[I guess I have basically two types of posts around here -> ones about the cool stuff I'm building/flying, and ones about the really cool stuff other people are flying. This is the latter.]
I’m slowing going through YouTube and the interwebs to find all the awesome projects that were flown somewhere, sometime that I’ve never heard of before. First, check out the Pershing flown at LDRS 27 in Argonia, Kansas. Interestingly, the put the frame on the pad, installed the motor, and then installed the skin over the frame. Some answers about why they built it they way they did (without any structural carbon fiber or fiberglass) are in this ROL Forum discussion. The description of the flight is great too: “there was an issue and the landing was hard.” Pretty cool project, but I still think the Pershing is an ugly rocket.
And here’s a video of a Q-powered flight at BALLS 2004 in the Black Rock Desert. Shadow Aero has this to say about the project in its gallery:
“Dave Triano of ShadowAero designed and built the amazing ‘Interstellar Overdrive’ Q motor project for Mike Hobbs and Randy Helmonds. The rocket was powered by a 8′ ‘Q’ motor by Frank Kosdon, and flew September 11, 2004, to an altitude of 100,000′. The minimum diameter rocket was a study in simplicity and efficiency, using an all-carbon fin can and nosecone created with special resin systems and ablative coatings. The deployment system worked as designed. It was composed of redundant XTime units intiating dual patent pending gas generators designed by Dave Triano.”
“The Frank Kosdon, Mike Hobbs, Dave Triano Q motor rocket was one of the most memorable flights. The 325 pound rocket was flown out of a halo tower and had about a 14 second burn with a long delay grain. Due to the extreme altitude that the rocket was flown to it looked like it was on a long arc, even though it was still climbing to well over 88,000 feet. In typical Balls fashion and typical Fran Kosdon fashion the rocket was only recovered on a 6 chute. They figured it would come back at about 135 MPH and they weren t worried about the condition after it landed, they just wanted it back. The Q project choose #1, they lost the rocket. Speaking with Dave Triano after the flight was interesting, the bottom line is that s how we do it out here . He had a track on it for over seven minutes and knows it is out there, someplace. He did say that they have a way of turning up again. We wish him luck.”
Greg Smith has one of the best blogs out there to feature high-end high power rocket projects.
For the last few months Greg chronicled the construction of Em-Sem-Fifty, a minimum diameter carbon fiber rocket designed around full-M motors. The second flight of Em-Sem-Fifty (after a warm-up on an L) was a drag-race on – what else – M750’s. The M750 is a long-burning Aerotech 98mm motor – 12.7 seconds of thrust! – and Greg’s flight topped 20,000 feet.
Here’s Greg’s time-elapse video of the flight prep and launch:
And Greg’s co-racer Frank Hermes’ video of the same flights:
The successful attempt followed repair work from some nasty zipper’s sustained on the first attempt. Greg also has some great failure analysis too – after all, knowing why your rocket failed is the first step to preventing future failures.
I think I’m now officially in the “Winter Building Season.” While there may be a number of launches with great weather between now and next spring, you can’t really count on a combination of clear skies, low wind, and warm enough temperatures that I’d want to stand around outside all day. Now I’ll concentrate my rocket energies on getting my fleet ready for the 2010 flying season.
At the right is the business of Lunch Money, my 4″ PML Endeavor. The first two flights – on an I and a J – were both frustrating in part because I had motor retention difficulties. The motor retention was originally done with the stock tee-nut retention system, but right before the first flight at LDRS 28 one of the two tee-nuts pushed off of the rear centering ring (it was epoxied in place) and I was left flying with only one of the two clamps. This worked, but made me feel rather insecure, especially on flights with just motor ejection.
So the next time I went to fly Lunch Money, I upgraded to PML’s Positive Motor Retention system, which is essentially a metal ring with a central hole to accomodate a 54mm motor (or 38mm motors with an adapter) and 3 bolts that mount to the rear centering ring in a similar fashion to the stock PML retention system with clamps.
I installed the PMR system at the MDRA launch I was flying at and had a hard time getting all three mounting holes to line up, so I ended up flying with just two of the bolts (again, not the best solution, but the cordless drill battery was running low and I had friends waiting to see my flight).
The PMR system performed perfectly, ie, the motor didn’t blow out the back end. But on landing the metal plate was bent by the impact of the rocket and one of the two bolts pushed its nut through the rear CR. For the next flight, I could either retrofit another similar system, or find something that’s really a permanent solution.
So, I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while: I bought an Aeropack 54mm motor retainer, along with the Aeropack 54/38mm adapter.
Yes, it’s more expensive than the other motor retention options. But it’s so cool. Not only does it mount to the rear of the airframe in a very sturdy fashion (a total of 8 screws and flush nuts), it looks great too, and fitting a 38mm motor into the larger tube is as simple as possible.
I’m sure most high power rocketeers have an Aeropack retainer (or Giant Leap’s SlimLine design) on at least some of their rockets, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it.
So many casings, so little time. Or rather, so little money. I bought a used (why would you ever buy new?) 38/600 casing from Ken at Performance Hobbies at Red Glare, so now I have the collection above: 24/40 and 29/40-120 mid power casings, 29/180-240 casings, and 38/240-720 casings.
