First Build Need Help

[baucutt]

Currently designing a single stage rocket in spacecad and need some help transfering from design to flyable rocket.

Heres a Parts list for body,nose cone.

.Estes BNC-50KA -Nosecone
Estes BT-50 - Body


Need help on:

Recovery System - How it will work?
General Assembally.


And anything else a noobie would need to know for a scratch build.

Oh and the intering thing is I've never even lauched as rocket or anything, I decided I would trow myself in at the deep end

I've Also Attached the SpaceCad File for some extra information - You will need to change it to a .roc extension.

Regards Phil.

[barone]

Currently designing a single stage rocket in spacecad and need some help transfering from design to flyable rocket.

Heres a Parts list for body,nose cone.

.Estes BNC-50KA -Nosecone
Estes BT-50 - Body


Need help on:

Recovery System - How it will work?
General Assembally.


And anything else a noobie would need to know for a scratch build.

Oh and the intering thing is I've never even lauched as rocket or anything, I decided I would trow myself in at the deep end

I've Also Attached the SpaceCad File for some extra information - You will need to change it to a .roc extension.

Regards Phil.
Phil,

I admire your enthusiasm but if you've never built/flown one before, I think you really should consider a kit as your first attempt at model rocketry.

With that said, you can go to the Apogee website http://www.apogeerockets.com/ and click on the Educational link at the top of the page. That's a fast and dirty.

[CPMcGraw]

Currently designing a single stage rocket in spacecad and need some help transfering from design to flyable rocket.

Heres a Parts list for body,nose cone.

.Estes BNC-50KA -Nosecone
Estes BT-50 - Body


Need help on:

Recovery System - How it will work?
General Assembally.


And anything else a noobie would need to know for a scratch build.

Oh and the intering thing is I've never even lauched as rocket or anything, I decided I would trow myself in at the deep end

I've Also Attached the SpaceCad File for some extra information.

Regards Phil.

Phil,

Welcome to the asylum. Your straight jacket is waiting... :D

The SpaceCad file didn't attach. I don't know how many here on YORF use that program, though. Most of our plans presented here have been in the RockSim RKT format. I've never tried SpaceCad, so I have no experience with it.

Phil, I applaud your desire to get into designing your own models. It is enjoyable to see something you've created take to the skies. I would strongly urge you to take advantage of additional resources for design-oriented modelers, starting with The Book -- The Handbook Of Model Rocketry, Seventh Edition, by G. Harry Stine and Bill Stine (http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Model-Rocketry-NAR-Official/dp/0471472425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1194980501&sr=8-1). There are chapters on construction and stability that will be of importance to you especially. You're already trying out computer design programs, so go download the demo of RockSim from Apogee and open up a few of the designs we've shown on the forum. This will really help you get a feel for what goes into a model, component-wise.

Also, go down to the LHS and pick up some model kits. Build them. Those of us who design our own have built literally hundreds of kits, and this is how we came to know how to design our own. We've studied how successful (and not-so-successful) models are built, and we've adapted the best ideas for our own work. Knowledge comes at a price, that being the need to build regularly and learn from those efforts.

From the two components you've listed, I would recommend starting out by building the simple, very common, and very successful Estes Alpha. It's a great design and one you can learn quite a bit from. It has everything in it that you need to understand for your future designs. You mentioned the BNC instead of a PNC, meaning your nose cone is balsa and not plastic, right? Great! Download the earliest set of plans you can get for the Alpha and duplicate it, then go fly the stuffing out of it. Fly it until it comes apart. Then build another Alpha and do it again. You can get one early version of this plan here (http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/nostalgia/69estp50.html) at the Ninfinger archives.

For a second kit to learn from, go grab a SEMROC Astro-1 RetroRepro (http://www.semroc.com/Store/scripts/RocketKits.asp?SKU=KV-30)kit. These two designs will teach you everything important about the general design, layout, construction, and flight performance of a typical rocket. And it doesn't hurt to have these in your collection, either.

Have fun with the hobby, and fly often. Build as much as you can, as often as you can. Don't worry if it's your own design or someone else's. Right now, you're trying to gain an understanding of the hobby, and that's a project in itself. Designing comes with the knowledge, but you have to gain that knowledge first. Building kits is the only valuable way to do that. No one here can tell you enough about design for you to actually design. You first have to understand what we're talking about. That comes with building lots of kits.

And that's a good thing, if you think about it! :D

Again, welcome to the asylum!

[baucutt]

Cant get hold of an Estes Alpha, but how does the Estes Swift or Estes Laser Shape up for a beginner.


