OkieDoakie
Member
Ok...so maybe I'm a little late to the game...but the rubber band spring crap...really...after 50 years the SemRoc kit is still doing the same ol same ol....or is everyone doing a real spring modification....kinda like this....
Mars Lander..is this a thing or what
- Thread starter OkieDoakie
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Weight on the bottom...Baaaaad! Old dudes had to fly on wimpy C6 3 motors for years back in the day. Silly old dudes with thier rubbers! 
OkieDoakie
Member
Ok...so this is a common mod then...Weight on the bottom...Baaaaad! Old dudes had to fly on wimpy C6 3 motors for years back in the day. Silly old dudes with thier rubbers!
Mods are awesome but generally uncommon. If you modify kits you have to determine how to counter act the weight you are adding to the hind end and oddrocs like the Mars Lander are the WORST! Then all kinds of nasty rocket science questions arrise. Nose weight for stability? Total weight? Need a bigger motor to lift additional weight? Bigger motor is now heavier, am I back to square one? Are metal srings overkill? Rocket science is hard.
Spring loaded Semroc Mars Landers are rare. I have never seen one. To think of it, launching for nearly twenty years as a BAR, I have only seen a few Mars Landers fly.
I pick up my 1978 built Mars Lander and the dry internal rubber bands are broken. I cry. Put it back on the shelf. Another 70's shelf queen.
Capt. Eric
Well-Known Member
Shoulda used springs!
lr64
Well-Known Member
I wonder how hard it would be to make the rubber bands replaceable. Or have the springs work through some kind of line so they are higher up.
The only Mars Lander I ever saw fly didn't have enough recovery wadding. It didn't land on its legs. It was actually one of the better efforts from the brothers who built it. I think Estes kept them from blowing themselves up as children. Eventually, they DID blow themselves up, but not with rockets, and not fatally.
The only Mars Lander I ever saw fly didn't have enough recovery wadding. It didn't land on its legs. It was actually one of the better efforts from the brothers who built it. I think Estes kept them from blowing themselves up as children. Eventually, they DID blow themselves up, but not with rockets, and not fatally.
Now all I can do is to jump into my hot tub time machine, go back to the 70's and yell at my twelve year old self "Do the Mods!"Shoulda used springs!
lr64
Well-Known Member
Someone like you ought to be able to make a Mars Lander clone or relative from scratch, I should think. You could show us all how it should have been done.Now all I can do is to jump into my hot tub time machine, go back to the 70's and yell at my twelve year old self "Do the Mods!"
Metal springs, 1/2oz of nose weight and a Q-Jet and you're ready to go. DON'T waste your time with the rubber bands.
I did these when building my Semroc version a couple of years ago.
I did these when building my Semroc version a couple of years ago.
Way too much work. Rather be lazy and buy the Semroc kit with the rubbers. They will last long enough for this old dude.
If the rubbers in the kit are dry, Daddy's gonna buy some of those old fashioned rubbers used on dental braces back in the day. Oh No! That will lead to flashbacks of watching Brady Bunch reruns on the old cathode ray tube color set with the rotary tuner. MARSHA, MARSHA, MARSHA!
I think that's a GREAT idea to put the springs in! I have not gotten one of those kits yet but I've thought about it. If I were to make one to actually launch (it's one of those kits that's SOOOO cool, I could buy it, build, and hang it from the ceiling to just admire it like my long discontinued Mini-Mars-Lander which will never be launched, but I might clone it to launch).
I have all sorts of saved springs from click-pens, spray-bottle sprayer tops, etc and I would probably try to use those since they're pretty light.
Thanks for the idea!
-Paul
lr64
Well-Known Member
If I'm not mistaken, s-glass/epoxy springs can accept the most strain energy per gram, though good quality spring steel isn't all THAT far behind. This was from a landing gear leg discussion on a homebuilt airplane forum.
Rocket_Time
New Member
This is probably more efficient than the original design.
Good Idea!!! Thanks for the picture too!!!
Check this one out I just found in my Rocket Lair; the rod goes thru it and it can be taken apart to replace the Suspension bands.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/upscale-mars-lander-3d-printed.186102/
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/upscale-mars-lander-3d-printed.186102/
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