(click for larger image)

Well, the rocket was predicted to reach an altitude of approx. 3,000 feet, but instead separation of the nosecone occured unexpectedly at about 1,000 feet while still traveling at about 300 mph. In reviewing a high resolution copy of the video in slow motion, I was able to determine the cause of the premature separation was due to a faulty timer.

1. Shortly after motor burnout (~3,000 ft), altimeter detects rockets deceleration and fires a 10 gram blackpowder charge that separates the nosecone from the rest of the rocket. A separate timer module was also used as a backup in the event of altimeter failure. Simulations that I ran in RockSim (PC rocketry modeling software) predicted that apogee (the rockets highest point before decending) would occur 14 seconds into the flight. In the event the altimeter failed, the timer was set to fire the charge 16 seconds after launch.
   
   
2. A small (60" diameter) "drogue" parachute deploys which is "teathered" to both the nosecone and rocket. The drogue is only meant to slightly slow the rockets descent.
   
   
3. A 2nd altimeter detects when the rocket has descended to 1,000 feet and fires a 2nd 10 gram black powder charge, this time separating the rockets booster module (the bottom of the rocket) from the mid-section.
   
   
4. The main parachute (15 ft. diameter) is deployed.
   

1. Approximately 4-5 seconds after launch the timer appears to have fired (instead of the programmed 16 seconds) causing the nosecone to separate.
   
   
2. The drogue chute deployed but the nylon shroud lines were instantly torn apart due to the ~300 mph speed of the rocket.
   
   
3. The 10lb, 5 foot tall nosecone which was connected to the rocket by a 20 foot nylon tether passed below the rest of the rocket (which was still being propelled by the motor).
   
   
4. Once the nosecone extended the full 20 foot length of the tether, the tether tore through 12" of the rockets body tube (constructed from 2 layers of 16 ounce fiberglass cloth and epoxy). This type of damage is known as a "zipper".
   
   
5. The nosecone then swung like a wreaking ball, shearing off 2 of the rockets fins.
   
   
6. Despite the damage, the 2nd altimeter fired the 2nd charge deploying the main chute as intended.
   
   
   
   What actually happened:

   It was determined that there was an altimeter malfunction, however, it was due to human error. I did not realize until now that I had two issues which led to the failure, and not just one. The first issue was that my G-wiz altimeter, which was supposed to pop the cone @ apogee and deploy the main chute @ 1000 feet, was wired wrong. I confused the channels, and accidentally wired my nosecone charge to the airstart channel instead of the pyro channel. So when the motor burned out, the g-forces on the rocket rapidly decreased, which triggered the g-wiz to fire the ejection charge. This event severely zippered my main chute module, and sheered two fins from the rocket, which caused debris to flutter down over the launch site.
   
   The second problem was that my camera hood allowed too much air into the avionics bay, which gave my RRC2X a false reading. The RRC2X was set to separate the booster at apogee, and act as a backup for the main chute charge at 800 feet. In the video, you can see the booster popping immediately after the nosecone came off. This was most likely due to the altimeter thinking it was at a higher altitude than it really was, thus, causing an early separation.

• 3 fins damaged
• Section of body tube zippered

   

