Little Joe II A-003 Mission Build

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Canting the Elevons for Roll.
Thought about this for a bit, and the answer became obvious. The actual A-003 mission did a right roll as seated in a virtual cockpit. Fortunately the Estes kit makes this easy to model: the elevons are finely detailed and easily differentiated from the main fins. The elevon actuators are on one side, the side opposite the direction the elevons need to cant to for a right roll.
1. Using a razor saw was straightforward. The detail of the plastic itself acted as a miter box for the saw. Sawed all the way through between the fin and elevon, and almost (about 1/2 way) through the actuator on the other side. The plastic of the 1/2 sawn-thru actuator is the only thing joining the fin and elevon at this point.
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2. Made a jig to hold the fin and stretch some tape to bend the actuator and close the gap made by the saw. Then applied Plastic Weld on the new seam.
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3. Now the elevon is canted for a right roll. I could try to measure the actual angle and enter it into Open Rocket, but with all the complex angles of the LJII fins, it may not really matter. With luck I'll get a nice right roll.
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Probably will cant just 2 elevons and fly the unfinished model for a test. If the roll is too slow, can cant the remaining 2 elevons. Easy experience with this first elevon suggests that sawing and gluing won't be a problem when fins are attached to the airframe.
 
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Better than tape, used a clamp on the second elevon. Easier to apply the glue along the seam without tape standing in the way. The 2 elevons came out looking identical, as best as I could see.
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Command Module electronics suite - square peg in a round hole.
This is going to be one of the funner parts of the build, fitting the Spectrum 4-channel receiver, 3S LiPo battery, connectors, and a Transolve Triple Fire which is designed to fly vertically (G-switch), all into the Apollo Capsule. Right away, gotta ditch the huge red piezoelectric buzzer and replace it with a mini (shown next to it, black). The corners of the PCB will need to be clipped off but the mounting holes can be saved - only two traces will need to be rewired, and the G-switch must be reoriented 90 degrees so the PCB can lay horizontally. Spectrum's AR410 receiver has an internal antenna - nice!IMG_0839.JPG

My beautiful square peg with mounting holes in exactly the right place:

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Converting the Apollo Capsule into an AvBay.
Hobby shop sheet styrene, and the Dremel circle cutter.
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The 4-40 screws are spaced for mounting holes on the PCB that is shown in the previous post.43D1DF3A-2C3A-496A-B4D9-7C88A866A4D4.jpeg
Just the initial step. Still gotta mount female threads, electronics, ports.
 
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Cutting, Rewiring the PBC to fit into the Apollo Capsule and reorienting it to fly in a horizontal orientation.

This work was a bit beyond my experience, so I got a good friend to help. He quickly cut the corners of the PBC, then rewired the 2 traces cut by the Dremel. Gone is the huge red piezoelectric buzzer, replacing its 2 prong plug and leads with a mini piezoelectric buzzer mounted thru-hole on the flip side. Finally, removed the g-switch, added a small insulating pad, and added a small lead so the g-switch can be bypassed for a ground test. Remounted it at 90 degrees so it will point “up” for flight, then added hot melt glue to support it.

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With this horizontal configuration, there is room in to spare in the capsule for the battery, receiver, leads, etc.
 
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Attaching the Vacuform ABS Wrap.
Made a simple jig: a section of 3" shipping tube attached with construction adhesive to a MDF work surface. In retrospect, this jig was the gem of the process.IMG_0843.JPG

