Level 3 Build "The Grand Optimist" Ultimate Wildman

[PokerJones]

What are you using for charge sizes?

From what I have read about similar size rockets and gathered from different calculations I am going to start with 2.5g for the drogue and 3.5g for the main. I will adjust the charge accordingly to get a nice clean separation without being too energetic. The back-ups will be +1g

 

[Nick@JET]

Wow that is a monster! Looking great and thanks for sharing

 

[PokerJones]

Wow that is a monster! Looking great and thanks for sharing

Thanks Nick. Yes, it is definitely a handful.

 

[PokerJones]

I finally got back to the rocket today after a short vacation last week. Finished up the wiring layout for the AV bay and connected everything for a test fit. I'm pretty happy with it although I would like to put a Marsa54 in there but these Stratologgers have served me well in the past and I have no concern about their reliability for this flight.

I also planned on using my Eggfinder TRS in the nosecone for the GPS. I've been having some trouble with it so I don't have 100% confidence, I will also use my RF-V16 GPS. There should be plenty of room and I'll add pics when I get them mounted.

Other than that I am just waiting for this rain to end so I can begin the ground tests.

 

[cbrarick]

What are you using for charge sizes?

From what I have read about similar size rockets and gathered from different calculations I am going to start with 2.5g for the drogue and 3.5g for the main. I will adjust the charge accordingly to get a nice clean separation without being too energetic. The back-ups will be +1g

No. I use 6 for them all. People have floated out those sorta numbers, done some ground testing then flew a core sample. it's a glass rocket built bullet proof so there's nothing too energetic.
I got my numbers from Tim and have more then 30 flights on my UW now.....once I cut my charge a bit and didn't get a chute, otherwise every flight with 6 has been spot on!

 

[PokerJones]

What are you using for charge sizes?

No. I use 6 for them all. People have floated out those sorta numbers, done some ground testing then flew a core sample. it's a glass rocket built bullet proof so there's nothing too energetic.
I got my numbers from Tim and have more then 30 flights on my UW now.....once I cut my charge a bit and didn't get a chute, otherwise every flight with 6 has been spot on!

Thanks for the info cbrarick, I'll keep that in mind when I get to the ground test. My figures were just estimates as a place to start with the charges. There will be absolutely no doubt about separation when I am finished testing. 30 flights on an UW...nice! Any pics?

 

[grouch]

Be careful what you ask for Poker, be very careful 😜

 

[blackjack2564]

Over the years I have cut down a bit on my charges.

In mine with no shear-pins on fincan to av-bay I use 3.5 and 4.5 for backup.
Main side gets 4.5 and 5.5 backup there are 4 shear-pins [4-40] holding the NC on.

This has been the sweet spot on all 4 of my 6in rockets. [including the Ultimate Wildman]
So far the first charges have always done the job, as verified by the altimeter data or by sight.


Good luck with your attempt, you built a nice project.

 

[Bat-mite]

I finally got back to the rocket today after a short vacation last week. Finished up the wiring layout for the AV bay and connected everything for a test fit. I'm pretty happy with it although I would like to put a Marsa54 in there but these Stratologgers have served me well in the past and I have no concern about their reliability for this flight.

I also planned on using my Eggfinder TRS in the nosecone for the GPS. I've been having some trouble with it so I don't have 100% confidence, I will also use my RF-V16 GPS. There should be plenty of room and I'll add pics when I get them mounted.

Other than that I am just waiting for this rain to end so I can begin the ground tests.

Not sure, but I think you could have fit a full-size Stratologger in there. :wink:

 

[PokerJones]

Not sure, but I think you could have fit a full-size Stratologger in there. :wink:

oint: I know, they look tiny in there.

 

[Onebadhawk]

Wow,, how the heck did I miss this thread...
Jeff, you do some absolutely fantastic work...
Nice and neat..
This beast came out dynamite for sure...
You really do feel better about a rocket like this when it comes time to put some serious thrust in it...
This thing really came out great Jeff...
I sure don't know how I missed this one,, old age ??

All the best of luck man..This is going to be one heck of a flight fer sure...

Teddy

 

[Steve Shannon]

Very nice looking work on the avionics. Something you might want to consider is mounting your battery holders on the far side, the other side from the electronics. If the batteries ever break loose they won't bash the electronics.
Also, I think I can see holes in the board to put cable ties onto the batteries to secure them to the board, is that right?

 

[rharshberger]

Very nice work. Hope the flight goes as planned!

 

[PokerJones]

Very nice looking work on the avionics. Something you might want to consider is mounting your battery holders on the far side, the other side from the electronics. If the batteries ever break loose they won't bash the electronics.
Also, I think I can see holes in the board to put cable ties onto the batteries to secure them to the board, is that right?[/QUOTE

Thanks Steve. Yes, the batteries are secured with cable ties although it was hard to see in that picture. I am not usually a big of fan of battery holders but I found these and they are top notch, pre-soldered wiring, zip tied for strain relief. 4 screws/nuts hold them on to the sled, they are very secure.

 

[Steve Shannon]

Looks good! That black tie was difficult to see in the other picture; thanks for the closeup. Best wishes for your flight!

