Updates...

[Ronz Rocketz]

Two newest clone builds. The LHS is open so heading to the park to launch streamers afterwards.

 

[mikewrt]

Two newest clone builds. The LHS is open so heading to the park to launch streamers afterwards.

View attachment 432788

Nice job. I like the Aim-9. I still have the one I built in the 90s and I scored a new kit off ebay for a reasonable price. What size motor? The Aim-9 is also on my clone list. Is the fat boy an exact clone, not scaled?
As always looking forward to the video!

 

[BABAR]

I enjoy both your nicely built and finished rockets and your multi view videos. Thanks for posting these!

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Nice job. I like the Aim-9. I still have the one I built in the 90s and I scored a new kit off ebay for a reasonable price. What size motor? The Aim-9 is also on my clone list. Is the fat boy an exact clone, not scaled?
As always looking forward to the video!

18mm. I got confused with the rear fins and cut along the grain, but I papered the fins and strengthened the edges with thin CA. Should be fine on a standard motor. That's why I needed to visit the LHS cause I was running out of balsa and thin CA so bought lots. I used TB Quick & Thick for the first time on the fillets. Honestly, I'm not that impressed.

The Fat Boy is scale. Now I have a bunch of BT-80 I don't know what to do with. Suggestions?

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

The trade winds were up to 15mph so decided to launch streamers. To me, this is extreme rocketry; launching in gusty winds and land the rockets within a 150m park. First went to the LHS to buy balsa and thin CA. I went yesterday because the Mayor announced the lesser restrictions on Tuesday but not to be. The owner said they've made more money on the opening day then they woulda for the past 4 weeks. I spent $100 there today. Hard on the employees though...

It definitely wasn't a C motor day. The trade winds will end on Saturday so time to get out the D motors for Sunday. The DIY controller wasn't igniting and one of the B6-4 motors didn't work, so time for diagnostics to see what's going on.



Sorry @neil_w, I forgot to move the GoPro further away from the rockets. I remembered for the last launch of the Ion Pulsar.

 

[neil_w]

Sorry @neil_w, I forgot to move the GoPro further away from the rockets. I remembered for the last launch of the Ion Pulsar.

I forgive you... *this* time.

Even on that flight, though, you still could only barely see above the rod. My suggestion was to move back sufficiently so that you could see the entire rocket above the rod...

 

[kuririn]

Yeah, winds are dying down and it's getting muggy as heck.
Might launch some MicroMaxx stuff Sun. or Mon.

 

[BABAR]

The trade winds were up to 15mph so decided to launch streamers. To me, this is extreme rocketry; launching in gusty winds and land the rockets within a 150m park. First went to the LHS to buy balsa and thin CA. I went yesterday because the Mayor announced the lesser restrictions on Tuesday but not to be. The owner said they've made more money on the opening day then they woulda for the past 4 weeks. I spent $100 there today. Hard on the employees though...

It definitely wasn't a C motor day. The trade winds will end on Saturday so time to get out the D motors for Sunday. The DIY controller wasn't igniting and one of the B6-4 motors didn't work, so time for diagnostics to see what's going on.



Sorry @neil_w, I forgot to move the GoPro further away from the rockets. I remembered for the last launch of the Ion Pulsar.

Nice flights.

You seem to have mastered the JIT (Just In Time) chute deployment in a few of those!
Does your Ion Pulsar still have all three legs?

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Nice flights.

You seem to have mastered the JIT (Just In Time) chute deployment in a few of those!
Does your Ion Pulsar still have all three legs?

Amazingly yes. God bless epoxy...

With the Ion Pulsar, the A8-3 landed 10 feet from the launcher. With the B6-4, it landed 100m away at the baseball diamond. With the C6-3, it would probably land on Kauai.

Tomorrow will be all C and D engines...

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Cloned Crossfire 18mm. Everyone has to have one, right?

