Very good. thanks a lot.

Very good. thanks a lot.

I figured you'd like them since you had to work Saturday and Sunday 😆

Dave

Great pictures! Thanks for taking/sharing them.

Great pictures! Thanks for taking/sharing them.

I'm glad you found the forum -- I forgot to email the links to you 😉

Dave

If anyone is interested, here's the link to Jason Cook's N1100 flight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI4eynlBDhM

That video is so cool, inspiring and fun.

Jason,
That was an amazing flight, and an AWESOME video. I loved the music -- "we're gonna let it burn, burn, burn, burn..." -- great choice!

Thanks for all the grea Pics Dave! The really great thing is how beautiful the prairie was! Never saw it so green before.

Great pictures! Thanks for taking/sharing them.

I'm glad you found the forum -- I forgot to email the links to you 😉

Dave

Glad to be here. 🙂

Any of you who were there at the end of the last day may have seen the traumatic launch of the MadCow "Cricket."

It went up great on an AT G80, but at ejection things got really weird. The parachute came out, but did not unfold. It hit the ground hard near some RVs.

Now the weird part:

I added a few ounces of lead chunks to the nosecone to stabilize it, as per the MadCow directions. I used a trick detailed by Apogee Components; I filled the nosecone with spray-foam to hold the weight in place. It worked perfectly, and the rocket had many great flights.

With the new DMS AT G80, (more BP?) the foam melted out of the nosecone at ejection, and covered the parachute. Thus why it didn't open. 😯

Luckily, damage was limited. A fin popped out, but was not broken. It will be easy to epoxy back in. The tube was crushed somewhat, but CA and sandpaper will fix it.

Anyway, I felt the need to explain this weird chain of events. In the future, I will epoxy a wooden bulkhead over the foam to prevent it from melting out.

Great post flight trauma analysis. I wouldn't have thought the expanding foam, once set up, would be subject to mushing when briefly heated but that certainly explains the gooey residue on your parachute.

Was the foam in your nosecone the cheap stuff out of the spray can, or the 2-part epoxy foam sold in hobby stores, etc.?

The stuff out of the spray can requires contact with air to cure, and can remain gooey underneath the hardened skin for a VERY long time. The 2-part, however, cures chemically and hardens throughout. Definitely worth the extra cost.

Perhaps the G forces slammed your noseweight down through some still-gooey foam, releasing it onto your chute?

Just my $0.02.
-Ken

Was the foam in your nosecone the cheap stuff out of the spray can, or the 2-part epoxy foam sold in hobby stores, etc.?

The stuff out of the spray can requires contact with air to cure, and can remain gooey underneath the hardened skin for a VERY long time. The 2-part, however, cures chemically and hardens throughout. Definitely worth the extra cost.

Perhaps the G forces slammed your noseweight down through some still-gooey foam, releasing it onto your chute?

Just my $0.02.
-Ken

That's it! It was the spray can stuff, as I didn't know that there was anything else out there.

I was surprised that some of it wasn't dry underneath, because it had the entite month of May to dry. But if it needs air, then that explains it.

The G80 must have induced more Gs than the Cesaroni reloads, and pulled the 1/2lb or so of lead down through the foam, which is what the foam was supposed to prevent in the first place.

Thanks for the replies!

wow! Just yesterday I was contemplating using the cheap foam stuff for a nose cone fill. In the past, I had used the two part epoxy foam; it worked great, but I am always trying to trim the costs.

Now I know what to do! Your two cents is worth quite a bit more, Ken!