 

[Steve Shannon]

Here's what I used on my L3:
https://www.keyelco.com/category.cfm/Aluminum-Holders/With-Solder-Lugs/p/424/id/699/c_id/702

 

[PokerJones]

Here's what I used on my L3:
https://www.keyelco.com/category.cfm/Aluminum-Holders/With-Solder-Lugs/p/424/id/699/c_id/702

Thanks for the link, the aluminum holder is nice. Keystone, an electronic/hardware website I haven't seen yet, they have some cool stuff.

I bought mine from Doghouse, they are hard plastic but they seem very strong and have a back plate and sides to keep the battery from sliding. Add a zip tie and this is a solid setup. Here is the page

 

[Steve Shannon]

Looks nice. The way you've installed the holders, will thrust force your battery into the contacts on the holder or out?

 

[PokerJones]

Looks nice. The way you've installed the holders, will thrust force your battery into the contacts on the holder or out?

The battery holder has 4 sides. You have to insert the battery on an angle and then push down to snap it in place. It can't move fore and aft or side to side. The zip ties locks it down tightly so there is no chance of it popping out of the holder.


I am trying to finish up a few of the small things as we wait for some dry weather for ground testing.

I applied some bondo spot putty to the fin fillets and sanded them down. It seems that no matter how smooth the fillets look when you apply them, they still need a little work. Hope to have this primed soon and start working on the paint scheme which I am still undecided on.

Added some 1/16" washers to the back of the eye bolts on the av bay for reinforcement. The ones in the pic are 1 1/4" diameter, they will be replaced with 2 1/2" washers.

I also drilled holes in the nosecone sled for the GPS and mounted it.

 

[PokerJones]

Finally got to the ejection charge tests today. Started with 3G's in both the booster and payload and finished with 5G's each. That will be the load for the flight with 6G back up charges on both. Separation seemed just about perfect. The videos are below.

https://youtu.be/1sm-33Ryrb4

https://youtu.be/5zS2rjfFOLI

Also came across a 75/6400 motor yesterday that I just couldn't pass up so I am changing motors from the AT M1350W DMS to the AT M1315W RMS. This motor is a little bigger and will take it up to appx 8500'. With good weather in the forecast for this week I am getting ready to prime/sand and then work out the final colors/design.

 

[PokerJones]

The nosecone, payload and switch band are all primed/sanded and ready for paint. The booster on the other hand requires a bit more work on the fillet area. After all of the rockets I have built it still amazes me what that first coat of primer does to your flawless prep work, it ain't flawless! More Bondo putty/primer/sanding will get this where it needs to be and I should be shooting paint in a few days.



I also switched out the 5/16" SS eye bolts on the AV Bay bulkheads and replaced them with 5/16" u-bolts. After talking with Teddy on shock cord length he brought up the eye bolts and after looking over the weak points in the recovery, it seemed like a likely point of failure with all other connection points being u-bolts-motor mount/nosecone.
I received my (2) onebadhawk 7/16' kevlar harnesses yesterday and as always his work is second to none.



Last but not least I have been working on the paint scheme/lettering and have picked a font for "The Grand Optimist" to send to Mark at stickershock23 for the 5" vinyl lettering.

 

[PokerJones]

Finally had a few nice days to get some painting done. Finished the base coat in bright white satin and the nosecone in poppy red satin. I will let this cure for a few days and then I will paint the fins black and add the red/black stripes. Had to make several trips to store for paint because I forgot how big this thing is, ended up using 8 cans of white for 4 coats on the BT and 1 can of red for the nosecone.



Here is a pic of how the 5" lettering will look.

 

[smapdiage9]

Looks like it's coming together great!

Pick out your next project now so you'll have something else to accomplish once L3 is done.

 

[rharshberger]

Very nice, of course you could pick out a new project after the L3, or do like I did and take a break from my rocket projects for at least another month or so.

 

[PokerJones]

Looks like it's coming together great!

Pick out your next project now so you'll have something else to accomplish once L3 is done.

Funny you should mention that...I was just looking at this earlier today. I would like to start doing some bigger cluster/air starts and this 7.5" Thumper with the 5-54mm motor mount looks pretty enticing at that price. I have a Thumper Jr. already and really like it.

 

[PokerJones]

Very nice, of course you could pick out a new project after the L3, or do like I did and take a break from my rocket projects for at least another month or so.

Well I am taking a bit of a break when this build is completed. I am not launching the L3 until Airfest in September so I will have a little time to kill and then it's rocketmania for a few months.
We don't have the opportunity to launch anything high power between April-October down here due to the crops so summer is generally the build season. When the field re-opens in the fall we burn a lot of AP in a short amount of time :smile:

 

[rharshberger]

Well I am taking a bit of a break when this build is completed. I am not launching the L3 until Airfest in September so I will have a little time to kill and then it's rocketmania for a few months.
We don't have the opportunity to launch anything high power between April-October down here due to the crops so summer is generally the build season. When the field re-opens in the fall we burn a lot of AP in a short amount of time :smile:

We are kind of lucky up here, launches year around! Not much of a build season though. Good luck on your L3, what recovery setup are you using?

 

[pyrobob]

Dude here

 

[PokerJones]

We are kind of lucky up here, launches year around! Not much of a build season though. Good luck on your L3, what recovery setup are you using?

Lucky indeed, reminds me of the good old days when we had monthly launches year round. DFW is getting kind of crowded and even our fall launches are 2 hours away.

Thanks...I'm using the Skyangle Cert3 Drogue and Cert3 XL chutes with OBH 7/16" Kevlar Harnesses.

 

[PokerJones]

Dude here

There he is