BlackHawk 29 Dual Deploy Build Thread

[qquake2k]

Thanks Jim!

I think I should add the reminder that I chose the BH-29 since I can fly her both MPR and HPR. The 12/1 date will be at my local NAR MPR limited field.

She should still scoot on a G64 or G80. Will they allow G138 reloads? When we were limited to G flights at our launchsite, they allowed G138's even though they're technically high power. The G138 goes in the 29/40-120 Hobbyline case.

 

[qquake2k]

Do you have a dry weight? It's probably in your thread somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look. :tongue:

 

[qquake2k]

I found a single deploy Rocksim file. Open rocket sims it to 4200 ft on a G64 or G80, and 5241 ft and mach 1.01 on a G138. That's close to a mile!

 

[Quaranta]

She should still scoot on a G64 or G80. Will they allow G138 reloads? When we were limited to G flights at our launchsite, they allowed G138's even though they're technically high power. The G138 goes in the 29/40-120 Hobbyline case.

Yes.

I have a selection of G's in my box to choose from...

F36 Smokey
F59 White Thunder
G80 Skid
G88 Smokey
G106 White Thunder
G 106 Skid
G 131 Smokey

Do you have a dry weight? It's probably in your thread somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look. :tongue:

Yes. fully rigged including elecs and battery... 15.9 ounces.

 

[qquake2k]

Yes.

I have a selection of G's in my box to choose from...

F36 Smokey
F59 White Thunder
G80 Skid
G88 Smokey
G106 White Thunder
G 106 Skid
G 131 Smokey

Yes. fully rigged including elecs and battery... 15.9 ounces.

Oh man, I vote for the Skid! 4108 ft!

 

[Quaranta]

Oh man, I vote for the Skid! 4108 ft!

Going to have to wait for that!

I'm going to prep for up to 3 flights...

Flight 1: F59-WT. sims to about 1450' (good to see entire first flight)
Flight 2: G88-Smokey. sims to about 2300'
Flight 3: G80-Skid. sims to about 2700'

Wind or flight results from earlier flights may effect flight plans for flights 2 and 3,... but this is the baseline plan.

 

[Quaranta]

Looking good for 1st flight this Saturday. Will do final pre-flight day prep today...

1st flight will be the CTI F59WT...

 

[Quaranta]

Weather update: Skies are clear... but winds ~10-15 mph. Worth a shot for some lower altitude flights... Hopefully the winds don't build...

Local marine forecast not too hopeful...

Today
Northeast winds 14 to 19 knots. Seas 2 to 4 feet with occasional seas up to 5 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas. Slight chance of showers.

Tonight
East northeast winds 15 to 20 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas. Slight chance of showers.

Sunday
East northeast winds 17 to 22 knots. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas. Slight chance of showers.

Sunday Night
East northeast winds 12 to 17 knots along the coast to east northeast 16 to 21 knots in the Gulf Stream. Seas 3 to 5 feet with occasional seas up to 6 feet. Dominant period 5 seconds. Intracoastal waters choppy in exposed areas. Slight chance of showers.

 

[Quaranta]

Interesting day...

Winds 15-20 mph. Decided to give it a go anyway...

CTI F59-WT. She flew off the pad straight and true. Nice "Puff" at apogee...

Unfortunately,... I had put a piece of painter's tape on the apogee shock cord to keep it neat / coiled during construction. I forgot to remove this! Result... shockcord was effectively only 1 foot long. Sooo... both streamer and main deployed at apogee (1700').

The main charge was seen to blow at 600' as planned... So from that perspective the flight was a success.

But the rocket drifted west and landed dead center of the adjacent canal... SPLASH! About 50' from shore... The streamer and chute floated long enough to locate the rocket. Our vendor had a hook and twine, but unfortunately... 10' short... Luckily the canal was only waste deep. And I got her back. Altimeter still beeping... 1,418'.

After a couple more flights the RSO called it for the day...

