Adrian

Make sure your launch site is set for 5400, and the temperature is realistic. Double-check the mass and you should be good to go.

In almost all of my layups there comes a point where I say to myself “oh crap, this layup is doomed!”. Sometimes it’s true, but not usually.

Apparently there are lots of ways to skin this cat…I wet mine out thoroughly, and then put it over the tube. I squish it end-wise to make the diameter a lot bigger and then stretch it out to place it…   Read more»

AdrianThose ave bays are pretty cool.Thats another way he could go.Are those magntic switches adaptable to other Alt. with 9 volts.How high are those ravens rated for?Thanks.The magnetic switches are only designed to work with the 4V Li-poly cells that…   Read more»

Check out http://www.featherweightaltimeters.com if you haven’t already. There are av-bay kits that include battery, battery charger, magnetically-controlled arm switch, altimeter connector, bulkheads and deployment charge terminals in one small package that requires no user wiring. It’s designed around the Raven…   Read more»

Don’t know about you guys, but this false alarm was just what I needed to get me off my keister and re-build my 29mm nosecone last night. And now I have time to re-do it right this time.

There’s a weather station pretty close to the North site with hourly data available at http://www.wunderground.com//www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=MNUNC2

Quest makes some dandy ematches, though they call them Q2G2 ignitors.

I didn’t end up fixing any of the flaws I mentioned above, and the possible slight cock of the coupler probably contributed to some coning I saw during the burn today. I prepped it on Friday, and let the av-bay…   Read more»

I got the F10 casing out, so the nosecone is just about ready to go. There are a few surface flaws from bubbles that I may try to fix before I fly it, or I may not, since it has…   Read more»

Adrian,I have some old resins, I’ll dig them out. Maybe at a launch we could do a transfer and I could spin one and see how it works.EdwardThat would be cool. Can you use my eyeballed-center silicone/acrylic mold, or would…   Read more»

That is amazing! I just hope I can get that good in the future.Remember, if the women don’t find you handsome, at least they will find you handy!The nice Aluminum plug was made in a CNC lathe, by the guys…   Read more»

If you do not have a lathe, you could use a drill press. Keeps it all vertical unless you have to turn it on it’s side. I have used a drill press before for spinning things and if made strong…   Read more»

Wow, and that resin has 90 second pot life, with 5-8 minute demold time. If you work out the spinning, you could crank out 10 cones in an afternoon with that stuff.

Nice work Adrian, looks real nice. What is the overall weight? how much weight did you had?The cured carbon fiber was 13 grams, before I added the epoxy to the outside and tungsten/epoxy to the tip. Then it was 170…   Read more»

Very nice Adrian. You should try spincasting them. I’m sure a chopped carbon fiber layup would be as strong and smooth. Tungsten is used to weight golf club heads – you know, the new space ship flying saucer drivers.EdwardToo bad…   Read more»

These days, tungsten powder is pretty easy to come by, because apparently golf club makers use it. You can buy 1/2 lb it from Amazon for $20. For me it would be a little pricey for noseweight on a really…   Read more»

Here it is with the epoxy/tungsten powder cast into the tip of the nose. Yes, the rocket is balanced on that cup.The extra coating of epoxy on the outside came out uneven, so I sanded most of it off and…   Read more»

My second attempt (bottom) came out much better than the first one (top):I need to get it back into the mold and cast the noseweight into place, which will complete the tip. While I’m at it, I’ll add coat the…   Read more»

My last nosecone attempt was mostly a failure. I had too much of the carbon sleeve in the mold, so it bunched up and wrinkled, making a couple of deep divots. I thought the vacuum bag would push it down,…   Read more»