Flying Basket of Death and Destruction Build Thread

[Innova63]

:hfive:

In all the time I have worked on this I never expected this kind of reaction. Thanks a bunch. This gives me a lot of inspiration on the rebuild which is going to be way better.

Tell you what...If the stars align and I can make it work with my personal schedule I will bring this thing to Wisconsin to fly it. There are a couple of clubs that go to Bong Recreation area (yes, it is seriously called Bong) which is near Kenosha. If I make that happen I will post it here and you can come throw discs at it lol.

-Dave

BRAVO!!!

Would love to see this at Bong.

 

[joecoin]

... So this flight showed me that the design is stable under flight and that my built techniques are sound and will hold up to flight stresses. I also learned I need more motor. Something that burns just a little quicker but is also more powerful. Lastly, I have to completely rethink my parachute deployment so that I am not 100% reliant on the motor ejection. While I basically had to recover most of the bits with a trash bag, the center tube is mostly intact.

I can rebuild it. We have the technology. I have the capability to make the first flying Basket of Death and Destruction. This will be that basket. Better...Stronger...Faster...

How about a booster only engine. No discharge. Use a wireless signal to activate a linear actuator that will "split" the chute compartment.

Or, booster only. Time delayed circuit that activates a linear actuator. Use a 555 timer or equivalent, an accelerometer to determine when to start the timer. By using a booster engine you will keep that weight in the bottom to help with stability on the downward journey.

 

[pmay5]

LLOOOLLLLLL !!!!!!!

Great job Dave!!!

:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[davetherocketguy]

How about a booster only engine. No discharge. Use a wireless signal to activate a linear actuator that will "split" the chute compartment.

I could. There's already a product out in the hobby rocket world made by Missleworks that is a R/C unit used just in that way. It's super expensive though - $450.

There's also another company, Altus Metrum that makes the TeleMega which not only can send its GPS location back to you it also has a tilt detect function on there which can be used to trigger the parachute charge along with a bunch of other stuff. Of course it's pretty salty at $450. I think I'd rather buy a really nice new DG cart than that...

Or, booster only. Time delayed circuit that activates a linear actuator. Use a 555 timer or equivalent, an accelerometer to determine when to start the timer. By using a booster engine you will keep that weight in the bottom to help with stability on the downward journey.

You're coming up with good ideas here haha. There's another company that already has a product like that made by Perfectflite and it's a timer that can detect lift off and set off a charge for the parachute after a preset amount of time. While this timer can't do anything other than the timer function thats ok because it is reasonably priced at $45. Timer it is!

So I finally got around to making a Youtube video that has the onboard. The 808 Keychain cam I used on this flight is a POS. These little cameras are nice because they are cheap but since it's cheap things like the lens not being orientated correctly happen. I went to great pains to make sure that it was pointing straight down the side of the rocket and it looks like it is still angling down and to the right...grrrr...oh well it's better than nothing so enjoy:

 

[Getty]

Hilarious! Good thing it was an unmanned test flight, though.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Hilarious! Good thing it was an unmanned test flight, though.

The next flight can be manned! I think I found the right candidate who meets the size and weight restrictions.

 

[brutalbrutus]

At least the camera still works... Good stuff dave.

 

[brutalbrutus]

The next flight can be manned! I think I found the right candidate who meets the size and weight restrictions.

Climo's ears might create too much drag...

 

[davetherocketguy]

BWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I don't know if I can use the Klimo bobblehead. Those ears may create too much drag.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Lol... sorry dave, I edited that in before I noticed your post.


Des is pretty aerodynamic. The problem would be actually finding one of those. I think that is an old pic. Just did a random search and that popped up.

 

[ericb45696]

That made my day as well. I salute you sir.

 

[hiflyer]

Your new avatar is majorly apropos Dave.

 

[joecoin]

There's also another company, Altus Metrum that makes the TeleMega which not only can send its GPS location back to you it also has a tilt detect function on there which can be used to trigger the parachute charge along with a bunch of other stuff. Of course it's pretty salty at $450. I think I'd rather buy a really nice new DG cart than that.
...

You don't need that $450 item. Just get an old furnace thermostat and pull the mercury switch out of it.

 

[davetherocketguy]

You don't need that $450 item. Just get an old furnace thermostat and pull the mercury switch out of it.

Ahhh yes the old mercury switch trick. You're a pretty smart fella...you'd fit in well with rocketry folk.

Mercury switches...Short answer: It might work but probably won't do what you want it to when you want to do it so that makes them rather sketchy.

REALLY Long Answer:

Mercury switches rely on the force of gravity to complete a circuit. This circuit will be connected to deployment charge and a battery. Thing is, you want to make absolutely sure that during prep and walking out to the pad that the circuit doesn't complete before flight or you're going to need to clean your undies when the parachute charge pops in close vicinity. As a result, most rocket clubs really frown upon using mercury switches. I do realize you could shunt the circuit or wire up a switch between the two but there are other issues to deal with...

