I know a stick works but it looks so ugly. Anyone have a good spin stabilized method that is less work than fins?
- posted
18 years ago
I know a stick works but it looks so ugly. Anyone have a good spin stabilized method that is less work than fins?
Not really.
Fins are about the least work.
Seems like any other method for spin stabilization would require lots more work.
I'm not quite sure how a stick works for spin stabilization, anyway.
Canted fins are probably the easiest method to achieve spin.
You may find another method that will work -- but there is no way, no how you'll find something easier than fins.
You can use a few ideas. One is like the McDonnel Douglas DC-X. But tht gets you lots of base drag and you Cg has to be far forward to get enough stability. I hve flown 3 of my 28" tall DC-X models and using a G80 its oretty good. altitude is only about 600 feet.
Other ideas are to use screens or wires at the base. the Soviets liked to do this on thier N-1 as an example, like having a drag brake out.
Cut short sections of tube from the same material as your airframe. Make them as long as or a little longer than their diameter (between 1.0 to 2.0 times longer). Glue them to each other and to the airframe at the base of the rocket, they'll fit perfectly around the airframe, touching the airframe and each other.
They line themselves up automatically, no fiddling around to get the fins lined up and perpendicular. And they're super-stable; tube-finned rockets fly straight and true.
...Rick
And they're very strong!
Cheers,
Greebo
"I hate fins"
you are simply in the wrong hobby.
Since this guy has STATED he hates fins, how about simply answering his question on HOW.
If you email me I will give you a link.
Tech Jerry
Given that the "tube-fin" approach is so easy, and so common-sensical to model rocketry...has it ever been used in the real world, on full-scale rockets? And if not, why not?
Full scale rockets would have some sort of active guidance, negating the need for passive stabilization fins. On smaller things like sounding rockets, tube fins would probably add more frontal drag and weight than the designers would like.
Said the spider to the fly.. (:-) Why not just post the link to "simply answer the question"?? Is it a trade secret?? (:-)
Fred
Well, a within the past few weeks, this poster posted here and on rec.pyro looking for plastic fin units. I would hazard a guess here is talking of stabilizing a firework rocket (as that is the only place I can see the stick comming in, too).
Rocketdragon, if your building fireworks, have you checked out stinger rockets?
Ben
try this
Well, I don't know about "real world", but I have seen a large (10' tall, 7" airframe) tube-finned rocket fly on M and N motors, including the AT N2000 and the CTI N2500 - its liftoff weight on an N was about 80 lbs.
Not surprisingly, a tube-finned rocket flies as straight and true scaled-up to that size as it does in the model- and mid-powered sizes. But the tube-finned design is draggy - those N-powered flights only reached about 7200', IIRC.
...Rick
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