Minimum diameter

[phaar]

I was wondering how everyone felt about minimum diameter rockets. I like them. What are your thoughts?

 

[rstaff3]

I said I love them, but then I like most types of rockets (I actually like short stubby rockets more!)

 

[rocketsonly]

I prefer the slower lifting rockets; but if it's a LARGE minimum diameter rocket, say 98mm, then heck yea I would like them!

 

[sandman]

Well, I voted "Hate 'em" but that's if they are mine...

If it's somebody elses and I don't have to try and find it...then I love 'em. But only other peoples.

I like slow and majestic lift offs. Like NASA rockets.

 

[phaar]

Originally posted by sandman
Well, I voted "Hate 'em" but that's if they are mine...

If it's somebody elses and I don't have to try and find it...then I love 'em. But only other peoples.

I like slow and majestic lift offs. Like NASA rockets.

Haha. Yeah...I definately understand that!

 

[Stymye]

I like to see the flight, but the tiny ones that don't cost alot are fun

 

[BobH48]

I like slow and majestic lift offs. Like NASA rockets.

I'll second that

 

[flying_silverad]

I like them until it comes time to prepping them. Big hands and stuffing a 12" chute into the body of an XRay just plain stinks.

 

[phaar]

Originally posted by flying_silverad
I like them until it comes time to prepping them. Big hands and stuffing a 12" chute into the body of an XRay just plain stinks.

I was not only talking about the small LPR stuff...

 

[hokkyokusei]

Originally posted by sandman
Well, I voted "Hate 'em" but that's if they are mine...

If it's somebody elses and I don't have to try and find it...then I love 'em. But only other peoples.

I like slow and majestic lift offs. Like NASA rockets.

I'm with sandman on this one!

 

[boris katan]

I like a slow majestic lift off.

I like a gunshot fast BLAST off and out of sight.

I like launching rockets.

 

[tennisace]

If its a rocket i love it.
Slow, Fast, or Sonic its still awesome.
And its always good to have a little variety, right

 

[MarkII]

If its a rocket i love it.
Slow, Fast, or Sonic its still awesome.
And its always good to have a little variety, right

My feelings exactly. If it's a rocket, it's good. I have built and will continue to build minimum diameter, large diameter, and everything in-between, and I have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy launching them all.

Mark \\.

 

[Kaycee]

I like the big ones for sure, but skinny rockets have a special place in my heart.

Last month I launched a 54mm DD rocket on a Gorilla K-222WC in Manchester, TN. Perfect boost in every way--including 'report' some 20+ seconds later.
Even with every eye looking skyward and binoculars present, the rocket was lost. Sims said over 13K but I'll never know...

54mm Rocket Video

Sometimes stuff happens....

 

[bob jablonski]

Big small I like them all!!! Maybe I can get my hands on one of the last Ellis L330 flame holders and go minimum I figure close to 20,000 ft
Mr. Bob
Starlight rockets pyro guy

 

[rokitflite]

Wow... A Zombie thread! After 4 years it comes back to life... Everyone watch out or it will eat your brains! And for the record I think min dia rockets are pretty boring. I enjoy intricate creativity that you can admire through out the entire flight, rather than "Look how fast this one can go out-a-site" builds.

 

[jj94]

Minimum diameter = rocket. Rocket = good.

Basically, any rocket will satisfy me, and I do like a fast flight every so often. It's not fun trying to find it, but then again, they are cheap to build. So I voted that I that I don't love them but don't hate them either.

 

[MarkII]

Big small I like them all!!! Maybe I can get my hands on one of the last Ellis L330 flame holders and go minimum I figure close to 20,000 ft
Mr. Bob
Starlight rockets pyro guy

Just make sure that there are no Continental Airlines jets anywhere within a 100 mile radius of your launch site!

Mark \\.

 

[Rocket Guy 1317]

I love them being a West Coast Rocketeer it's all about minimum diameters and near minimum diameter rockets.

 

[Gus]

...I think min dia rockets are pretty boring. I enjoy intricate creativity...

Scott,

I agree completely with regard to sport rockets, minimum diameter is boring. But it's the intricate creativity of ultralightweight just-barely-strong-enough engineering and crafting that I really like in contest models, which are all pretty much minimum diameter.

I never did any contest stuff as a kid. As an adult, I've found it a whole new really fascinating part of rocketry. And it's precisely that intricate crafting that I really like.

 

[Ethan]

I'm all for minimum diameter. Theyre a hell of a challenge. But as others have said, a rocket's a rocket!