There is also the possibility of the Semroc My Boid,Semroc Aerobee-Hi, Semroc Swift, Estes Viking, Estes Wizard.

Or I might forget about Skill Level 1 and go straight to 2 and get an Estes Nova Payloader

[jadebox]

Cant get hold of an Estes Alpha, but how does the Estes Swift or Estes Laser Shape up for a beginner.


There is also the possibility of the Semroc My Boid,Semroc Aerobee-Hi, Semroc Swift, Estes Viking, Estes Wizard.

Or I might forget about Skill Level 1 and go straight to 2 and get an Estes Nova Payloader

The Nova Payloader is a Skill Level 1 kit. It would be a good choice. It uses balsa fins, so it's a better introduction to the skills you'll need to build more rockets later.

-- Roger

[CPMcGraw]

Cant get hold of an Estes Alpha, but how does the Estes Swift or Estes Laser Shape up for a beginner.


There is also the possibility of the Semroc My Boid,Semroc Aerobee-Hi, Semroc Swift, Estes Viking, Estes Wizard.

Or I might forget about Skill Level 1 and go straight to 2 and get an Estes Nova Payloader

The SEMROC Astro-1 is a modern reproduction of the old Centuri Astro-1, with laser-cut balsa fins and Kevlar shock chord mount. The one I have flies great on A8-3 and B4-4 motors.

You already have the nose cone and a body tube to build the Estes Alpha, but if you want the balsa nose cone (#BNC-50K) and a pre-cut body tube (#BT-50H) you can get both from SEMROC. You only need to cut a set of fins using the pattern on the plans, and install a motor mount. You can also get a complete motor mount from SEMROC, part #EM-79. This kit has the motor tube, two centering rings, the motor block, and the motor hook. Add one 24" length of Kevlar thread (also available from SEMROC, #SCK-24), some elastic chord (SEMROC #SC-24, or Wal-Mart in their crafts area), a SEMROC 12" parachute kit (#CPK-12), a length of launch lug (SEMROC #LL-17) and you've got a great modern clone of the K-25 version.

Download the early K-25 plans from JimZ. (http://www.dars.org/jimz/k-25.htm) The only change you'll make from the plans is in the attachment of the Kevlar thread to the motor mount.

(Instruction booklet mode ON)

1. Cut (or file) a small notch in the upper ring of the motor mount just deep enough to allow the thread to pass.

2. Tie one end of the Kevlar around the center of the mount. Push the loop up against the back edge of the ring and hit the knot with some thinned glue.

3. Run the thread down through the center of the mount first, from the top end, with the thread resting in the notch. Apply glue up inside the body tube, about 1" from the rear edge, all around the inside. Push the mount into the tube until the bottom edge of the motor tube is flush with the bottom edge of the body tube. Allow to dry.

4. Push the Kevlar thread back up through the mount and out the top end of the tube. Tie the free end to the elastic shock chord. Hit the knot with some thinned glue and allow to dry.

(Instruction booklet mode OFF)

The other kits you've mentioned are OK, but some of those are performance models which reach much higher altitudes than an Alpha or Astro-1. The Wizard can get lost quickly on a C6-7, and even on a B6-6 or B4-4. The Wizard has a listed altitude of 1600' on the C6, so we're talking about BVR - Beyond Visual Range. Launch-and-forget, because you'll never see it again.

Same with the Viking and Swift models. These are more "performance" than "beginner", even though they build quickly.

The Nova Payloader is a good model. I had one 20 years ago that finally got lost, and I now have a clone needing decals.

The SEMROC Aerobee-Hi is a great first-time scale model of a 1950's era sounding rocket. Keep the motor selection in the A8-3 and B4-4 range, and you'll be fine even in a modest-sized schoolyard.

[baucutt]

I havnt got any parts yet they were just provisional, I'll let you know how things go.

And just so yoiu know I'm UK based.

[CPMcGraw]

I havnt got any parts yet they were just provisional, I'll let you know how things go.

And just so yoiu know I'm UK based.

OK, understood. Our references to places like Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Hobbytown USA do tend to presume a familiarity with the 'neighborhood'...:D

That's the beauty of the internet, being able to share ideas with folks around the world. I'm sure there's someone in the UK doing balsa rocket components in the same manner that SEMROC and Balsa Machining Service (BMS) do over here. If you can't order them from the States, ask around in your local hobby shops, and you'll eventually find someone doing it as a 'sideline' business from their garage/basement/storage shed. Give them your support.

Be sure to visit the BARCLONE pages for some additional ideas, as well as the two "Scrounged" threads and the new "Designer's Studio" thread here on YORF. You'll get an eye full of designs like you'll never see from the large companies.