54 mm Projects

Ross Ohmen's Rocketry Obsession

54 mm Projects

Here's my 54mm projects. Note that 54mm is the BIGGEST motor these rockets can use.

090501 - New Pulsar in metallic blue

RDS Pulsar - 8 feet long, trimmed fins, fiberglassed body tube and fins. Two different recovery options: Electronics, or motor eject.

04/16/09 - This rocket has been complete, with fill, and prime. Gonna be electric blue!! Fly on a big I or baby J at Dairy Aire.

05/05/09 - Painted the rocket last night - looks great!

05/16/09 - Dairy Aire, with TCC Fresno - Flew the brand new Pulsar on an I284W, with motor eject. Great liftoff and coast, except the blue rocket disappeared into the blue sky!! Good thing the red parachute was very visible. Great flight!

09/18/09 - Flew the Pulsar at XPRS on a J275, in the afternoon. High, soaring flight to 3939 ft, and ejection was right on time. Great flight. Unfortunately, the deployment tried to zipper the exposed coupler, and really squished it. Damaged retaining ring (from being dropped in the garage) was tough to remove, but came off with Mike and James's muscle.

"Hornet" - 54mm minimum diameter "Arrow"

Features:

Giant Leap 54mm fiberglass airframe, with an additional layer of fiberglass.
.1" G10 fiberglass fins, held in with 1 layer of carbon fiber, and a fiberglass veil.
2 Perfectflight MAWDs for dual deployment - will fit in 98mm "Arrow"
54-to-38 mm adapter, for checkout flights.
Will fit a full K700 for later flights! Sims to 15,000+ ft with this engine.

09/19/04 - Flew this rocket for the first time at Fresno, on an I300 (Aerotech) motor. Snappy liftoff and high, arching flight until I lost it against the clouds. Saw an "Event", so at least something happened! Picked it up again after someone spotted it behind the flight line, on the main. It looked great!! Gentle touch down in the field. Altimeter said 2751 feet. Cool!!!

09/26/04 - XPRS - Black Rock - Decided to launch, at the last minute, on Sunday morning of XPRS. On a K700. Insane. Let's see if this thing holds together...

Roared off the pad, and straight up, and waaaaayyyyy up....

Tiny, thread-like trail at the limits of visibility, kinda west from us. I lost sight of it... Guy with binoculars also saw it, kinda in the west. Lost sight of it west. Guy with Walston tracked it to the west, as well. Lost it in the ground noise. "Well, it's down".

Took van and family out to find it. Stopped every 1/2 mile to get a fix. Nothing. Repeated 22 times, in rectangular search pattern. Still nothing. Getting frustrated - that's hundreds of $ worth of equipment.

Idea - get on the roof of the van - better angle/ground stuff. Drove towards the flight line, from 3 miles out. Got a twitch 1/2 mile from flight line! Go north! North?!? It WAS west! Still, we found it 1/2 mile from first reading, after searching for over an hour. 15,118 ft!!!! And intact.

07/17/05 - Flew on an I284 (38/600) at Fresno. Once again, I lost sight of this rocket at apogee, and picked it up again on the main. Recovered in a nearby cornfield beeping out 3300 ft.

12/02/06 - Flew on an I435 (38/600) at Snow Ranch. Rocket tore off the launch lugs and turned 45 degrees, and bulleted off into the hills. Good apogee and main ejection. Searched a long time but eventually found it. Got to check Walston batteries next time - I only had 2, and couldn't use it. The Walston would have been useful. No other damage, but the (Mylar) streamer was sure torn up.

04/24/07 - Also found both launch lugs torn off, and a significant ding in a fin leading edge! Rats! Replace with rail buttons, and repair that fin.

09/15/07 - Careful repairs and persistence got this rocket rebuilt. Flew it at XPRS on a J90. Awesome, majestic, and just kept burning! Flew to 4000 feet, and did a perfect recovery. Very nice...

06/09/08 - Next flight should be at Mudrock on a K250!

