GAP
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- Jul 13, 2021
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Hello everyone,
I'd thought I would post my build thread here for my Level 3 certification rocket. This is a little bit different in that this is after the fact, but I want to post this here to help others and for advice and comments on what I could improve on for builds in the future. That said I successfully flew this rocket on 10/30/2021 and obtained my L3 certification.
I'll start from the beginning. I chose to buy a kit instead of custom because it was cheaper and quicker as I was running on a tight time schedule with the flying season in Minnesota running out. For this I turned to Wildman as I've built some of their kits before and I have a club membership. With initial simulations I was predicting a weight of around 25 lbs fully loaded which was reaching an altitude of 12k ft and going around mach 1.1 with an Aerotech M1350W DMS motor. I originally chose the DMS motor because it's easiest to assemble and use. However, after a couple of weeks I realized the M1350 would not arrive in time and chose a CTI M1101WH instead from my local vendor which leads to the exact same flight profile. With this information I ran the fin geometry through AeroFinSim and found that the fins were predicted to flutter off at a speed of around mach 0.75. After a couple weeks I realized it woudn't arrive in time and instead bought a CTI M1101WH through my local vendor which was the exact same flight profile. Thus, I knew tip-to-tip layups of the fins would be necessary. Of this I chose to do a traditional 1/3rd, 2/3rds/ and full tip-to-tip layer with 3k bidirectional carbon fiber. I put the first and third layers straight up and down with the middle layer titled 45 degrees to try and get as isotropic of a material as possible. Carbon fiber was used as stiffness was needed most which carbon fiber has a lot of.
I planned to use Rocketpoxy and JB Weld throughout the build for fillets and adhering things together, while Aeropoxy was used for the fin layups.
I started off by giving all the parts a soapy bath. Then I started by epoxy the centering rings and shock cord attachment to the MMT and the retainer as well. I also epoxied the bulkhead into the coupler for the nosecone. In hindsight I definitely should have put this bulkhead further in to give me more room in the main compartment.
I can't upload everything tonight, but will fill in this thread pretty quickly with the build.
I'd thought I would post my build thread here for my Level 3 certification rocket. This is a little bit different in that this is after the fact, but I want to post this here to help others and for advice and comments on what I could improve on for builds in the future. That said I successfully flew this rocket on 10/30/2021 and obtained my L3 certification.
I'll start from the beginning. I chose to buy a kit instead of custom because it was cheaper and quicker as I was running on a tight time schedule with the flying season in Minnesota running out. For this I turned to Wildman as I've built some of their kits before and I have a club membership. With initial simulations I was predicting a weight of around 25 lbs fully loaded which was reaching an altitude of 12k ft and going around mach 1.1 with an Aerotech M1350W DMS motor. I originally chose the DMS motor because it's easiest to assemble and use. However, after a couple of weeks I realized the M1350 would not arrive in time and chose a CTI M1101WH instead from my local vendor which leads to the exact same flight profile. With this information I ran the fin geometry through AeroFinSim and found that the fins were predicted to flutter off at a speed of around mach 0.75. After a couple weeks I realized it woudn't arrive in time and instead bought a CTI M1101WH through my local vendor which was the exact same flight profile. Thus, I knew tip-to-tip layups of the fins would be necessary. Of this I chose to do a traditional 1/3rd, 2/3rds/ and full tip-to-tip layer with 3k bidirectional carbon fiber. I put the first and third layers straight up and down with the middle layer titled 45 degrees to try and get as isotropic of a material as possible. Carbon fiber was used as stiffness was needed most which carbon fiber has a lot of.
I planned to use Rocketpoxy and JB Weld throughout the build for fillets and adhering things together, while Aeropoxy was used for the fin layups.
I started off by giving all the parts a soapy bath. Then I started by epoxy the centering rings and shock cord attachment to the MMT and the retainer as well. I also epoxied the bulkhead into the coupler for the nosecone. In hindsight I definitely should have put this bulkhead further in to give me more room in the main compartment.
I can't upload everything tonight, but will fill in this thread pretty quickly with the build.