Adrian

Yeah, I would be concerned about the fins getting too hot and the epoxy softening too much. I heated up Barack-it to get the motor out (thanks for the tip, Warren) and was surprised how much more flexible the fins…   Read more»

Cool. I’d like to build a min-diameter carbon rocket around that sometime. 2000 mph would be a fun goal.

I agree that for an altitude shot, the J570 would be superior. But for a speed contest, or even just a personal speed record, the J825 would be pretty spectacular. My main question is, does it exist, and will it…   Read more»

Alas, it gets even sillier. CNN’s headline is now “Jet dodges rocket-like object in air.” I hope those passengers were belted in for those emergency rocket avoidance maneuvers.

If you’re curious enough, do your own test and use a Parrot to measure the drag differences. Since you’re measuring the drag force rather directly, the results won’t get affected my motor impulse variation, weathercocking, etc. I’m planning to do…   Read more»

Yikes. Maybe if I heat it up that will help soften it. The fins are quite stiff and strong but I wouldn’t know that I’m pushing too hard until it’s too late.I’d like to re-fly this with G80s (or maybe…   Read more»

John,You’re right, I had been pushing too close to the edge, and over the edge in a lot of cases. But this one was built with G80s and H motors in mindHere’s the picture I sent in with the record…   Read more»

Adrian, congratulations on an awesome boost, and welcome to the TRA record club SmileHow did the boost compare to your simulations? I saw the pics from the launch (posted on another forum) and it looks like you guys had a…   Read more»

At the Tripoli Spring Fling today, Barack-it went to 7492 on an F10. The previous record was 6785. Tripoli record forms are filled out and I’ll mail them in tomorrow. More pictures and graphs to follow after I get the…   Read more»

I believe the software is done, but I’m still waiting to get a panel of Parrots back from my surface-mount assembler. Then I’ll try to ship about a week after that.

I spent all of Saturday doing calibrations on a 250-G prototype version of the Parrot V2, tweaking the flight code to avoid numerical overflow with the higher-G sensor, rebuilding the av-bay, and doing final prep work on the rocket. By…   Read more»

Cool. You should try it again, this time with a Parrot and a Beeline, and go for the F, G, and SSS contests.

Thanks. I think I’ll be making carbon fiber rockets from now on. Here are some things I learned along the way:Doing the layup with the marble floor tiles, it’s very easy to get good quality, so in the future I…   Read more»

Some other folks in the club have made a nicer looking rocket, but not me.Hope the fins are on straight

After the first go-around with the sandpaper, the fins are down to 4.1 grams and 0.06 thick. The two outer layers of thin fiberglass are mostly gone. I still have some low spots where the uni tape had some gaps,…   Read more»

How was the release film held in place? And where did you get it?

Pictures from Christmas eve:Needs more shop towels to sop op the excess resin. Note to self: The vacuum bag can never be too bigVacuum bagging doneChristmas morning. Time for pliers.First look at the layup quality.The next are two pictures of…   Read more»

After more than an hour of prep, I’m about ready to mix some epoxy:This time I remembered to close off the ends of the tube so the vacuum bag doesn’t push the layup into the tube.

Sounds like a good class, Warren.Mule,Here’s a picture with some of the materials:The unidirectional tape is dry, and comes rolled onto the cardboard rectangle. It started as a 4-foot roll, and you can see that not much is left of…   Read more»

Yes. I protect the floor tiles with a layer of thin plastic sheet, then one layer of blue shop towel, then a layer of pink fine-weave peel ply next to the wet layup. So far the shop towel has absorbed…   Read more»