What did you do rocket wise today?

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madcow rocketry
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End of financial year stuff. Stocktake for Cape Byron Rocketry, so time to weed out a few products that aren't earning their shelf space. These become 'clearance' or go into my personal collection as part of a 'Salary Bundle'.

In other news I need more shelf space for my 'Salary Bundle'.
 
Laser cut the fins for my Deuces Wild at work. Cut a matching thickness ply set as well, for comparison; 4x the weight! Also assembled the motor mount over the course of the work day. I'm nervous about the tube cutting coming up.

Cut the webbing and kevlar leader for the Flying Pumpkin's harness and assembled it minus the chute. Per my sim work at lunch I need 4-5 pounds of nose weight. Seems high, but even with the base drag cone that weight only gets me to 1 caliber.
 
TODAY, for the first time in years (like 5), I built (or worked on) a rocket
  1. I finished building an Estes Jetliner that I started, sort of, 5 years ago, before I dropped off the face of rocketry after a LONG run. TRF posts can attest to that long run. Now to see if ANY of my rattle cans can be saved - some yes... some no.
  2. I threw away a bunch of CA and Epoxy that did not make it five years later
  3. I charged all my Jolly Logic altimeters and chute releases. And they seem, except for one, to be good to go.
  4. I threw away all the leaking 9V batteries I use for my single and dual deploy rockets.
  5. I replaced the worn elastic thread on my scratch built Gyroc
  6. I loaded 10 rockets to launch on Saturday (tho I know getting in 10 rounds is unlikely)
    1. Of course I had to test the shock cords, powder and test all the chutes, etc.
    2. The largest is my Matra Magic on a F21 with chute release.
  7. I charged the batteries for my Canon 7D because I love taking pics of my rockets (video is not an option - tiny little images blurred because of auto-focus - a waste of bandwidth - YMMV)
  8. I designed a semi-scale The Launch Pad typerocket (RedTop Air to Air Missile) and 3D printed the nose cone. I designed it in OpenRocket which may have a crappy simulation UI but has not crashed a million times like RockSim (on both the Mac and Windows). I think 3D printing is gonna be an amazing source of parts for me. We'll see
    1. I printed out the patterns for the fins.
  9. I have three Roland stikas I tested. I create all my own decals. All have various gearing issues.. Hope to make one good from three..
I think that is enough for one day...
Damn everything is more expensive. And I don't mean inflation, I mean wow. Epoxy... CA...
 
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gdjsky01 said:
TODAY, for the first time in years (like 5), I built (or worked on) a rocket
  1. I finished building an Estes Jetliner that I started, sort of, 5 years ago, before I dropped off the face of rocketry after a LONG run. TRF posts can attest to that long run. Now to see if ANY of my rattle cans can be saved - some yes... some no.
  2. I threw away a bunch of CA and Epoxy that did not make it five years later
  3. I charged all my Jolly Logic altimeters and chute releases. And they seem, except for one, to be good to go.
  4. I threw away all the leaking 9V batteries I use for my single and dual deploy rockets.
  5. I replaced the worn elastic thread on my scratch built Gyroc
  6. I loaded 10 rockets to launch on Saturday (tho I know getting in 10 rounds is unlikely)
    1. Of course I had to test the shock cords, powder and test all the chutes, etc.
    2. The largest is my Matra Magic on a F21 with chute release.
  7. I charged the batteries for my Canon 7D because I love taking pics of my rockets (video is not an option - tiny little images blurred because of auto-focus - a waste of bandwidth - YMMV)
  8. I designed a semi-scale The Launch Pad typerocket (RedTop Air to Air Missile) and 3D printed the nose cone. I designed it in OpenRocket which may have a crappy simulation UI but has not crashed a million times like RockSim (on both the Mac and Windows). I think 3D printing is gonna be an amazing source of parts for me. We'll see
    1. I printed out the patterns for the fins.
  9. I have three Roland stikas I tested. I create all my own decals. All have various gearing issues.. Hope to make one good from three..
I think that is enough for one day...
Damn everything is more expensive. And I don't mean inflation, I mean wow. Epoxy... CA...
Click to expand...
Welcome back! I took a 5 year hiatus back around 2016 myself.
BTW - Epoxy usually doesn't get unusable...it may solidify and turn milky in colder weather, but you can zap it for a few seconds in the microwave and use it (test first!)
 
Bought primer and paint for my LOC IV.