06/20/08 - Sunday, Mud Rock - I was planning on flying the Hornet, with a K250, but Craig was using the borrowed Walston, and I had to wait. Finally, Craig got back with the (pieces of the) Endeavour. I installed the Walston, and was ready to go. I was nervous! The K250 lit with a roar, and just kept burning! The bird arched away from us, over the flight line, to the south west. We had good tones for 2-3 minutes, then it just cut off - grounded. We searched south west - nothing. (Funny, this happened when Elizabeth and I were here, and Chelsea was just a baby).

I was getting frustrated. Not a twitch on the Walston. I climbed up on the roof (as before), and Craig drove. Finally got a twitch to the west, and a little north of the flight line. Drove right to it - .5 miles from our first detection. .92 miles from the flight line! 14,000 feet!

Hornet on I435, Snow Ranch, 12/2/06

Hornet on I435, Snow Ranch 12/2/06 - 2nd pic

Honest John with a 54mm motor mount. 100 oz dry.

9/14/06 - Purchased as part of an estate sale.

9/22/06 - Flown at XPRS on an I161-S, to about 1000 ft. Great flight, but the motor retention was bent up on landing. Figure out a better way!

02/20/07 - (Re) Primed, and attached new retainers (54 and 38).

04/21/07 - TCC - Flew the HoJo with new colors (Forest Green), on an I300. Went about 1500 ft and did a tail-stand. Deployed and recovered for a perfect flight!

05/18/07 - Dairy Aire - Flew the HoJo again on an I366, for a perfect, soaring flight to about 3000'. High! and no damage on the landing, though I needed a big walk.

08/03/07 - Aeronaut - Flew the HoJo again, on a Cesaroni J285. High, arcing flight, then disaster. The rear body separated, and came in ballistic. Nuts! The cone and parachute travelled 3 and 1/2 miles!!

I'm going to rebuild this rocket, because 1) I like it, 2) I have the nose cone, 3) the fin can is intact, and 4) the reduction section is fixable, though damaged. This may take a while... AND THROW OUT THE ELASTIC SHOCK CORDS ON EVERYTHING LARGER THAN A "C" ENGINE...

10/1/07 - Persistance pays - finally got this rocket rebuilt. Had to grind out all the expanding foam in the nosecone reducer, and fiberglass the interior of this. (Note the pictures using the balloon.) Then fit it to a new section of b/t, fair it in, and then sand/fill/prime until I was sick of it. Eventually, it was ready to go.

Hornet being repaired after separation crash.

Closeup of fwd reducer repair with balloon.

10/19/07 - Flew the HoJo on a 364 I 212-SS (Cesaroni). Great flight - I love seeing that big pink 'chute.

11/18/07 - Flew the HoJo on a 364 I 205 (Cesaroni), with a 8 second delay. Ejected a little after apogee. Another great flight.

02/09/08 - Flew the HoJo at Snow Ranch on another 364 I 212-SS (Cesaroni). The delay was (14-7) 7 seconds. Another great flight, though the landing looked a little hard. No damage, though.

05/05/08 - Getting ready to fly on a J460 at DairyAire. Got the stencil on, and got the rocket sealed with clear.

05/16/08 - Flew the Honest John on a J460 at Dairy Aire. High, high, flight, and it landed 70 yards away. Nice!

06/21/08 - Mud Rock with AeroPac - Around 2:30, the winds came up, but I still flew the big Honest John on an I225 FJ. Another great, flight, though I couldn't let Dave and the boys of Oasis for Kids (11-year-olds) retrieve it, as they backed off 1/2 mile - much too far. I got it myself, before it dragged too far.

08/03/08 - Aeronaut with AeroPac - Flew the big HoJo on a J500 drag race with Daryl Paris' Dishonest John. I got off the pad first, but his small diameter and J350 took him much higher. Found that the nosecone base slammed into the fin leading edge and took out two big bites. Nuts!

Also, there's a rattle in the nosecone, which I've got to fix. This could take some time...

Damaged HoJo Fin - caused by nosecone.

12/25/08 - By steadily working on the HoJo, I got the fin repaired, and the rattle in the nosecone removed. Took a while, though...

