Looking for building tips

bobkrech wrote:

Part of the dicipline of certification is knowing when not to launch.

Very true! I imagine it also includes designing and building your rocket appropriately for the typical field and conditions in which it will be used.

From the feedback here and my own observations I tend to think a design for Amesbury should either be a low altitude flyer or have a dual deploy recovery.

Now I just need to figure out how to do that within the limits of the allowance my wife lets me have for hobbies.

Thanks,
Dean

Tube fins add a lot of drag.

A common set up for tube fins is 6x rings of a rocket\'s body tube. This gives each tube 3 points of attachment (1 to rocket body and 2 to adjacent tube fins).

This set up will likely reduce a rocket\'s altitude by about 1/3 compared to classic straight fins. A rocket that was going to 1500 ft will now fly closer to 1000 ft.

Key to getting them straight is to glue pairs of the fins together first on a flat surface. Then they self align when mounted to the rocket.

Tube fins can be added to a rocket that already has straight fins in a variety of arrangements.

Adding external pods to the rocket body or fins also adds a lot of drag and looks very cool.

Advantages of adding drag instead of weight to reduce altitude, rocket:
1) is still fast off the rod for a given engine
2) does not need a larger chute
3) looks really cool