The Rocketry Show

The Rocketry Show gang try a slightly new format for the workshop shows.  We are now inviting fellow rocketeers to the workshop to teach us some of their tips and tricks, and to just talk rockets.

Our first guest is Andrew Kleinhenz, friend to both CG and Gheem, Andrew taught us many of the tricks we have built our rocketry tricks around.   He with us, answers these questions sent to us from listeners of the show!

Shear Pin Questions:

• How do you figure out how many pins you need?
• Any issues with the LOC-high power type cardboard tubing and small size 2-56 or 4-40 plastic screws for shear pins?
• Do you use any reinforcement on the cardboard airframe and components?
• What size do you recommend? Mid Power, to High Power
  • Cardboard and Fiber Glass recommendations for shear pins
  
  
• Where to place them? 
• Any math equations or an online calculator?
• Do you test those with ejection charges first?

Marco Polo Tracker

• What actually is that type of tracker?
• Approximate cost?
• Where do you buy it?
• Difficulty of use?
• What is the range of the unit?  (How far away can your rocket be from you and still get data)?
• Advantages of this and disadvantages vs others on the market

Gheem and Andrew on igniters.

• We had some folks today launching some upgraded BT-55 Goblins today… they used those igniters that came with the package…
• What would the Rocketry show gang have used?

The entire Rocketry Show team gather for Episode 100 to look back on some of their fond memories, and talk about their projects, and more!

We are pleased to have Cris Erving, founder of Eggtimer Rocketry  with us on this episode!

We discus the Eggtimer products, and also give lots of tips and tricks to help you figure out how to solder one together!

Some pointers:

1. ) If you’re a beginner, use a 20 watt soldering pencil for best results.  This one from Weller is a nice one:

Fancy temperature controlled irons are nice, but not if you are a soldering newbie!  the wrong temperature settings will either not work well, or can destroy the electronic components you are trying to solder.

2.) Practice soldering things together first.  Cris says go ahead, and use the eggtimer kit for practice.  If that thought makes you nervous, then get one of these surface mount soldering practice kits.

IMPORTANT:  We’d suggest reading your excellent Eggtimer Rocketry kit manual all the way through to get a feel for what you are practicing for!!

3.) To ensure success, use as little solder as possible!  The bigger the blob, the more likely it will flow to another pin, and short out your connections!

4.) Do not overheat.  Some parts can be damaged by having the soldering tip touching them for longer than 30 seconds.  In fact, this is a nice simple video that is pretty good:

Good luck!!

Welcome to episode 98 (TRS-6.98) of the rocketry show!

John Thompson joins us to talk about the NAR Level 2 certification changes that are in effect as of November 2020

The NAR and the Board of Trustees have been working diligently to support the update of the NAR level 2 testing.  It has not been updated since 2012 and quite a lot has changed for the better in the ever-expanding hobby. - The new 2020 Level 2 Written Exam Study Guide will be available for download from the High-Power Rocketry page on the NAR website starting October 1, 2020. - The 2020 Level 2 Written Exam Packets for Sections and Certification Teams will be available starting October 15, 2020. Information on obtaining the new packets will be made available before that date. - The new 2020 Level 2 Written Exam use will start on November 1, 2020. - Due to the new exam format, a new HPR Certification Application will also be available for download from the High-Power Rocketry page on the NAR website. The new application will also be included with the new exam packets. - The 2012 & 2017 versions of the Level 2 Written Exam will be valid/accepted if taken on or before October 31, 2020. After that, only the 2020 version will be valid/accepted. - A member failing the HPR Level 2 exam may now retake another version immediately. If the member fails a second exam, the member must wait a minimum of seven (7) days to attempt the exam again. - The Level 2 written exam administrator/proctor must now be minimum Level 1 certified.

Who can give certifications?

1. The certification team consists of two individuals who are a minimum of 18 years old and are members in good standing of the NAR. The certification team members must be unrelated to the applicant. Members of Tripoli, unless they are also members of the NAR, cannot participate on a certification team. 2. At least one of the team members must be already certified to a level equal to the certification level being attempted, e.g., a team member must be certified at Level 1 to judge another individual’s Level 1 certification attempt. 3. Level 1 certifications may be administered by a single NAR Level 2 certified individual; the two certified individuals requirement is waived in this case. 4. Certification attempts must be witnessed in person by the certification team. Video recordings of a certification flight are not acceptable.

We also take a couple Listener Questions - What should I do to prepare for a Level 1 certification attempt? - What attributes should a field or piece of property have for rocketry considerations? CG Fills us in on the results of his DEMO-3 flight

Gheem finds a neat product that helped him with his rattle can paint project

The rocketry Show celebrates 6 years of service

Some hints on the upcoming Episode #100

In this episode, CG talks about how his electronics developments have come along  Specifically, what he learned from the first test flight of Mr. Bean (DEMO-1 mission), and the successful

second launch of Mr. Bean (DEMO-2), where his code & flight computer successfully controlled a flight event!  His journey to his Level 2 certification is under way!  Read the details here.

 CD and Gheem @ “Mission Control”

Jesse’s Level 3 project starts to take shape! 

He gives us some details, though he’s a bit secretive on the details right now!

 Another view of Jesse’s L3 Rocket  Jesse’s tube glassing work on his L3 rocket project