What did you do rocket wise today?

[prfesser]

Disassembled a 2-grain Research motor that had been sitting for a week. (Go ahead and yell at me, I deserve it). Aft closure didn't want to come out. The end is badly pitted but if memory serves it was pitted when I assembled it.

 

[caheaton]

Finished building my replacement 220 Swift (still need to paint). Also designed and printed (3d in PETG) a couple micromaxx to 13mm motor adapters for use in the 220 Swift and other models. I had planned on painting some models that are in need, but weather wasn't at all what was forecast a few days ago (supposed to be sunny and low 60's....instead we had rain and upper 40's ).

 

[Banzai88]

Since becoming a BAR 5 years ago, I haven't been to a single launch yet that I haven't launched a 29mm motored HP Optima.
She's been rebuilt twice, so three builds total, thanks to failures of the 'orange' ematches to fire (even while passing continuity on the bench and in the altimeter pre-flight checks).
The ONLY remaining original parts are the nose cone (and paint), main parachute harness, and main and drogue home made parachute (Matching yellow, white, and black panels).

The current iteration has a 38mm mount!

I flew it yesterday on some motors that I didn't get to fly due to the last crash. Today I downloaded the RRC3 data, and realized that I have hit a new personal altitude best! Check out how closely the RRC3 data trace matches the OR sim (3252 predicted, 3248 achieved)! LOVE tweaking the sims...this one is SPOT ON!

 

[Bruiser]

Not today, but Saturday was the monthly launch. I flew my first composite motor but maybe I should not have. It was my Estes Vapor and I flew it on an Estes E30-4 that I bought from AC Supply. Being the first time I did not know that these motors don't come with ignitors so it almost got scratched right then but then somebody offered an ignitor they had. The ignitor did not slide all the way up like I had read about composite motors. The experts decided it's an "end-burner" ( I think that is what they called it) so I put it on the pad and tried a launch. We saw the ignitor go off but it did not start the motor. So off the pad it went and back to the truck. I switched over the chute release to my IQSY Tomahawk when another person came up with another ignitor to try in the E30. It fit in the motor much better (the other one was loose) so I switched the chute release back over and gave it another try. This time it fired and we had a launch. It was very fast and got some great altitude. We saw it arc over and straighten out to come straight down to impact the ground nose first. The first 5 inches or so of the body tube was collapsed, broken and bent . The weird thing is that I saw the nose cone had not come off during it's trip back down but when I retrieved it the nose cone was off, the chute was barely sticking out, but the chute release was outside the body tube and it had released. I just can't figure out how the chute release found it's way out of the body tube without the chute also coming out...

I think the problem with the deployment was the rocket was still moving to fast when the ejection charge fired for the chute to deploy. I simmed it when I got home and Open Rocket showed the speed at deployment to be around 89, what is it, feet per second. Having a bad memory sucks... I normally sim every possible rocket motor combo before I launch but this one must have slipped thru. Like I wrote, sucks to have a bad memory. I have two more of those motors and I wonder what they are good for with the 4 second delay. Maybe something heavier than the Vapor I guess. Anyway, the Vapor has been rebuilt once already. Not sure if it should rise again

I also launched my IQSY Tomahawk (bashed from a Star Orbiter kit) on an Estes F15-6. It's only been launched once before on a D12-4 (with an adaptor). It was a nice straight launch with good altitude. We saw something happen at apogee that we thought was the cone coming off and chute coming out but as the rocket continued to descend we could see two "parts" coming down that were getting further apart. As they got closer we could see the body of the rocket was one piece and the nose cone/chute was the other. The chute release worked but the chute took a little time to open which was good as it landed close. Upon recovery we could see the shock cord had burned thru. I built a baffle into this rocket with a screw eye. There is about a foot of Kevlar attached to the screw eye and I attached 1/4 elastic to the other end going to the nose cone/chute. The baffle design is two plates built into the coupler. I think a hot particle must have found it's way thru to burn thru the elastic. The burn mark was very concentrated. Anyway, no damage to the airframe. I just need to replaced the shock cord and she'll fly again. This was the first rocket I built when I got back in the hobby. I think I'll use some wadding on future flights and all future baffles will be a different type of design...

