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Mephisto
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Mephisto was my
post-LDRS XX project. It was built from scrap parts laying around,
but can take a serious wallop. Although short and stubby, this
rocket rocks my world with serious motors like the I435 and J450.
It is also a test bed for various things, such as dual stage deployment,
2 staging, and other projects. Read on to see how I built this
rocket to take a beating. |
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| Flight
Log |
Flight
Details |
Construction
and Modifications |
RockSim
File |
Flight Log
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Flight #
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Motor
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Electronics
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Performance
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Comments
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1 |
H124FJ-10 |
N/A |
N/A |
Awesome first flight. No damage. |
Flight #1
As my last flight of the day, I decided to pull Mephisto out and
stuff her with an H124 that I had. Since this was a single use, I
decided to forego the Kaplow Klips and instead just use the good ole
masking tape retention method. Out to the pad with a Daveyfire
from Sue McMurray, a quick 5 count, and she was outta here. The
rocket moved much faster than I expected, and ejection was right on
time. It was a perfect first flight. I can't wait to try
this with a J motor! |
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Design and Construction
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Construction
This rocket was built to
last. I started with a cardboard tube with .093 walls. On
top of this I added 2 wraps of 6 oz. fiberglass and a 2 oz. veil.
After filling the weave, I cut fin slots. The fins are 1/8"
birch plywood. To solve delamination problems, I placed a strip of
fiberglass over the leading edges. These were epoxied and glassed
into place between 3 1/4" plywood centering rings to assure they
weren't going anywhere. I added a nice sized u-bolt to the top
ring to facilitate shock cord attachment. 1/8" tubular Kevlar
was looped through the u-bolt and terminated just below the tube lip to
prevent zippers. 20 feet of 9/16" tubular nylon was attached
to this, along with a Rocketman R3C. The Nose Cone is a standard
LOC unit weighted with 5 oz. of lead and filled with expanding
foam. The stock shock cord attachment was thrown out in favor of a
nylon strap running through the base. Nylon rail guides and Kaplow
Klips finish it off.
Conclusion
This is a sweet
flier. It's a fun trick to pull out of my back pocket on the
launch range stuffed with an I435T. The RSOs always give me weird
looks. But what the heck, it's a fun rocket that is very
flexible. In the works are a sustainer for it, as well as a dual
deployment module.
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