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Showing posts from March, 2024

Honoring where my BAR experience started - Miss Riley

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In the fall of 1999 my family and I went to see a movie, which hadn't been correctly advertised so we were offered another great new movie instead.  That movie turned out to be " October Sky ".  At then end of the movie, a beautiful rocket was launched to honor their dying teacher, Miss Riley.  Ky Michaelson, The Rocketman , who built the rocket(s) used in the movie, briefly sold 100 copies of a hobby version of the rocket .  The kits were 55” tall, 2.64” Diameter with a 38mm motor mount and an Aluminum Billet Machined Nozzle, just like the ones used in the movie. Ky's kits were a 2/3rd Scale version of the original’s featured in the movie October Sky, exactly 20 years ago (at the time of the kit's release)! The Rocketman's Miss Riley Ky provided some part specifications (his were fiberglass) and a RockSim simulation file (which I can open in OpenRocket ) so I decided this would be a good 3D printing project. Leveraging my recent work on 3D printing nose cones

3D printing compartments for GPS tracking my rockets

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For Christmas, my family gave me a Featherweight GPS tracking device in addition to my 3D printer .  This led me to begin exploring ways to 3D print a device to hold the Featherweight GPS device in my rocket.  Featherweight provides STEP files for holder integrated in 38mm nose cone, but not something I knew how to use. After some research I found a Featherweight pod design by Jamie Claye on Printable .  I tried printing them the way the files came, laying on their side multiple times before I learned to reorient the object in Ultimaker Cura before printing them vertically and correcting all the problems.  This is designed to hang on the shock cord Laying out the Featherweight pod parts for slicing in Cura His Featherweight holder is designed to hang on the shock cord and protect the GPS device. Featherweight Tracker Pod design by Jamie Claye Separately, I found some great designs for 4" and 3" body tubes that include bases that screw into the bottom of nose cone with large