Deployment System

Discussions about rockets, construction materials, adhesives, nozzles, nosecones and fin design.
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Blenderite
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Deployment System

Post by Blenderite »

Hi All!
I finally have the time to launch rockets again. Yeah! The problem is that the last time iI flew my rocket, the MSP430 system I made got destroyed. So I came up with this system:

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q70 ... 362372.jpg

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q70 ... 59a4fd.jpg

The system was put together like this: I cut a bottle in half and put the bottom half upside down on top of the rocket. The top half serves as the cone. The parachute is packed and laid on the base. There is a metal plate in the folded parachute to add weight and is also attached to a drag chute. The cone is then placed on top. The drag chute should fall out as soon as the cone falls off at.apogee, which then pulls out the main chute.

Have any of you tried a system like this? Did it work? I appreciate any advice!
-Blenderite

Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Blenderite

"Get it right, then go for GREATNESS!"
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Deployment System

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

DogLover wrote:Hi All!
I finally have the time to launch rockets again. Yeah! The problem is that the last time iI flew my rocket, the MSP430 system I made got destroyed. So I came up with this system:

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q70 ... 362372.jpg

http://i1355.photobucket.com/albums/q70 ... 59a4fd.jpg

The system was put together like this: I cut a bottle in half and put the bottom half upside down on top of the rocket. The top half serves as the cone. The parachute is packed and laid on the base. There is a metal plate in the folded parachute to add weight and is also attached to a drag chute. The cone is then placed on top. The drag chute should fall out as soon as the cone falls off at.apogee, which then pulls out the main chute.

Have any of you tried a system like this? Did it work? I appreciate any advice!

-DogLover

I tried making a system with a drogue that would pull out a main because I was using a T-8 FTC and I was trying to avoid the weight and complexity of a spring loaded ejector. It worked some of the time. The times it failed were because the rocket would fall nose down a bit before the drogue chute would pop open and the string that was meant to pull out the main parachute would have to make a 180 degree bend over the top edge of the FTC and the turn caused enough friction that the main would not get pulled out. I found that a larger drogue would be able to pull the rocket back to nose up position and pull out the main, but the droge was about big enough that it needed an ejector spring to push it out consistently, so the purpose was defeated by then.
Spaceman Spiff
"What goes up, must come down"
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Blenderite
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Re: Deployment System

Post by Blenderite »

Interesting. I had not thought of it getting caught on the rocket before it could pull out the main. I would have probably used a spring too, but I can't figure out a simple way to keep it in place till apogee.

Maybe if I added some weights to the bottom of the rocket, it would fall nozzle first.and the drag might not get caught?

Thanks for the input!
-Blenderite

Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Blenderite

"Get it right, then go for GREATNESS!"
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Deployment System

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

DogLover wrote:Interesting. I had not thought of it getting caught on the rocket before it could pull out the main. I would have probably used a spring too, but I can't figure out a simple way to keep it in place till apogee.

Maybe if I added some weights to the bottom of the rocket, it would fall nozzle first.and the drag might not get caught?

Thanks for the input!
I never go around to trying this, but one of my ideas to make it work was to use the drogue parachute to pull the main parachute out of a door in the side of the rocket, instead of the top. I think that might be the simplest fix for it.
Spaceman Spiff
"What goes up, must come down"
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Blenderite
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Re: Deployment System

Post by Blenderite »

Spaceman Spiff wrote:I never go around to trying this, but one of my ideas to make it work was to use the drogue parachute to pull the main parachute out of a door in the side of the rocket, instead of the top. I think that might be the simplest fix for it.
I like this idea. I will try it tomorrow if I am able to launch. It looks like it might rain, so we may or may not be able to launch. Thanks for the idea!
-Blenderite

Check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Blenderite

"Get it right, then go for GREATNESS!"
kingpower
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Re: Deployment System

Post by kingpower »

Hi All!
I finally have the time to launch rockets again.




Gclub