What did you do rocket wise today?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I have been thinking about adding a camera to my rockets. I have seen the key chain solution, but I have two GoPro Hero 3 cameras available. I thought I would try to make them work. The air frame is 4 inchs. I plan to 3D print the mirror shrouds. I am going to put both gopros in the rocket to "balance" everything. I have a little acrylic mirror I plan to insert in the shroud. I do not think a GoPro is the best choice for this type of shot, but I am trying to use what I have. Snap shot of my first draft of the layout - made in TinkerCAD
1631537304738.png
 
Cut out new fins for Big Bertha, from a basswood slat that was intended as a window-blind replacement. Wanted something tougher than balsa since the MMT will be 24 mm, and she'll fly on E and F motors.
 
Cut, installed, and filled the conduits and caps on the 9M as well as installing the forward rail button. Overall the project is moving along a little faster than I expected. After some minor sanding touch up work I should be ready to start spraying primer tomorrow or Wednesday.

IMG_2574.JPG
 
Worked on my latest RC RG project, a 2X Estes Sky Dart. Done except for printing the nose cone to match the 2" Centuri tubing, installing the engine fairings on each side of the fuse, installing the servos and adding the decals.

A bucket list item on my "must upscale this boost glider and make it RC" list. It has been done before, but I am looking forward to flying it.
 
I love it when a plan comes together. 3D printed the mounts for my small fan to go into the Vertical Trajectory System flight computer. Mounted the fan in place and connected it up.Adding extra spacers to the FC worked really well. Works as expected and the airflow is a reasonable amount. I will redo the mounts in glass-filled resin in the near future. They are currently PLA+.
fan.jpg

Also received in the mail the RF Power Meter I ordered. Can take up to 1W directly connected. Now I can verify my Tx power.
meter.jpg
 
I attempted to assemble my first Aerotech RMS reloadable, a D13-4 that had been sitting in my Box of Abandoned Sh*t basically forever. I ruined the thing, aborted the assembly, consulted a YouTube tutorial, and figured out my error: The casing had been sitting in said BoAS with the forward and aft closures installed on it for longer than I can remember, and being entirely unfamiliar with reloadable motor construction, I had misidentified the forward closure as part of the actual casing. Thus, the instruction to insert a forward O-ring after inserting the liner assembly made no sense to me at the time.

The reloads came in a three pack, so right now I have one with a liner tube and delay element that I ruined during disassembly, one that I'm confident I can load correctly for a static test, and one to actually fly.
 
I love it when a plan comes together. 3D printed the mounts for my small fan to go into the Vertical Trajectory System flight computer. Mounted the fan in place and connected it up.Adding extra spacers to the FC worked really well. Works as expected and the airflow is a reasonable amount. I will redo the mounts in glass-filled resin in the near future. They are currently PLA+.
View attachment 481729

Also received in the mail the RF Power Meter I ordered. Can take up to 1W directly connected. Now I can verify my Tx power.
View attachment 481730
We need the rest of the data- how many degrees does the fan lower the temperature by? 🤔New thermal image required...😉
 
Doug,

As someone who is dealing with multiple losses, I'll let you know something I realized (for me at least) only recently. When I get one of those "I can't wait to tell/ask dad about this idea" which is my real reaction, but I realize its no longer possible, I used to be knocked off my feet.

I still have those thoughts and "I can't wait to tell/ask dad about this idea" but now instead of getting the wind knocked out of me, I think about how he would have listened to the idea, challenged me about it, questioned the validity and supported me doing it or learning more about it. As weird as it is, in those moments, his guidance, friendship and father-ship (not a word. . . ) is alive and we share it, even only on my end from my perspective.

Please share everything you did with John. It is an honor to your friendship with John that you want to share the work and bounce ideas off of him. As weird as it is, sometimes the ideas do bounce back.

Sorry for your loss, but happy for your continued work.

