Recovery Question

[jammer]

Just got done launching with my kids this evening, a windless day in West Texas, which is about a real rarity, so I told the boys to grab a rocket and we were gonna launch. We took a Quest Courier, Astrosat LSX, and Wacky Wiggler (a real waste of cardboard and plastic). Anyway...several of the rockets got to apogee and nosed over and were in gravity acceleration mode when the recovery charge launched the chutes. Have been launching off and on for the last year, it never really occured to me before: Should the recovery charge ignite before or after apogee? All the rockets recovered fine, but it got me to thinking.

Thanks in advance!

Doug

PS: the egg didn't make it

 

[BlueNinja]

FOr best results it should be just before/after or right at apogee.

 

[flying_silverad]

Right. The idea is so the rocket is at it's slowest state. which would be just at apogee. It doesn't always work out that way because of different conditions.

 

[astronboy]

Plus: the rocker motors have a variation in the delay charge. Even though it says C6-5.... sometimes it is C6-4.5, and othertimes C6-5.5......

 

[Rocketman35]

or C-6 - pop right before it hits the ground

 

[powderburner]

If the delay length goes too far into the descent, you can have a parachute ripped apart upon deployment (especially the cheap plastic ones, they work OK if gently deployed but often don't stand up well to 'abuse')
Or, if the 'chute holds together, the shock from the opening pop can cause the shock cord to tear up the front of the body tube (the dreaded 'zipper')