 

[kuririn]

Forecast is for calm winds on Wed. and Thurs. 0-5 mph.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Thursday morning at Sandy Beach looks really good.

It's okay this afternoon in Waipahu, better on Monday and Tuesday. I'm making pizza now then heading to the park. I'll shoot a few test rockets to see how the upper winds doing.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Clone pizza...

 

[neil_w]

Thursday morning at Sandy Beach looks really good.

It's okay this afternoon in Waipahu, better on Monday and Tuesday. I'm making pizza now then heading to the park. I'll shoot a few test rockets to see how the upper winds doing.

View attachment 433142

Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Y axis labeled with 4 and 11? Is there special significance to those numbers?

 

[dhbarr]

Pardon my ignorance, but why is the Y axis labeled with 4 and 11? Is there special significance to those numbers?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale maybe ?

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

mph...

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Today didn't work out as planned. The winds were supposed to be 7mph but were 15 to 20 instead. It looked promising so decided to try a few since we were already there. We tried the slomo version of the iPhone8 at 240fps but it's weird because it automatically sets the playback speed and the focus is worse. Back to 60fps...

For the TVM-01, I added weight to the nose cone because it went wild last time on the C6-5. This time, it turned into a cruise missile and went on an adventure.

For the Nike-R, there was some weathercocking, but I swear it started doing somersaults in the air with the 3 foot streamer. It looked like it was going to land before the baseball diamond then made a dash for the canal. We weren't quick enough to save it before it went under the bridge.

 

[jrap330]

Cloned Crossfire 18mm. Everyone has to have one, right?

View attachment 433121

Nice

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Today was mostly C and D motors on a light wind day. The Comanche-2 modified was a repeat from a previous launch with the tracking video this time. On a cloudless day like this, the only thing the iPhone8 has to focus on is the tracking smoke at apogee but sometimes not enough. The ground videos were epic with the sun shining through the smoke.

The Green Vortex with the C6-5 and Deep Space Transport with the C5-3 were flawless. The new AIM-9 Sidewinder with the C5-3 was epic. In the Nike Smoke, I removed the paper connector for the shock cord and inserted a Kevlar cord through the motor mount and around the tail end. I then plugged the hole with CWF and thin CA.

The Crossfire ISX clone worked great with the B6-4. I tried the motor that failed previous and still didn't work so need to find an alternative method for it. The Mars Longship with the D12-3 was the best flight. The Fat Boy clone with the C11-3 snapped the shroud lines so maybe need to add more wadding or use a streamer instead. It landed okay without a parachute except for a small gouge in a fin. I think the thin CA along the edge kept it from cracking the fin.

I added the altimeter and SQ11 camera to both the Bull Pup XL and Honest John. The altimeter worked great but the camera only worked at the end of the Honest John flight. It works great on its side except the rocket fills half the screen. I'll try the FOB camera again next time. The Bull Pup went to 539 feet and the Honest John to 401 feet.

 

[kuririn]

Stuck the DST landing. Impressive.
I score that a perfect 10.

 

[o1d_dude]

Today was mostly C and D motors on a light wind day. The Comanche-2 modified was a repeat from a previous launch with the tracking video this time. On a cloudless day like this, the only thing the iPhone8 has to focus on is the tracking smoke at apogee but sometimes not enough. The ground videos were epic with the sun shining through the smoke.

The Green Vortex with the C6-5 and Deep Space Transport with the C5-3 were flawless. The new AIM-9 Sidewinder with the C5-3 was epic. In the Nike Smoke, I removed the paper connector for the shock cord and inserted a Kevlar cord through the motor mount and around the tail end. I then plugged the hole with CWF and thin CA.

The Crossfire ISX clone worked great with the B6-4. I tried the motor that failed previous and still didn't work so need to find an alternative method for it. The Mars Longship with the D12-3 was the best flight. The Fat Boy clone with the C11-3 snapped the shroud lines so maybe need to add more wadding or use a streamer instead. It landed okay without a parachute except for a small gouge in a fin. I think the thin CA along the edge kept it from cracking the fin.