01/18/09 - TCC Fresno - Flew the regular HoJo on an I285R, to a nice, high, flight. But bad news: the rocket was swaying widely under the big pink 'chute, and slammed into the ground, jacking loose one of the fins. Nuts!

03/14/09 - LUNAR at Snow Ranch - Flew the HoJo on an I285R again. Nice, high, flight, but it jacked loose 2 fins on landing. Nuts!!!

09/20/09 - Sunday of XPRS - After replacing the aft adapter, Aeropack retainer, 38/600 case, and I435 load (lost on Hwy), I flew the HoJo on a replacement set, and had a booming, very cool flight, with ejection at apogee. Parachute opened right on time, and the rocket gently landed 1/4 mile to the south. Very nice!!

10/17/09 - October Skies - Unlimbered the big Honest John, and flew it on an I284, for a high, cool flight. Landed a long way out in the field, though. Jake helped me recover it.

At Fresno 4/21/07 on I300

HoJo on Cesaroni I205 at Fresno 11/18/07

With the HoJo on a beautiful January day, with TCC in Fresno

Magnum - Central 54mm motor with 2 x 29mm outboards for airstarts.

9/14/06 - Purchased as part of estate sale.

9/23/06 - Flown at XPRS on Central J275 and 2 G75s, air-started. The air-starts didn't start, and the timer didn't eject at apogee. Thank heavens the MAWD worked as expected! Big parachute slowed the decent to a gentle landing. Still had continuity on the Apogee timer charge. (No continuity on air-starts.)

Possible reasons for no air-starts.

a) Battery disconnect on liftoff. (Likely)

b) Burned air-start wires shorted the timer, and caused it to reset. (Unknown)

c) Timer left "armed" caused improper arming on the pad. ("But the lights were blinking?!?"...)

Try again at the next launch. And paint...

02/20/07 - Status - kinda torn apart...

Figured out why the air-starts didn't go: Quickburst ignitors won't start on a 9V battery! Not 2, not 1, not even a Copperhead. Duh! Use e-matches and 13mm BP motors or tiny pyrogen ignitors.
Sawed the beast in half, to get to the rear retainer. Very instructive. Ready for new electronics and timer scheme... Maybe even use a piston to eject. Can't hurt!

07/24/07 - Status - Close to flying, but the finishing touches could take a while...

Got the air-start system to work, by a) making my own low-current igniters (thanks Larry K!), b) using a relay, putting 18V into through heavy wire to the back of the beast, c) replacing the old timer with a new Black Sky timer, and d) doing extensive "test as you fly" testing.
The parachute bay is very tight. Can't fix it now. I could move the bulkhead, by cutting it out, but it would be a pain.
This beast should carry at least a camera. Later. I'd have to pry off the glued-on nosecone, and I don't have the time.
This beast could carry a dual-deply system. Later or never.

I'll be flying this beast on a K550 air-starting two H220s, at Aeronaut. Wahoo!!

08/04/07 - Aeronaut - Well, I didn't use a K550 and two H220 - I used a J540 and two H238s, and rather unsuccessfully, at that.

Prob #1 - Didn't have the hardware to fully prep the H238s - had to fly another rocket first, then clean the engine.

Problem #2 - Somehow, the electronics bay shifted, and I could not find the on-switches - had to root around, and carve new holes. Took forever.

Finally got the rocket out on the pad, and got the J540 to light.

Problem #3 - My nifty air-start scheme didn't work - The H238's didn't light. I don't know why (yet).

Problem #4 - The 'chute tangled, and the body came down in a flat spin.

Well, the damage is non-trivial. My internal structure I was using to hold the MAWDS and the timer scheme is smashed. Jacked loose a fin, too. The MAWDs look and sound okay. No physical damage to the timer either.

The big problems - Not enough space for the parachute, and it's a pain working way down inside the BT. Go with a removeable E-Bay can, and mount the timer differently.

11/12/07 - Well, it's not done yet, but it's getting better. I got another piece of 5.4", and cut it to length. Tore apart the nose section (nosecone glued to payload section!!!), and got out the coupler. I'm turning the coupler into an Av bay.