I also bought other things I need for the Magnum. I'm hoping to get at least the fillet around the aft centering ring done this weekend. I'm then going to start the forward section of the Magnum. Then and only then I'll fill any gaps that need to be filled and then do the external fin fillets.
 
gdjsky01 said:
TODAY, for the first time in years (like 5), I built (or worked on) a rocket
  1. I finished building an Estes Jetliner that I started, sort of, 5 years ago, before I dropped off the face of rocketry after a LONG run. TRF posts can attest to that long run. Now to see if ANY of my rattle cans can be saved - some yes... some no.
  2. I threw away a bunch of CA and Epoxy that did not make it five years later
  3. I charged all my Jolly Logic altimeters and chute releases. And they seem, except for one, to be good to go.
  4. I threw away all the leaking 9V batteries I use for my single and dual deploy rockets.
  5. I replaced the worn elastic thread on my scratch built Gyroc
  6. I loaded 10 rockets to launch on Saturday (tho I know getting in 10 rounds is unlikely)
    1. Of course I had to test the shock cords, powder and test all the chutes, etc.
    2. The largest is my Matra Magic on a F21 with chute release.
  7. I charged the batteries for my Canon 7D because I love taking pics of my rockets (video is not an option - tiny little images blurred because of auto-focus - a waste of bandwidth - YMMV)
  8. I designed a semi-scale The Launch Pad typerocket (RedTop Air to Air Missile) and 3D printed the nose cone. I designed it in OpenRocket which may have a crappy simulation UI but has not crashed a million times like RockSim (on both the Mac and Windows). I think 3D printing is gonna be an amazing source of parts for me. We'll see
    1. I printed out the patterns for the fins.
  9. I have three Roland stikas I tested. I create all my own decals. All have various gearing issues.. Hope to make one good from three..
I think that is enough for one day...
Damn everything is more expensive. And I don't mean inflation, I mean wow. Epoxy... CA...
Click to expand...
Welcome back Jeff! Don't toss that JL unit, I'll buy it if you'll sell it! Don't laff, I got a gen 1 alt 2 that went puffy on me and I took it apart. John will send me parts for most gen 1 stuff. I am getting ready to order this summer and am actively looking for an alt 2 , gen 1 or 2 in any condition. Also if it's CR, bonus! lemme know!
Building a wierd 7" bird using your (s/b) patented rail button mounts. The rings are made from beach game ( think hand ball or pickle ball) paddles! So happy you are back posting. welcome back to the smoke old friend!
,
 
Can't tell. It's a secret. most likely everybody will find it obnoxious. It's how I roll. Film at 11. Date pending. (Derails at 11:05. Thread obituary at 11:15. Zombie thread at 12 ) Be sure to mark your 1985 calendars. And don't call me Sherman...
 
I went to a launch this afternoon.

I came home and gave the Arcie II a tune-up.

I muddled through some baby steps of learning the Taranis Qx7. I bound the Orange Rx in the Arcie 1 and programmed the whole single channel so that the servo turns the other direction.
 
I had a valiant fight trying to get a good paint job on my MC 4" Patriot and was *almost* there, but the stupid 🤬 clear coat actually bubbled and dripped something horrible...like rocket pox. 😭
IMG_20220701_145345227.jpg

I then couldn't find the decal, so I made my own from white vinyl lettering which I spray painted black...
IMG_20220701_160459511_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220701_214538997~2.jpg
😱
IMG_20220701_215258817_HDR.jpg
😁👍
 
prfesser said:
Glued the fins on the Hi-Flier XXL. That has to be the hardest balsa I've ever worked with. Simply cutting though the connections between laser-cut fin and the balsa surrounding it took (usually) over half a dozen passes with a brand-new X-acto blade. So I've got some very sturdy fins, which is a good thing.

I might add a payload section, make it a Hi-Flier XXXL. :)
Click to expand...
Does anyone make a clear 3 inch tube to make our XXL's a payloader?
 
Finished stocktake which, surprisingly, was very accurate. Only two small items different to the computer inventory. A couple of kits them promptly fell into the 'salary bundle' pile. A Fliskits Pheord X150 and an Estes Blenders twin kit. My EOFY bonus. :)
 
Tried 'sort of' to shoehorn a chute and chute release in the TLP Mantra Magic. The bulkhead designed to keep weight forward leaves little room for anything. We'll see.

Primed the Jetliner... holy crap I am rusty. The papering of the balsa did not work well, and the runs were epic. Primer is sandable thank goodness. But the gloss white coat showed I need to get back in the groove.

I'll try the nuke epoxy idea. It's the hardener not the resin that seems to die. Still I have some System III that is STILL good after all these years. And a sealed order of Proline 4500 that seems okay (16:1 mix??? WTF?). It's the Aves clay, and the 'hobby shop' epoxy that was not meant for a shelf life of 5 years. Even though the aves was sealed in the packaging.