-Bob

 

[jqavins]

What's the baffle design?

Also, the E30 is not an end burner. (An E has more than 20 but no more than 40 Ns impulse. With 30 N average thrust that's about a 1 second burn. There's no way an end burner would go through that much propellant in 1 second.)

 

[Bruiser]

Maybe I am remembering the term wrong but the ignitor only slid in about 1/2" or so just like and Estes engine.

You can see the parts of the baffle in this photo I took during the build. The ply plates are glued to the ends of the coupler.

-Bob

 

[wolsen]

Slowly but surely this New Shepard is coming along. Lexan fin mounts are epoxied in, fins are bolted on. The landing leg covers are shaped and the conduits (or whatever they are) are shaped and cut to length. Still lots to do, including but not limited to:

• glassing top ring
• installing rail buttons (and necessary standoffs)
• install aft centering ring
• install fins/sand fins
• Head end AV bay
• recovery gear
• etc

those Lexan fins will soon get covered in masking tape to prevent scratches.

 

[NateB]

I received my updated Tripoli card and pin reflecting L1. Now on to more complex flights and eventual L2.

 

[neil_w]

Slowly but surely this New Shepard is coming along.

That looks really nice, don't see too many Blue Origin models for whatever reason. Get those lexan fins protected ASAP, they scratch very easily (ask me how I know).

 

[wolsen]

That looks really nice, don't see too many Blue Origin models for whatever reason. Get those lexan fins protected ASAP, they scratch very easily (ask me how I know).

Thanks Neil - I know how you know... I recall your experience with your sky writer deluxe...

 

[teepot]

Not today, but Saturday was the monthly launch. I flew my first composite motor but maybe I should not have. It was my Estes Vapor and I flew it on an Estes E30-4 that I bought from AC Supply. Being the first time I did not know that these motors don't come with ignitors so it almost got scratched right then but then somebody offered an ignitor they had. The ignitor did not slide all the way up like I had read about composite motors. The experts decided it's an "end-burner" ( I think that is what they called it) so I put it on the pad and tried a launch. We saw the ignitor go off but it did not start the motor. So off the pad it went and back to the truck. I switched over the chute release to my IQSY Tomahawk when another person came up with another ignitor to try in the E30. It fit in the motor much better (the other one was loose) so I switched the chute release back over and gave it another try. This time it fired and we had a launch. It was very fast and got some great altitude. We saw it arc over and straighten out to come straight down to impact the ground nose first. The first 5 inches or so of the body tube was collapsed, broken and bent . The weird thing is that I saw the nose cone had not come off during it's trip back down but when I retrieved it the nose cone was off, the chute was barely sticking out, but the chute release was outside the body tube and it had released. I just can't figure out how the chute release found it's way out of the body tube without the chute also coming out...

I think the problem with the deployment was the rocket was still moving to fast when the ejection charge fired for the chute to deploy. I simmed it when I got home and Open Rocket showed the speed at deployment to be around 89, what is it, feet per second. Having a bad memory sucks... I normally sim every possible rocket motor combo before I launch but this one must have slipped thru. Like I wrote, sucks to have a bad memory. I have two more of those motors and I wonder what they are good for with the 4 second delay. Maybe something heavier than the Vapor I guess. Anyway, the Vapor has been rebuilt once already. Not sure if it should rise again

I also launched my IQSY Tomahawk (bashed from a Star Orbiter kit) on an Estes F15-6. It's only been launched once before on a D12-4 (with an adaptor). It was a nice straight launch with good altitude. We saw something happen at apogee that we thought was the cone coming off and chute coming out but as the rocket continued to descend we could see two "parts" coming down that were getting further apart. As they got closer we could see the body of the rocket was one piece and the nose cone/chute was the other. The chute release worked but the chute took a little time to open which was good as it landed close. Upon recovery we could see the shock cord had burned thru. I built a baffle into this rocket with a screw eye. There is about a foot of Kevlar attached to the screw eye and I attached 1/4 elastic to the other end going to the nose cone/chute. The baffle design is two plates built into the coupler. I think a hot particle must have found it's way thru to burn thru the elastic. The burn mark was very concentrated. Anyway, no damage to the airframe. I just need to replaced the shock cord and she'll fly again. This was the first rocket I built when I got back in the hobby. I think I'll use some wadding on future flights and all future baffles will be a different type of design...