F/g reinforced the lower body, where the altimeters and timers bashed around.

Pulled out the stuff holding the loose fin in place. Filled with sawdust and epoxy. Gotta be a better way, but I had a big gap to fill.

More mods: Zipperless coupler design, pistons(?), timers in av bay? More electronics design work coming...

05/16/08 - Flew the Magnum on a J540 air-starting two H238's at Dairy Aire. Great, soaring flight, and what do you know - the air-starts lit. Great flight, except the nosecone detached at main deploy. Rats! 3318 ft! Small zipper/damage to the body tube, too.

06/09/08 - Trimmed the damaged BT, and filled the rear holes. Started filling the damaged nosecone spots.

08/02/08 - With Aeropac at Aeronaut - Flew the Magnum on a J800 staging to 2 G75's. Awesome boost off the pad, but only one airstart lit. Still, she coasted high, but the apogee charge threw out the main. The 72" chute was a poor design, and I'm gonna have to fix some fins.

10/13/08 - Got the damage fixed, though the paint has looked nicer. Fly on J415 staging to 2 H97's at October Skies.

10/18/08 - Didn't fly at October Skies.

01/18/09 - TCC Fresno - Flew the Magnum on a J415, air-starting two H97s. After a terrific, initial boost, all did not go well...
   First, the air-starts didn't start. Not even a puff.
   Then, at apogee, the separation charge threw out the main - even
     with pins holding it shut. Thankfully, there was no wind, and the
     big yellow, white, and black 'chute inflated perfectly.
   The rocket landed without damage, but I found that one of the main
     charges didn't blow! (Thank god for redundancy, and I'll be trying
     to figure out why that happened...)

   Post-mortem indicated that 1) The timer battery was out of holder.
   Fixed with zip-tie.
   Also found that the wire to the MAWD main charge that didn't fire
   had completely bare wires leading to the charge. Probably shorted
   out.

03/14/09 - Flew the Magnum on a J415, and 2 x H97 airstarts. Well, I had a few issues:
* The LUNAR launch system would not light my Microburst igniters. I had to try 4 times to get that thing off the pad!
* The airstarts did not light, despite my test the previous night. Maybe it was bad igniters...
* The apogee charge worked great, and the nosecone stayed on until the main fired at 1100 feet. The main did not inflate until 300 feet above the ground.
* The 7' parachute was just too small, and the rocket hit hard, breaking one fin, and jacking loose another.
NUTS.

03/18/09 - Found that both the air-start igniters (that didn't work last weekend) had a meg-ohm of resistance. That dog won't hunt...

04/16/09 - Found an air-start config I like: E-matches next to Blue Thunder pellets, with Pyrodex on the firing wire. If that doesn't do it, maybe I'll take up knitting...

I also am about 1/2 way through the repairs. Grafted on a new fin, CF'ed it on, and I'm sanding/filling.

05/16/09 - Dairy Aire at TCC Fresno - Unlimbered the Magnum, and flew it on a J415, air-starting 2 H-97's. And it worked really well!! Both the air-starts lit, the main stayed in until 1100 feet, and deployed quickly when ejected. Bad news, though - I broke a few shrouds lines, and the 'chute filled-and-collapsed until it hit the ground. BUT NO BROKEN FINS. 3428'/3398'.

Minor repairs: a) chipped nosecone, b) shifted timing board, and c) replace the parachute. Not bad.

06/19/09 - Flew the Magnum again, at Mudrock, with a Cesaroni J295 (Thanks to Jonathon DuB for the case loan) and 2 x H97's. Great flight with majestic take off, long burn, and great airstarts. At apogee, the mylar streamer I had loaded tore off instantly, and drew all the attention. The rest fell the way it was supposed to, and opened the new, big, main at 1100 feet. Great, slow, decent and gentle landing. Several compliments about the airstarts!

09/18/09 - Friday of XPRS - Flew the Magnum on a K550 and 2 H97's. Unfortunately, the airstarts didn't light, and the Magnum coasted to 3697 feet unassisted, which looked very high. Deployed right on time, but the streamer wrapped around the shock cord. Main deployed right at 1100 feet, and gently lowered the rocket to the ground. Nice!