The rocket and recovery gear has been washed... Good as new. Even the Blue Tube Coupler / Av Bay Looks to be fine.

The altimeter is drying in rice... I'll see if it works in a couple days. Have to say,... I'm glad I chose the Adept22!

Worst case,... new electronics and she'll fly again.

The day wasn't a total loss... Too rough to go fishing (gulf stream waves 6-12'),... So headed off to the condo. Had a couple beers while the kids went swimming... I love SoFL! :grin: You can see from the Palms,... the wind is howling!

 

[dixontj93060]

Kinda surprised blue tape would affect your shock cord. Often I use it liberally to bind the cord on purpose and sequence the recovery timing. The tape has never had the strength to hold the cord folds closed. Just how many wraps of tape did you have on the cord?

 

[Quaranta]

Kinda surprised blue tape would affect your shock cord. Often I use it liberally to bind the cord on purpose and sequence the recovery timing. The tape has never had the strength to hold the cord folds closed. Just how many wraps of tape did you have on the cord?

Honestly I don't remember. I think 2-3 wraps. But light rocket and only 200# kevlar cord (very small diameter). The cord was still coiled / bound in the tape when recovered from the canal.

The nose cone fit was fairly loose... allowing it to pop pretty easily when the fwd section stopped short.

 

[BLKKROW]

Interesting day...

Winds 15-20 mph. Decided to give it a go anyway...

CTI F59-WT. She flew off the pad straight and true. Nice "Puff" at apogee...

Unfortunately,... I had put a piece of painter's tape on the apogee shock cord to keep it neat / coiled during construction. I forgot to remove this! Result... shockcord was effectively only 1 foot long. Sooo... both streamer and main deployed at apogee (1700').

The main charge was seen to blow at 600' as planned... So from that perspective the flight was a success.

But the rocket drifted west and landed dead center of the adjacent canal... SPLASH! About 50' from shore... The streamer and chute floated long enough to locate the rocket. Our vendor had a hook and twine, but unfortunately... 10' short... Luckily the canal was only waste deep. And I got her back. Altimeter still beeping... 1,418'.

After a couple more flights the RSO called it for the day...

The rocket and recovery gear has been washed... Good as new. Even the Blue Tube Coupler / Av Bay Looks to be fine.

The altimeter is drying in rice... I'll see if it works in a couple days. Have to say,... I'm glad I chose the Adept22!

Worst case,... new electronics and she'll fly again.

The day wasn't a total loss... Too rough to go fishing (gulf stream waves 6-12'),... So headed off to the condo. Had a couple beers while the kids went swimming... I love SoFL! :grin: You can see from the Palms,... the wind is howling!

Well it sounds like you got the bugs out with the first test flight.

I hope everything turns for the best next time.

 

[Quaranta]

Thanks.

I tested the electronics this morning. The magnetic switch is working... but lots of corrosion,... including corrosion on attach points and bridging connectors. The altimeter... RIP. I thought about cleaning the connectors,... but I tested the battery at 2 places and nothing... so even if it does come back, I'm never going to fully trust it. Bottom line... disposing all electronic components. IMO not safe to refly them.

As crazy as it sounds,... I'm actually not too displeased.

The magnetic switch worked. The altimeter worked. I got deployment at apogee. And my main charge fired as planned. And I got the rocket back,... intact except for electronics.

 

[Quaranta]

Ordered new Adept22 and new Magnetic Switch from Featherweight...

 

[Quaranta]

Replacements have arrived... a little wiring and she's ready to fly again.

 

[patelldp]

Replacements have arrived... a little wiring and she's ready to fly again.

Cool. Looking forward to your next flight report. I've always considered getting this model, but just haven't yet. Your e-bay is very nice, looks a lot better than my first try!

 

[Quaranta]

Thanks Dan. She really scoots. My next flight opportunity is 1/5... She'll be ready.

Simon

 

[grouch]

How did the BlueTube fair after the dunking? Any warpage?

