Activity

I could see that, however on my first L3 attempt my main went off while the rocket was still going about 300 mph and the nosecone came off and the parachute came out, making a mess of things.Edward

I was there also. Very strange. At 3.5 grams of powder there shouldhave been a pretty good boom. Any more, I think would cause otherproblems.I have never used shear pins. What He showed Me was pretty welldone. Had copper or…   Read more»

I crashed my first L1 rocket even after ground testing deployed the parachute perfectly twice! After that I switched to pistons and have been a very very happy camper.My friend Henry (Hahn) came up with the split piston for his…   Read more»

That was indeed a strange set of occurences! For those not there, Steve had a chute hang up at the end of the airframe tube TWICE… It was 99% of the way out, but just didn’t quite shake loose.I’m always…   Read more»

thumped the Liberty pretty well.I can fix it, but it will take tube, grinding and epoxy.Still not certain as to the cause. Efforts included:Shear pins, which worked.More BP from 2.0 grams to 3.5.Tight wrap.Etc.I’d like to try a piston, but…   Read more»

Nice pictures Mike.Steve, I peeled off before we got to it, did it make it through the landing?

Thanks for posting the pictures! It was a fun launch.-Steven

From the pictures it looks like the black and white V2 had a CATO. Was that what happened? What motor?

Oh no! What’s up? did you figure out why the chute didn’t extract itself?Edward

Appreciated the photos. My Liberty ma not fly again, except in your pictures.

Using Aeropoxy with both a Kevlar/CF hybrid, FG, and CF, I have never had an issue. Mix it up.

G10 is actually quite a good themal insulator. Good enough that real spacecraft use g10 to make standoffs to attach propulsion fuel lines to cold structures. In the fiber direction, carbon is more thermally conductive than aluminum. Spacecraft use carbon…   Read more»

From a thermodynamic standpoint putting the slot between two fins makes sense, but I figured that it actually would be best to line it up with a fin root to counteract the moment that all of that flowing propellant generates….   Read more»

I have often flown MD rockets with long burn motors, including the K250. Some thoughts:- on a true moonburner or slot motor, I line the slot up between fins. The slot is the area that should get the hottest. My…   Read more»

Paper would probably be best, less dense, more air pockets. Just depends on your preferences. Now, we are all worried about this weakening the fins – how many rockets have failed by this method? My guess would be zero. I’ve…   Read more»

I’m considering swapping out the motor tube on my PR Comp3 for phenolic, justs to give another layer of insulation for such reasons.Anyone’s thoughts? I think we’ll probably be fine. Maybe do the root epoxy with JB Weld + chopped…   Read more»

The maximum temp that the motor is allowed to reach is 392 F. I don’t think there are many motors that get that hot. As for heat it will get warmest in the lower 1/3 of the motor mount -…   Read more»

Years ago, we did our “100K in a Day” project where we flew the same rocket to over 100,000′ cumulatively in the same day. We did it on Pro38 loads. The signed casing is still in my office here: 28…   Read more»

Time to add a selection of Pro 54 casings to my stash.No doubt! I personally don’t like dealing with reloads that I have to rely on instructions (which vary by casing size, propellant, etc.). If you know how to build…   Read more»

Cool, thanks for the responses. Ever since Tim had me try out a Cesaroni 54mm load at Octoberfest last year I’m hooked on em. You just can’t beat how quick and easy they are to deal with. Time to add…   Read more»