I'm a ReBAR with some questions

[KeithTX]

Howdy,

I'm new to this forum and I am a ReBAR. I started flying rockets in the 70's with my Father and brothers. I became a BAR in the 90's when I started flying again with my brothers and my older son. Once again I have been brought back into the fold flying with my younger son (6 years old) and one of my brothers, so I guess I am a re-born again rocketeer. My son and I have been launching rockets for a few months now, the standard LPRs from estes, quest and a few from semroc.

Yesterday I snatched a Quasar One Nuclear Fusion on ebay, apparently it's a new model, 42" x 2.6" clustered (x2) for D's and up. It's a big jump from anything I have launched, does anyone have any experience with this rocket?

Also, can I use a maxi-rod on the standard estes pad for this or should I opt for a more beefy pad?

I'll end with what I think is an interesting observation. I fly model airplanes and my twin 2 year old girls have always liked my planes, but they love the rockets. One of them was in my office yesterday rubbing the my Quest Big Betty and saying, it's okay we won't lose you. It was so funny. They have convinced me that I should build them a pair of pink estes swifts.

Keith

 

[KeithTX]

Here's a picture of the twins after consoling Big Betty.

 

[GregGleason]

Welcome,

The swift thing is a cute idea, but they are challenging to find in recovery.

Don't do what I did and put ejection motors in. That makes them very, very hard to find in recovery.

:shock:

Greg

 

[Toyguy]

The description of the kit over at Apogee Components web site indicates it comes with 1/4" launch lugs, so I've a feeling you'd want the beefier rod. The Maxi-rod is likely to whip a bit. If you see yourself continuing on with some MPR or larger rockets, invest in something like an Aerotech Mantis. It takes rod sizes from 1/4" on down, has a good stable footprint and is very rugged. You can replace the somewhat whippy 2-piece aluminum rod with a stainless 1/4" one and be in good shape.

Welcome back! I'm the same as you - flew in the 60s as a kid, restarted in the late 80s-early 90s, and picked it back up in 2009.

 

[mkadams001]

I just can't resist to do a sale pitch for one of my launch pads. It's simple and sturdy and a good choice for mid power. It does not include a launch rod but will accept up to a 3/8" rod. Follow the the link to find out more or if you have any questions about my products please pm or email me through the site.

 

[jflis]

Welcome back to rocketry and welcome to TRF You're going to love both!

 

[KeithTX]

Since I am just dipping my toe into MPRs I think I may use a 40% HL coupon and pick up an estes e pad.

-Keith

 

[MarkII]

You should be OK with a 3/16" diameter rod (Estes Maxi-Rod or a length of cold-rolled steel round rod from your local hardware store), but a 1/4" rod would, of course, be better. The Estes 36D Squared, which also had a dual D cluster, flew off of a Maxi-Rod. Your Quasar One is pretty long, so a 4' long rod would probably be the way to go. Be sure that the rod is well supported where it is inserted into the pad, and either stake the pad's legs down or weight them down with bricks, rocks or small homemade sandbags. Rod whip won't be so much of a problem with two D12's, but the Porta Pad II could very well tip over with a rocket this long unless steps are taken to prevent it. It might also be a good idea to place something firm, like a flat rock or brick, underneath the center of the pad to support it and keep it from being pushed down by the initial thrust at ignition. The strong thrust could cause the legs to break otherwise.

The Porta Pad II will not hold a 1/4" diameter rod, but you can easily and cheaply build your own pad that will. You can find a number of plans here. There are also several vendors that make decent mid-power pads. Here are a couple of good ones:

Heavenly Hobbies Giga-Pad: https://store.heavenlyhobbies.com/01-003-0004.html
Fade To Black Tri-Pad: https://members.buckeye-express.com/turbopig/tri.htm

MarkII

 

[KeithTX]

Howdy All,

Just a quick follow up. Hobby Lobby had one of the 40% off coupons this week so I was able to pick up the E launch pad at a good price.

On a side note, my twin girls "pink" swifts have been built and they are hoping to launch them this weekend.

-Keith

 

[KeithTX]

Thought I would follow up this thread with a pix of twins modeling the Nuclear Fusion.

-Keith

 

[JAL3]

Howdy Keith and welcome to TRF.

It looks like you're in South Central Texas. I'd like to invite you to check out The Alamo Rocketeers https://groups.yahoo.com/group/alamo_rocketeers/ and the San Antonio Rocket Society https://www.tripolisanantonio.org/

Both are based in San Antonio. Both are having launches tomorrow. AR is going to launch in China Grove and SARS is going to be out in west Texas.

You can also check out Art Applewhite's launch page to see what's going on. https://artapplewhite.com/launches.html

Again, welcome.

 

[RimfireJim]

Howdy All,

Just a quick follow up. Hobby Lobby had one of the 40% off coupons this week so I was able to pick up the E launch pad at a good price.

On a side note, my twin girls "pink" swifts have been built and they are hoping to launch them this weekend.

-Keith

I would ditch the sectional aluminum rod that came with the pad and replace it with a steel or stainless steel single-piece one. Steel is 3X stiffer than aluminum; stainless steel almost 3X.

Bending stiffness of a round rod varies by the fourth power of the diameter and 1:1 by the modulus of elasticity. It's kind of silly that Estes makes the "E" pad by increasing the rod diameter from 3/16" to 1/4" (3.2X gain in stiffness) but then throws away much of that gain by using aluminum instead of steel. (I'm assuming their 3/16" rod is steel - I don't know that for sure. The 1/8" rods are definitely steel.)

 

[dave carver]

When you launch their rockets use the 1/2A3-2, never any bigger and emphasize the fact they can disappear right before your eyes and if they do you will get another. Do this BEFORE the flights, crying little girls break my heart and IF they are really made aware that flying their rocket means maybe never seeing it again maybe you won't go through that.

Convince them an Alpha has their names on them.... or a FlisKits Rhino, yeah, kids LOVE Rhino's