-Bob

I would ditch the elastic and go with all kevlar.

 

[dhbarr]

Rediscovered an old thought exercise: 18s, 24s, and 29s in a 4in.

If I had the skills I would CAD this up so that it's actually laserable.

 

[Nytrunner]

I could do it. What file format do you need?

 

[jqavins]

For the laser cutting I've done or had done, any vector graphic format will suffice. I've gone from MS Visio and simply save as pdf. I don't know what you drew the above in, but if it was a drawing program rather than a painting program, then a save as pdf would probably work.

Maybe I am remembering the term wrong but the ignitor only slid in about 1/2" or so just like and Estes engine.

You've apparently got the terms right. If the igniter goes only that little in then either you've got an end burner of the igniter doesn't fit through the hole (or slot) in the grain. And I'm quite sure that the E30 is not an end burner.

 

[Bruiser]

You've apparently got the terms right. If the igniter goes only that little in then either you've got an end burner of the igniter doesn't fit through the hole (or slot) in the grain. And I'm quite sure that the E30 is not an end burner.

We tried sliding just the wire in to see how far it would go and it also only went in just 1/2 inch. I meant to check the other two I have last night but forgot. I'll try to remember to check them tonight.

-Bob

 

[dhbarr]

I could do it. What file format do you need?

DXF probably?

 

[jrap330]

That looks really nice, don't see too many Blue Origin models for whatever reason. Get those lexan fins protected ASAP, they scratch very easily (ask me how I know).

maybe because it is an rocket that look s like a big headed penis

 

[prfesser]

If the propellant has a c-slot instead of a central core, it may be difficult to find that slot. Probe (lightly) with a thin wire to see just where the starter can go.

 

[Wally Ferrer]

No, I'm not going to put the two preceding posts together for some attempt at sophomoric humor. I just will not do that. Not me. Nope.

 

[jqavins]

No, I'm not going to put the two preceding posts together for some attempt at sophomoric humor.

Too late.

 

[Banzai88]

I started planning for an upscale!

 

[Rocketman19]

No, I'm not going to put the two preceding posts together for some attempt at sophomoric humor. I just will not do that. Not me. Nope.

There couldn't have been two better posts to be together.

 

[teepot]

The wind finally slowed enough to paint the scratch built Atlas 5 I'm working on. 67"long core, 2.2" lower tube into 3"body tube. Has 6 24mm strap on boosters. The boosters are attached using the Apogee strap on hooks. I'll post a picture when it is done.

 

[neil_w]

Made some card stock transactions. Tested the purported “grain direction” of the card stock sheet, and indeed found a difference.

 

[GrouchoDuke]

Paint job design work.

 

[Tobor]

Today I tweaked the design for my first two stage HPR rocket. (See my avatar). 4" Dia x 66.55" Ln. using LOC components sans NC and transitions. Those will be custom, probably out of Bass wood ala RoachWerks. Hoping to start the build sometime next year.

 

[rklapp]

Slowly but surely this New Shepard is coming along. Lexan fin mounts are epoxied in, fins are bolted on. The landing leg covers are shaped and the conduits (or whatever they are) are shaped and cut to length. Still lots to do, including but not limited to:

• glassing top ring
• installing rail buttons (and necessary standoffs)
• install aft centering ring
• install fins/sand fins
• Head end AV bay
• recovery gear
• etc

View attachment 439512

those Lexan fins will soon get covered in masking tape to prevent scratches.

I anticipate the day when it can deliver Amazon books to my door step.

 

[boatgeek]

I anticipate the day when it can deliver Amazon books to my door step.

I dunno. It would leave a hell of a burn scar in the lawn.

 

[wolsen]

I dunno. It would leave a hell of a burn scar in the lawn.

Might be totally worth it to have a package delivered by rocket. Of course it could be the Planetary Express crew delivering

 

[Back_at_it]

Found this little guy in the bottom of a recent collection purchase. Fixed one fin, Did some fillets and painted it the most obnoxious color I have in hopes of finding it again. Cut a generic mosquito image from Vinyl. Might paint one fin black. Haven't decided if it's worth it yet.