I wanted to try something different, so I selected Lexel sealant as the adhesive. Reasons: a. fill all the air gaps on the wrap corrugations, including the fin attachment deformations, so there is a 100% surface bond. b. something easy to work with by hand, without overspray and other causes of mess. c. Lexel is a "gorilla glue" of sealants, sticking to wood, plastic, etc. A week ago, I tested it by attaching an Algol plastic nozzle, purportedly made of the same plastic as the wrap, to a scrap of glassine wrapped body tube, to make sure it stuck the two materials together. d. After it cures, Lexel remains flexible, something I wanted for hard landings e. Lexel has a generous working time and has some repositioning ability.
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Rehearsal is key. I did a literal 'dry run' and discovered where to pre-position masking tape. What I initially thought would work, didn't, so the dry run was valuable. Large strips of masking tape were pre-positioned on the reverse side of the wrap to give me something to handle the wrap without actually touching it, and to close the wrap around the airframe while the sealant sets up. Post-Its were laid over where the tape was exposed so no sealant would get on those. All these refinements were as a result of the dry run.
Narrower strips of masking tape did double duty to hold the wrap flat to the work surface, and also masked off the top and bottom inner sides of the .010" styrene strips I had glued earlier, 'cause I want to use CA to seal those strips against the airframe in case the Lexel didn't perform as hoped.
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De-glossed the glassine where it would meet the wrap, with a medium grit foam sanding block, then positioned the airframe on the jig.
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The masking tape on the airframe was removed prior to applying the wrap.
These pictures were taken during the dry run, to show how I would work the Lexel into all the depressions on the wrap using a putty knife and small squeegee.
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Then the moment: pumping a generous amount of Lexel onto the wrap, globs on the fin attachment areas, and thick beads every few CM elsewhere. The putty knife was almost perfect for getting the Lexel into the depressions of the fin attachment areas, I don't know what would have worked better. The squeegee was perfect for spreading the Lexel, it filled all the negative (as seen from this side) corrugations. I found the best technique was to work the Lexel from the middle to the edges in all directions and the corners -- it worked well to move the squeegee past the margins of the wrap and over the masking, to get the Lexel to the very edges and corners all around. At the end of this application, I used more pressure on the squeegee to remove all but a thin film of Lexel from the positive corrugations. Excess Lexel built up on the squeegee, which was later removed with mineral spirits.IMG_0879.JPG
I was pleased that the Lexel felt cooperative and easy to work with; it does not drip, sag, or make strings, and spreads like warm butter. I was surprised by how much of it the corrugations 'soaked' up.
 
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The last bit was to gently pull off the Post-Its from the masking tape "handles" and the narrow tape that masked the edges and held them to the work surface. You can see the fresh and dry surfaces of the .010" styrene strips on the top and bottom edges of the wrap that were masked beneath the narrow tape. IMG_0880.JPG IMG_0881.jpg

Holding the wrap by the masking tape 'handles', I stood it up on its bottom edge on the work surface of the jig, letting it naturally curl around the airframe and standing up by itself, about 1" or more away from any contact with the airframe. The flat MDF work surface and gravity trued up the wrap to the airframe. I gently slid the wrap across the work surface so that it contacted the airframe, then you know what happened after that. Finally finished up by pulling the pre-positioned masking tape "handles" around and sealing the deal, and adding more masking tape along the way.
IMG_0882.JPG(The glue marks on the MDF are from the construction adhesive that attached the 3" shipping tube to the MDF, not excess Lexel coming from the wrap.)

Some retrospective thoughts for anyone who wants to try this method: the jig is really solid and if the MDF is clamped to the work table, you get leverage and can put a lot of pressure on the wrap and airframe without any damage to them, really pulling hard on the masking tape to squeeze the wrap to the airframe. I probably used too much muscle at the start, and accidentally moved the wrap off center, so had to pull off and re-attach. The Lexel made strings when I did that. If you go slow and gentle in the beginning, you should be able to get it right the first try, and then pull hard on the masking tape after the wrap is all the way on.
This assembly is now sitting on the top shelf of my workroom; I will get it down next week, peel off the tape, and see how this method worked. At worst, I can buy another kit for $39.99 and start over using one of several proven methods on the main LJ thread.
 
