Project Diamondback

[SteelyEyed]

Lastly the booster section...

Either the camera was out of focus, the air was full of overspray, or my contacts are dirty?!?

 

[SteelyEyed]

Okay, I got verbal approval from both my TAP members and the preflight paperwork is being routed for signature. At this point I'm making plans for my L3 cert flight to occur the last weekend of August at the WAC launch in Mansfield. All that's left to do now is polish my checklist and worry about what could go wrong...

 

[Eric1]

I Like your Builds Bro! Good Luck on the L3!!!

Eric Foster

 

[Eric1]

I Like your Builds Bro! Good Luck on the L3!!!

Eric Foster

 

[Blackfly]

That's a great build; details are incredible. After such an intensive build with Blue Tube, is there anything you don't like about it? Any troubles with it? I'd like to try it on a large project, but fear the unknown.....

Again, that's about as perfect a build as could be imagined; well done.

Patrick

 

[SteelyEyed]

I Like your Builds Bro! Good Luck on the L3!!!

Eric Foster

Thanks Eric, your stuff looks pretty cool too! I wish you all the best with the product line.

 

[SteelyEyed]

That's a great build; details are incredible. After such an intensive build with Blue Tube, is there anything you don't like about it? Any troubles with it? I'd like to try it on a large project, but fear the unknown.....

Again, that's about as perfect a build as could be imagined; well done.

Patrick

Thanks Blackfly. The first time I used Blue Tube was shortly after its initial introduction. I built a three inch version of the Diamondback https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=2496
to gain familiarity with the material before I built the big one. Pretty much for the reason you described... fear of the unknown. But I love it now, Blue Tube is great stuff, amazingly strong. Compatible with LOC components. I have no complaints/no trouble with it whatsoever. I'm also intrigued with GLR's Magna-Frame, but I haven't tried that yet. I'm planning on trying it for a future project.

Here's a pic of the 3" version that I flew at FITS back in May...

 

[SteelyEyed]

Finally getting around to flying this bird for my L3 cert attempt this weekend at the WAC launch in Mansfield. I will report on the results next week...

 

[qquake2k]

Finally getting around to flying this bird for my L3 cert attempt this weekend at the WAC launch in Mansfield. I will report on the results next week...

Good luck on your L3. Sure is a great looking bird!

 

[sodmeister]

Gorgeous .That`s my kind of rocket ,what can i say :handshake:

I would like to be there when that bast@*d takes off.

Good luck to you and please take pics and video !



Paul T

 

[Randallsrockets]

Good luck Bret!
One of these days I will make it down to Mansfield I haven't launched in Wa. since Munroe.
Randall

 

[SteelyEyed]

Thanks guys,
I plan on taking video. Hoping there's someone at the launch with a good camera that can caputure some liftoff shots. Good, bad, or ugly, whatever we get will be posted early next week. I'm getting nervous just thinking about it...

Bret

 

[jb62]

this is my first time going through this thread, and all I can say is wow! I am very excited and anxious for you; can't wait to see the vids!

 

[ClayD]

WOW.....

thats is one helluva clean rocket....

Documentation pictures are awesome!

one thing tho... did you know your big set of fins were on... Upside, Down?


(you know, there are 10,000 ns 76mm motors).... who needs 98mm:kill:

 

[RedMaxFlyer]

Darn! The one TRA-only WAC launch of the year and this project flies at it.

Good luck with your cert. I hope to see this one fly at another launch.

 

[El Cheapo]

Good luck, Bret. It's as ridiculously awesome as all your other builds. Quality over quantity.

 

[SteelyEyed]

this is my first time going through this thread, and all I can say is wow! I am very excited and anxious for you; can't wait to see the vids!

Thanks jb, but I'm excited and anxious enough for all of us here on TRF...

"I'm not nervous. Well, maybe I'm a bit...concerned, but that's not the same thing.”

This is either going to be a humongous sense of relief or an even ginormouser sense of dissapointment.

 

[SteelyEyed]

WOW.....

thats is one helluva clean rocket....

Documentation pictures are awesome!

one thing tho... did you know your big set of fins were on... Upside, Down?


(you know, there are 10,000 ns 76mm motors).... who needs 98mm:kill:

Thanks for the positive feedback Clay.

As for the forward fins, Yah, yah, I know... but after I epoxied the first one on wrong I had to make 'em all match.

 

[SteelyEyed]

Darn! The one TRA-only WAC launch of the year and this project flies at it.

Good luck with your cert. I hope to see this one fly at another launch.

Thanks RedMax. I was hoping you would be there to take pictures!

 

[SteelyEyed]

Good luck, Bret. It's as ridiculously awesome as all your other builds. Quality over quantity.

Thanks for the ridiculously awesome compliment Cheapo! But, I must disagree a bit... 'cause if you are counting fins and/or fillets I think I nailed the "quantity" metric too.

Cheers,
Bret

 

[Pantherjon]

Good luck on the flight! I am sure it will go as planned..Just remember one word: BREATH!

 

[Eric1]

You are a BaddAzz Brother from another Mutha!

Great Build!! Now go pierce some clouds!:headbang::headbang::headbang:

Eric Foster

 

[SteelyEyed]

You are a BaddAzz Brother from another Mutha!

Great Build!! Now go pierce some clouds!:headbang::headbang::headbang:

Eric Foster

Hey Rocket Bro's,
I got a chance to fly my big bird yesterday, but as you can see there were no clouds to be pierced and almost no wind (but that's harder to see in the photos). I had to get this first pic just in case it was my last opportunity to get the pair together while they're both still lookin' pretty, and the other one is the obligatory preflight hero pose...

 

[qquake2k]

Hey Rocket Bro's,
I got a chance to fly my big bird yesterday, but as you can see there were no clouds to be pierced and almost no wind (but that's harder to see in the photos). I had to get a this first pict just in case it was my last opportunity to get the pair together while they're both still lookin' pretty, and the other one is the obligatory preflight hero pose...

Very nice! It sure looks big next to you. How did the flight go?

 

[SteelyEyed]

Here's a series of pics showing launch prep and some liftoff action (Notes: We pre-burned the area around the pad to minimize the possibility of starting a grass fire. The trajectory was perfectly vertical, but the camera was tilted a bit).

Looking good so far...

 

[SteelyEyed]

...the 30" drogue deployed at apogee (9400 feet) as planned...

 

[SteelyEyed]

...120 inch Top Flight Crossfire main begins to deploy at 1000 feet...

 

[SteelyEyed]

...okay, here's where I remembered to start breathing again...

 

[El Cheapo]

Nice job. Other than the usual scrapes and dings, was there any other damage?

 

[SteelyEyed]

It was a short walk of less than a quarter mile to go get it. After I confirmed that there was no damage whatsoever... I did a little celebratory happy dance in the wheat field and fortunately no one got any pictures of that! Woo-hoo I am L3 certified. I would like to add some thank yous to Bob Yanecek and Jim Wilkerson (my TAP members), Cameron Andersen for his asisstance (and the use of his shop) in cutting the airframe pieces, Hans Vogel for moral support and double-checking my pre-flight prep process, and to Ron Mason for the great flight photos.

Bret
TRA 11240 L3