EeebeeE
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It's been a long time since I posted a build, and I was just looking at the L1000 project and decided that in that same spirit, I would post this little gem. I had a 2.6" FG nose cone left over from a FG Mad Cow Arcas that crashed a few years ago. I also had a 2.6" plastic nose cone left over from a scratch build that shredded (I tend to fly rockets to their extremes, so crashing or shredding is a common issue with me). and a 30" length of thin wall 2.6" airframe that I accidentally ordered, but decided to keep becasue I knew I'd probably have a project for it later. Well ... Later is now.
There was a Coors Light Commercial in the late 1990's about a snowflake named "Steve." This became the theme for this rocket. "A rocket... any rocket. Let's call it, 'Steve.'
The design is a simple 4-fin rocket. It will have a dual-depoy chute release system mounted in the nose cone. The chute release eliminates the need for an AV bay, and allows me to insert 54mm L's into the motor tube. The plastic nose cone will be cut to form a tailcone. While this will only reduce the aft diameter by 1/4" or so, that small reduction translates to almost 1,000' more in altitude according to sims.
There will be an internal bulkhead that separates the booster section from the payloard, recovery section. This should enable me to friction fit the motor into the tube because without the ejection charge going into the motor section (since the motor charge will be removed) there is nothing to blow the motor out the aft end. I will include a small vent hole in the booster section to further prevent internal pressures from pushing out the motor. This also reduces the volume of the section of the rocket the charges are located, reducing the amount of BP necessary to eject the nose cone. There will also be a 1/4" x 20 bolt stick throught the bulkhead anyway that I can screw the in the event I have to work with an overzealous RSO.
A second removable bulkhead just above the booster section bulkhead will enable me to house a video camera whose lens will be positioned slightly indented into the airframe, but look out horizontally. I might add a mix of JB Weld, filler and glass fibers forward of the lens hole to form a small heat shield as well.
The dual-deploy chute release will be controlled by my Raven 3 altimeter, which will enable me to have a backup apogee charge as well. The backup charge will deploy 1 second after the initial, and I may include biodegradeable glitter in it which should reflect sunlight and give me ground visibility, at least temporarily. The chute release will work by securing the chute inside a "nomex burrito" that is held in place by fishing line. An e-match will fire, whihc will immediately snap th fishing line, releasing the chute. I have a similar device I designed and am using now, and it works exceptionally well.
Fins are 1/8" CF which I cut and areodynamically tapered both fore and aft. It will be painted with engine paint (Chevy Engine Orange), and I will rig up an oven with my gas grill to bake the paint to activate heat protection to 550 degrees F. This is probably not enough heat protection, but the primer is good to 1.300 degrees. The fins will be clearcoated with engine gloss. Baking procedure is to heat the paint to 200 degrees once it is dry. This may soften the epoxy a little, but if I am careful, it should harden back up once it cools. the FG can handle up to 600 degrees, so it should be OK.
First time I've worked with CF, and I discovered that tapering the fins was a lot like sharpening a pencil. Fine black graphie everywhere.
A Beeline Tracker will also be mounted in the nose.
This is the basic configuration, and initial construction photos. It sims to 22,000' on a CTI L935 and should go well past Mach 2.
There was a Coors Light Commercial in the late 1990's about a snowflake named "Steve." This became the theme for this rocket. "A rocket... any rocket. Let's call it, 'Steve.'
The design is a simple 4-fin rocket. It will have a dual-depoy chute release system mounted in the nose cone. The chute release eliminates the need for an AV bay, and allows me to insert 54mm L's into the motor tube. The plastic nose cone will be cut to form a tailcone. While this will only reduce the aft diameter by 1/4" or so, that small reduction translates to almost 1,000' more in altitude according to sims.
There will be an internal bulkhead that separates the booster section from the payloard, recovery section. This should enable me to friction fit the motor into the tube because without the ejection charge going into the motor section (since the motor charge will be removed) there is nothing to blow the motor out the aft end. I will include a small vent hole in the booster section to further prevent internal pressures from pushing out the motor. This also reduces the volume of the section of the rocket the charges are located, reducing the amount of BP necessary to eject the nose cone. There will also be a 1/4" x 20 bolt stick throught the bulkhead anyway that I can screw the in the event I have to work with an overzealous RSO.
A second removable bulkhead just above the booster section bulkhead will enable me to house a video camera whose lens will be positioned slightly indented into the airframe, but look out horizontally. I might add a mix of JB Weld, filler and glass fibers forward of the lens hole to form a small heat shield as well.
The dual-deploy chute release will be controlled by my Raven 3 altimeter, which will enable me to have a backup apogee charge as well. The backup charge will deploy 1 second after the initial, and I may include biodegradeable glitter in it which should reflect sunlight and give me ground visibility, at least temporarily. The chute release will work by securing the chute inside a "nomex burrito" that is held in place by fishing line. An e-match will fire, whihc will immediately snap th fishing line, releasing the chute. I have a similar device I designed and am using now, and it works exceptionally well.
Fins are 1/8" CF which I cut and areodynamically tapered both fore and aft. It will be painted with engine paint (Chevy Engine Orange), and I will rig up an oven with my gas grill to bake the paint to activate heat protection to 550 degrees F. This is probably not enough heat protection, but the primer is good to 1.300 degrees. The fins will be clearcoated with engine gloss. Baking procedure is to heat the paint to 200 degrees once it is dry. This may soften the epoxy a little, but if I am careful, it should harden back up once it cools. the FG can handle up to 600 degrees, so it should be OK.
First time I've worked with CF, and I discovered that tapering the fins was a lot like sharpening a pencil. Fine black graphie everywhere.
A Beeline Tracker will also be mounted in the nose.
This is the basic configuration, and initial construction photos. It sims to 22,000' on a CTI L935 and should go well past Mach 2.
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