060923 - Closeup of me with Magnum in XPRS group shot. Note colors.

Magnum in new colors: Note that it's 7 feet long and 5.5 inches in diam!

Magnum at Dairy Aire 08

Magnum on J415 at TCC Fresno 01/18/09.

PML Ariel - 29/38/54mm quick-switch motor system. (080505 - Weight empty - 59.5 oz.)

09/20/03 - With AeroPac at XPRS - Flew PML Ariel on H128 (29mm) for my Level 1 certificate. Welcome to High Power! The original paint job - yellow and metallic green.

09/20/03 - With AeroPac at XPRS - Flew the Ariel on Cesaroni Pro38 - 3 grain - worked fine to ~2200 ft.

09/21/03 - With AeroPac at XPRS - Flew the Ariel a second time, on a Cesaroni 5-grain J-300 smokey. Tore off the pad, and the smoke drifted right into us. Couldn't see a thing! Lost sight of it. Eventually, someone pointed me in the direction of the rocket on the playa. Recovered successfully, for my Level 2!!!

12/28/03 - Flew the Ariel at Aerial Acres, in So-Cal, while heading to San Diego. The I161 gave a great flight to 2414 ft, but Zippered the tube in the cold conditions. Repairable.

07/18/04 - Flew the Ariel on an AT I211W. 2nd place in 4-way drag race, but the delay was too short (6 sec vs 10 sec), and the parachute tore in several places. The rocket came down hard - chipped nose cone, holed the payload section, and mashed the engine retainer. 2786 ft.

09/20/04 - XPRS - Flew the Ariel on a USRockets H330 (?) - a six-grain 29mm reload. High flight, but no ejection. Trashbag recovery. Dang!!! Bought another.

08/05/06 - Black Rock, Aeronaut 2006 - Launched new Ariel with Strobe on H128 - BANG!!! Burned through, and landed in a heap by the pad. No damage to the rocket, but heavy soot and smoke damage on the inside. BP eject hole used as nozzle, and burned/enlarged. What a mess. (At least the fiberglassed fins didn't break).

09/23/06 - Saturday Night at XPRS, Black Rock

Flew the Ariel with a strobe, and one of the G75s left over from the Magnum. Even the short delay was too long, opening just before the rocket hit. One of the fins was jacked loose, and the strobe/payload section was heavily damaged. I'll have to rebuild. (Never liked that strobe - just not bright enough). Phooey!

02/18/07 - TCC in February - Flew the Ariel on an H220T. Great, straight boost off the pad, and gentle flight to apogee. But the chute didn't unfurl. Twisted, tried to unfurl, but didn't. Thank goodness it landed on a soft part of the field, not the road or... Conner says "I got the engine adapter - it's straight that way!" What!?! You saw the adapter fall from 1000 feet?!? Dang kids and their good eyes... Walked right to it, saving me about $50 and a whole lotta hassle... Ariel was un-damaged by the fall - good thing I fiberglassed the fins.

04/21/07 - TCC Fresno - Flew the Ariel on an I161. Dang that went high! I must have lost sight of it 4 times on the way down, and thank heavens my fellow rocketeers had such good eyes. It landed way in the middle of the weed patch (about 1 1/2 feet high), and disappeared! I had a good bearing on it, and ended up walking right to it. There was lots of us out there looking, and we all seemed to find what we were looking for.

08/03/07 - Aeronaut at Black Rock - PML Ariel on I300 - Great, soaring flight, and chased it down in my car. Fun!!!

10/19/07 - TCC at October Skies - Flew the Ariel on an I435. This was probably a mistake, as the rocket tore off the pad, and early-ejected at about 3 seconds into coast. Needless to say the results were devastating: Zippered the body tube, and dumped parts everywhere. Tore the shock cord - 1/8"x3/4" strap, and it tore it!!! Recovered all the pieces, including the tracking gear, which was ejected from the payload bay.

03/18/08 - Decided a while ago not to just re-paint using the Yellow/Blue paint scheme. After much sanding, filling, and priming, I put on a candy-apple red from the auto parts store. While not the most excellent paint job possible, it looks nice, and I'll be ready to fly in a few days.

