Those larger Madcow kits John mentioned can be flown single deploy or with an
optional electronics bay. One approach that works nicely is to build it with
the bay but not actually put any electronics in, just put the main chute in the
bottom and leave the top empty, fly it a couple times, get the L2 done, and
then you have a platform to add electronics at your convenience.
All that being said if you haven’t flown any I motors yet, you should do that
in your L1 rocket, if only as a confidence builder. It also turns out that the
typical L1 rocket can take a smaller J no problem - I’ve flown both mine and my
wife’s with smaller Js just for fun. The main issue is getting used to
recovery from a higher altitude flight (see: chute release, and maybe invest in
a basic tracker sooner rather than later).
Doug
On May 24, 2022, at 9:33 PM, Neil Balch <neilbalch@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hrm, yeah. I definitely agree that trying electronic deployment for the first
time on a launch with nerfed performance is a good idea. I'm hesitant to
modify my PM Spitfire for this, though... I think I want to keep it as-is for
now.
My current thinking is to get a somewhat larger kit for L2 experimentation,
one that can fly with underpowered motors while I'm learning the ropes and
then move to more fun boomsticks later on. Thanks, John! I'll definitely look
into the DX3 or Frenzy
Neil Balch
On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 9:28 PM John Venable <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<mailto:dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
In my opinion I say a Madcow DX3 or Frenzy with a chute release on a J350W.
You can’t lose
Sent from AT&T Yahoo Mail for iPad <https://more.att.com/currently/imap>
On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 9:13 PM, Neil Balch <neilbalch@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:neilbalch@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
Hi all,
Hope you're all doing well! Sad to have missed DA this year, but I've been
making the best of being stuck in school 😉. Santa Barbara is pretty great for
watching Vandenberg launches, though!
Anyway, I'm curious if any of you have suggestions for L2 kits intended for
electronic deployment. I plan to use my L1 rocket with a J motor for an L2
cert sometime soon, but it's piston ejection. As I understand, the next
milestone is to fly L2 with a separate ejection system.
I'm starting to think about why my kit options are... Although I'm sure it'd
be a thoroughly rewarding experience to fiberglass a custom airframe, I don't
think I'll have the time to make it work this summer. Are there any L2 kits
that would allow me to skip that step for now?
Can't wait to finally fly my L1 again sometime this summer!
Thanks,
Neil Balch
