Canon EOS 5D Mark II
ƒ/3.5
50 mm
1/640
640

She is finally ready to fly. I think the fins are pretty bulletproof with the various epoxies and carbon-fiber overlap from fin tip-to-tip.

In the other hand is a new CTI motor case for the N1100 I plan to launch this weekend at BALLS. Assembling the off-center grains will take a bit of work for this one. It all goes well, it will burn for a long 12.5 seconds, taking the rocket supersonic as it climbs a vertical 5 miles.

The tubes look similar in size as the rocket is minimum diameter, which is essential for high-altitude performance.

I will be testing a new avionics package from G-Wiz. The flight computers, GPS and radio are integrated so that the setup of the rocket avionics, confirmation of GPS-lock, and real-time GPS downlink all connect to the Mac at the flight line. So no listening for beeps and chirps at the pad. And my son is excited to manage the base station where we’ll see the rocket as it flies overlaid on the satellite imagery of the launch area. And if all goes well, finding the rocket should be a breeze as we’ll have its GPS coordinates.

All-carbon rocket with aluminum tip on the Von Karman nose. Lettering from Stickershock23.

And I may try to strap on a small video-cam that will rip off during the climb and return by its own small chute.

20 responses to “All-carbon Mongoose 98”

  1. 12.5 secs. Wow that’s long. What speed do you think it will reach?

  2. and mongoose 98 means?

  3. 98mm wide Mongoose. Todd: 1,100 MPH (some variation depending on the nose I fly):
    Mongoose 98 Rocksim

  4. Looks sweet! Should be a fun weekend. Look forward to seeing you postings next week. Glad I’m not flying overhead this weekend!

  5. "And I may try to strap on a small video-cam that will rip off during the climb and return by its own small chute."

    Sounds like famous last words to me, especially on the first flight of a brand new ship. Is there a chance it could hit a fin on the way off?

    BALLS looks like a great time. Good luck!

  6. Just read up on grain geometry. Nifty way to get a longer burn. Since your rocket is so light did you have to do anything special for the off center CG?

  7. I added bit of weight in the tip of the nose (a handful of nails embedded in epoxy and held up with 2-part expanding foam). The extra nose weight only seemed like it was needed for the largest motors…

  8. It’s very beautiful and I know nothing of rocketry. It’s art!

  9. wow, cool! how did you get the carbon overlay so smooth? did you vacuumbag it, and how did that work around those fairly skinny fins?

  10. One of these days I’m going to have to pack up the camera gear and get out your way to see one of these major events! Bring back some good video!

  11. come to Black Rock, NV this weekend…. Last big launch of the year…

    obskura: vacuum bagging is too much work for me. I used gravity and did the layup in three steps, with the working section pointing up each time. Kept a receptacle for excess laminating resin nearby (securing the nose weight in the nose cone – it was my "epoxy trash can" during the layup work).

  12. The shallow, slightly trapezoidal rugosities of the carbon fiber cloth, apparent e.g. on your rocket’s fins, seem quite cutting-edge 😉

  13. If it works for dolphins and golf balls, it works for me… =)

  14. Error: shorts too high 🙂

  15. Just duct-tape that video thang on thar… the one taped to the V2 made it 2 feet into the playa as I recall during the excavation…er…recovery proceedure.

  16. Hey, that G-Wiz set up sounds great–let us know how it works. I’d like to get that running on my Mac & HCX!

  17. Hi Steve,
    My team is currently finishing in building our rocket for this year, which is also all carbon fiber. I was wondering how you tackled the problem with CF being RF opaque, and allowing for the GPS receiver to receive information from satellites while being housed within the CF airframe? For transmission, I’m assuming you used an external antenna?

    -Denny

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