04/05/08 - Snow Ranch - Flew the Ariel (now wearing Red Metallic paint) on an I161. Great, soaring flight to (near) 2000 ft. Looked great coming down, too! Elizabeth, Melissa, and some Boy Scouts recovered it from the hill across the creek. Thanks a ton!!

05/05/08 - My pretty red paint job has been scratched up. I repaired it. Getting ready to fly on a J180 at DairyAire in a few weeks. 12 sec delay is optimal.

06/20/08 - With AeroPac at Mud Rock - Flew the Ariel on a J180-L. Man, that went high. Deployed at apogee, and I had a fair drive to go and get it... Great flight!

08/03/08 - With AeroPac at Aeronaut - Saturday Night - Flew Ariel at night, with the strobe payload, on an H250G. Very cool and fast, but the payload coupler separated at ejection, and came down fast. Couldn't find ANY parts in the dark. Found all the parts in the morning. The coupler tore out, and needed to be replaced.

09/20/08 - With AeroPac at XPRS - Saturday Night - Flew the Ariel on an H250G. Great strobe action, and a successful flight. Bright stobe! Took forever to walk to it. I was so geeked! After 4 attempts, I've finally flown successfully at night.

01/18/09 - TCC Fresno - Flew on an I357 for a great flight. Fast, high, and perfect ejection and recovery.

04/04/09 - LUNAR at Snow Ranch: Flew the Ariel on an I161. The launch rod was too narrow, and the rocket came off sideways, and headed for the hills. Oh crud, no tracking gear. I hurried up the hill, and was surprised to find the rocket on the far side of a bowl/meadow. Completely visible, just far away. Took a bit of walking, but an easy recovery. Lesson: Use rail buttons!

05/16/09 - With TCC at Maddox Dairy - Dairy Aire - I flew the Ariel on an H220, with the famous problem strobe. It worked great on the way up, but went out at ejection. Nuts!!! Can't see it at all. Or retrieve it. Someone else found it and brought it back. I found that the strobe was working, it was just up in the nose...

06/20/09 - Mudrock night launch - Flew the Ariel on a sparky Cesaroni Pro38 I180 3-grain. SPECTACULAR shower of sparks, and bright, white light boiling off the pad. Ejected at apogee, and came down gently. Great flight.

Check out that picture, and the link below - youtube video.

07/19/09 - Flew the Ariel at TCC on an I357 with 2 cameras, and Rick Miller's homemade GPS tracking system. Awesome, fast, soaring flight, ejecting a little before apogee. No wind at the upper altitudes, but a little at around a thousand feet, made for a little walk. Both cameras say they are working!

Got the video home, and both DVRs worked perfectly. I will need to edit these recordings with an editor, though - too much time between launch, and recovery. Will try to get the two films side-by-side.

09/18/09 - Friday Night at XPRS - Flew the Ariel on a I190 Sparky Cesaroni load, for a high, noisy, sparky flight. Two DVR gumcams on board. Very cool!! But it tore off the nose section! Recovered the next morning. Repairable, but I'll need more strength there.

Not much to see on the cameras.

091017 - October Skies - I started off with the Ariel flying on an I211W, and two cameras. I was hoping to have it pop up through the clouds, but I wasn't allowed to fly it until the clouds cleared. Great flight, and nearby recovery. I'll post the videos when I download and edit them.

091017 - October Skies - Evening - I flew the Ariel on a Cesaroni I190 Sparky, for an high, excellent flight. Despite the calm conditions, there was enough wind to put the rocket WAY out in the field. A long, tiring walk.

Ariel at TCC 07/18/04

Ariel on I161 at TCC 07/18/04

02/18/07 - Ross with the Ariel just before flight

02/18/07 - Ariel on an H220 at TCC

06/04/08 - Ariel in new Candy Red paint

090622 - Ariel Strobe

090622 - Strobe Components

090622 - Back side of Strobe - with push button.

090620 - Ariel on Pro38 I180 Skidmark