Then there's the little problem of gravity and other forces acting on the rocket. In most rockets a mercury switch will definitely not work well because as soon as the motor burns out the rocket is experiencing weightlessness as it slows. Drag really isn't much of a factor since most rockets are very aerodynamic. So as a result that little ball of mercury may or may not complete the circuit. A good example of what I am talking about is the Vomit Comet that is used to train astronauts for weightlessness. It goes up at a steep angle and cuts the engines just prior to apogee and then begins to fall in a ballistic trajectory thus inducing the relative weightlessness for those on board.

In this case, the FBD&D is very draggy. What will likely happen is as soon as the motor burns out the drag will slow the rocket faster than the pull of gravity and the mercury will complete the circuit as soon as the motor burns out. Not a good thing. That means the chute will deploy at a velocity of around 100-150 mph by my very rough estimation which is a good way to damage the rocket or shred the chute. And that's a pretty big maybe. I don't want my chute deployment to rely on maybe any more. I want more of a sure thing. Ideally, the best time for a parachute to come out on a hobby rocket is when the rocket is horizontal which is at its slowest possible velocity during the flight and will cause the least amount of damage to the airframe.

There's another product out there called the PET2+ made by Missleworks and that is probably what I am going to get for the FBD&D. Not only can it detect tilt (not sure exactly how it does that) but its also a timer. So I can wire up 2 charges to it so one charge goes off based on tilt and the other based on elapsed flight time.

Don't get me wrong joecoin...its a good suggestion but we rocket folk have already explored that option.

-Dave

 

[joecoin]

Ahhh yes the old mercury switch trick. You're a pretty smart fella...you'd fit in well with rocketry folk.

Mercury switches...Short answer: It might work but probably won't do what you want it to when you want to do it so that makes them rather sketchy.

REALLY Long Answer:

Mercury switches rely on the force of gravity to complete a circuit. This circuit will be connected to deployment charge and a battery. Thing is, you want to make absolutely sure that during prep and walking out to the pad that the circuit doesn't complete before flight or you're going to need to clean your undies when the parachute charge pops in close vicinity. As a result, most rocket clubs really frown upon using mercury switches. I do realize you could shunt the circuit or wire up a switch between the two but there are other issues to deal with...

Then there's the little problem of gravity and other forces acting on the rocket. In most rockets a mercury switch will definitely not work well because as soon as the motor burns out the rocket is experiencing weightlessness as it slows. Drag really isn't much of a factor since most rockets are very aerodynamic. So as a result that little ball of mercury may or may not complete the circuit. A good example of what I am talking about is the Vomit Comet that is used to train astronauts for weightlessness. It goes up at a steep angle and cuts the engines just prior to apogee and then begins to fall in a ballistic trajectory thus inducing the relative weightlessness for those on board.

In this case, the FBD&D is very draggy. What will likely happen is as soon as the motor burns out the drag will slow the rocket faster than the pull of gravity and the mercury will complete the circuit as soon as the motor burns out. Not a good thing. That means the chute will deploy at a velocity of around 100-150 mph by my very rough estimation which is a good way to damage the rocket or shred the chute. And that's a pretty big maybe. I don't want my chute deployment to rely on maybe any more. I want more of a sure thing. Ideally, the best time for a parachute to come out on a hobby rocket is when the rocket is horizontal which is at its slowest possible velocity during the flight and will cause the least amount of damage to the airframe.

There's another product out there called the PET2+ made by Missleworks and that is probably what I am going to get for the FBD&D. Not only can it detect tilt (not sure exactly how it does that) but its also a timer. So I can wire up 2 charges to it so one charge goes off based on tilt and the other based on elapsed flight time.

Don't get me wrong joecoin...its a good suggestion but we rocket folk have already explored that option.

-Dave

About 10 minutes after I posted that, I thought; well, that rocket might shake a little too much for the mercury to remain quiescent, which could cause the switch to actuate prematurely which could lead to Dave having to clean his undies.

In the late 1960's I would save every cent I could and send it all to Estes mail order warehouse. I bought not only pieces parts, but the technical data sheets ( I forget what they called them), I built a small glider, carefully following all the "rules" and tested that thing every which way I could. Didn't have a wind tunnel though.

Maiden flight of the glider. Got 10 feet off the rod and commenced to doing lots of fancy aerobatics. Had a lot of my older relatives getting really excited . Never thought my old uncle Joe could move so fast.

Also had a Camroc, but never did get a good picture out of it. Here's a guy that resurrected one:

http://www.rcgrabbag.com/archives/estes-camroc-1966

 

[davetherocketguy]

And two days removed from the launch and I've already bought the first new part for this beast...a Pet2 timer.

-Dave

 

[Steve West]

...

I can't stop thinking about how to make a basket that is held up by flames. Even if it is only an illusion, I want it to look just like your avatar.

 

[Lazerface]

Dave, you are the man! That is all.

 

[CaptainAnhyzer]

:clap::clap::clap::clap:

 

[joecoin]

I can't stop thinking about how to make a basket that is held up by flames. Even if it is only an illusion, I want it to look just like your avatar.

LED flame lamps:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp6VhgQ6s2o