Yes that's certainly a common and easy way to retain a cluster config. At this scale though it would add a lot of mass, particularly at the rear which would worsen the stability calibre. Honestly there are countless ways to retain motors and different people will have strong opinions about them haha
I've built a home designed 3 engine rocket. I tried to launch 2 months ago but no lift off. I used a pair of large 6 volt lantern batteries but wired them in series for 12 volts. This was my mistake. It is now December and -12 degrees outside, so I will rewire the batteries in parallel 6 volts and try launching next spring (May). Cheers from Canada.
No problem! I'm glad this video could help and best of luck with your next launch. Just an added note which I mentioned in the video, the voltage is important but so is the battery's ability to deliver a large amount of current in a very short period of time, to make sure all motors light simultaneously. That's why I used and I recommend using a battery with a low internal resistance, such as 12 volt lead-acid battery (car battery). I got myself a small motorbike battery for cheaper
A friend of mine had built several rockets using two Estes D13/D12 engines stuffed into a BT60 sized rocket body tube. We also tried 3 Estes D engines in a BT70 sized body tube. This was in the years before Estes offered E and F engines. We used a relay launch system, that used a heavy DPDT relay with the contacts in parallel, along with a 12v PbH2SO4 motor cycle battery. The relay was powered by a separate battery. This kept the ignition wires very short while keeping us a good distance from the rocket. Estes sold a "Rube Goldberg" system that used a squeeze bulb, a length of tubing, and a balloon to close the ignition circuit.
Also i have built an ignition system recently perfect for clustering, delivering huge current loads to all motors, i will have to make a video about it and send it to you!
@@arro_rockets actually it used a 6s lipo battery, So it was around 26 volts, and huge amounts of current! Boy did it set the ignighters off with a bang!
Nice Work! Im part of the Victorian Rocketry Association, but im currently in townsville about to drive down the country, attending launch days in nsw and queensland. Does the canberra rocketry society have anything going on early october? I could potentially come through there on the way.
That's very cool to hear! I've actually recently met a member of the Victorian Rocketry Association at the last Canberra launch event. And as a matter of fact the CRG (Canberra Rocketry Group) is having a low/mid power launch event on October 1st in Yass, which I intend to attend!
I built this crazy 3 channel ignition box with mosfets to fire 3 channels simultaneously. But honestly estes igniters suck. I dont use them on clusters anymore. I would look for an alternative available where you live. You could probably save some aft weight by just friction fitting your motors with tape. ru-vid.comnfcbG4pAg-M?si=6ScKpGf1jYUTQvJi
Cool box! In terms of igniters, Estes ones are perfectly fine in almost all single motor applications, but are more of a pain with clusters since they do require more power. At the moment it's a little tricky to get alternatives where I live without ordering them online. I think an easy fix would be to use some quick dip black powder solution. And I agree with you about friction fitting, this rocket was loosely based on a design I found in a book which called for hooks, so I decided to follow it to a tee.
