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-   -   Launch Date: September 15th, 2022 (http://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=20986)

Blastfromthepast 09-17-2022 09:51 PM

Launch Date: September 15th, 2022
 
5 Attachment(s)
A stellar day at Dove Valley Park in Centennial Colorado, as five area rocketeers poke some holes in the sky!
Here are a few pics to chew on.
The full report can be found here:
https://castlerocketeer.blogspot.co...-15th-2022.html

tbzep 09-18-2022 03:05 PM

Skeeter Eater....a contender for the stubbiest payloader ever...or is that a mirror image mylar decal strip instead of a clear section! My eyes and the camera are playing tricks on me. :D

Blastfromthepast 09-18-2022 05:48 PM

That's a mylar decal !

gdjsky01 09-18-2022 06:51 PM

Excellent report! Were all the clusters using MJG BP starters? Can you tell me what a 'cluster controller' is? And do you happen to know how the 7 motor cluster was wired?

I just got some of the MJG BP starters specifically to use in clustering.

Were the gap staged flights vented?
Well that ringed Alpha ruined it for me. I was gonna build one... but now someone else has. :)
Thanks again for a great report!

Blastfromthepast 09-19-2022 07:37 AM

Hi, Jeff,
Thanks,
I can answer a few of your questions.
Jim Gazur was the only one who used the MJG starters. The preflight photo shows that the leads for all 7 motors were twisted together into two harnesses, one for each battery pole.

My Canopus-2 model (red and yellow) used standard Estes starters. By the way, that model is my own design and was published in a 1987 issue of The Model Rocketeer magazine.

The launch controller built by Brock Wood uses a relay system connected to a standard controller. The relay activates a secondary system that consists of a small 12v motorcycle wet cel running through a short section of wire terminated with a four-lead-set clip whip.

As for the gap staging, my Cherokee/Icarus has three vent holes punched in the front of the booster tube. They are in the black section and might not be visible in the photos.

I'm not certain how Jim's upscale modified Alpha is vented, but I suspect the presence of vent holes in the booster motor centering rings

ghrocketman 09-19-2022 10:08 PM

It's easy to get reliable cluster ignition up to 4 motors with just standard Estes "Solar" igniters as long as you are using a good 12v wet or gel cell of the size typically used for an R/C glow engine starter. More than that reliably needs a small tractor battery.
I have never needed any special electric matches.

gdjsky01 09-21-2022 05:27 PM

Hi... ghrocketman What find harder, is I have to twist those little wires together.

For 2 motors its easy of course! For 3 or more, while quite doable, I find using something like an MJG match easier to get everything wired up. Yes I could solder leads on the Estes starters, again that is another step.

I have never used clip whips. I support they might make things easier.


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