Testing The Waters

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Sartori42 - 22 Mar 2009 01:28 GMT

I'm new (well... reborn) to rocketry. I'm starting with a couple
Estes rockets with my son.

Let's see if I can get an answer to a question.....

Why do we tether the nose cone to the rocket body? It seems to me
that there's collisions between the rocket body and the nose cone on
the way down. Why not just have a separate recovery system for each
piece? Maybe a streamer for the nose cone and a parachute for the
main rocket body?

Anybody home?

Thanks.

Steven

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Ed Rowe - 22 Mar 2009 01:42 GMT

That would work fine but usually folks tend to keep all the parts together
on smaller rockets to facilate recovery. Just use long shock cords.
-Ed

> I'm new (well... reborn) to rocketry. I'm starting with a couple
> Estes rockets with my son.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Steven

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Sartori42 - 22 Mar 2009 01:58 GMT

Any preference or reason for attaching the parachute directly to the
nosecone or to a point along the shock cord?

Also, if not amny folks hang out here, in what I assumed was the
"central location" for this obsession (I mean hobby), where can
someone like me get advice on model rocketry? I've heard web forums
mentioned?

Cheers.

> That would work fine but usually folks tend to keep all the parts together
> on smaller rockets to facilate recovery. Just use long shock cords.
> -Ed

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Joe Pfeiffer - 22 Mar 2009 03:49 GMT

> Any preference or reason for attaching the parachute directly to the
> nosecone or to a point along the shock cord?

The reason to attach it directly to the nose cone is precisely to keep
the nose cone and body tube from colliding. If the nose cone is too
heavy then you don't want it connected directly to the nose cone, but
you do want to be much closer to the nose cone than the body tube.

(or, alternatively, put the nose cone between the parachute and the
body tube).

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Jeffrey Hallett - 23 Mar 2009 02:32 GMT

Regarding rocketry forums;

www.rocketryforum.com
www.rocketryplanet.com/forums/

I'm sure there are others.
-Jeff-

Any preference or reason for attaching the parachute directly to the
nosecone or to a point along the shock cord?

Also, if not amny folks hang out here, in what I assumed was the
"central location" for this obsession (I mean hobby), where can
someone like me get advice on model rocketry? I've heard web forums
mentioned?

Cheers.

On Mar 21, 7:42 pm, "Ed Rowe" <edrow...@earthlink.net> wrote:

> That would work fine but usually folks tend to keep all the parts together
> on smaller rockets to facilate recovery. Just use long shock cords.
> -Ed

Reply to this Message

Joe Pfeiffer - 22 Mar 2009 03:47 GMT

> Why do we tether the nose cone to the rocket body? It seems to me
> that there's collisions between the rocket body and the nose cone on
> the way down. Why not just have a separate recovery system for each
> piece? Maybe a streamer for the nose cone and a parachute for the
> main rocket body?

If the body tube is big enough to fit both parachutes (or a chute and
a streamer), it's done frequently and works just fine. The only
downside is you've got to find both pieces.

Another way to avoid the nose cone and body tube colliding, with a
single chute, is to put the parachute much closer to the nose cone end
of the shock cord than to the body end.

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Michael Jerauld - 22 Mar 2009 04:28 GMT

Steve,

I'd say mostly to keep from losing the separate pieces. My solution
has always been a longer shock cord of sewing elastic and the
proper placement of the parachute along it's length. Positioned
so that the nose can't hit the body when dangling from the parachute.

Nothing at all wrong with your suggestion either - just more things
to track and recover.

Mike Jerauld (Sparky7.2)
NAR #78750, L2

> I'm new (well... reborn) to rocketry. I'm starting with a couple
> Estes rockets with my son.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Steven

Reply to this Message

Model Forum / General / Rockets / March 2009

Testing The Waters