I added the altimeter and SQ11 camera to both the Bull Pup XL and Honest John. The altimeter worked great but the camera only worked at the end of the Honest John flight. It works great on its side except the rocket fills half the screen. I'll try the FOB camera again next time. The Bull Pup went to 539 feet and the Honest John to 401 feet.

Having not flown any rockets here in the burning hells of California since early March of this year, it makes me happy to see clear blue skies, no wind, and rockets you can buy at Hobby Lobby being launched on public land without needing written permission from the property owner and the “authority having jurisdiction”.

Wish I still lived in America.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[BABAR]

Today was mostly C and D motors on a light wind day. The Comanche-2 modified was a repeat from a previous launch with the tracking video this time. On a cloudless day like this, the only thing the iPhone8 has to focus on is the tracking smoke at apogee but sometimes not enough. The ground videos were epic with the sun shining through the smoke.

The Green Vortex with the C6-5 and Deep Space Transport with the C5-3 were flawless. The new AIM-9 Sidewinder with the C5-3 was epic. In the Nike Smoke, I removed the paper connector for the shock cord and inserted a Kevlar cord through the motor mount and around the tail end. I then plugged the hole with CWF and thin CA.

The Crossfire ISX clone worked great with the B6-4. I tried the motor that failed previous and still didn't work so need to find an alternative method for it. The Mars Longship with the D12-3 was the best flight. The Fat Boy clone with the C11-3 snapped the shroud lines so maybe need to add more wadding or use a streamer instead. It landed okay without a parachute except for a small gouge in a fin. I think the thin CA along the edge kept it from cracking the fin.

I added the altimeter and SQ11 camera to both the Bull Pup XL and Honest John. The altimeter worked great but the camera only worked at the end of the Honest John flight. It works great on its side except the rocket fills half the screen. I'll try the FOB camera again next time. The Bull Pup went to 539 feet and the Honest John to 401 feet.

Wow, days don’t get much better than that!

Concur with @kuririn , nice stick on the landing, I would give you more points for sticking that bird than a Mars Lander, your is taller and skinnier.

Congrats on the catch. I have never seen someone catch the rocket AND the wadding!

Green Vortex was a perfect flight, but I thought it was SUPPOSED to rotate. I didn’t detect any in the video, my experience has been that rotating rockets leave a helical smoke trail, but maybe that’s the difference between coning and true long axis rotation. Did it look like it spun to you!

Wow, that canal was packed with fish! Couldn’t get a good feel for size. What kind? How big? Edible? What’s the story? Looks like a Huck Fin paradise.

Your Trifecta of cameras is effective, unique (to me, anyway), and together with your excellent editing really makes it fun to watch.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Technically, the chute pulled the DST upright, but that counts, right?

I think the GV spun about six times but definitely not as dramatic as a Heli rocket.

They’re salt water fish that have swam up from the ocean. I’ve never seen that many that far up the canal. I’m glad the chute didn’t land in the water. It’s only a foot deep there so easy to retrieve. I’ve waded through the canal to retrieve my Patriot and it does not smell great, that’s for sure.

We’re always trying to improve our camera techniques. I tend to watch the videos over and over again, especially when the winds are too strong for launching.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Ordered more motors from Estes. Prices are decent and free shipping for $50. Only thing is I forgot to order more A10-3T. It was too late to add to the order but I did tell them about the 2 A10-0T catos along with the videos.

I ordered a quart of sanding sealer from Amazon. The lid leaked during shipping so they're sending me a replacement. Seems to happen more than it should with glues and paints.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Fifth time was the charm. After repairing the Mini "A" Heli nose cone four times, the blades successfully deployed, albeit upside down. I used about 8 pounds of clay in the NC so this flipped the rocket on the way down, but it works. We tried to launch yesterday evening and the wind gusts didn't die down until 5:30 giving us about 30 minutes of daylight. The morning gusts usually don't start until 11am.