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More work on Apollo Capsule as an AvBay.
The Estes Apollo capsule appears to have an angle of about 57 deg. A carpenter's square was handy for measuring and cutting.
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Cut styrene tubing at 57 deg angles, then screwed in 1 cm lengths of 4-40 all thread, then cemented the tubes into the capsule. 0FE6D400-D69A-4BEC-A4BE-37D1004A1F23.jpeg
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Time to drill the Capsule for LES attachment.
To drill a 7/16" hole thru the nose of the capsule, started with a 9/32" pilot hole, drilling from inside the capsule forward through the nose tip. A pilot hole is not really necessary, but I'll always take a practice lap if the rules allow.:cool:
A wide 9/32" standard twist drill was selected because the heel of the cutting edge touches the sloping sides of the capsule before the point reaches the nose tip. Reason: the capsule walls will center the drill point for me.
Used my go-to jig for drilling nosecone bases: a bulk pack of masking tape rolls. Lower the bit into the nose and let the heels find center; true up the nose to level (eyeballing it) by moving the masking tape stack while the drill bit keeps the nose center - it's sort of a dance. Then, power up the drill press, and slowly lower the turning bit through the plastic, holding the plastic gently to keep it from spinning but loosely enough so the nose naturally obeys the centering force of the drill bit. You can stop before going all the way through if you're nervous (like I was) but that would mean having to do the leveling dance all over again before finishing the cut. (this set-up photo was taken before switching to the 9/32" bit)
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I was a bit concerned that the hole looked a smidgen off center. Followed up with the final 7/16" drill bit, again, the bit's heels against the capsule's inner walls found center and probably more accurately because of a larger diameter bit.

A 7/16" hole is a perfect slip fit for 7/16" styrene tubing, which telescopes inside the LES core tube. Gotta admire the folks at Evergreen Scale Models - their styrene is machine shop grade.
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Also shown is a beautiful 1:45 scale BPC made in collaboration with The Aerospace Place.
 
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Igniters. Specifically, air-starting 3 D10's with 10 amps.
Estes Sonic II igniters (I can hear the boos from the bleachers) were a no-go trying to light a 3-cluster of BP A8-3's for a static test, with my Transolve Triple Fire board and 1 3S LiPo battery. The Sonics cooked the pyrogen without lighting it.
IMG_0948.jpg The one on the left is virgin.
Sonics are labeled as 3.8 amp igniters. Shoulda read the label. 3 of these igniters draw 11.4 amps. The Transolve's output smartFETs are 10 amp. I thought about swapping in a larger transistor, but...

NSL this past weekend was a convenient place to shop vendors and talk igniters. Chris of Chris' Rocket Supplies sells a small batch "Tiny" igniter that isn't on his website (yet). No stats published, but I bought 3 to test. Their resistances were significantly higher than the 2 ohm Sonics: 8.7 ohm was the lowest, highest was 30 ohm.
V = I R This should be interesting.
The lack of consistency gave me some concern, but the 3 test motors lit instantly in a static test. What a beautiful sight considering the frustration using Sonics.
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The igniter problem for the airstarts is licked if I fly BP motors for the airstarts. How the "Tiny" igniters perform on D10s, the intended motor, remains to be seen, but there is a lot more confidence now.
 
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Tried again to machine a 6-motor centering ring using a drill press.
Forstner bits were the key, not only for drilling, but for marking the centers. 5/8" - with a little tape - centers nicely inside a BT-20 coupler.
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The tip of the bit centers on the bulkhead, which magically has a center pinhole. Tack the coupler to the bulkhead with a drop of CA.
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Add seven 18mm motor tubes, and tack a few of them to the bulkhead with small drop of CA, so they don't move. Then use the taped 5/8" forstner bit again with a 2nd coupler (the 1st coupler glued to the bulkhead and now holding the center motor tube), and mark the center of each motor tube by pushing the tip of the bit down against the bulkhead like a center punch.
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Ugly after the CA-glued components are removed, but here are 6 geometrically exact center holes for an 18mm cluster.
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Then, just a matter of gently drilling each one with a 3/4" forstner bit. I don't recommend milling a centering ring out of cardboard like I did; plywood is probably a better choice. Ugly, but here it is, after not much work:IMG_0966.JPG

