What did you do rocket wise today?
- Thread starter BeerorKid
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Spent some time working on my L2 design. Pondering how I want to get 3/16" g10 fins made. Do I buy a sheet and cut to size (and what to cut it with)? Do I get sendcutsend to do it and accept 1/4" since they don't do 3/16"? Decisions decisions...
Went to the SSS launch outside of Phoenix. My kids flew some D's-F's,
I 'flew' my retro rocket, which is detailed in the 'scratch built' forum.
I 'flew' my retro rocket, which is detailed in the 'scratch built' forum.
Prepped for MDRA tomorrow.
It is no exaggeration to say that this has been an obsession of mine for years. I finally did it and think it was worth the effort (which was considerable). I could probably do a whole build thread for this, and will probably post about it elsewhere at some point; for now, here are pics. I once again tip my cap to the great Wayne Kellner.
goose_in_co
Well-Known Member
Progress has been slow on the Odd'l F-104. Finally have the decals on it,
The next step is to attach the canopy, and put the canopy lines on it.
The goal is to get it done before next year.
The next step is to attach the canopy, and put the canopy lines on it.
The goal is to get it done before next year.
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Did a little more work on the US TOG today. Due to the sharp angles on the fins, it was suggested to paper the balsa. This was the first time I used the rubber roller I had seen recommended by rocket.aero on his YouTube channel (worked well). Coated the balsa NC and transition with thin CA to prep them for smoothing out.
Also installed the engine block and used it as the shock cord mount instead of the tri-fold method. And instead of using the supplied small piece of gauze and an overlay of paper to retain the engine hook, I took a 2" section of BT 50 tube, cut approximately .25" out of it lengthwise and glued it over the hook making sure the body tube will still mate flat against the BT 60 "Ram Jet" outer tube.
Also installed the engine block and used it as the shock cord mount instead of the tri-fold method. And instead of using the supplied small piece of gauze and an overlay of paper to retain the engine hook, I took a 2" section of BT 50 tube, cut approximately .25" out of it lengthwise and glued it over the hook making sure the body tube will still mate flat against the BT 60 "Ram Jet" outer tube.
RocketReynolds
Member
Started soldering my Eggtimer Quantum and 3D printing the case for a LCD Receiver.
berlinetta
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Started my winter building. I was gifted a 2.6" Skinwalker and I have started that one. I have 4 other high power rockets I'd like to get to as well as some of the low and mid power kits I have here at the house.
What had happened to that cone?
ljwilley
I’m pretty sure it will work…
Witches hat on a TLP kit. Basically a paper extension to make the nose cone more scale accurate. Not fixing a crash, as I assume you thought
Edit: Build thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/the-launch-pad-bullpup-12c-build.187994/#post-2674567
Wasn't sure. Didn't look like a crash. Very clean job.
Ran a rocket launch as Prefect.
Worked on the OR program for my L3 rocket
I got an old derelict rocket from our club's junk pile, a 2.6" diameter Bullpup, it had a nose cone extension like that. On my first launch the hat was damaged so I decided to just take it off. That rocket had a bunch of layers of paint, primer, filler, whatever. Some of it didn't sand off very well, it was kind of gummy. I didn't want it to be perfect so I did the best I could, painted it, and launched it again at the next launch. The tail cone was thin and not reinforced in any way so it crumpled pretty bad on landing so I cut it off too.
I had gone down the rabbit hole looking at sling bags and then I had the idea that it would be helpful to have a bag that would hold my camera, that way when I go out to recover a rocket I don't have to carry the camera and rocket back in my hands. I got a photo sling bag from Amazon on black friday so that bag will do double duty for me.
Soldered my Eggfinder Mini and Eggfinder LCD Receiver. Now I need to design and print a housing. I dont LOVE the invertsed pursuits models, and I have switches and hardware that will work... just not their design
Yesterday, ran the December QRS Launch day as LCO for all 4 hours. I was the only qualified LCO left. I wasn't displeased about not flying as it was dang hot and I didn't fancy chasing rockets across the fields in the 38 degrees heat and high humidity and it was too hot for running away from snakes. I was totally drained afterwards 
.
It was a slow day again (motor supplies still) but with a decent number of maiden flights mostly on Estes D and F BP motors. A few late arrivals and delays prepping an L2 cert flight meant the launch day extended 60mins longer than it really needed to be.
We had only two high power flights - 1 Pro24 G motor (last of that flier's stock
) and 1 successful Level 2 Certification 
on a J. Several of us heard a distinct sonic boom at about 80ft on acescent. We had some folks filming and recording sound tracks of the launch, so we need to get data and footage of that fer sure!
.It was a slow day again (motor supplies still) but with a decent number of maiden flights mostly on Estes D and F BP motors. A few late arrivals and delays prepping an L2 cert flight meant the launch day extended 60mins longer than it really needed to be.
We had only two high power flights - 1 Pro24 G motor (last of that flier's stock
) and 1 successful Level 2 Certification on a J. Several of us heard a distinct sonic boom at about 80ft on acescent. We had some folks filming and recording sound tracks of the launch, so we need to get data and footage of that fer sure!
berlinetta
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I started my winter builds. I began my SWR-300. I JB Welded the Aeropack retainer to the motor tube. Next I'll be marking the motor tube as to where the centering rings will be epoxied.
woodchuck123
New Member
Put together my second So Long. The first one CATO'd on the second flight.
Holy cow, that's cheap. Please share their information.
Yes it is, but I just tried a quote and it came out more expensive that Craftcloud. Plus, they don't offer PETG (no tragedy because ABS is usually fine, but I prefer the flexibility). And one of the parts I tried came in as "too small" and they wouldn't do it.
So for now I'll stick with Craftcloud.
I bet a good old fashioned coping saw can cut it, if you've got one that can cut far enough from the edge for your design. It would be less dusty than, say, an abrasive cutoff wheel.
Can we gat an aft view of the fin arrangement please?
If it goes supersonic, you shouldn't hear the boom on the ground. The boom goes radially outward from the object, so it's over your heads.
Seems like 3D printing would be a good way to replace old paper cone extensions. Or to reinforce or replace new ones.
Am I misremembering, or did they use to offer SLS aluminum? Could have sworn I'd seen someone get a fincan printed in aluminum there, but perhaps it was a different vendor. Edit: PCBWay offers SLM aluminum printing. I may have been confusing them with JLCPCB,
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3/16" is really, really beefy for an L2 size rocket unless you've got 18" span dragonfly wings going. 1/8" is plenty for most "normal" rockets in that size range. 1/4" is crazy thick.
Cutting with hand tools is really, really going to suck. Power tools (bandsaw, sabersaw, dremel with cutoff wheel) work, but you'll want at least a half-mask respirator to protect you from the DIY asbestos cloud. Or you can have sendcutsend or Wildman do the cutting for you.
That's a good idea. A paper cone is hard to make, well not so hard to make but hard to make look good and keep it from wrinkling as you get it installed, and it isn't very strong.
ljwilley
I’m pretty sure it will work…
That was my original plan, but if you read the thread you will see that I was convinced not to use fancy equipment. Also, if everything is soaked in super glue and then you use filler, it will be plenty strong. It might break if it comes in ballistic, but any nose might break in that circumstance.
Yes, it wasn't a critique of your build or any other in particular, just a general comment. I've always found the points of paper cones to be a PITA, both to form and to preserve in use.
Sounds like yours should be fairly robust.
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