I’m excited to fly a lot of 29 and 38mm loads this spring and summer, and maybe start moving into 54mm territory. Lunch Money can (I hope) handle a K185, and the 3″ rocket I’m building from the parts that survived the crash of my second USLI rocket should be able to fly on full K’s. Fun! However, I’m not sure I’ll stick with Aerotech when moving up to 54’s – the price differences get more substantial, and I’d like to be able to fly both sparky and long-burn loads with the same harware.
Any suggestions for what 54mm system to upgrade to?
Last weekend’s Red Glare VII was pretty great, if not as great as Red Glare VI back in April. While Friday and Saturday at MDRA’s biannual regional launch were washouts (I didn’t go), Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. While I had planned to fly my 2.6″ Sandhawk on an I and Lunch Money on a J, I didn’t get the needed repairs done in time, so I decided to just enjoy the launch.
There were a number of large flights (M’s and N’s), of course. Ben Ullman’s N motor experimental flight lost its upper section and chutes on the way up while the motor and fin can kept going up and up, and then it came down. It whistled coming back in and lawn-darted about 50 yards out from the right side of the flight line. Ouch.
The much-touted Paul Robinson memorial sparky motor drag race was pretty cool, with a rack full of H-K flights going off simultaneously. Two M flights on the away cell should have gone at the same time but didn’t due to operator error (oops). But no worries – two M flights drag racing are pretty sweet without the distraction of pesky little K flights.
Pictures below include a remote control plane with an onboard HD video camera (they were hoping to catch the sparky drag race from the air but had problems getting it pointed in the right direction), the sparky drag race itself, a nice flight from the away cells on an M or N (possibly a Redline?), Alex helping repair a broken fence on my friend Erin’s first rocket, and Erin with Oh Frabcious Day, which flew successfully on a C6-5! And the final photo is of the lovely sunset that closed the day.
When trying to describe the subculture of high power rocketry to my non-rocket flying friends (ie, most of the people I know), I often include this vignette. Rocket people like acronyms -- maybe because of NASA? And a lot of our launches are named with acronyms: LDRS (Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships), NSL (National Sport Launch), etc. And then some of the launches are spelled in all-caps to sound like acronyms, but are really just about testicles. Case in point: BALLS.
Check out this compilation of video from this year’s BALLS (the 18th annual) in Nevada’s Black Rock desert. Highlights are the keg of beer launched at 1:10, the 3-stage flight to ~60,000 feet at 4:00, and the various crashes and explosions throughout:
Rocketry Planet has an article up about the new FAA procedures for securing waivers for super larger, super high-flying rockets. The first project to go through the process was slated to fly today at XPRS: it’s called the 99K Project and it’s a two stage rocket (P in the booster, N motor in the sustainer). Wowser–I’ll update here when I hear how the flight went.
I went out to the eastern shore of Maryland today for the Maryland Delaware Rocketry Association’s monthly launch, and what a day! The weather was absolutely gorgeous – sunny and up to the mid 70s, not a cloud in the sky, and hardly a whisper of wind the whole day.
After two flights on I motors this summer, my Lunch Money was ready for its first J. I built a J350 last night and thought I had everything ready to go. Unfortunately at the launch I discovered the threaded inserts for my motor retention had both pushed through the rear centering ring. I needed a motor retention solution – not feeling too comfortable with friction-fit only flying a J motor with an adapter – but luckily Ken of Performance Hobbies was on hand to provide some retention hardware. After some drilling, screwing, friction-fitting, and other tomfoolery, I was finally ready to fly:
This was my friend Erin’s first rocket launch – she enthusiastically helped get Lunch Money on the launch pad and later flew her own rocket. Maybe she’ll get hooked on rocketry too!?
Liftoff on a J350 – fast and straight:
My housemate Liz came out to the launch along with our friends Alisha and Kristina – first time at a rocket launch for all. They bravely delved into MDRA’s handy rocket bucket to find rockets to fly. Participation makes rocketry so much more fun!
I’m getting ready for tomorrow’s MDRA launch and just finished assembling an Aerotech J350 to fly in my Lunch Money (a 4″ PML Endeavor):
So far Lunch Money has flown on an I218 Redline and an I211 White Lightning – this will be its first flight on a J motor, and what I now realize is only my 4th flight in Level 2 territory (Level 2 cert flight with a J350 in Cheaper than a Girlfriend and two K-powered flights for the University Student Launch Initiative).
One word: Wow. The winds went away. The clouds went away. And the rocketeers brought the big stuff, loading up all the large projects they’d been saving for better weather. Here are some pictures I took (you might have already seen these on Rocketry Planet too), starting off with the Wildman drag race – seven rockets on one L and six M’s.
I think I’m now officially in the “Winter Building Season.” While there may be a number of launches with great weather between now and next spring, you can’t really count on a combination of clear skies, low wind, and warm enough temperatures that I’d want to stand around outside all day. Now I’ll concentrate my rocket energies on getting my fleet ready for the 2010 flying season.
So the next time I went to fly Lunch Money, I upgraded to PML’s 
So, I finally did something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while: I bought an 
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