Sandy.
Wow! I have tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. That was a perfect reply said in words I could only feel but not express. It's been a while (I'm closing in on 70), but I miss my dad to this day. We have these little talks about various engineering challenges, design considerations and a multitude of other life issues I feel I need advice on. Never told anyone, but it makes me feel better imagining I can hear his voice. This brilliant, patient, gentle genius was a warrior for 26 years and was too often missing from my childhood, but when he was home, he was the consummate teacher of aerodynamics, electronics (he built all of our televisions!) math, science, chemistry and astronomy. Degrees didn't matter to him (he had three), but he did love to fly so the Air Force got most of his time, especially during the cold war. We lived all over the world. He walked point all the way. I can't express my appreciation for your response (validation?) as I am not particularly spiritual and this really resonated deep down. It kinda took me off guard, thus my everlasting thanks, Sandy.
 
So far today I put the landing legs on a rocket that didn't start out to be a sci-fi rocket but has turned into one. Last night I put the color coats on my project that is the farthest along. In two days I'll put the finishing touches on it. Here are some pics of the rocket on the painting stake. AKA Pad 1A of Pahrumpian Rockets. In one pic the Moon is behind the rocket.20210913_230233[1160].jpg20210913_230316[1159].jpg
 
I'm going through some of my unmarked big boxes after the basement flood. I have four Astro-Blasters in boxes. One was given to me incomplete. Another is incomplete and picked up at a club auction. Another is partially assembled and incomplete and probably another auction item. The fourth one looks complete, but I'm not sure. I have what seems to be a complete Strato-Blaster and Sweet-Vee in their boxes. I have that big Quest box of Micro-Maxxes that i picked up around 20 years ago and still haven't anything much with. I have a little Quest field box that's ironically half full of Estes blue tubes and diamond packs.
 
So far today I put the landing legs on a rocket that didn't start out to be a sci-fi rocket but has turned into one. Last night I put the color coats on my project that is the farthest along. In two days I'll put the finishing touches on it. Here are some pics of the rocket on the painting stake. AKA Pad 1A of Pahrumpian Rockets. In one pic the Moon is behind the rocket.View attachment 481803View attachment 481804

I like the "fade" paint job!
 
Also, will the change in airflow effect any baro sensor?
I am not using the baro in the FC, just the IMU for stabilisation.

Getting a thermal image through that cluster of parts is getting more difficult. I would estimate about 10degC drop. I will see what the temperature sensor in the FC reads.
 
I have been derelict in keeping up. So here is what I've been doing. Today I sanded the Krylon 2 in 1 primer off one of the rockets I've been working on. The Krylon is better than the Rusto. Very little dust and didn't clog the sandpaper. Color tomorrow. Today I also cut out and sanded the fins for the other rocket I'm working on. Earlier in the week I finished the missile. It is a 3" LOC BT with a 54mm x 15" mmt. The fins are 1/4" 5 ply from BMS. It's 68 " long and weighs 70 ounces with the chutes. It is dual deploy. Before that rocket was done I finished the Sci-Fi rocket. It is a 3" BT from BMS and has a 38mm x 15" mmt. The fins are 1/4" 5 ply also from BMS. The fins are lower that the BT so I reinforced the tips with more 1/4" ply so they are 3/4" thick at the tips. It's 56" long and weighs 50 ounces with a chute. It is single deploy. I made a short avbay for it to hold an Eggtimer apogee. It sits inside the rocket and is attached to the nose cone by a quick link. It will be ejected when the charge fires. There are vents in it and the BT. I'll use a JLCR with it. I am hoping that I can move that avbay from one rocket to another. If it works I'll make a 2.6" bay for the other rockets I want to use it in. Has anyone tried to do this or see problems with the set up? This coming Saturday, the 18th is our monthly launch. We haven't had one since May. It's just to hot to fly in the summer. But this Saturday I'm going to fly The Whistle Pod rocket. I sure hope it works. I'm taking a neighbor with me who has been dabbling with sugar motors. It will be the first organized launch he has been to. Going to hook another one. I also talked to my former employer and he is coming along also. Should be an interesting day. That is if the wind cooperates. So here are the pictures.View attachment 481599View attachment 481600View attachment 481601View attachment 481602View attachment 481603View attachment 481604View attachment 481605View attachment 481606View attachment 481607View attachment 481608
You come up with nice designs. These are excellent.
Here are some photos of my new project. I still need to paint on some bands around it in some areas like the Prototype is. Scratch built Tomahawk at 45 inches long, 2.60 tube , 24mm motor mount to accept D thru F. 9 ounces and parachute recovery.
 

