I thought The Rocketry Forum was down for days! Then I checked the site on another computer, and suddenly there it was.
Turns out, TRF was having some issues, but they seem to have (mostly) resolved. I just needed to clear my cache and cookies, and I was back online.
The last two days, I've visited The Rocketry Forum online and seen only this:
Anybody know what's up?
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| Estes Vogel - Out Now! (Screen cap from Estes website) |
I'm a sucker for two-stage rockets, and Estes is sending me a big one - bigger than any I've ever flown!
The Estes Vogel is a new Pro Series II rocket, and has just been released for general sale TODAY. If you click on my affiliate link here, you can get it for 10% off.
This is a new large kit from Estes, with 29mm motor tubes. You can stage it directly using E or F black powder engines from Estes. You can use the upper stage alone, and it makes a suitable Level 1 certification rocket using composite motors (although you can't do a 2-stage flight for certification).
You could also modify the rocket to stage using composite motors instead of black powder, but that would require the use of electronics to ignite the upper stage motor.
My Vogel should be here soon, and I can't wait to build it and fly it with my new Estes Pro Series Rail Launch Pad.
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I just became an Estes affiliate! That means users can support my blog or YouTube channel by following my links to the Estes website when they want to purchase something, and it doesn't cost them any extra. Even better than that, Estes gave me a coupon code that will save you 10% on your order!
The coupon code is AWA10, or you can just click here: https://estesrockets.com//discount/AWA10 and a 10% should automatically be applied to your order at checkout.
I also got a surprise box of goodies I didn't order from Estes, and the video is now on my YouTube channel HERE.
The most common failures in model rocketry are recovery failures - your parachute either gets stuck in the rocket, or it comes out and doesn't fully open up. Sometimes chutes come out in a wad of plastic, and the rocket falls too quickly, resulting in broken fins, damaged body tubes, and wounded pride. Hopefully, that's the worst of it!
Instructions in Estes kits have you fold parachutes in the following manner:
1. Grab the middle of the canopy and pull the shroud lines tight.
2. Fold the top of the canopy down to the bottom edge.
3. Roll both sides of the canopy to the center.
4. Loosely wrap the shroud lines around the bundle.
This works well enough - probably most of the time - but I don't prefer it. The bundle is rather large, and I find that it doesn't pack well. Some times there's not enough room to get the nose cone on. Sometimes the chute gets stuck halfway in the tube when it should eject out and allow the rocket to drift slowly to Earth. Or sometimes the whole mess just becomes a wad of plastic, barely slowing the rocket.
There's a better way - a method of parachute folding which, since I started using it, I almost never have a parachute problem.
The key is to allow your chute to do the least amount of work to deploy.
Start by laying your chute face down on your work surface, with a flat side toward you.
Fold the top down to the bottom edge, and line everything up nicely.
When I teach kids to fold chutes, I tell them "Look - it kind of looks like Batman!" I find giving them a story helps them remember the steps. "And what happens when Batman sees the Joker? He gets angry and crosses his arms!"
Fold one of the top corners down and across to the opposite bottom corner.
Now fold the other top corner down to the other bottom corner.
You now have a nice triangle. Fold that triangle in half to make a smaller triangle.
Now all your shroud lines are together, and everything is nice and neat.
Gather up your shroud lines and lay them over the triangle, then double them back.
Next, fold the triangle into an even skinnier triangle, with the shroud lines tucked inside.
Fold the top third down, and then fold that section down.
Finally, roll the whole thing up nice and tight.
This makes a nice, small bundle, and with the shroud lines tucked inside like that, all the chute has to do is unfold a little and everything will come out. There's no tangling, no bunching, no unrolling - it's all very easy for the parachute.
To see this folding method in video form, as well as how to attach parachutes to your rocket, and the easiest way to cut a spill hole, check out my latest YouTube video, HERE.
The video is available to watch on my YouTube channel (click here).
Last Sunday night's stream designing a high-altitude, two stage model rocket is also available (click here). It went well for the most part, with just a few scene change hiccups. Despite an error message from YouTube that the stream wasn't working properly, everything was fine, with just a bit of lag in a couple tiny spots - barely noticeable.
To boot, I finally finished my Estes V-2. The mask was difficult, so I'm only showing you the good side for now!
I'll have to do a swing test, as I trimmed the fins closer to scale for the V-2 missile, and added some scale details (the chain drives on the fins).
It's not perfect, but it's done. I plan to film the swing test for the YouTube channel.
The rocket I came up with wasn't much to look at, but it was a first time live stream.
It was good enough, and I was just happy the stream didn't crash. Still, there's a lot of potential for the YouTube channel with live streaming.
So I have figured out how to fix the scene issue (adding a second monitor), and this Sunday I have a new stream coming for which I'll be much better prepared. 8:30pm EDT I'll be designing a high-altitude two-stage model rocket from scratch. Feel free to join!
