Baffle Journy

[rabidsheeep]

OK, so either yesterday or the day before it was about 9:30 at night and im sitting bored because i had abosoultely nothing to do, so naturally i pull out a cardboard tube in my stash and start fooling around with ideas.

I decided to start experimenting with a way to make a baffle i heard of somewhere so i chopped a mmt out of my first failed attempt for a goddard rocket from last year and made some cardboard centering rings (i know i know, but ive made corrugated cardboard CR's before and theve worked fine...)

perdy little thing aint she?

So then i cut out two rings for the baffle and drilled a hole in each thats just slightly bigger than 1/4"

Then i cut and sanded 4 even risers for the baffle and glued it on with the holes facing different sides.

Here it is finished up with one of my beautiful rolled paper and hot glue nosecones and fins from some scrap balsa (you know, those sections of estes sheets you always say "that could be a fin" but never use? or is that just me?)

Ill hopefully fire it off sometime soon, when the rain passes by NY... first to just see if the baffle works ill tie it or tape it down to something and shoot it off to see if it can get the NC off...

 

[teflonrocketry1]

Your baffle should work fine if the material you made it from is strong enough; did you make it from Balsa wood? Be careful with the rocket design; is the baffle all the way aft or mid body? This design might be unstable due to the weight at the bottom.

Bruce S. Levison, NAR #69055

 

[Stymye]

mabey blow in the back end and see if it pops the cone.

 

[rabidsheeep]

well i string tested it and i just added some noseweight, but first im gonna launch it just to make sure the nosecone actually pops

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by rabidsheeep
well i string tested it and i just added some noseweight, but first im gonna launch it just to make sure the nosecone actually pops

I suppose actually *launching* the rocket is one way of testing it! Cool little off-the-cuff build.

Folks, if I ever get stranded on an island and I have the need to do some rocketry I think I'll take rabidsheep with me. I think he could make a coconut fly!

 

[AlexM]

You know,
I kind of like that coconut idea. I may have to try that.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

What is the purpose of the baffle?

 

[BlueNinja]

It cools off the ejection gasses so you don't need wadding or a chute protector of any sort.

 

[Larry]

Originally posted by UpUpAndAway
What is the purpose of the baffle?

Baffles are designed to cool the ejection charge gases enough to keep from melting your parachute, instead of using recovery wadding. There are many different ways to go about making baffles,and there are companies that offer baffle kits(Fliskits soon, and others) Do a search and you will see what I mean.
Welcome to TRF

Larry

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Thank you, guys.

Where in Iowa, Larry?

 

[rabidsheeep]

Originally posted by eugenefl

Folks, if I ever get stranded on an island and I have the need to do some rocketry I think I'll take rabidsheep with me. I think he could make a coconut fly!

ehh im not really into cocunuts, im more of a pumkin kinda guy

its some little water bottle i picked up for 79 cents at a store somewhere... i had to try it...

 

[rabidsheeep]

well finally built the energy to shoot it off...

it worked perfect, and the streamer wasn't even singed a bit

sorry for the pic quality but i cut it down for the 56k-ers

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by rabidsheeep
ehh im not really into cocunuts, im more of a pumkin kinda guy
{flying pumpkin pics}
its some little water bottle i picked up for 79 cents at a store somewhere... i had to try it...

You, sir, are seriously twisted.

I salute you.