novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Gonna see if I can!
The rite of passage: Apogee Zephyr
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novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Well, whoops! Lucky me.....I thought that felt a little butt-heavy, so I double checked.
GUESS WHO HAD LOADED AN F15BIN THE 29MM ADAPTER JUST FOR FUNSIES?
Yeah. This dummy. 98 grams of "that'll never fly" removed from the model and I am under the limit at 1334 grams. Barely. I am still heavier than Apogee's estimate. I may have gone overboard with the epoxy. Oh well. It's sturdy!
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
I ordered my universal delay drilling tool for DMS motors last week. Ought to be here tomorrow or Wednesday....so that's more thing off the list!! Getting mighty close to the "time to buy an H" stage.
-Slick-Ice
Well-Known Member
Hopefully you have a vendor on-site that sells motors!
Good luck!
Good luck!
you'll need a AT-universal drilling tool for that AT H100 delay which is adjustable. i set mine to 8 seconds for my Zephyr L1 cert.
Aerotech
r-
i've got a zephyr.. mine w/o motor is 975g (your's is 457g heavier (1.121lbs)). saying this.. when i flew mine for my L1 (i used an H100), one of the guys here in Dalzell did launch his zephyr on a G80... it didn't look stable at all..! Even the RSO mentioned that 'it might be' stated that you can fly with a 'G'... but you probably shouldn't..
i have 2 G80's that i won't fly in my 'Z' now due to the performance characteristics' of these low power motors for the heavy 'Z'.
Good Luck,
r-
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
I don't think I'm doing ANYTHING with this until I try for the L1 first. The rocket simmed successfully on the G, but there's a bug difference between the Sim and real world. I don't want to bust her up before her time!
Sadly, won't be able to come out to my local club next weekend. We had plans to take the kids on a trip this weekend, which got upended and moved to the launch weekend. Bummer, but thems the breaks kid. Next month.
DJRNY
well it has fins and took off like a rocket....
I don't want to hijack this thread but my plan for my Zephyr when I get it built is to fly it on some G's before going for my L1. The Apogee website lists several G's as recommended motors, G80 as well as G77, G78, G79 etc. Now I am wondering if other people have flown their Zephyr on G's with success (or not)?
novahobbies
Well-Known Member
You can find a fair few YouTube vids of Zephyrs on G motors, and it DOES Sim well with the G. But let's be fair. It's a HP rocket with the weight to match. I'm sure I'll still toss a G into it at some point, but since I want to get the L1 with it, I decided for my own model that I'd rather let the maiden flight be on a proper HP motor first. If we're gonna fail, let's fail big!
on my zephyrs' maiden flight with an H100 got about 2000', on the second flight with an I204 we got 2317'. as you state it 'is' a 4" HPR and at 975g w/o motor it's heavy.You can find a fair few YouTube vids of Zephyrs on G motors, and it DOES Sim well with the G. But let's be fair. It's a HP rocket with the weight to match. I'm sure I'll still toss a G into it at some point, but since I want to get the L1 with it, I decided for my own model that I'd rather let the maiden flight be on a proper HP motor first. If we're gonna fail, let's fail big!
r-
I don't have a zephyr, but I flew a Binder Design Thug for several years on Hobbyline G motors and I've seen a lot of 4" rocket fly on G motors, like the AT G-Force. The biggest issues I've seen with these, is getting a short enough delay, because they only get 400-500 ft. some times, and the biggest issue which doesn't show up on sims, is having a big enough ejection charge for the volume in the 4" rocket.
If you make sure you address those two things, you should have no issues flying it on G motors.
If you make sure you address those two things, you should have no issues flying it on G motors.
My first HPR was also a Zephyr. I too thought I would "shake it down" on a G104-6. Did not go well as the thing got about 400' came in ballistic and destroyed the rocket. I purchased another Zephyr and went for my L1 first flight on a H115-8 DM and had a perfect flight and recovery. As was stated before, The Zephyr is built for high power. I guess you could get away with a G but in hindsight I would not have. Just my 2 cents.
Good luck on your L1.
Good luck on your L1.
Just depends on what it weighs, really. If you build on the lighter side and your Zephyr weighs ~1000g, there are lots of L0 G motors that will fly fine. If you build heavier and your Zephyr weighs ~1500g, there are not many L0 G motors that will give you satisfactory thrust without a very long rail (but check out the G76G for a great option!).
I didn't fly a G shakedown flight in my cert rocket and don't regret that choice at all. It was a simple rocket that I had confidence in, and I'd previously built a 29mm HP RMS motor.
I didn't fly a G shakedown flight in my cert rocket and don't regret that choice at all. It was a simple rocket that I had confidence in, and I'd previously built a 29mm HP RMS motor.
I flew a G shake down with my L1. It was a 2.25" diameter at about 3 lbs 3 oz. on a Hobbyline G64W. It was DD and got to 464 ft. with main's at 400 ft. I knew what was happening and could see the two different events, but they were close together and many there didn't. I'm not sure what would have happened if it hadn't gotten over 400 ft. I think both apogee and main would have went off at apogee, but I'm not sure. It was and old HiAlt45 altimeter.
Good decision. I see too many folks (Especially college students) that just shove the motor in there while paying no attention to the delay and then wonder why they fail as the shock cord slices through the body tube like a hot knife through butter as the rocket falls like a home-sick-brick and the laundry comes out at terminal velocity....
I was generous on the epoxy when I built mine to ensure it was strong and still test flew mine on a couple Gs back in the day. G79 (LMS) and a G76G (RMS) if I remember correctly. It came off my 8' rail no problem and was a nice low flight for a test dumping the chute at apogee.You can find a fair few YouTube vids of Zephyrs on G motors, and it DOES Sim well with the G. But let's be fair. It's a HP rocket with the weight to match. I'm sure I'll still toss a G into it at some point, but since I want to get the L1 with it, I decided for my own model that I'd rather let the maiden flight be on a proper HP motor first. If we're gonna fail, let's fail big!
I believe there are a couple of H motors that can be flown under FAR 101 regulations if the total weight is met. Can't find it now since I misplaced the notebook of rocket info in a move.
AT H128W and H180W both fit under the Class 1 limits for propellant weight. I'm sure there are many more, but I pretty much only fly the White Lightening.
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