Nothing like watching a RocketDyne Systems 7.5" kit rumble off on an M1939.

Ethan

 

[Pantherjon]

Looks like the 'love 'em' choice is winning..I voted for the 3rd option as I have a love/hate relationship with minimum diameter rockets..Like 'em for the looks but hate them when trying to stuff the wadding/shock cord and streamer/chute in the tube(ESPECIALLY if they are 13mm or 18mm min dia)..I have some clumsy hands and it never fails: I get the shock cord in and then try to put the streamer/chute in I end up pulling the shock cord back out!

 

[mach66]

I love min. dia. Most of my rockets are. Never had any problems finding it either, not even when it lands 3 miles out in the middle of the desert. I haven't lost a HPR rocket yet. Prep isn't bad either if doing 54mm and above.

When doing research, I have a configuration for my 54/2000 casing that gives me a 4 -5 second burn even with reds and I get a little above 12,000 ft.
That gives me the best of both worlds a long burn and altitude

Brent

 

[Chrisn]

I like high altitude and fast rockets, so therefore minimum diameter
btw this is the oldest thread ive posted in .

 

[Pem Tech]

Well, I voted "Hate 'em" but that's if they are mine...

If it's somebody elses and I don't have to try and find it...then I love 'em. But only other peoples.

I like slow and majestic lift offs. Like NASA rockets.

Yep, Sandman head it right on the head....

I like rockets that are short, fat and slow, sorta like me.

 

[DaveHein]

I usually don't care for minimum diameter rockets. I'm not interested in rockets that cannot be seen immediately after they leave the launch pad. Minimum diameter rockets have two purposes -- break the sound barrier and acheive the highest altitude. Without instrumentation there is no way to know if they've acheived a speed or altitude goal.

With that being said, I did a scratch build of a 29mm minimum diameter rocket. I knew I would lose sight of it so I designed it to carry a BeeLine transmitter. I also wanted to know how high it went, so it was designed to carry a PerfectFlite altimeter. The rocket only cost about $20 or $30 in parts, but carries about $200 dollars in hardware including the motor casing.

I've launched it four times, and I really needed the BeeLine transmitter to find it after two of the launches. It's highest altitude so far is 4000 feet on a G80 motor. I'm hoping to launch it over a mile on Aerotech's newest single use motor.

I'll probably build a 38mm minimum diameter rocket after a few more launches of the 29mm one. It will be a nice platform for using a GPS tracker.

Dave

 

[Tom Rouse]

Here is a sneak peek at my new product. Aluminum anodized, 4 inch minimum diameter fin can assembly with aluminum fins!
It can be purchased as a three or four fin set.

Whats Up hobbies has the first order. More info will be posted on my website soon.

 

[daveyfire]

Here is a sneak peek at my new product. Aluminum anodized, 4 inch minimum diameter fin can assembly with aluminum fins!
It can be purchased as a three or four fin set.

Whats Up hobbies has the first order. More info will be posted on my website soon.

OT, but Tom, how DID you get that orange finish on the airframe?

 

[Tom Rouse]

Hi Dave-
The tube in the picture is a special order tube. Its carbon fiber with one half of the winding fibers copper coated. SWEET.

To answer your question, the fin cans fit Hawk Mountain tube, PML fiberglass tube and other tubes with OD's of 4.040 or less. The ID of the rings is specified at 4.040, however the machinist trued them to a little larger.

I have not set prices yet. Probably about 160.00 for the three fin set-up.

They are difficult to make on my machine. The wall thickness makes the aluminum hard to machine without having it "sing". If you wanted a different size, I can start to make them in 3" sizes too, but lets see how these 4 inch ones sell.

I wanted to make a fin can that wasn't short thus having fin root lengths less than desirable. The problem with a "mono can" fin can design, using one aluminum tube with the fins mounted on it, was that the length of the aluminum tube was always short. This produced fin root chord lengths of only 6-8 inches. Not exactly what you want in a 4 inch rocket for optimum performance.
Boring and machining a 16 inch long tube was too costly and would be too heavy, so I came up with the idea of rings mounted to the rocket and having the fins screw into the rings.

The fins are the same style as the fins we have used in the ARLISS rockets for years, just a little different shape. (Smaller span)

 

[afterburner]

Tom,

Would you make those fincans so they fit around the motor? I like fincans, but I hate the fact they fit over the body tube and increase the overall diameter and add drag (picky picky, I know).