Attaching streamers

[Maagic]

I got a 4 foot rocket (Cloudmark, don't know who makes it) from eBay and the instructions were good except for the part where it says "Attach the streamers to the cord". That, in fact, is all it says about attaching them. I emailed the person who sold it asking exactly how I was supposed to go about attaching them. He said he did not elaborate in the instructions because "there are so many different ways" of attaching them.

I've personally never used a rocket with a streamer so I don't see how it's supposed to slow the thing down. I'd much rather use a parachute, but the guy told me if I wanted to find the thing again to stay away from chutes.

Can I just tie these things on or should I fold them over the cord and glue them or what? It came with six of em. Should I use them all or is one sufficient (the other 5 being spares)?

Sorry for such a noobish question but I don't really want to lose this thing on my first launch.

[birming8]

Maagic, do you know what the body tube size is in estes terms that your rocket is using? http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/body_tubes.html is a site that can help you figure it out  if not. That and the previous lenght might give someone a better idea of the exact size of the rocket you are dealing with. Do you have a picture of it, from ebay maybe? Also, what are your streamers made out of, how long, and wide are they? Streamers do work, but I can't relate the exact how and why, I know there are members on the board that can though. On kits that I have bought that have streamers, I just tie them on. Hang loose, as I am sure you will get a better answer than just tie it on. This is not your average board we thrive on nooby questions, because that just means we have fresh blood in our hobby and that is a great thing! 

[Maagic]

the tube is 2" and the streamers are 2" by 24" BT-67 is the closest Estes style tube I could find.

Here is the auction that I got it from http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6035733619

[Ron]

Hello Maagic,
 It sounds like by the size of your rocket you will have to attach at least 3 of those 2"x 24" streamers to slow it down enough so you want damage it when it lands. Streamers are good for light weight rockets when launching from a small field but if the field is large and the winds are calm I would rather use a small chute to prevent damaging my rocket. Also the size motor you plan on using will help you decide whether to use a streamer or chute for recovery. I have attached a photo of a "Porta Potty" rocket I'm building that came with a 4 inch wide by 30 foot streamer which you see folded and hanging off the table. The streamer is made out of a white plastic material and is supposed to simulate a roll of toilet tissue ejecting from the rocket. Well since the rocket weighs 1 pound and because I plan on flying it to over 1,000' on an Aerotech "G-64" composite motor, I plan on attaching a 18" nylon chute to help the streamer bring it down. This is a nice novelty rocket kit that cost me $50 plus my time and energy to build it and I don't want it damaged during recovery. I believe that if  this 1 pound rocket falls from 1,000' on a streamer only it will probally break a fin or damage the body or bulkhead. So a streamer / chute combo will make me feel a lot better about getting my rocket back safely. As for your question about where to attach your streamer on your rocket I will give you the instructions that came with my rocket. My instructions called for me to tie my streamer to the shock cord about a third of the way from the top of the rockets body tube. To do this I was instructed to pass a loop of the shock cord through the eyelet in the streamer and then feed the streamer through the loop. This worked out fine and now all I have to do is buy me a 18" chute to add for my ease of mind.    I hope that I have been of some help to you. It's always better to be safe than sorry.   

Ron

 

[willmarchant]

Take a look at http://www.rocketreviews.com/cgi-bin/myemrr/recoverybox.cgi?streamer for hints about how to size streamers.  If you can measure the weight of your finished rocket (preferably with a burnt out motor casing) you can use that calculator to tell you what Tim thinks you should use for streamer(s).  If you don't have a used motor of the appropriate size, you can get the burnt weight from the certification document under http://www.nar.org/SandT/NARenglist.shtml