Level 1 - Whats a good rocket to use?

[r1dermon]

there arent many high power bird built specifically with a 29mm MMT. for the most part, you can find a lot of 38mm rockets which will take a 29mm adapter. usually these are light rockets. LOC makes some great lvl 1 candidates. however, my vote for cheapest lvl 1 would go to an applewhite saucer.
a 29/180 is your entry aerotech HPR casing. it has small H reloads and a high G reload.
BSD is my choice for a lvl 1 though. im going lvl 1 on their 4" diablo. its got a 38mm MMT, but it will fly nicely on the smaller 29mm motors. an initiator on an H would need a good build. and definately a huge recovery area and a small chute. lol. another good candidate is a BSD 38 special. als hobby shop has them for 53 bucks, and its pretty large. 29mm HPR would lift it off nicely with the adapter, and it leaves the option open for the 38mm motors. I's and such....but, the 29mm motors are a lot cheaper. H reloads for the 29/180 are 15 bucks max, relatively small I's like the I357 for the 38mm case cost close to 30 bucks.

 

[lalligood]

Originally posted by r1dermon
there arent many high power bird built specifically with a 29mm MMT. for the most part, you can find a lot of 38mm rockets which will take a 29mm adapter.

You can always adapt down to a smaller motor diameter (38 -> 29mm in this case), but you can't ever adapt UP! It's always a good idea to get a bigger MMT than what you think you'll need for this reason!

HTH,

 

[loopy]

Originally posted by scottluther1369
Will a 29mm RMS get me to level 1 in a different rocket or am I talking entirely different reload kits? I some how thought the Initiator would do H with single use motor's. Do you have to modify a rocket setup up with RMS to accept SUM's?
Thanks!
--Scott

With 29mm, there are two sets of options. First is the 29mm 40-120 casing, which will handle a whole stream of E-G loads, and is great for learning reloads on midpower birds. The next level would be the 29mm 180-240 set (two casings, a set of closures, and a seal disk). This set will handle the 29mm HPR loads.

Aerotech kits are built with a motor block in them to keep the motor from shooting out the top of the rocket. Unfortunately, this limits the length of the motor the rocket will handle. Most HPR birds do not have motor blocks. RMS casings have a thrust ring built in to the aft closure to handle that job. SU motors do not have that "built in" thrust ring, so many people wrap masking tape around the aft end of the SU to serve as a thrust ring.

The other thing to think about is positive motor retention. Aerotech kits have an engine hook to keep the motor in when the ejection charge fires. Once again - most HPR birds do not have this. To keep the motor in, some people use friction fit with masking tape wrapped around the motor, but most like to be on the safe side with the RMS casings ($$$$!!!), and install some sort of retainer on the back end of the rocket to keep the motor in. There are some nice retainers by companies like Giant Leap that fit over the back end of the motor and work very well. Others do it more cheaply and simply install blind nuts (or T-nuts...basically, some sort of threaded insert) into the aft centering ring on the motor mount, then use screws and washers or clips to keep the motor in place. If you do a search on "motor retention" I'm sure you'll find many many threads pertaining to this subject.

Loopy

 

[r1dermon]

there are SU H motors, however, a rocket can't be "setup" for either RMS or SU. they're the same things only different, if you know what i mean....they do the exact same job, with the same diameter, the only thing different about an SU motor is its SU....your rocket doesnt know if the motor is SU or RMS. BUT, RMS is a ton cheaper than SU for HPR. and that initiator would be lost on an H. heh. maybe even a G75. you should go to EMRR and check out all the vendors with an H next to their name...that means high power, click on that, it took me a couple hours doing that to finally make my decision.

 

[bsexton]

BSD 4" Horizon
Binder Design Excel Plus
PML Tethys
LOC IV

 

[jraice]

I recommed getting a rocket that will get you L1 and L2, like the bsd thor or LOC warlock. You should aslo get a casing that can be used for L1 and L2, it would have a different case but you can save $60 by having one set of closures for L1 and L2 and two different lengh casings. If you go with a warlock you need to either make the fin tabs go to the motor mount or use foam in the fin can, either one is heavy and will make the rocket less stable but the fins break easily, even with kevlar fillets because what the rocket hits the ground the fin can be hit, it pulls the fin off the body tube completly, my warlock pulled a big layer of tube inbetween two fins and there is no way to fix it, I will need to replace the lower section, I am going to retro fit it for a 54mm motor mount. It really needs one!!!