NARTREK Bronze level Question

[texasck1]

How many of you have gone through the NARTREK certification process?

I'm considering doing it for the experence. It looks like an interesting challenge.

What would be a good rocket to build for the streamer and parachute duration requirment? I would like to build one rocket for both. It has to go on no larger than a B motor and make 30 secs on the streamer and 60 on the parachute. Did I read it right that it has to be a "kit" and not a scratch build?

Any info or advise that you might have that could help would be greatly appreciated.

https://www.nar.org/NARTREK/index.html

Thanks,

 

[brianc]

Originally posted by texasck1
What would be a good rocket to build for the streamer and parachute duration requirment? I would like to build one rocket for both.

There was a great write-up on NARTREK by Larry Brand in the May/June 2004
issue of Sport Rocketry.

Larry did his with a Quest Pipsqueak and suggests Estes Yankee, Sizzler, Wizard
or Stardust as alternates.

 

[prowlerguy]

I used a Wizard with a homemade mylar parachute and streamer for both. Worked great. My son is using a HiFlyer for his Gemini requirements. Pretty much any of the min diameter Estes kits will work fine.

 

[jflis]

The cougar models can get 30 seconds with a streamer if you build carefully. Also, the Flea converted for parachute should do that easily. I beleive it would qualify as a kit, so the CAUTION rocket from FlisKits with a parachute would easily do that on a B motor.

I also know of someone who got the Bronze level with the Midnight Express paper rocket.

Here are some links:

Flea
Cougar 660
Caution rocket
Midnight Express

jim

 

[Fishhead]

I used an Estes Wizard for both my parachute and streamer flights. Worked out great, but there are a ton of minimum diameter rockets out there that would work as well.

 

[JRThro]

Or (sorry, Jim!) Aerospace Specialty Products makes a whole line of competition kits, at https://www.asp-rocketry.com/compkits.html.

A member of my club just did his streamer duration flight using one of these last Saturday, with (I think) a 39 second duration.

 

[astrowolf67]

I did both of mine with an Estes Hi Flier. I built it without the external motor hook, and just use friction fit. For a streamer, I used a 3x30 home made from a space blanket, flown on a B6-4, and for parachute, a 12" Estes chute with a small spill hole flown on a B6-4.

 

[Adam Selene]

the sugestion is to use a kit but if you're experienced you may use a scratch built.

i used estes sizzlers and star darts. they came in a pack of one each for $8.88 at walmart. the key to the parachute duation is a large field. i don't know how many times i had a time of over 2 minuts as i watched that little rocket drift off over the county line, never to be seen again. at least not by me


the NARTREK program is lots of fun. i built my gold months ago and have done all of the required flights but haven't gotten around to doing the rest of the math. of course i'm stuborn and insist that i'll learn more by doing all the math with a pencil and paper.

 

[JRThro]

Originally posted by astrowolf67
I did both of mine with an Estes Hi Flier. I built it without the external motor hook, and just use friction fit. For a streamer, I used a 3x30 home made from a space blanket, flown on a B6-4, and for parachute, a 12" Estes chute with a small spill hole flown on a B6-4.

Hmmm.... as it happens, I'm building a Hi-Flier w/o the motor hook even as we speak, and planning to use friction retention.

 

[Zack Lau]

The Nartrek program is great--I got my Nartrek gold last year.

I did mine with an Estes Wizard on an A8-5 for streamer duration and an ASP Duration 13 on a 1/2A3-4T for parachute duration (PD). Both are minimum diameter rockets. A problem with minimum diameter rockets is that the ejection charge is often too strong. I've been punching a pair of 1/16" to 1/8"holes in my minimum diameter rockets just above the engines to provide another path for the ejection charge.

I was lucky to get my PD rocket back--it was up in the air 140 seconds over small New England field!
A bigger rocket like a Baby Bertha might be a better idea--you have a much better chance of getting a rocket back if it doesn't go very high. Estes ejection charges are more appropriate for BT-60 sized rockets.

 

[PunkRocketScience]

Hey Tex-

Good luck with your journey through the NARTREK program. I had a blast working it. Even as an experienced rocketeer, I found the program enjoyable and somewhat of a challenge.

For the streamer and parachute duration I used a Custom Venture. I actually built 3 of them, one of which was lost to a dip into San Diego bay.... Luckily, I had the other two to complete the requirements. And also, since it was a reasonably inexpensive kit, building 3 didn't hurt my pocketbook!

 

[texasck1]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I like the look of the Fliskit Flea and the Estes Wizard.

The reason I asked whether it had to be a kit is I just finished a scratch build this weekend of an Estes Sprint. I built it with cardstock. The body and fins look good. The nosecone is obviously conical instead of the original elliptical. I thought it might work well for the streamer and maybe could be fitted for the parachute also. I’m waiting for the weather to clear up and the wind to lie down to do its maiden flight. Will this fill the requirments? Do you think it will work?

All of your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Cajunman06]

Cheapest alternative is Fliskits Midnight Express free kit. It EASILY gets 30secs on SD and if you make a small 8 or 10 inch chute out of a piece of mylar (for cheap, use an old balloon or buy a pack of mylar paper from a craft store), you'll easily get over a minute.

If you want a little more fun, build the Caution rocket off od Fliskit's site also and you can fit up to a 12"+ chute in there.

 

[Justin]

I agree with Adam Selene. He and I bought a pile of Estes Sizzler and Stardarts (we call them Sizzledarts collectively. I never remember which is which) when they were at Walmart in two packs for $8.88. They still have them at backwoods Walmarts sometimes. Adam is not exaggerating about those durations. After losing a few, it boiled down to finding a field big enough to find them again (we don't have access to large fields generally), not getting them up long enough. If you got some space, they work great.

 

[Justin]

BTW- Your cardstock bird is cool. Someone on this forum once said to me about a scratch built I did, "get it in the air, and it'll fly". You should post a launch pic when she goes up..

 

[Fishhead]

Originally posted by texasck1
Thanks everyone for your responses. I like the look of the Fliskit Flea and the Estes Wizard.

The reason I asked whether it had to be a kit is I just finished a scratch build this weekend of an Estes Sprint. I built it with cardstock. The body and fins look good. The nosecone is obviously conical instead of the original elliptical. I thought it might work well for the streamer and maybe could be fitted for the parachute also. I’m waiting for the weather to clear up and the wind to lie down to do its maiden flight. Will this fill the requirments? Do you think it will work?

All of your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

With a B6-6, this would likely more than fill the requirements. The Sprint was always noted as a high flier, and that boattail should buy you a nice chunk of air.