ARC - Launch Equipment
In addition to working towards NARTREK Bronze, in the next launch I hope to create my first rocket fulfilling the American Rocketry Challenge (ARC) requirements.
The ARC specifications say that the launch rod must have :
- "six feet of rigid guidance" for the rocket
- "1/4 inch diameter"
The launch lug on my rocket is 14 inches off the bottom so I think I will need a launch rod 7-8 feet tall.
I know we have a lot of different launch rods, was wondering if any of them satisfies these requirements. For reference, I am going to run the rocket on an E12-6 motor.
Please find my OpenRocket design file here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YZJkVons37bDxO3DBnXjH4_WMffLeyu-/view?usp=sharing
And please find screenshot of my design attached.
Uploaded files:
The rail we have is fine. We have done many ARC flights from it. We also have a 1/4" rod that has been used for ARC. Please note that the rod is not valid for the National contest if you qualify and are invited.
I should be able to look at your design on Wednesday.
Are you doing ARC through your school? How many other team members do you have?
Charlie
Thanks for the reply. Good to know that I will be able to fly on the club launch equipment.
I have 2 other team members who are also interested, but before registering the team officially I am waiting for approval from school district board members as guided by my teacher.
I have started designing + building the rocket independently because I thought the earlier I start, the more I will learn.
Quote from Raunak on September 5, 2023, 9:41 pmThanks for the reply. Good to know that I will be able to fly on the club launch equipment.
I have 2 other team members who are also interested, but before registering the team officially I am waiting for approval from school district board members as guided by my teacher.
I have started designing + building the rocket independently because I thought the earlier I start, the more I will learn.
I am happy to see that you are so enthusiastically embracing rocketry and trying to learn the ropes as you go. I've had too many recent interfaces with "¿rocketeers?", and I'm using that term quite broadly, wanting to get High Power certification as if it's some sort of a badge of distinction. One, recently, wanted L1 certification and had NEVER EVER built or flown a rocket previously. The proverbial wanting to run and win a marathon before one can even crawl.
I'm please to see that you are working through the NARTECH program challenges. You should learn much doing NARTECH and you should be learning much each time you fly with us, either from members of the club or simply from your very flying experiences. If and when you'd like to pursue a high power certification, I'd be very please if you'd allow me to mentor you through the process. I think many miss the lessons to be learned from getting any of the HP certifications but you're a bright young man, so you'll do well.
Thanks so much for the encouragement. Would be very excited and happy to have you as a mentor when I work through HP certification in the days to come.
Basic design of the ARC rocket looks good. Have you thought about motor retention? Also, how are you going to adjust the weight for different altitudes?
Quote from Raunak on September 5, 2023, 7:32 pmThe ARC specifications say that the launch rod must have :
- "six feet of rigid guidance" for the rocket
- "1/4 inch diameter"
The launch lug on my rocket is 14 inches off the bottom so I think I will need a launch rod 7-8 feet tall.
I do have a 1/4 inch stainless steel launch rod and I have an adapter that allows it to be used in my launch rail pad. That said, I'm still a bit mystified that NAR would impose a 1/4 inch rod when they've been promoting rails for F and G motors. Rods just are not that rigid; even the 1/2 inch and larger diameter rods that used to be used for HP rockets have faded away.
I'm pretty sure the rules state you can use either a 1/4" rod, OR a 1010 rail for qualifying flights. You can use either. Also, they state the rod is to be 6ft, but that doesn't mean your rocket has to use all of that (although I recommend it). They also state that at the finals, if you are invited, you must use the rails, no rods. So I believe they wish to allow some flexibility for people who only have rods available at home, but seem to encourage rails. Personally, I would use rail buttons for rockets that are a little heavy and flying on F motors.
Speaking of motors, Raunak - I see on your design that you have an E12 motor in it. I didn't open the SIM file, but that will lift an egg to 820ft? They allow F motors, which I would have guessed was needed for that heavy a rocket to that altitude.
I've had too many recent interfaces with "¿rocketeers?", and I'm using that term quite broadly, wanting to get High Power certification as if it's some sort of a badge of distinction.
I'm literally seeing that on *every* rocketry forum that I peruse. So many people want to become an L1 to L3 or even asking questions about how to build a liquid fueled rocket to reach the Karmann Line -- without even having slapped together a simple Estes kit yet. That's why I'm not in a huge rush to L1 yet, even though I'm clearly ready. I've built over 50 rockets, I've built large rockets, small rockets, I've done motors A-G, and I've had successful flights on 3" and 4" diameter, and have scratch built as many as I've kit built.
I'm blaming it on some of the engineering schools though -- it almost appears as if some colleges assign a task of building a rocket that can be launched from FAR, in the desert, by a team of engineering students who've never built a rocket previously, and the goal is to reach 30,000 feet, carrying a 5-pound payload. I mean, come on! Who assigns that as your first project? It's almost as if the goal is to kill off the students and anyone that survives goes on to graduate.
I blame the parents of the current young generation. Or maybe their parents too. Building rockets requires using your hands and tools and having the mindset of "how do I figure this out and make it work". No one does that anymore, so no one is showing the "kids" how to build things. I don't mean just rockets. ANYTHING! Kids are over scheduled and everything comes ready made in today's economy. Mankind has gotten so smart, we're making ourselves stupid.
But what do I know. I'm not even a parent, so I really shouldn't be talking 💩 and blaming others. I know life and raising kids today isn't easy, and I admire those who do it well.