 

[Quaranta]

How did the BlueTube fair after the dunking? Any warpage?

I'm a bit surprised but it's fine. All the bits go together well. I was prepared to have to cut a new one, but with the switch band installed on the existing one,... I really didn't want to. I'm reusing the dunked one.

I'd be more hesitant on a larger rocket,... but this one is so small and the ratio of wall thickeness to diameter is such I think it'll be OK.

I'm also not stressing it on big motors (no tracking).

 

[Quaranta]

Av Bay rebuilt. All new electronics (Adept22 and Featherweight magnetic switch) and wiring.

 

[Quaranta]

Weather permitting... She'll fly again 1/5/13.

 

[Quaranta]

Just finished the re-rigging process. No tape on shock cords this time!!

Tested the altimeter for continuity and magnetic switch function. All systems go.

Engine deploy Streamer at apogee (to aid visibility)... I'm going to live dangerous... I set the 15" main to deploy at 300'.

Launch still on schedule for this Saturday, 1/5/13.

 

[BLKKROW]

Just finished the re-rigging process. No tape on shock cords this time!!

Tested the altimeter for continuity and magnetic switch function. All systems go.

Engine deploy Streamer at apogee (to aid visibility)... I'm going to live dangerous... I set the 15" main to deploy at 300'.

Launch still on schedule for this Saturday, 1/5/13.

Always remember it takes a couple of feet for a parachute to open up.

MY Bh38 I am setting main at 800' so by the time the parachute opens its falling at 650-700'.

 

[Quaranta]

Always remember it takes a couple of feet for a parachute to open up.

MY Bh38 I am setting main at 800' so by the time the parachute opens its falling at 650-700'.

I wouldn't have considered 300' 2 months ago,... but this thread has convinced me to go low...

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?44946-Mid-power-DD

The fact that 300' is a deployment option on the Adept22,... implies it's a reasonable choice in certain situations. I'm willing to try it with a 15.9 oz rocket.

 

[patelldp]

300' is more than fine, especially with a 15" chute!

I typically run 700' on my Rocketman R14. Back in the day, our RRC2 was never switched away from 500' main. We've flown up to 10' chutes deployed at 500' with no issue.

 

[Quaranta]

300' is more than fine, especially with a 15" chute!

I typically run 700' on my Rocketman R14. Back in the day, our RRC2 was never switched away from 500' main. We've flown up to 10' chutes deployed at 500' with no issue.

Thanks for the support and reassurance!

 

[BLKKROW]

Thanks for the support and reassurance!

I was not doubting, just adding my two cents.

My field is all desert so there is nothing soft for it to land on so I want to make sure that it has plenty of time to deploy and slow down before hitting the ground.

 

[Quaranta]

I was not doubting, just adding my two cents.

My field is all desert so there is nothing soft for it to land on so I want to make sure that it has plenty of time to deploy and slow down before hitting the ground.

No worries... I have a touch of doubt. I appreciate the input. I am curious to see how much altitude margin I have left at deploy!

 

[patelldp]

A 15" chute will unfurl very quickly, assuming it is packed correctly. From accelerometer data, it apparently takes my 14' Rocketman chute about 200-250' to unfurl and pull the 25' of Tubular nylon taught.

My father flew his Public Enemy Bull Pup and Rocket R&D Standard Arm at least 15 times each with the main set at 500'. The 66" military chute never failed to unfurl in time.

 

[Quaranta]

A 15" chute will unfurl very quickly, assuming it is packed correctly. From accelerometer data, it apparently takes my 14' Rocketman chute about 200-250' to unfurl and pull the 25' of Tubular nylon taught.

My father flew his Public Enemy Bull Pup and Rocket R&D Standard Arm at least 15 times each with the main set at 500'. The 66" military chute never failed to unfurl in time.

Thanks for the data. Great to not have to reinvent the wheel. I'm building one of Wildman's 3" BlackStars... 600' will be my pick for that.