The key for the launcher disconnected from the string so had to put it in my pocket every time. I used plastic cement to reattach it. After every launch, I made sure to put it in my pocket. Can't launch a rocket without the launch key...

We finally got a decent video of the Red Nova on the D motor. I used the camera FOB instead. The camera quality is better with the SQ11 but the FOB is easier to use. The main problem is that it the audio and video don't sink when I import the video to Video Editor, but it's mostly a bunch of rocket noise anyways.

 

[BABAR]

Nice enthUUUUUUUUUsiam for your helicopter deployment! I occasionally have some come down inverted, I have also see that sometimes but not consistently with the Cosmic Cobra/Helicat nose cone.

Very nice camera flights, especially first one, you nailed the fin alignment, almost zero rotation on ascent,

Something to try if you want to get fancy in the future. Put in three shock cord anchors 120 degrees apart, each cord the same length and each cord attached to two ADJACENT shroud lines (for a six line chute.). Add a spill hole.

Pack it carefully, with no twisting of the lines (this works best with a large diameter rocket.)

When done right, the rocket hangs pretty much straight down, with no rocking or rotation. So your “down” video (which HOPEFULLY is significantly longer than your up video) is much steadier.

Looked like an absolutely gorgeous day there, too.

 

[BABAR]

Oh yeah, nose cone has its own separate shock cord.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Nice enthUUUUUUUUUsiam for your helicopter deployment! I occasionally have some come down inverted, I have also see that sometimes but not consistently with the Cosmic Cobra/Helicat nose cone.

Very nice camera flights, especially first one, you nailed the fin alignment, almost zero rotation on ascent,

Something to try if you want to get fancy in the future. Put in three shock cord anchors 120 degrees apart, each cord the same length and each cord attached to two ADJACENT shroud lines (for a six line chute.). Add a spill hole.

Pack it carefully, with no twisting of the lines (this works best with a large diameter rocket.)

When done right, the rocket hangs pretty much straight down, with no rocking or rotation. So your “down” video (which HOPEFULLY is significantly longer than your up video) is much steadier.

Looked like an absolutely gorgeous day there, too.

I'll have to look into your suggestion. Should the parachute shroud lines be the new crossed over or the old side to side like this?



I would have to glue the shock cords to the inside of the BT, right? Most of my rockets have Kevlar cords attached to the MM, but some don't like my Mercury Redstone.

We're definitely in the end of summer here where the weather could kill you unless you're on a beach. The problem with Oahu is we have no high mountains like Haleakalā and Mauna Kea where the temps can drop to near freezing. The summer has been 90F to 92F everyday. Winters are usually 82F to 84F. Not a lot of variability here, except when a hurricane comes at us...

 

[BABAR]

I'll have to look into your suggestion. Should the parachute shroud lines be the new crossed over or the old side to side like this?

View attachment 433845

I would have to glue the shock cords to the inside of the BT, right? Most of my rockets have Kevlar cords attached to the MM, but some don't like my Mercury Redstone.

We're definitely in the end of summer here where the weather could kill you unless you're on a beach. The problem with Oahu is we have no high mountains like Haleakalā and Mauna Kea where the temps can drop to near freezing. The summer has been 90F to 92F everyday. Winters are usually 82F to 84F. Not a lot of variability here, except when a hurricane comes at us...

We are at the midpoints in Tennessee. Spring and Fall are gorgeous, just seem to be way too short!

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

Finished two challenging builds, LEO and Odyssey. I didn’t go all the way with the LEO paint scheme. I figure it would look worse, especially the black strip along the wing edge. The Odyssey had many small parts to put together. I’m also making a clone of the Supernova. Next I need to figure out how to recruit a few insectronauts.