- Joined
- Aug 27, 2011
- Messages
- 11,617
- Reaction score
- 6,256
Well, figure I need to actually build something to renew my credibility on this forum, rather than just gabbing on other people’s excellent builds.
this is try number 2 on a helicopter idea that has been hovering in my brain for a while.
with the exception of monocopters, the FlutterBye, and maybe the Maple Seed (maybe also called the cyclone) helicopter recovery rockets tend to be complicated things. This will be an attempt to make something “relatively” simple and hopefully reliable and very very easy to prep.
it will also be a voyage into using some alternate materials, as this will use Mat Board from Hobby Lobby instead of balsa (I know, heresy!)
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supp...Art-Paper-Boards/Matboard---32-x-40/p/MB69174
for 12 bucks a sheet 32”x40” should at least give me a lot of paper fins (we’ll see how well they compare with balsa), and not having to sand or do too much finishing doesn’t hurt either.
going to use ribbon for the rotor stops, and nothing but gravity, wind and hopefully some simple but clever engineering (fingers crossed vs foot in mouth) to get the fins to open. I am stealing some ideas from @neil_w and Estes Flip Flyer as well.
I am at the partially cut out stage of the Mat Board combine Rotor Fins. The opening mechanism is sort of based on observations with some failures of my standard rubber band actuated helicopters, namely that with blades attached to the FRONT of the rocket, if the rocket has significant forward velocity at deployment (either too early or too late, as an L-0 watching videos of rockets with electronics “magically” deploy at perfect 0 velocity apogee is still cool) anyhoo, if rocket is moving too fast the airflow over the rocket sometimes keeps the rotors from opening if your pull mechanism is not strong enough. So thought, on the other hand, if the hinges are in the BACK, the airflow of the falling rocket SHOULD pull them open, and if they are dihedralled (okay @Rktman i made that word up), they SHOULD stay open.
this is try number 2 on a helicopter idea that has been hovering in my brain for a while.
with the exception of monocopters, the FlutterBye, and maybe the Maple Seed (maybe also called the cyclone) helicopter recovery rockets tend to be complicated things. This will be an attempt to make something “relatively” simple and hopefully reliable and very very easy to prep.
it will also be a voyage into using some alternate materials, as this will use Mat Board from Hobby Lobby instead of balsa (I know, heresy!)
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Art-Supp...Art-Paper-Boards/Matboard---32-x-40/p/MB69174
for 12 bucks a sheet 32”x40” should at least give me a lot of paper fins (we’ll see how well they compare with balsa), and not having to sand or do too much finishing doesn’t hurt either.
going to use ribbon for the rotor stops, and nothing but gravity, wind and hopefully some simple but clever engineering (fingers crossed vs foot in mouth) to get the fins to open. I am stealing some ideas from @neil_w and Estes Flip Flyer as well.
I am at the partially cut out stage of the Mat Board combine Rotor Fins. The opening mechanism is sort of based on observations with some failures of my standard rubber band actuated helicopters, namely that with blades attached to the FRONT of the rocket, if the rocket has significant forward velocity at deployment (either too early or too late, as an L-0 watching videos of rockets with electronics “magically” deploy at perfect 0 velocity apogee is still cool) anyhoo, if rocket is moving too fast the airflow over the rocket sometimes keeps the rotors from opening if your pull mechanism is not strong enough. So thought, on the other hand, if the hinges are in the BACK, the airflow of the falling rocket SHOULD pull them open, and if they are dihedralled (okay @Rktman i made that word up), they SHOULD stay open.