High Power Rocket Launch with Drogue Streamers/ Camcorders

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Author:jmomenee
Published:2013-01-20 17:51:53

Launched at the monthly TTRA launch at the Varn ranch in Plant City, FL. I reconstructed my CINEMA 4.5 rocket to have a 39" long camcorder section with its own altimeter and main chute. Used a 70" and a 40" streamer on both the camcorder section and the rocket section instead of the usual drogue chute. At apogee, the two rocket parts separated and descended separately. Camcorder section weighed about 3 pounds, andthe rocket section weighed about 4 pounds. Rocket reached an altitude of 1668 feet and the parts separated and descended as planned. Because the camcorder section had a homemade tail cone and was quite aerodynamic, it descended under streamers at a much faster rate- about 92fps. The rocket portion, because of the fins catching the air during descent, was falling at the rate of about 55fps, even though both rocket sections had exactly the same sized streamers. The main chutes ejected via the altimeter on each section, and both landed safely. After the camcorder section touched down and was laying on its side, that camcorder luckily picked up the rocket section landing in the distance about 10 seconds later. Conclusion- streamers can sometimes be used instead of a drogue chute for high power rockets. Just make sure that you've sized the streamers correctly and the rocket itself should create some drag during descent (the fins seem to accomplish this quite nicely), coupled with the rocket's center of gravity not forcing it to become a "lawn dart".

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