Jim Livingston and Mark Lloyd have agreed to be my TAP reviewers for this project. I met Jim at Whitakers, NC while making a successful Level 2 attempt, and I have flown with him several times since then. I have flown with mark now several times and both him and Jim have seen the project up close and personal at Spring Weld. At this time my Level 3 attempt will be made at Whitakers, NC on June, 17 2000. Whitakers, NC has well over 1000 sq. acres of Cow pasture with surrounding fields of low crop land of equal size. Altitude attempt will be one mile.
| This is an online version of the Tripoli Pre-flight Review Checklist Which is required before the launch of this Level 3 project. The Data Capture form is included in the web site and Photos of construction process will also be documented. All material will be printed out and submitted to the TAP members reviewing this project. |
| The Airframe will be constructed out of Loc/Precision 7.67 tubing and is
in fact their Bruiser EXP 3" kit with modifications to make it a level 3 Project. It
will reinforced on the inside by using Concrete tubing acting as a double wall with
a total thickness of 1/2 inch, where ever the tubing is not reinforced by
other means such as a motor mount and electronics bays, and nose cone. The fins are made
of G-10 fiberglass and are attached to the motor mount using West Systems Epoxy and 9 oz
fiberglass tape . The fins and Motor Mount, and description of construction can be viewed
on the Motor Mount page. All adhesive used on this project
are from the West Systems Product line and the filler used is 406 Cellulose and 404 high
density. The Nose cone is Loc/Precision Plastic molded nose cone. This is a single stage
rocket, no clustering is involved in the project. Safety is an extremely important part of airframe construction. A shred could cause property and bodily damage to all with in the launch area. This rocker is being built with a design and materials proven in the High power rocket community. |
| The recovery system will comprised of U-bolts, and quick
links with 1100lb rating. The U-bolts will be installed into 1/2" Birch
bulkheads. The Rocket will split into three separate pieces during the decent and all
sections will be attached by a shock cord consisting of 1" Tubular Nylon. All ends of
the shock cord will be attached directly to the bulkhead ubolts by Quick link with the
exception of the Booster section connection. A Steel cable will be installed into the
booster section attaching to the top bulkhead plate ubolts in the motor mount. The cable
will run up the booster section to just below top of the booster section where a loop will
be made in the cable. A quick link will then be attached to the loop in the end of the
steel cable. The drogue chute will consist of a 24 " chute made by Rocketman. The
main chute will consist of a R14 Rocketman chute . Safety is an extremely important part of a recovery system. A failure in the recovery system could cause property and bodily damage to all with in the launch area. The Recovery system is using tested and rated parts and each bulkhead is bolted to the rocket using steel rods. |
| The electronics will consist of dual RRC2 Missile Works Altimeters. I
have used this altimeter on many flights with flawless operation. These altimeters are
dual deployment altimeters and will deploy the drogue chute at apogee and the main chute
at a selected altitude(800 ft). Each altimeter will have its own power source (9 volt
battery). Both Altimeters will be mounted on a piece of G-10 fiberglass in the electronics bay. The board will slide into
the electronics bay on two of the steel rods used for support and bolted in to
place. The switches will be two key switches that snap into the "on Position"
All switches will be activated from the outside of the rocket. Continuity of
ejection charges will be indicated by three audible beeps from each altimeter. Each altimeter will have its own Electric match (Davey Fire 28F) going to a single charge at each stage of the deployment. I believe that if the charges used to separate the rocket sections are properly tested on the ground then there should not be a need for a secondary charge at each stage of the deployment. Redundant charges could lead to the destruction of the rocket or recovery systems. If you have two separate altimeters with there own power source then one of those altimeters will light a single charge. If they don't then a secondary charge really isn't necessary. Safety is an extremely important part of a electronics system. I consider this the most important part of the rocket as far as safety is concerned. I don't believe that any other possible failure could be as disastrous and cause the greatest injury then the failure of the electronics system which could result in a rocket returning to earth ballistic. |
| The Motor used to launch this project will be a Kosdon M1130 which is a
Tripoli Certified. A B&K igniter will be used to ignite the motor. This Motor is a pre manufactured motor made by a well know motor manufacture. It has a long track record for being a reliable and safe motor. The possible failure would come from incorrect assembly procedure which would result in a cato. If the safety distances set by Tripoli are observed and a cato does occur then injury or damage to others should not be a problem. |
| The Rocket will be launched using a rail 12 feet long on a heavy duty launch pad. It will be launched straight up and will need no other launch support. The rocket will weight approx. 46 lb full loaded. |
| The basic rocket design is that of a Loc Bruiser EXP 3" kit with modifications made to it to reinforce the structure to handle an "M" motor. Length was added to add weight and stability to the rocket, and to keep altitude down to make it more manageable for launch site. Rocket simulation was done with Wrasp. |
| In Accordance with the TAP Pre-Flight Review, the following pre-flight
checklist has been prepared. 1. Assemble Electronics bay, installing new batteries in
the altimeters and testing the altimeters. |
Pre-Flight Review Level 3 Data Capture From The Motor Mount Home
The Booster Section The Electronics Bay and Payload Section Recovery System
Copyright © 1999-2000 Stephen Krall, all rights reserved.
Website, HTML code & graphic design by Stephen Krall.
Last Revised 01/19/2006