2011 Recapitulation

Way back in the beginning of the year I came up with three "Big, Fun Scary Adventures," referred to herein as "BFS Adventures." The first of these was a concrete goal: to obtain my level-2 certification for high-power rocketry. The story of this adventure was a long and comical one:

My first attempt was in June, using my rocket called "Stinger." I used a Cesaroni J285, which is a very small J-motor. For some reason, the flight was just a flop:



Next month I managed to put together an entirely new rocket (can't remember the name of it). It was a big, galumphing rocket made from thick cardboard tubes. The idea was to build heavy so that the rocket didn't go very high so I didn't need dual-deployment. That idea came back to bite me:



So I figured that the third time is usually the charm, and I came out next month with this rocket, which is the sustainer stage of a multistage project.



I figured that I had failed, but we kinda had to rush off at the end of the launch, and didn't talk much with the certifying member afterward. But a few weeks later I got my card in the mail, which read "cert level 2." So that's the story of how I got my level 2 certification.

My second adventure was less than exciting. I set a specific goal to "earn at least $5000 by working and at least $5000 of non-ISU scholarships." This one was also a success. I failed to find an internship, so I worked hard on a sod farm all summer, some weeks working 60 hours! It was quite the arduous ordeal but I earned about $4500 for school. Previously during the spring semester I had earned about $800 from working at Target. So there's my $5000 by working. And I got a pretty nice engineering scholarship for $8000 which helped me stay in school!

My last BFS Adventure was rather vague. "Invent something cool," I said. I'm counting the payload we built for USLI for this adventure. While it was not entirely my invention, I learned a lot of great stuff from being on that team and helped develop pretty cool technology for it. All of the structural components were designed and built by me. A lot of the programming was me, too. One thing is irrefutable: It was cool.

So there's 2011 in a nutshell. Of course, that leaves out 99% of my life, but now you have the 1% worth talking about.

I sense 2012 has some adventures in store that will make 2011 look like a walk in the park. Bring it on!

Level-2 Certified After All?

I got my new Tripoli Rocketry member card in the mail yesterday, and lo and behold, it says "cert level 2." I tried for level 2 three times last summer, and *supposedly* failed each time. Evidently one of those flights (probably the last one) was not such a failure after all.

Fail #3

The failures this summer are beginning to get comical. Sort of like a running gag. I have no explanation for this failure, but it is obviously some sort of altimeter error, or user error pertaining to the altimeter.

As you can see in the video, the drogue charge did not fire at apogee, and then the backup motor-based ejection charge did not have enough power to separate the rocket. Finally the main charge went at 500 feet and saved the rocket. There was no damage, but I still failed to get my certification because not everything went according to plan.

One note about how the rocket fell back to earth. It's interesting how, despite my nearly 4 caliber stability, the rocket flat-spun and at times appeared to be falling backwards. What's with that? I admittedly don't understand how that happens.

Video!

Hopefully the 3rd Time's the Charm

Today was supposed to be Tripoli MN's August launch, but due to bad weather it got postponed until Sunday. Tomorrow I plan to launch the upper stage of my new Complex-L2 project for a level-2 certification attempt. I'll be flying it on a CTI J381SK, and it should reach 3000 feet.

This will be my third certification attempt for level-2 and the last attempt I can get in before moving down to Iowa for college, so I hope it works this time.

I'll keep you posted on the results.

Build Pictures for the 2-Stager!

I have made TONS of progress on my recent project since my last post. The exterior of the sustainer stage is finished, and the inside of the booster stage is finished. I have yet to put in the altimeter bay, recovery system and staging electronics housing on the sustainer, and still need to glass the booster airframe and paint it.

My work on the booster is rather unconventional. I cut out some strips of 1/4 inch plywood and glued them between the fore and aft centering rings. I then wrapped around the entire booster with plastic wrap and filled 'er up with expanding A-B foam epoxy.

