect and will i be able to see a exhaust trail from that motor at all or will i have to just make a big big streamer?? or do people put chutes on these???

I've done both streamer and parachute. I also use a 12" x-form and that seems to lessen the rough recovery that a streamer has. If you are flying in a moist corn field or sod farm, I'd use a streamer. Something as hard as desert playa I'd probably use a 18" regular chute if the winds are calm.

I flew mine on a F52 once and it simmed to 2500' or so and is almost as powerful as the F50. It was a crystal clear day and I could barely see it. The long streamer did help spotting it after deployment. There are pluses and minuses to whatever you pick.

If you want cheap streamer material goto your local Ace Hardware (or Lowe's or whatever) and buy a 2" wide roll of surveyors tape. It comes in 500' rolls so it takes a loooong time to blow through a roll. Good luck and post pictures!

-Dave
 
So with my F50 blue thunder what kind of heights can i expect and will i be able to see a exhaust trail from that motor at all or will i have to just make a big big streamer?? or do people put chutes on these???
Well, RockSim puts it to 2441 feet with a 9 second delay being optimal..Even the E16 will put it to almost 1200 feet..An X-Form 12" chute would probably be the best recovery to use. fairly quick descent but should be gentle enough to not pop off the fins..
 
Just got my kit and i was looking through it and i see no motor retention clip. What are some things you can use. I thought i have seen something on here about that but can't find it.
 
The easiest retention is masking tape. Build the rocket with 1/2" of the motor tube sticking out beyond the rear of the main tube. If using single use motors that don't have a molded in shoulder at the nozzle end, use 1/2" masking tape to build up a thrust ring on the motor about the same OD as the motor tube. Slide the motor in and wrap 3-4 layers of tape over the motor/MMT joint. For reloads, I friction fit then wrap the tape over the joint. There is not much room for clips on the rear centering ring. Of course, if willing to spend the money, an Aeropac retainer can be used.
 
Everyone is right. Build the kit according to the instructions. I have done a couple things regarding the fins, as they they will come off upon landing. I have poked pinholes along where the root edge will be epoxied. I then do fairly thick fillets. I also go as far as tip-to-tip fiberglassing to make sure that those fins stay on. I had two Auras in which I had done this. I lost both of them. I recently bought one off another rocketeer which was built very well. I am looking to fly it on an F motor.

With my experiences as far as recovery of the Aura, if you do the steps I mentioned above, you can get away with a streamer recovery no matter what motor you use. If you do not go with the fiberglassing, I would probably use a small chute, like a 9 or 12 inch chute. Even though the nosecone is heavy, the Aura WILL drift.

Good luck with your Aura. I cannot wait to see pictures of it after it is built and in flight.
 
just got my first coat of primer on. Can really see sanding marks on nose cone. Hope they go away with additional coats. Can't decide if i am going to put a chute on or just get a longer streamer can't make up my mind. On building the fins i made the bases of them flush with main tube hoping to protect them a little. So i guess i will learn as i go there.
 
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