Attachments

  • tomahawk 3a.JPG
    tomahawk 3a.JPG
    66.8 KB · Views: 11
  • tomahawk 3b.JPG
    tomahawk 3b.JPG
    55.9 KB · Views: 12
Had a couple minutes of free time so I used it to spray some Rusto 2x Gloss Marigold on the Goblin and black on the nosecone.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210915_162209872.jpg
    IMG_20210915_162209872.jpg
    218.8 KB · Views: 6
  • IMG_20210915_162405866.jpg
    IMG_20210915_162405866.jpg
    194 KB · Views: 6
I watch to a launch where another guy was flying his RC upscale Manta. Afterwards, we were talking about making a RC Apogee Condor. Has anybody done that?
 
On Labor Day, I got together with AntareJS and his daughter Maeve and we launched all Low power flights having a 100 by 100 field in front of John's home. Maeve did all the rocket chasing. It was fun and all flights went well. Looking forward to October.
 

Attachments

  • Labor Day 2021 ESMD.mp4
    33.8 MB
I attempted to assemble my first Aerotech RMS reloadable, a D13-4 that had been sitting in my Box of Abandoned Sh*t basically forever. I ruined the thing, aborted the assembly, consulted a YouTube tutorial, and figured out my error: The casing had been sitting in said BoAS with the forward and aft closures installed on it for longer than I can remember, and being entirely unfamiliar with reloadable motor construction, I had misidentified the forward closure as part of the actual casing. Thus, the instruction to insert a forward O-ring after inserting the liner assembly made no sense to me at the time.

The reloads came in a three pack, so right now I have one with a liner tube and delay element that I ruined during disassembly, one that I'm confident I can load correctly for a static test, and one to actually fly.

More reloadable woes today. Even liberally applying Vaseline in the spots I was instructed to do so, the liner tube assembly wouldn’t go in to the point it needed to reach. Hammering it in further than flush with the end damaged the grain, and so did my attempts to push it out. I don’t know if this was because I damaged the casing in my attempts to get the last load out, or if the reload was incompatible with my manufactured-under-license hardware (a Monster Motors Reusable Rocket Hardware RMS 18/40, yes /40 and not /20) or if the age of all this stuff simply made it go out of manufacturing tolerances. Regardless, the end result was disappointing. I just threw everything away.

I’ve got plenty of expendable types to try in my Estes Phantom, so I won’t be flying a reloadable in it anytime soon. But you can bet that when I do, it’ll be with a brand-new, genuine AeroTech casing and a fresh reload, not a bunch of junk that’s been sitting in my garage for 10 or 15 years.
 
I got my Arch Blast from DG&A today. This is the first rocket I’ve purchased from them. So upon opening it I see the airframe doesn’t have through the wall fins. I have to cut out slots myself. I started my first slot and it doesn’t look pretty.
I have my doubts but we will see how it looks when I’m finished.
I knew I should have bought a Loc or madcow.
I pulled it off!!!👍😁👍
It’s completed 3” diameter. 59” tall. 38mm motor mount. I put a 36” chute instead of the stock 30”….its miller time.
 

Attachments

  • EE9090A8-6DB4-4445-92B7-311480D72510.jpeg
    EE9090A8-6DB4-4445-92B7-311480D72510.jpeg
    71.3 KB · Views: 25
  • EBB06C3A-2F03-4F17-91CE-A98A1978984F.jpeg
    EBB06C3A-2F03-4F17-91CE-A98A1978984F.jpeg
    96.8 KB · Views: 24
A couple of things. It looks great. How much does it weigh? And I use a reinforced cut off wheel on my Dremel to cut fin slots. It's quick and easy. Usually nice straight cuts.
I pulled it off!!!👍😁👍
It’s completed 3” diameter. 59” tall. 38mm motor mount. I put a 36” chute instead of the stock 30”….its miller time.
 
Back
Top