Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

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thampson
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Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by thampson »

Hello all,

we had a quick test day this week to test out the new nosecone PPNC (Ping Pong Nose Cone) and side parachute deploy. We used a real tomy timer this time from a tomy wind up train. It was quite windy and getting cold but we managed 2 launches.

The first was a success with the chute deploying just before the ground. We had a leak in the Robinson coupling at 70psi, we didn't get to give it a proper test after the rebuild, so we launched at 70pis instead of 100psi.

With the weather closing in we did a quick re tightening of the bottle cap on the Robinson coupling and tried it again, unfortunately we had a leak again at 75psi so we launched anyway. This launch failed to deploy the parachute, probably due to the lower pressure and the rocket weather cocking into the wind it didnt get time to get it out. Damage was minor and we have already rebuilt the nosecone.

Overall we were happy that we got the chute to come out. There is a writeup and some videos on our website.

We are looking forward to next weekend to see if we can get the chute to deploy at apogee with a 100psi launch. If we can get the side deploy to be more reliable we will look to fly an altimeter and camera soon :)

cya
-todd-
HHWRSA
Hornsby Heights Water Rocket Space Agency
http://wrocket.hampson.net.au
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

thampson wrote:Hello all,

we had a quick test day this week to test out the new nosecone PPNC (Ping Pong Nose Cone) and side parachute deploy. We used a real tomy timer this time from a tomy wind up train. It was quite windy and getting cold but we managed 2 launches.

The first was a success with the chute deploying just before the ground. We had a leak in the Robinson coupling at 70psi, we didn't get to give it a proper test after the rebuild, so we launched at 70pis instead of 100psi.

With the weather closing in we did a quick re tightening of the bottle cap on the Robinson coupling and tried it again, unfortunately we had a leak again at 75psi so we launched anyway. This launch failed to deploy the parachute, probably due to the lower pressure and the rocket weather cocking into the wind it didnt get time to get it out. Damage was minor and we have already rebuilt the nosecone.

Good to hear you had some success and no serious damage in the failures. That's too bad the deploy is not working 100% yet. Do you have any ideas why it did not work? Was the timing too short because it turned into the wind, or was the air speed causing it to fail?

Overall we were happy that we got the chute to come out. There is a writeup and some videos on our website.

We are looking forward to next weekend to see if we can get the chute to deploy at apogee with a 100psi launch. If we can get the side deploy to be more reliable we will look to fly an altimeter and camera soon :)

cya
-todd-
Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Cloud Dancers »

thampson wrote:Hello all,

we had a quick test day this week to test out the new nosecone PPNC (Ping Pong Nose Cone) and side parachute deploy. We used a real tomy timer this time from a tomy wind up train. It was quite windy and getting cold but we managed 2 launches.

The first was a success with the chute deploying just before the ground. We had a leak in the Robinson coupling at 70psi, we didn't get to give it a proper test after the rebuild, so we launched at 70pis instead of 100psi.

With the weather closing in we did a quick re tightening of the bottle cap on the Robinson coupling and tried it again, unfortunately we had a leak again at 75psi so we launched anyway. This launch failed to deploy the parachute, probably due to the lower pressure and the rocket weather cocking into the wind it didnt get time to get it out. Damage was minor and we have already rebuilt the nosecone.

Overall we were happy that we got the chute to come out. There is a writeup and some videos on our website.

We are looking forward to next weekend to see if we can get the chute to deploy at apogee with a 100psi launch. If we can get the side deploy to be more reliable we will look to fly an altimeter and camera soon :)

cya
-todd-
Hey Todd,

Side deploys can be tricky. You need to have several things all work together at once. First the triggering mechanism needs to open the door at the right time and then the chute needs to be pushed or pulled out. Would adding a tiny parachute that could come out easier assist in pulling the main chute out? I've seen this with pyro rockets before.

Look forward to see your onboard videos. It is really interesting to see views from all over the world posted here!
The Cloud Dancers
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Cloud Dancers »

Hey Spaceman,

Something happened to your post and it is blank.
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Bonami
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Bonami »

Cloud Dancers wrote:Hey Spaceman,

Something happened to your post and it is blank.
It looks to be that he put his remark inside the quote if you closely look at the quotation.
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thampson
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by thampson »

thanks for the reply's guys. To answer spacemans question ..

My guess is that the rocket with the wind and low pressure launch just didnt give it enough time to deploy properly. I have rebuilt it and tested it again and it works every time. I guess that if its moving through the air fast this may cause things to behave differently .. Maybe I should use Burt Rutans trick and go and test it in my car ... Im sure if I drive down the freeway with the window all the way down (rocket still inside though) it may be able to emulate the conditions as the rocket is falling back to earth after apogee ... hmmm ...

to answer cloud dancers question ..

I have a plate that pushes the parachute out .. which seems to work ok .. again when I have tested it on the ground ... I checked the video of the failed deploy frame by frame and I cant see the door opening .. so Im not sure in this instance if the drogue chute would have helped .. nice idea though ... For this weekends launch we should get a 100psi launch so it will have plenty of time to deploy ... I will just test as much as I can on the ground then send it up and see how it goes :)
HHWRSA
Hornsby Heights Water Rocket Space Agency
http://wrocket.hampson.net.au
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Bonami wrote:
Cloud Dancers wrote:Hey Spaceman,

Something happened to your post and it is blank.
It looks to be that he put his remark inside the quote if you closely look at the quotation.
That's what I did. Sorry.
Spaceman Spiff
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Spaceman Spiff
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by Spaceman Spiff »

Todd,

I found that the foam rubber they ship computer parts in makes a great lightweight "spring" that can push a parachute out a side deploy very nicely. It doubles as a "crush zone" in a crash, so it saves weight by serving 2 functions. Maybe you just need a more forceful spring to get the chute out?
Spaceman Spiff
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thampson
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Re: Launch Day 6 - HHWRSA

Post by thampson »

thanks spaceman ... good suggestion, I will look into this :)

-todd-
HHWRSA
Hornsby Heights Water Rocket Space Agency
http://wrocket.hampson.net.au