Oh, and has anyone else tried making himself a supply of LJII-sized bulkhead disks out of BT-101 bulkheads (cardboard and plywood) using a Dremel and a sanding block? (and a dust mask?) It's crazy fun. IMG_0937.JPG
 
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Unmasking the vacuform wrap.
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The Lexel is strong, but my method wasn't perfect.
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First off, I noticed that I should've used .015 styrene strip instead of .010 on the top of the wrap. Secondly, noticed that I shoulda used the body tube gap filler that was in the kit for the bottom edge.
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Decided to fill the top edge gaps by dusting them with micro balloons and sealing with thin CA, which went well in some spots and required a lot of sanding in others. It looked as if the CA wicked the micro balloons out of the gaps when I placed the drop directly onto the balloons in the edge of the wrap. What worked better, I found out, was to apply the drop of CA onto the airframe tube just above the balloons, and let the CA fan out into the balloons. Per build parameter #2, I'm not going to sweat it. I bought a second LJII kit at NSL, and will probably try the Lexel method again for bonding the wrap to the airframe, trying to improve on the technique.
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6-cluster "motor can" with canted motors - getting closer to reality.
Some kit parts, specifically the 24mm motor tube, the 24mm thrust ring, and the aft centering rings, can be used to complete the motor can.

Top view with the fore centering ring, made in post #41. The central tube is just structural, not for a motor.IMG_0977.JPG
The middle centering ring is the BT-80 seven-cluster ring that can slide up and down to adjust the angle of the motor tubes. (Build parameter #5 is to thrust the motors through the CG.)
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Side view with Estes LJII parts used to attach kit aft centering ring to complete the motor can.The 24mm thrust ring centers the 24mm tube around the central 18mm tube, and the 24mm tube centers the aft centering rings. It's not glued together, just test-fitting the parts. The 24mm motor tube will need to be shortened so it doesn't stick out like in these pictures.
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It's convoluted, but it works...the bi-layered aft centering rings (per kit instructions, laminate the two together) can be offset to 'squeeze' the aft ends of the 18mm motor tubes where they protrude, since the holes were cut to accept the Algol plastic nozzles and are too big for 18mm motor tubes.
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Motor can won't be glued up until I know the actual CG location.
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And this is a 24" parachute 'cause I'm thinking of jettisoning the motor can, to save the fin can from the stress of landing with 6 spent D10s inside. :oops:
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Kit LES legs not to scale?
It appears that the LES tower legs in the kit (on the left) are longer than a 1:45 scale LES-BPC assembly from The Aerospace Place. The kit's legs were probably a compromise made by the kit designers, when they decided to skip scaling a BPC onto the LJII nose cone.
Looking at drawings by George Gassaway and Tom Beach, the accuracy of the 3D-printed LES-BPC assembly looks good, and the kit compromise becomes obvious.
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Jettisoning the Launch Escape System during flight? Maybe some of you guys can help out with a flight profile and engineering concept.
The build is now near the point where I commit to a decision of whether to a jettison the LES during some point in the flight, or keep it attached as part of the capsule all the way to landing.
Some ideas and problems to be overcome:
a. the LES, with tungsten weights, weighs in at 6+ ounces. Which means a parachute.
b. the capsule interior space is limited and already carries a battery, electronics, and R/C receiver.
c. There is no room for a parachute in the LES body tube, and hardly any space in the capsule. I wouldn't mind stowing a separate LES chute in the airframe with all the other laundry and running a shock cord to the LES on the outside. If the LES is friction-fitted to the capsule nose (i.e. with nested styrene tubing), the friction must be in the sweet spot so that the LES doesn't separate at motor burnout like a boosted dart, yet loose enough so that just the tug of its parachute would pull it free from the capsule.
d. If there is to be a servo/mechanical release or pyro jettison of the LES, the nose of the capsule would have to host the mechanism. There is some limited space for a mini servo (a pull-pin arrangement?) or a small pyro canister with shear pin. (One possible flight profile is that the LES's parachute acts as a drogue for the LES/capsule at apogee/ejection, and the capsule's parachutes are kept folded with a Jolly Logic Chute Release. The LES is released on R/C command and comes down on the drogue, while the capsule's parachutes deploy some short time later.)