============================================= It went up Great but problems coming down... On Saturday, June 23rd I launched my Honest John for the 2nd time at NERRF - the North East Regional Rocket Festival. Flight Report of the 2nd Flight of the Honest John The rocket flew on a SPACE M1820 motor, built by Dennis Lappert. After doing some rough RocSim simulations, I figured the rocket should go around 4500 feet at around 465 mph. I was unsure of the final weight after the last repairs and with the new motor, so I just made the rocket 8 or 10 pounds heavier for the simulation. In actuality, the rocket flew great, all the way to apogee this time. However, after listening to the altimeters beeping on the onboard cam footage, I concluded that the rocket only reached an altitude of 4,035 feet. It still went high, but not as high as planned. The rocket then arced over with a thin smoke trail following behind. It fell for about 5 seconds and at exactly 22 seconds, my PET2 altimeter fired and separated the booster. Originally, I had the G-WIZ set to separate the booster at apogee, and the PET would go at 22 seconds as a backup. I also had the RRC2X and PET working together to separate the nose at apogee. The RRC2X would fire first, then the PET at 22 seconds. Both charges went off on cue, but neither one did the trick. The rocket then tumbled for 41 seconds before slamming into the ground at around 80-85 fps. On arrival at the crash site, I could see that the nose cone was severely shifted and broke at the joint where I had added an extension. When the booster hit, it landed directly on the tip of one of the fins. It then snapped off about 8” of one fin, bounced up and rolled over on two more fins. I was also worried when I didn’t hear the altimeters beeping, and when I heard the camcorder moving around inside. The Autopsy After opening up the rocket, it was clear that that all 4 charges responsible for deploying the parachute, did in fact ignite. However, despite (2) 10 gram charges going off within 5 seconds of one another, the nose still did not budge. It can also be heard on the onboard camera that the tether fired at 800 feet. So it seems that the nosecone was too tight of a fit. If anything was to go wrong on this flight, I would not have thought this would have.I had built a new body tube after the damage sustained from last years launch and neglected to ground test again to ensure the amount of blackpowder was still sufficient. Surprisingly, the altimeters were not damaged. They shut off when they hit the ground because the batteries popped out of their holders and 2 of the plugs on my avionics board popped out. When I got to the video camera, I opened the LCD, expecting that nothing would happen, but the screen came on. The LCD was broken, but it still worked! I then played the video, and after waiting 16 minutes, I could hear the rocket launching on the camera. I expected that any second, the camera would have stopped recording, but it didn’t stop until the moment it hit the ground. I could not have been happier. I am taking a break from building rockets for now. Maybe I will launch a couple of my smaller ones this summer, but that’s about it. As of now, I do plan on repairing the Honest John for a 3rd time and eventually using it for my Level 3 cert. I think that I have enough experience with flying this rocket that I can now avoid these problems for my Level 3 and have a perfect flight and recovery. I plan on going for my Level 1 and 2 certifications after August of this year. I would like to thank all of the people who helped me on Saturday. Without you guys, I would not have gotten it off the ground. Dennis Lappert Jim Cox Debra Koloms Lester Sak Papo Rodriguez Steve Cheng Mr. and Mrs. Thoma Tim Grove METRA rocket club All the volunteers And Rockets Magazine For now I've posted photos of the launch as well as the video below. Check out the inset video from the on-board cam. Click here for photos of the launch Click here for directions SEE THE 1ST LAUNCH OF THE HONEST JOHN ============================================= New Scratch-Built Circuit Board This is the 1st draft of my CAD drawing that I used to design my circuit board. This board was used to inter-connect the (2) altimeters and (1) timer used for the rockets recovery system. Having these electronics connected using the circuit board will allow the design to be modular and easily installed in my other rockets. As of Tuesday, June 19th the board has still not been completed but I plan on finishing the soldering of all wires and components by tomorrow. (Click the picture for a larger image) Click here to see how the board was designed step-by-step

1. Garden State Parkway North to NYS Thruway North [Albany]
   
2. Take Exit 16 [Harriman]
   
3. Follow to Route 17 West
   
4. Take Exit 123 [Goshen] to Route 17M West and follow for 3.4 Mi.
5. At the traffic light make left onto Route 12 [Soons Orchard sign].
6. About 6.2mi on the left there will be a NERRF sign. Turn left onto the field there and drive about 3/4 mile past the tree line & over the one lane bridge and turn right, & you\\\'re there

1. Take GSP Exit 163 to Route 17 North
   
2. Follow to NYS Thruway North to Exit 16 and follow directions above. Saves about 10 min IF the North bound traffic on Route 17 is light. Sundays are always light, stores in Paramus are closed. Early on Saturday is light too, but if the stores are open stay on the GSP.....