HHWRSA

Progress has been slow this last 2 weeks, or maybe the weeks just went past a lot quicker than usual

We have been working on building 3 wrockets to take to our next launch day. A one bottle wrocket a 2 bottle wrocket and a 3 bottle wrocket. I want all the wrocket to have at least 1 parachute. The single bottle will have a main chute module, the 2 bottle will have a main chute module as well as a drogue chute module and the three bottle will have a main chute module as well as a drogue chute module. Hopefully this way we can get some more testing done on the dual chute setup.

PL Glued Chute Structures
The additional wrockets have meant building additional modules which is in progress. These new corrugated cardboard structures have all been glued with PL Premium instead of my usual metal pins method.

I haven’t put the elastic bands on them yet for the pressure plate, but the sides seem fairly strong. Here are some pics

My PL gluing skills need a bit of work but the second one was better than the first one.
Here is a drogue chute module structure

Fin Fix
After the last launch day we had a fin come loose. I decided to remove the metal pins and glue the fins to the RFA. These seem very solid now. Ready to fly again.

The side attachments as well as the spine of the fin itself is glued to the bottle.

New Timer Mounting
As we have a new method of mounting the Tomy timers, we had to order some more, 5 arrived today .. so these will be put to good use in the chute modules with both the timer and the mount itself being used. The rest unfortunately, goes in the bin

We are working to improve the reliability of the tomy timer. One of the things we are trying to improve is the way its mounted in the parachute modules. The back of the timer has lots of holes in it, and getting even the smallest bit of glue on one of these slows up or completely stops the timer. To correct it we have to remove it and jab at the small holes with a needle to free the glue up to get it moving again.

Another downside of putting glue on the back of the timer is that you can only use a little bit in the places where there are no small holes, and it doesn’t take much to break off from the mounting on a crash or heavy landing.

One method we are looking at is using the timer mount that comes with the toy itself. This in effect is the base of the toy, but it provides a clip mechanism and is molded to keep the timer in the right place. Here is a pic with just the top of the toy removed.

Here is the piece with the tomy timer removed

The idea is to mount this timer holder to the parachute module structure instead of the actual timer, then the timer sits quite sturdily inside the holder and clips in with the two clips that wrap around it.

To get a good attachment the little side wings are removed with a sharp knife (carefully) and sanded smooth. This provides the entire surface area of the edge of the holder to be stuck to the structure. Here is the side after being sanded

Here is the tomy timer with the wheels removed and the winder attached placed in the holder.

Once I have it mounted in the parachute module I will add some pics here

Main Parachute Module
After the last crash, we decided to split the main parachute module and the PPNC Nosecone.

We used the same design as the drogue parachute module for the main module by shrinking the bottom section of a 1.25L bottle and cutting the top off. The existing nosecone structure and door panel were used. The tomy timer was stuck on top of 3 layers of corrugated plastic to enable the handle section to protrude past the wall of the rocket.

This module weighed in at 54 grams minus the parachute. Click here for other module weights.

Full Size Dummy Nosecone
The dummy nose cone was built from a new bottle. This one is a full height dummy nosecone. A small section was cu tout of the bottom so as not to interfere with the door of the main parachute module. We also decided to fly it without the bubblewrap to see how it would fair in a crash.

This module weighed in at 23 grams . Click here for other module weights.