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I think it would be interesting to make the requirement of having the egg in open air at launch. It can be tricky but yet is still a small adjustment.

jazzy009 wrote:I think it would be interesting to make the requirement of having the egg in open air at launch. It can be tricky but yet is still a small adjustment.

that destroys the point of egg protection scheme

scienceolympiadist wrote:

jazzy009 wrote:I think it would be interesting to make the requirement of having the egg in open air at launch. It can be tricky but yet is still a small adjustment.

that destroys the point of egg protection scheme

Not necessarily. Though I see how that would definitely make it harder. I dunno, just a thought.

*Edit*
What are your favorite strings to use for the parachute? I can't decide what to use. We worked with fishing line last year. Almost tried thread but decided against it. Is there a better string to use than fishing line?

jazzy009 wrote:Yeah the site is a little censored...haha no matter what you meant!
I'm planning on building a new nosecone that's insanely long. Despite all the stuff I've read about how long nosecones don't help, It may for what I want. Anybody want to shed some light on how I can build a very long/large nosecone?

We made really long ones out of acetate. Art supply stores have very large sheets at various weights. We tried using doped tissue paper over a balsa frame (like a model airplane) as well. Both worked about the same. Acetate is easier, but balsa gives you more options for shape.

dickyjones wrote:I think no parachutes would be interesting with the eggs and make people focus more on aerodynamics and stability more than just the parachute system which was basically the event this year. Has anyone tested how backsliders do with the weight of the egg and its padding?

We had some limited success with this, bu it really wants more ooomph than a 1 liter bottle can deliver. I'd like to see them stay with the 1 liter bottle just because it is so frustrating.

How about a bonus for down range distance (long or short), or a two rocket formula that rewards long distance on one shot while the second launch should land near the pad?

If we could get past the safety issue of modifying a pressure vessel, then it would be really cool to have two stage (2x1-liter) rockets. I don't think that we can cluster on a standard launcher, but a vertical 2-stage is possible if we were permitted a hole in the top of the first stage pressure vessel. Not likely to happen.

seoliver wrote:

dickyjones wrote:I think no parachutes would be interesting with the eggs and make people focus more on aerodynamics and stability more than just the parachute system which was basically the event this year. Has anyone tested how backsliders do with the weight of the egg and its padding?

How about a bonus for down range distance (long or short),

Absolutely not, as that would be entirely luck of the draw. Wind is going to be the biggest factor in downrange distance (unless your rocket doesn't launch straight) and that's unpredictable.

or a two rocket formula that rewards long distance on one shot while the second launch should land near the pad?

Again, not viable to judge something that wind has such a great effect on.

If we could get past the safety issue of modifying a pressure vessel, then it would be really cool to have two stage (2x1-liter) rockets. I don't think that we can cluster on a standard launcher, but a vertical 2-stage is possible if we were permitted a hole in the top of the first stage pressure vessel. Not likely to happen.

Sounds cool and it's entirely possible to do, but as you said, not gonna happen.

andrewwski wrote:

seoliver wrote:

dickyjones wrote:I think no parachutes would be interesting with the eggs and make people focus more on aerodynamics and stability more than just the parachute system which was basically the event this year. Has anyone tested how backsliders do with the weight of the egg and its padding?

How about a bonus for down range distance (long or short),

Absolutely not, as that would be entirely luck of the draw. Wind is going to be the biggest factor in downrange distance (unless your rocket doesn't launch straight) and that's unpredictable.

No more luck of the draw than the possibility of an updraft under the parachute (discussed earlier).

or a two rocket formula that rewards long distance on one shot while the second launch should land near the pad?

Again, not viable to judge something that wind has such a great effect on.

Having two would reduce that effect. Not hard to judge at all.

seoliver wrote:

No more luck of the draw than the possibility of an updraft under the parachute (discussed earlier).

But a greater effect.

Having two would reduce that effect. Not hard to judge at all.

May cut down the effect somewhat, but wind conditions cannot be expected to be constant. Hard to judge, no, but not exactly the best way to judge either.

andrewwski wrote:

seoliver wrote:

No more luck of the draw than the possibility of an updraft under the parachute (discussed earlier).

But a greater effect.

Having two would reduce that effect. Not hard to judge at all.

May cut down the effect somewhat, but wind conditions cannot be expected to be constant. Hard to judge, no, but not exactly the best way to judge either.

I don't think that I can agree on either point. I've seen the updraft thing; it is very large and much more likely to vary between two launches than what I'm thinking would effect the range. It's true that the effect of wind is large, but the difference between two launches would be large only in strange weather.

Why wouldn't it be a good way to judge? It seems no more luck-of-the-draw than what we had this year, and it requires some thought and design work.

The biggest problem that I see is setting up the range. Even with the 1-liter bottles I expect some significant distances. We might need a maximum: kinda like Price-is-Right - go over and you get zero.

getting a updrift isn't entirely luck. if a rocket doesn't go high and the parachute doesn't open high, it doesn't matter if there is a updraft, wind or not. for rockets whose parachutes do open high, the chance of wind carrying it is very high

range?! in that case then, wind would help regardless of how good/bad the rocket design is