Since that's a lot to accomplish in a 400-meter-apogee flight, it seems that the LES should just stay stuck to the capsule. Or not? Ideas needed. Thanks!
 
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C'mon!! Airstart four A-10ts, separate the LES with capsule, recover both independently of the booster! Scale flight profile! Go big or go home!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:;););)

Kidding of course... I like option "d" the best, I think. Pyro separation would probably be the most reliable; no dependence on mechanicals that can get stuck or jammed. Seems like it would probably better packaging-wise too.

On the other hand, you already have A LOT going on in a relatively small bird, maybe just recover the LES with the capsule. (Of course this brings us back to the last sentence of the first paragraph... :p)

Mike
 
C'mon!! Airstart four A-10ts, separate the LES with capsule, recover both independently of the booster! Scale flight profile! Go big or go home!!!! :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:;););)

Kidding of course... I like option "d" the best, I think. Pyro separation would probably be the most reliable; no dependence on mechanicals that can get stuck or jammed. Seems like it would probably better packaging-wise too.

On the other hand, you already have A LOT going on in a relatively small bird, maybe just recover the LES with the capsule. (Of course this brings us back to the last sentence of the first paragraph... :p)

Mike
Yeah man, I wished to light 4 MICRO MAXX motors and have their ejection charges ducted into the LES tube to pop a streamer or small chute. Alas, this LES tube is filled with nose weight. But, I haven't given up on trying that in a non-cluster LJII that doesn't need a ton of nose weight.
 
Pyro separation would probably be the most reliable; no dependence on mechanicals that can get stuck or jammed. Seems like it would probably better packaging-wise too.
Tonight I found that there are some really small servos available. I don't mind rigging pyro canisters, but doing so in a confined space close to avionics, with a pyro can integral to the BPC-LES mount, all plastic, I'm just not clear on doing it safely. Conversely, with a micro servo - I can mentally engineer it in about 10 minutes. I must be better at mech-e than at building a small bomb inside a styrene capsule and expecting it to survive testing.
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Then again, that's sort of what the A-003 mission was all about.:oops: 63846ca2d2fc71fab6e9898cbe35b81c.jpg
 
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Kit LES legs not to scale?
It appears that the LES tower legs in the kit (on the left) are longer than a 1:45 scale LES-BPC assembly from The Aerospace Place. The kit's legs were probably a compromise made by the kit designers, when they decided to skip scaling a BPC onto the LJII nose cone, and also I want to display the model with the real cool 3D printed BPC-LES instead of my tungsten-weighted flight LES.
Looking at drawings by George Gassaway and Tom Beach, the accuracy of the 3D-printed LES-BPC assembly looks good, and the kit compromise becomes obvious.
View attachment 386460
Plan is to use a 3D printed BPC from The Aerospace Place. I want that because the BPC is a convenient separation point to jettison the LES off the nose cone/capsule, and also I want to display this LJII with the real cool 3D printed BPC-LES instead of my tungsten-weighted flight LES.
This causes three problems.
Per post #46, first problem was that the LES tower legs are about 20mm too long out of the box and need to be trimmed to keep the BPC-LES tower at the scale length. Here is a pic after the tower pins are first cut, which are 13mm long.
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Had to chop off another 7mm. Now the kit LES tower on BPC is level with the 3D printed BPC-LES assembly. I put the cut pins in the foreground, but an additional 7mm of each leg were taken off, for a total trim of 20mm.
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The second problem was that the BPC expects adjacent tower legs to be 28mm apart at the bottom, just like on the kit, but when the legs are trimmed to scale length, they are only 25mm apart (the higher up you go on a pyramid, the less distance between corners.) You can see (above) that the left tower (kit) is 3mm narrower where it meets the BPC than the example on the right (3D printed BPC-LES). Each hole on the BPC had to be modified, carefully using a Dremel. A bit sloppy, but nothing that some modeling putty won't fix.
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Then the 25mm-wide LES tower seated into the BPC.

