Level 2 Build

[Lucas]

I figured that while I had some free time I would start working on a rocket for my Level 2 Certification. Here goes....

Name: ?
Diameter: 3 inches
Height: 62 inches
Motor: CTI L2375
Peak Thrust: 629 pounds
Burn Time: 1.9 seconds
Time to Apogee: 26 seconds
Speed: Mach 2+
Altitude: 16,000 feet

 

[Lucas]

Glassing the airframe...

 

[Lucas]

The coupler...

 

[Lucas]

A second bulkhead was added so that the expanding foam would not interfere with the screw terminals which protrude into the coupler:

Expanding foam was added to strengthen the coupler:

 

[dixontj93060]

Pretty aggressive minimum diameter build for a first L2 flight.

 

[Gillard]

Pretty aggressive minimum diameter build for a first L2 flight.

Gets to Mach 2+ as well.
that's going to be one hell of a flight for a certification flight.
i'm planning to play it safe with a J motor and a heavyish 4 inch.

 

[Handeman]

Excellent rocket!

I wanted to do my L2 on L motor, plans went awry and ended up with a mid K and only 7K ft.

Push the envelope!

What kind of tracker are you going to use? Walston?

What are the fins going to be made of? How will you seal the leading edges to prevent delamination?

Keep the pics coming!

 

[fox_racing_guy]

Now thats different from using a ol' wimpy J350, I attempted it myself with a L1420R. Mine did fly and recovery beautifuly but the fins delaminated from the trailing edge.

I did have a backup plan in place and turned around and flew a 4" version on a J460. Good luck on your attempt!

 

[Lucas]

The payload section didn't turn out perfect. I used a heat shrink sleeve which was a little bit too big and even though it looked tight enough I don't think it was... There are two layers of glass so it is very strong, it just doesn't look super pretty. I am going to do it differently when I glass the booster section today. Here is a picture after it was sanded for a little:

 

[WillMarchant]

Now thats different from using a ol' wimpy J350, I attempted it myself with a L1420R. Mine did fly and recovery beautifuly but the fins delaminated from the trailing edge.

I did have a backup plan in place and turned around and flew a 4" version on a J460. Good luck on your attempt!

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering what the planform of the fins was before the flight. As a further digression, I was looking at https://www.aerorocket.com/finsim.html and wondering what people thought.

 

[mIcahel]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I was wondering what the planform of the fins was before the flight. As a further digression, I was looking at https://www.aerorocket.com/finsim.html and wondering what people thought.

Wish AeroFinSim offered a 30 day demo a la Rocksim. Always wanted to
try a finless 2nd stage spin stabilized flight.

Good Luck with Level 2 project. You'd likely be in a very small group of people to hit Mach2 on a L2.

 

[DAllen]

That rocksim picture is nutty. I wonder if there is a formula for the typical RS line drawing where the total area and the area in gray is somehow related to mach number. Sorta like a cardboard cut out method that not only estimates CP but altitude as well.

Good luck with your L2 at mach 2. :bangpan: :clap: op:

-Dave