I took this rocket to the county fair (it's my last year in 4H), and it got a purple ribbon. So I will be taking it to the MN State Fair this September, which means I will have to come up from college that weekend. I have a good reason to do so, however: If I participate in the State Fair this year, I am eligible to apply for a scholarship, so it is worth it.

Complex L2

You better believe it. It's time to bring out the big guns. I ordered some supplies from Public Missiles last week, and today a big box was waiting for me on the dinner table when I got home from work. Inside were two 4" body tubes, three coupler tubes, and a nose cone.

I am planning to build a two stage level-2 high-power rocket. This will be the biggest project I have ever undertaken.

I also plan to use the sustainer stage to certify L2 this August.

A New Workshop!!

My dad has given me permission to use a corner of the former horse shed as a rocket workshop! This could be a great investment of my spare time for future projects. It is also a great place to store my rockets, especially as they grow in size.

So far all I have managed to do is clean out a spot and put in an extension cord and power strip. But I have plans to build a workbench, a stool, and a fancy rocket stand!

Stay tuned for more details as my ideas take shape.

Also, I have a new project in the works... it involves level-2 motors. Emphasis on the S in "motors."

Fail. Again.

I was able to get off work for this Saturday for this month's Tripoli MN high-power rocket launch. The plan was to try and certify level 2 again, since I failed my first attempt last month.

I'll cut right to the chase and tell you I failed once again.

I swore that my system was fool-proof. It was super simple: a large 10-lb rocket on a large sparky J-motor that would go to 2000' in altitude and land gently on the field under a 72-inch parachute. No dual deploy, no electronics, no rocket hunters, nothing fancy. Just the basics. What could possibly go wrong?

The parachute got stuck inside the rocket, that's what. It came out just fifty feet above the ground, giving us false hopes that the rocket would survive, and we thought it did. But a tent in front of my view blocked the fact that the rocket separated, and the rocket was rather damaged.

I'm not as disappointed as I could be, however. Because I can still continue to fly level-2, and with a 15% discount for certification attempts!

Here's the video:

Pictures and Video!

I love Skidmarks.

Hybrid M-motor that never went :(

He's probably thinking "Not my day..."

From this --^

To this --^

Stinger on the pad.

June Launch Report <-- Boring Title But VERY Interesting Article

No matter what safety precautions you take, at the end of the day getting beaned on the noggin with an Aerotech Sumo coming in ballistic at a couple hundred feet per second is bad for your health. Just saying.

Despite that little incident (the victim is doing well now, but everyone was freaked out of their breeches at the time), the launch was a smashing success! (No pun intended).

First off, there was an M motor with three outboard J's that were going to airstart. The M cato'd.

Then there was a big Hypertek M motor that would fill with nitrous oxide but was having issues with the ignition system. No joy there.

Then there was my L2 certification attempt. We won't even talk about that.

Just kidding, we will. So I passed the test, no sweat. I had studied for it several times before but never got around to taking it for one reason or another. Then I got my rocket ready to fly: Stinger on a J285. I'm so brilliant. I certify L1 on an I285 which is a huge I, and certify L2 on a J285 which is a baby J. That way I can use the same rocket, same casing, same average thrust... It's amazing they even let you do it that way.

But then it came down to launch time. Despite my 4-caliber stability margin, the rocket had issues on the ascent. I'm still analyzing the video to figure out what went wrong, and I'll post it on YouTube later for you all to analyze as well. But something fishy happened. It corkscrewed a little and increased drag so much that what should have been a 5000' flight turned out to be a 1500' flight. Therefore, a 15 second delay for the motor eject was waaaay too long. The main was set to deploy at 500, but I'm not sure which deployed first, the drogue or the main. I guess I will have to look at the video and figure all these things out. But the point is that it was going way too fast when it finally ejected, and the rocket separated and I failed my certification.

Oh well.

There were some other cool things about the launch, like an L1500, and a minimum diameter H399. Mach 1.25 on the H399! But I'm too lazy to cover every launch in great detail, and besides, reading about it just isn't the same thing as actually being there.

