Recovery Gear 'real estate'

[David_Stack]

Good Morning all;

The picture tells the story...



Pinnacle nose cone, 3.1" diameter LOC payload bay (14" long), and a LOC EB-300 Avionics Bay.

I'd really like to forego the switch band, but unless I offset the av-bay to bias it toward the booster, that leaves me even less space in the payload compartment (and yes I know that a charge well yet to be mounted is going to eat up still more space, as is an eyebolt on the base of the nose cone).

Estimated weight of the rocket is on the order of 1700 grams/3.75 lbs with an empty motor casing installed, including nylon harnesses, the OEM chutes, etc.

I'm contemplating switching out the LOC main for a 3rd party elliptical, but the ones I am looking at both indicate they may be a tight fit for length if not diameter (Spherachutes 60 or a Fruity Chutes 42" Classic), especially when the nylon harness is accounted for.

I don't really want to cut off the end of the nose cone and install a bulkhead higher up, if for no other reason that I am considering installing a MAC Performance Nose Cone Bay for a future tracker.

So I'm soliciting feedback from the sages here... Do I need to preserve every precious bit I can; leave the switch band, modify the nose cone to free up space inside the shoulder, etc. (short of opening my wallet for an Fruity Iris Ultra), or can I get by with the 5" or so that I have available? Another option would be to reach out to LOC and order a length of 3.1" tubing to allow for a longer payload tube? (I'd sim it in OR to ensure stability is not an issue, and I can always trim a bit from the booster to keep the overall length unchanged). Unfortunately it appears LOC is out of stock on 3.1" tubing at present.

Thanks in advance

 

[krislhull]

Top Flight thin mil chutes pack extremely tight and work wonders in scenarios like this. I built a Frenzy XL a few years ago and didn’t have room for a normal chute and recovery gear in the payload section, and someone on here recommended the Too Flight chutes, and I tried one, and it packed into 1/3 the space and left plenty of room.

 

[rharshberger]

Top Flight chutes are great for the price, Fruity Chutes has more performance (packs smaller, higher Cd) but at much higher price. Unless you have a need to spend some extra money to get a smaller packing chute, then the TopFlight should work. Extending the parachute bay is not a bad idea as long as the alteration in looks is acceptable to you, OR....cut the base off the nose cone....

 

[cerving]

That is one of my biggest complaints about kit manufacturers... the payload bays are almost universally too short. Same with the AV bays, for rockets 2" od and below, and it seems to be almost a law that switch bands should be no more than 1" no matter how much that makes the shoulder stick into the payload bay. The shoulder on that Pinnacle NC seems ridiculously long, too. I'd get a longer switch band AND a longer payload bay tube.

 

[mo2872]

You could cut off the end of the nose cone shoulder, and install a ply bulkhead deeper inside the cone, thereby increasing the payload volume.

 

[bobbyg23]

That nosecone can be cut down by almost 2".

 

[rcktnut]

That nosecone can be cut down by almost 2".

That is true, NC shoulder is way long especially if using shear pins, but OP did not want to lose any NC room due to putting a tracker in it. If not a scale model, just a 3 or 4 /FNC design, I would just go for a longer payload bay. It will even help with the stability ratio. Better to have recovery gear loose than packed in to tight. I have an older LOC 7.5 in NC here that I wish the shoulder was longer. It is only 3.5 in. long and fits very "sloppy" in the body tube.

 

[markg]

You could cut off the end of the nose cone shoulder, and install a ply bulkhead deeper inside the cone, thereby increasing the payload volume.

This is the cheapest/easiest solution. When I do this I will drill a hole through the nose cone just above where the bulkhead will be and add a dowel to provide a bit of mechanical assistance for the bulkhead. The hole and dowel will disappear in the paint job.

cheers - mark

 

[mo2872]

That is true, NC shoulder is way long especially if using shear pins, but OP did not want to lose any NC room due to putting a tracker in it. If not a scale model, just a 3 or 4 /FNC design, I would just go for a longer payload bay. It will even help with the stability ratio. Better to have recovery gear loose than packed in to tight. I have an older LOC 7.5 in NC here that I wish the shoulder was longer. It is only 3.5 in. long and fits very "sloppy" in the body tube.

DOH!!! I missed that part when I read the original post........time to head back to Reading is FUNdamental class........

 

[manixFan]

I think you’re making it more difficult than it needs to be by using that particular nose cone bay. You only need a few inches in the tip of the nose cone for a tracker. If you cut the shoulder down and install a bulkhead as has been discussed, just add the opening to your tracker bay to that bulkhead. There are many ways to do it using simple hardware to 3D printed mounts. Trackers are small and lightweight, so they don’t need a super strong mount.

Just a thought.


Tony