Folks,
I am looking for photos of unique rail guides and bottons.
If you have one, post it.
I am looking for photos of unique rail guides and bottons.
If you have one, post it.
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Unique Rail Guides
- Thread starter cwbullet
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Must….resist…..urge……to…….post…….
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why. I am going to post a few this week.
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Corrected error.
CoyoteNumber2
Original San Diego High Power Rocketry
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I don't know if this is counts, but my Small Dangerous Rocket Ship has a 1/2" standoff on the aft button due to the contoured airframe.
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Original was more fun.
yeah, but not family friendly.
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I'm pretty sure a handful of members read the typo and laugh like Beavis and B**thead - "heh, heh, he said . . . "
I agree the forum should stay family friendly and hope you haven't had to moderate too many pictures. But I also think a good typo that brightens a person's day with a laugh can be huge.
So, quit being children and post pictures of rail guides and buttons like he wanted. . .
"Heh, heh, he said rail button"
"Yeah, yeah, why doesn't he want pictures of launch lugs too?!?!?! -aaaaaaarghaaaaaaa"
"Shutup Beavis, launch lugs are so 1980. . . "
[1980 MTV video enters the room]
Fun typo for sure, but if you post good pictures of unique rail guides/buttons, pretty sure CW will move the ball down the field and offer you a neat option. . .
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Coming back to the original question, there WAS a post talking about adapting a bird with launch lugs to operate on a mini-rail a few years back.
Not sure if it was ever done, but seems like with the right size dowel (one that would fit a 3/16 lug) you could mount mini rail buttons on each end, one permanent, one removable. Would enable someone to fly either off a rod or a rail.
Not sure if it was ever done, but seems like with the right size dowel (one that would fit a 3/16 lug) you could mount mini rail buttons on each end, one permanent, one removable. Would enable someone to fly either off a rod or a rail.
If you find a launch lug that fits inside a rail, like the old fashioned Estes C rails in the back of the catalog; you put the lugs on a wood standoff that can fit in the rail slot, so they fit the rail but will still work on a rod.
I am just looking for ideas to design my own rail guides. I am looking to others for inspiration.
I prefer these from GLR or OBH when I can get them.
https://giantleaprocketry.com/products/airfoil-rail-button-pair-10-series
https://giantleaprocketry.com/products/airfoil-rail-button-pair-10-series
Those are decent. I like them also.
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Sir:
Attached are images of the fly-away guides I use for my six inch motors (nine inch are similar but longer).
These use a 7075-T6 “split-tee” rail guide and 1095 spring steel to wrap around the rocket. As you can see in the last image, hose clamps are rivited to the steel to allow the rocket to be clamped to the rail.
Guides are hard anodized to assure they slip on the 6061-T6 rails. This version falls away before 100 feet altitude as the spring steel opens up; I’ll be adding springs to the back of the assembly to assist with pulling the “split-tee” open as soon as it clears the launch rail.
Bill
Attachments
vcp
Well-Known Member
This is almost exactly the same as used by the front lug of the Astrobee D.
I'd like to see retractable rail guides. I've got an idea how to do it. The cool factor might outweigh the weight penalty.. Pun intended.
I will have to think on that but I do not think that would be hard. The problem is getting it to stop at the surface.
Easy. It's in my head now. But..... I'm drinking beer. Lets see if it's there tomorrow.
I think you are rightOne more beer should make it much more clear and six........
Find an envelope real quick and scribble it down! If you can't find one... peel the beer mat in two and scribble on clean inside.
Very similar to my thoughts, but minus the beer. I gotta go to work.Beer glass for scale.View attachment 642568
I've had more beer and eliminated the external spring.
You would think you could eliminate the servo and just use a spring. You would need a "pull tool" to pull the button out to engage the rail and the spring would do the rest when then rocket clears the rail.
A servo allows you to release once clear of rails at a cost of 9g per servo. There's lots of flight controllers that have a programmable servo out.
I'm not sure there is any real gain. There's certainly a cool factor. In my head at least.....
One of the Australian teams had retractable rail guides at last year's Spaceport America Cup. Magnet pulled it out; a plastic clip sort of like the relevant part of the rail held it out until it was put on the rail at which time the rail pushed it out of the way; a spring pulled it in when it cleared the rail. Very cool but I'm not sure if was worth the effort.
lr64
Well-Known Member
re post 27:
Why worry about rail guides when the fins are squared off?
Why worry about rail guides when the fins are squared off?
