(Very Slow) Demon 5 Build Thread

[Tim51]

I'm not sure I'd call it overkill. I just tear off a small piece of blue painters tape to hold the nylon screws in. Guess it's a trade off on the time it takes to screw it in and unscrew it after vs. the tape to hold it in, or what it looks like with just the screws vs. the tape all over. Kind of a person preference to my way of thinking. I just didn't know if there was some big advantage to tapping the holes that I wasn't aware of.

I don't tap my shear pin holes, and I do use nylon screws and blue painters tape in the manner you describe. But I have seen (onboard camera) the slipstream rip the tape off during flight, and pull the pin with it. Obviously there should be more than one pin anyway, but it did give me food for thought. But I digress...on with this excellent build thread!

 

[Antares JS]

I'll probably get one of these after I build the other big rockets in my pile, along with a 75/2560 case. Is that 20.5 lbs you measured just the shell or does it include the recovery equipment?

 

[jmasterj]

I'll probably get one of these after I build the other big rockets in my pile, along with a 75/2560 case. Is that 20.5 lbs you measured just the shell or does it include the recovery equipment?

Everything but the motor. Mine's definitely on the heavy side as well, with the recovery anchor I added in particular.

 

[Antares JS]

Everything but the motor. Mine's definitely on the heavy side as well, with the recovery anchor I added in particular.

Cool, thanks. My main concern was whether it would be able to fly safely on the new K750ST. Seems like it definitely could with that weight.

 

[jmasterj]

Cool, thanks. My main concern was whether it would be able to fly safely on the new K750ST. Seems like it definitely could with that weight.

Mine looks sketchy on that motor, but a more stock build would probably be fine.

 

[jmasterj]

Did ground testing today, as planned! I didn't get much video because my button-pushing helpers quit pretty early.

Drogue was very energetic on 2g, so I'll probably do 2/2.3g for that. I could probably drop down to less but I ran out of time. I tested the main 4 times and was never 100% satisfied. I went 1.5g then 2g (the attached video), which I felt ok about. Everything came out and would have unraveled in the wind. I decided to go bigger, though, to try to get a little more stretch. 2.5g didn't seem much different, but I got lazy on the BP containment. The last test was 2.7g; I was more careful with the containment but less careful with my burrito packing. There was more stretch out but the bundle didn't quite make it out of the nose cone. I think with good BP containment and correct parachute packing it would have worked fine. I'm planning on 3/3.5g for the main.

Launch is in 2 weeks, here's hoping for low winds and mild temperatures!

View attachment PXL_20240218_182129322~2.mp4

 

[jmasterj]

Assembled and loaded an AT K990DM into the Demon to fly this weekend at MDRA. Practiced packing the main chute a couple times. Definitely more nervous about the HED deployment than regular DD.

 

[rfjustin]

Assembled and loaded an AT K990DM into the Demon to fly this weekend at MDRA. Practiced packing the main chute a couple times. Definitely more nervous about the HED deployment than regular DD.

View attachment 632960

What did you end up with for main deployment altitude?

Good luck with the flight!

 

[jmasterj]

What did you end up with for main deployment altitude?

Good luck with the flight!

RRC3 is set to 800 right now. Should I just tick it a little higher for insurance?

 

[rfjustin]

RRC3 is set to 800 right now. Should I just tick it a little higher for insurance?

IMHO, go 1K for the main and 800 for backup.

 

[Antares JS]

That's going to be cool. What day are you planning to fly? I can probably only make it on Sunday, but I'm hoping to fly the Seraphim if the weather is good enough.

 

[jmasterj]

That's going to be cool. What day are you planning to fly? I can probably only make it on Sunday, but I'm hoping to fly the Seraphim if the weather is good enough.

Right now I'm planning on Friday. I can't come Saturday. The Sunday weather forecast is looking a little better this morning, so I guess I'll have to keep thinking about it.

 

[Aeva]

Damn, would love to see this go! Probably only gonna be there sunday though.

 

[Antares JS]

Right now I'm planning on Friday. I can't come Saturday. The Sunday weather forecast is looking a little better this morning, so I guess I'll have to keep thinking about it.

Bummer, but good luck with the flight all the same.

 

[ljwilley]

Good luck!

 

[jmasterj]

That's going to be cool. What day are you planning to fly? I can probably only make it on Sunday, but I'm hoping to fly the Seraphim if the weather is good enough.

That's your L3 rocket, right? What motor are you thinking?

 

[Antares JS]

That's your L3 rocket, right? What motor are you thinking?

Yes, it is. I grain bonded/assembled an M1500G for it last weekend.

 

[jmasterj]

I am now planning on flying Friday and Sunday! AT K780R is now on deck for the Demon on Sunday assuming nothing goes wrong on Friday.

 

[jmasterj]

Great flight Friday morning on the K990:

View attachment PXL_20240301_151030515~2.mp4

 

[Handeman]

Great flight Friday morning on the K990:

View attachment 633423

Love how this demonstrate what winds do to flights. The wind is right to left. The smoke trail move left off the pad as the rocket is moving left in the winds, keeping the smoke trail perfectly vertical. Most folks don't notice this unless the winds are very strong.

Nice flight, cool motor!

 

[jmasterj]

Love how this demonstrate what winds do to flights. The wind is right to left. The smoke trail move left off the pad as the rocket is moving left in the winds, keeping the smoke trail perfectly vertical. Most folks don't notice this unless the winds are very strong.

Nice flight, cool motor!

The winds were all over the place today, especially above 500 feet or so. I had shorter walk than I expected given the ground winds. Altitude was 2880 feet, 300 or so below my sim. That will let me dial that in a bit better.

 

[rfjustin]

Nice!

No deployment issues I trust?

 

[jmasterj]

Nice!

No deployment issues I trust?

Nope, thanks for the pictures and advice!

 

[jmasterj]

I'm audibling to the K1800ST for Sunday. Grain bonding now.

 

[jmasterj]

Unplugged my Elmer's Glue-all (that top doesn't seal worth a damn, there's always hardened stuff up top when I try to open it) and bonded the grains in the liner on a K1800ST. This is going to be fun!

 

[ljwilley]

Great flight Friday morning on the K990:

View attachment 633423

That's a great video! What camera did you use? Also, that video would be a great addition to the Slow Motion Rocket Liftoff Gallery.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/slo-mo-liftoff-gallery.181691/

 

[jmasterj]

That's a great video! What camera did you use? Also, that video would be a great addition to the Slow Motion Rocket Liftoff Gallery.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/slo-mo-liftoff-gallery.181691/

Thanks! It's just my cell phone. I wish I had two of me so I could try for some nice stills while I also watched live.

 

[jmasterj]

K1800ST assembled! 3/32" gap on the aft closure is good to go per AT via several recent posts.

 

[jmasterj]

Great flight on the K1800ST today. Super Thunder is just awesome! Deployment went fine, I think the beeps said ~4100ft but the two altimeters were overlapping just off enough to throw me off. Conditions were perfect at Higgs Farm: sunny, 65 degrees, and very low wind. I didn't hit slow-mo on the cell phone video so it's totally uninteresting.

I'll probably fly this once at the sod farm over the summer, maybe on a K2050ST (once I get it from Tim) or a Loki J1026CT. I plan on an L motor flight next winter at Higgs Farm!

 

[jmasterj]

This is from Friday, I forgot to take one today:



I flew both days from the 300ft racks, even though 200ft is fine for the safety code. I might move a 1515 rail in closer next year. Or swap out for 1010 rail buttons. This isn't that heavy of a rocket.