A5tr0 An0n
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2012
- Messages
- 521
- Reaction score
- 10
Back Story
So here's another go at this. I first set out to get my Level 3 on the notorious N5800 back in 2014 and I ended up scrubbing the flight out on the playa in Black Rock. I was not happy with the way that the chips had fallen, so I decided to let that rocket die and start anew. I did however refurbish that vehicle and flew it on an ex motor that can be found here -> https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?124218-Post-Flight-1-Weekend-and-65-000Ns&p=1439465#post1439465
So in between shifts on the long drive back from Black Rock (approximately 30 hours), I designed the new Level 3 rocket for the N5800. On the first scrubbed rocket, I used more conservative techniques that I felt would increase the likelihood of suriviabilty. Such techniques included such things as double walled airframe, minimum diameter airframe, double walled nose cone, thick fins, heavy rocket, blah blah, etc. Not to mention, I used Nic's idea of metal brackets underneath the fillets to attach the fins to the airframe and metal leading edges. That was one of the defining moments of my build that created the unfavorable thoughts in my mind about this rocket. It also didn't exactly turn out as planned lol; I am at heart a composites guy and really wanted to do a true no metal-all composites flight on this motor. I would soon (only a couple of years!) get my chance to give it another go with an all composite design.
So with the new design being conceived on the road home from black rock in 2014, I set out to make major changes to the design and went back to my foundations and knowledge of composites. I also liked the idea that I could potentially be the first one to survive the N5800 in a MD/Sub-MD configuration without the use of any added metal (less NC tip). To my knowledge (at this point in time) there have been 20+ attempts at flying the N5800 and only 3 successful flights. All of these rockets used metal, when it came to their fin designs. Gerald Meux and Mike Passaretti both had very successful flights with metal fin cans. Nic Lottering also did; using metal fins sandwiched between carbon with metal leading edges and metal brackets, securing them to them airframe. Many rocketeers have tried using composites with all of them failing. The thought of being first was kind of cool and so was the idea of having this rocket be my level 3 project. To my knowledge the only other person to get their L3 with a high altitude and multiple Mach number breaking flight is Jim Jarvis. He flew to ~34kft and M2.5, if I remember correctly. So with some arbitrary goals set out, I had a very simple design philosophy and a plan.
The execution of this plan, proved to take a couple of years as building started and stopped multiple times due to life getting in the way. The following will be my story of building this project from then to now. The road is always a very scenic one.
Hope everyone can learn from my project whether it is what to do or what not to do. I make no claims that what I do is the best way or the right way lol.
So here's another go at this. I first set out to get my Level 3 on the notorious N5800 back in 2014 and I ended up scrubbing the flight out on the playa in Black Rock. I was not happy with the way that the chips had fallen, so I decided to let that rocket die and start anew. I did however refurbish that vehicle and flew it on an ex motor that can be found here -> https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?124218-Post-Flight-1-Weekend-and-65-000Ns&p=1439465#post1439465
So in between shifts on the long drive back from Black Rock (approximately 30 hours), I designed the new Level 3 rocket for the N5800. On the first scrubbed rocket, I used more conservative techniques that I felt would increase the likelihood of suriviabilty. Such techniques included such things as double walled airframe, minimum diameter airframe, double walled nose cone, thick fins, heavy rocket, blah blah, etc. Not to mention, I used Nic's idea of metal brackets underneath the fillets to attach the fins to the airframe and metal leading edges. That was one of the defining moments of my build that created the unfavorable thoughts in my mind about this rocket. It also didn't exactly turn out as planned lol; I am at heart a composites guy and really wanted to do a true no metal-all composites flight on this motor. I would soon (only a couple of years!) get my chance to give it another go with an all composite design.
So with the new design being conceived on the road home from black rock in 2014, I set out to make major changes to the design and went back to my foundations and knowledge of composites. I also liked the idea that I could potentially be the first one to survive the N5800 in a MD/Sub-MD configuration without the use of any added metal (less NC tip). To my knowledge (at this point in time) there have been 20+ attempts at flying the N5800 and only 3 successful flights. All of these rockets used metal, when it came to their fin designs. Gerald Meux and Mike Passaretti both had very successful flights with metal fin cans. Nic Lottering also did; using metal fins sandwiched between carbon with metal leading edges and metal brackets, securing them to them airframe. Many rocketeers have tried using composites with all of them failing. The thought of being first was kind of cool and so was the idea of having this rocket be my level 3 project. To my knowledge the only other person to get their L3 with a high altitude and multiple Mach number breaking flight is Jim Jarvis. He flew to ~34kft and M2.5, if I remember correctly. So with some arbitrary goals set out, I had a very simple design philosophy and a plan.
The execution of this plan, proved to take a couple of years as building started and stopped multiple times due to life getting in the way. The following will be my story of building this project from then to now. The road is always a very scenic one.
Hope everyone can learn from my project whether it is what to do or what not to do. I make no claims that what I do is the best way or the right way lol.
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