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In a recent post about the NCR SA-14 and the Aerotech Strongarm I made the comment that if either used a piston, I'd not build the piston, in favor of installing a baffle. Later I pointed out that pistons violate the KISS principle and are an invitation to Mr. Murphy's Law. I said that I've heard too many cases of pistons jamming/failing due to residue buildup. I stand by my position. However, this has now hijacked that thread. So, seeing the interest, I'm spinning it off here.
My baffle of choice is the 1/2 moon baffle (or a variant of it, such as Back_at_it's diagram seen in the image below).
or the version used by Binder Design for the Velociraptor (the baffle is visible just above the talon fins in the image below).
The advantage of the 1/2 moon baffle is that any residue that are loose inside the area between the baffle and the back of the booster section can be easily shaken out with some careful angling of the booster. The disadvantage that I can see is the plastic cap from Aerotech motors can be a source of damage to a weakly built baffle, or getting caught inside other baffle designs. I like to make my rockets zipperless, and as the coupler that forms the joint between the booster and the recovery bay is a good place, far from the motor, to put my baffle, and also acts as a shelf (with a small grill to prevent the parachute from falling into the back of the rocket) and thus decreases the odds of the parachute "hanging up" in the body tube, resulting in a poor recovery situation.
And now that I've said my part... What's your choice? Why? What are the advantages/disadvantages of it?
Pointy Side Up!
Jim
My baffle of choice is the 1/2 moon baffle (or a variant of it, such as Back_at_it's diagram seen in the image below).
or the version used by Binder Design for the Velociraptor (the baffle is visible just above the talon fins in the image below).
The advantage of the 1/2 moon baffle is that any residue that are loose inside the area between the baffle and the back of the booster section can be easily shaken out with some careful angling of the booster. The disadvantage that I can see is the plastic cap from Aerotech motors can be a source of damage to a weakly built baffle, or getting caught inside other baffle designs. I like to make my rockets zipperless, and as the coupler that forms the joint between the booster and the recovery bay is a good place, far from the motor, to put my baffle, and also acts as a shelf (with a small grill to prevent the parachute from falling into the back of the rocket) and thus decreases the odds of the parachute "hanging up" in the body tube, resulting in a poor recovery situation.
And now that I've said my part... What's your choice? Why? What are the advantages/disadvantages of it?
Pointy Side Up!
Jim
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