The third problem is that the BPC doesn't cover the holes on the kit capsule where the longer legs would have seated. Again, some modeling putty will fix that.
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I could have avoided this drill if I accepted a LJII that had a disproportionately long LES. In retrospect, I should have done just that. No one would have noticed except a scale judge. My bad for violating build parameter #2.
 
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Just drilled the BPC to accept a 7/16" styrene tube, using same method as on capsule in post #39. Used a vitamin bottle as the jig. IMG_2461.JPG
 
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Now have to trim the length of the 1/2" styrene tube so that it kisses the top of the BPC when it slides down the 7/16" inner tube and the bottom of the tower legs seat into the BPC. I'm not good at measuring to this tolerance, so will need to make incremental cuts to get it right.IMG_2465.JPGIMG_2466.JPG
 
Here is the 1/2" styrene core tube trimmed to kiss the top of the BPC. The LES tower is obviously just 'decorative' at this stage, serving no structural function.
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Neodymium magnets for attaching a removable BPC-LES assembly to the Apollo capsule?
I toyed with this idea for about 2 weeks. Bought the structural components that would nest a neodymium magnet inside the 7/16" tube in top of the BPC, and another neodymium magnet in the top of the truncated Apollo capsule, causing a strong magnetic bond between the two which could be separated with human muscle but not by aerodynamic drag or deployment shocks. The magnets wouldn't need to touch, they're so strong. Additionally, a servo worm drive would pull the magnet inside the capsule away from the BPC-mounted magnet, allowing separation between the capsule and the BPC-LES to take place via radio command.
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All these tubes are telescoping; the 5/16" is ideal to hold the magnet.
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Dream on kid.
This idea suddenly seemed stupid when I realized that it would put strong magnetic fields near my electronics in the capsule.
2 large neodymium magnets would sit above the IC chips on the Transolve Triplefire board, and next to the 2.4GHz receiver. If anyone knows the math of magnetic field strength and IC chip tolerance for magnetic fields, do let me know. Otherwise, I ain't takin' the chance of scrambling the firmware in my avionics. 2 weeks' thinking wasted.
Which means,
beefypunter.jpgNo inflight jettison of the LES tower, at least in this iteration. LES jettison was an optional build parameter anyway. It just seemed so darn elegant, it was tough to give up. I didn't want pyro, wasn't seriously considering MICROMAXX, didn't want friction fit, so the magnets were a positive, controllable, retention device. Neodymium magnets for sticking stages together remains an intriguing idea.
 
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This idea suddenly seemed stupid when I realized that it would put strong magnetic fields near my electronics in the capsule.
2 large neodymium magnets would sit above the IC chips on the Transolve Triplefire board, and next to the 2.4GHz receiver. If anyone knows the math of magnetic field strength and IC chip tolerance for magnetic fields, do let me know. Otherwise, I ain't takin' the chance of scrambling the firmware in my avionics. 2 weeks' thinking wasted.

This is sort of "bittersweet" . . .

On one hand, part of the project had to be scrapped but, on the other hand, you realized a potentially dangerous situation and chose to err on the side of caution.

When in doubt, do not wipe out the electronics . . . LOL !

Dave F.
 
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