I'm going to build a new rocket for July, so stay tuned for some build pics.

School's Out for the Summer -- Time for Summer Goals!

1. Get certified for level 2 high-power rocketry!
2. Create a video game (that's another post)
3. Make a short film (we're thinking Steampunk :)
4. Earn lots of money by getting a good job.
5. Apply for lots of scholarships.

The last two are the most boring but are also probably the most important.

Got any good plans for the summer?

Wind = Disappointment

Down in Princeton, Illinois there is a wind speed of 20 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph. Needless to say, the launch was canceled. I got my rockets all ready to go, and now they must remain grounded. What a pity.

Crunch Time!

Our University Student Launch Initiative entry has encountered a little bump in the road. We decided we had to abandon our old rocket due to some structural issues, so we're going to have to build an entirely new launch vehicle. The really challenging piece? Our first launch is going to be in the first week of March. So we need to build the rocket, put together a prototype for our electronics, purchase a motor (K1100), and FIND A LAUNCH somewhere in the Midwest. As soon as the parts for the rocket arrive we will be working on building it every night. Then there's another interesting bit. We might not have a level 2 certified member able to go along to the launch. We have three level 2 certified members in the Iowa State Space Society, and at least one of them can't go. So... if worse comes to worst and none of the level 2 members can go, I might be able to launch the rocket as a certification attempt, since I am already level 1 certified. That is, of course, a last resort.

So we have to do all that in about fifteen days. I believe we can do it.

Big, Fun, Scary Adventures for 2011

Unlike New Year's resolutions, BFS Adventures are something that last all year. They are akin to resolutions, but are more... adventurous. So here are mine:

• Get level-2 certified for high-power rocketry
• Earn at least $5000 dollars by working, and at least $5000 dollars in (non-ISU) scholarships
• Invent something cool.

What are your adventurous goals for the year?

Certification Attempt Tomorrow: Gulp.

Tomorrow is my one shot at certification until next year. I hope to use Stinger for my L1 cert on a Cesaroni I285. If I pass L1, I'm hoping to try L2 on a J285. If everything goes correctly, I should go from level 0 to level 2 in just one day! If I pass, I'll come back next year with an L motor!

I've been doing a lot of ground testing, since I've never tried altimeter based ejection charges before. Today I put one gram of black powder in the ejection charge, used a longer shock cord, and a lot more wadding. I think that one gram was just a bit too weak, and somehow the parachute still got a wee bit singed. What I need is Nomex cloth. Too bad I don't have any.

I HOPE I PASS!!!

You can expect a very peppy launch report tomorrow.

Stinger

This is it! The picture above is the actual rocket, but the paint scheme is just a concept. I edited the picture on the computer.

I've never actually done a flame job before, but it seemed like it would be a fun thing to try.

The rocket is almost done. I just have to fix the electronics bay (that I stupidly broke), and finish the paint job.

I'm hoping to get level 1 and level 2 certified on this rocket, all in one day. Level 1 will be on an I285 and level 2 will be on a J285. It should do about 5500 feet on the J!

I'm so excited!!!

What I've Been Doing Lately

Not rocketry per se, but I've been working a lot lately to earn money for rocketry. Very soon I will purchase all the supplies I need to build my certification rocket!

Here's a video I made (a commercial, actually) that shows a little of what I've been doing lately:



As for the rocket I'm planning to build, I'm trying to save money by building a rocket that could be used to certify on both level 1 and level 2. I also bought a 38mm 6-grain Cesaroni casing that can be used with both I and J motors, so I won't have to buy two casings for both certifications. It's a basic 3FNC (three fins and a nose cone) design. I'm taking the KISS approach for once in my life (keep it simple, stupid!).

EARLY tomorrow morning we are driving down to Iowa for my freshmen orientation at Iowa State. I have this sinking feeling that it is going to be very disorienting. But better than no orientation.

Yeah. Life's been busy.