Most of you know, long time ownership of White Lightening and other Aerotech propellants in SU engines, means the slot swells closed. I've drilled out these things 10 years ago (from motors that were 10 years older than that), and had okay success. They tend to be hard(er) to light. And if using a crapper head, chuff like crazy if they light at all.

Today I 'revived' some 6 year old Magnalite dip with judicious amounts of acetone. Snapping off a few, I still see lots of sparks and such. It 'should' lite the F21 in the Matra without chuffing. We'll see. I had to use a small drill bit to open up the slot. If I drilled into the delay a tiny bit (I do not think so)? No matter I hope. I am using a chute release. As long as it throws the chute out.

Let see... what else. I guess thats it.
 
Working on my NCR Javelin for some NARAM - probably next year, it won't be done in time for the upcoming one. Here I'm milling out the end plate in one of the resin parts so I can get a mandrel in there to turn down the diameter to fit the tube. I'm doing this by hand, just sliding the part around under the spinning end mill...sometimes you don't need the CNC precision :). Some of the parts *really* don't fit the tubes - had to take 0.020+ off the nose cone shoulder and upper transition. I've machined up half a dozen mandrels already for trueing the edges, turning off support nubs, and reducing shoulder diameters.

But this kit shows the potential of the technology - the "tough resin", though somewhat flexible, is still easy to machine and sand. The surface is considerably better out of the printer than filament prints, though you still need to use #600-800 to take off the texture, and there are tons of support nubs to slice/sand off. The resin printed parts are formed upside down under the build plate, and you need really to print a lot of supports to keep things lined up as the layers are added.
D20220629_235035.jpg
 
Started on a new build project – a Tin Tin homage rocket.

My rocket buddy, Dave, donated the 3.5mm plywood fins with 3D printed pods which he’d abandoned from a project 2 years ago. Going to Fibre Glass them to stiffen them up, and then will probably also do some tip to tip f/glass too once they’re on.

I already had a 3inch PML boat tail and matching nose cone lying around spare awaiting a suitable project. Cut a 60cm length of body tube from one of the 3inch (ish) red tubes I already had which I originally got from my go-to up-cycling shop in Brisbane for A$4.50. They are actually the inner tubes from rolls of window tinting film.

Dry assembly first, some weights and CoG checked and then simulated in OR 22.02.beta.04.
 

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I finished the rocket I started a couple of days ago. A simple NC3F one. Didn't draw anything but the fins. It is a test bed for a vinyl wrap. My first attempt. The rocket is a 2.6" BT with a 29mm x 12" mmt. It's38" long and weighs 27 ounces with a chute. After 10 attempts at painting the last one, this one I didn't paint anything. The nose cone was a salvaged one already painted. I'm calling it simply " Spaceship ".20220701_224534[3878].jpg20220701_224706[3873].jpg20220701_224724[3877].jpg
 
Went to Hobby Lobby and grab some of their $6 medium CA
Cleaned and sort of lubed a Stika SV-15 vinyl cutter. Need to find a 19v PS cause the 12v one won't hold the cutter down.
Glued together a PETG 3D printed BT-55 to BT60 transition to a BT60 6 inch Ogive. Both with no shoulders on the NC or the BT60 side of the transition making a nice SciFi / Tau NC
Lika zo...
IMG_1230.JPG

And lika zo
IMG_1229.JPG

When I asked for a quote on a balsa NC like this 6 years ago? It was like $50
And a BT60 size? $75
Sure I spent $250 on the Ender 3 V2. And $5 on the PETG filament. But I can churn these out all day (well ok, 2 a day)

Installed some LED undercounter lighting cause these old eyes need mo light.


Put the decals on the Jetliner. I had `fo gotten it was a 13mm design. So I packed an extra 25 gm of clay and epoxy in the nose. Should be A-OK on even a C now.

IMG_1228.JPG
 
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Repairing damage from the last outing. Had one water landing with my custom rocket bullet, the BMS. 3” school rock landed hard on gravel and my LOC Scout had a launch failure where the igniter got stuck in the motor and caused it to crash

The bullet is back together but I’m taking the opportunity to repaint and replace the internals. school rock was repaired with epoxy and the fin repainted.

The worst was the Scout. Needed a chunk of the fin replaced. Progress is going well. Will be repaired in a day of so.

E3A01EF9-CD3E-470F-826E-F97CCC9F2CA8.jpeg151DCD3A-E00D-40A7-8E06-1AD05EA962DB.jpeg
 

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