Summary
Highlights
The video starts by explaining how to prepare the parachute for a Level 7 rocket, emphasizing the use of a pre-distributed model. It details placing eight transparent adhesive stickers near the edges of the parachute, then punching holes through these reinforced areas. The speaker stresses the importance of ensuring adhesives are fully attached to prevent tearing. Four lines are then attached to the eight holes, with a specific method to avoid line crossing: each line must connect two adjacent holes. The knots should be firm and excess line should be avoided to prevent tangling.
After securing all eight lines to the parachute, they are gathered in the center, ensuring equal length for each. A knot is tied to unify all lines, and a 60 cm piece of string is added as an extension to improve the parachute's opening during flight. This extension is crucial for balancing the parachute and preventing it from becoming lopsided.
The video then moves on to the critical step of folding the parachute. First, air is introduced into the parachute to stretch it into an umbrella shape. The goal is to divide the parachute into four equal sections, each with four flaps, ensuring an organized fold. The folding technique involves creating an accordion-like shape, rather than a tight roll, to allow air to enter easily during deployment. The speaker demonstrates folding sections inward, maintaining a consistent width of about two fingers, until the parachute's tip and lines are on opposite sides. The lines are then loosely wrapped around fingers for easy release upon deployment.
The parachute is then attached to the rocket. The string extension from the parachute is threaded through a pre-drilled hole at the top of the rocket's bottle. A piece of masking tape is used on the string's end to facilitate this process, which is then removed. The string is secured with several strong knots to withstand the parachute's deployment shock. An important point is that the parachute cannot be fully installed yet because the electronic system needs to be integrated first. A 'snail' piece (caracol) is temporarily secured with tape, ensuring its arm aligns with a specific hole, but this tape must be removed before launch.
The electronic system, mandatory for Level 7 rockets, is introduced. It consists of an altimeter board that reads pressure differences to record maximum altitude, a servo motor for deployment, and a rechargeable battery. The system includes an RBF (Remove Before Flight) pin which acts as a master switch. The battery can be recharged using a standard USB-C cable and adapter, but fast chargers are advised against to preserve battery life. The video details proper connection of the wires, ensuring correct polarity and a secure click.
To activate the electronics, the RBF pin must be removed, which powers on the system, indicated by a blinking status light. A slow blink indicates readiness for flight, while a fast blink signals a low battery. The video explains how to read the altimeter's last flight data by removing and reinserting the RBF pin after a flight. The readings are displayed digit by digit, representing thousands, hundreds, tens, and units of meters, followed by a decimal point. This process allows repeated checks of the last recorded altitude.
The electronic board is mounted onto two support rings designed to fit perfectly into the rocket. It's crucial to position the board correctly inside the rocket, with the altimeter facing the direction of launch and its large hole aligned for external access to the servo motor. With the RBF pin removed, the electronics are carefully slid into the rocket and secured with screws (two are sufficient) to prevent movement during flight. The speaker emphasizes tightening the screws well to ensure stability.
With the electronics installed, the parachute is re-folded, ensuring lines are organized, and placed atop the 'snail' piece. The nose cone, which is hollow and would normally require balancing weight, is filled with a small balloon to prevent the parachute from sticking to its interior during deployment without adding extra mass. An elastic band holds the nose cone to the 'snail' arm. This elastic band is hooked onto the servo's pointer, carefully positioned at the tip to ensure it releases when the servo rotates. This setup ensures that when the electronics activate, the servo disengages the elastic, and the 'snail' arm ejects the nose cone and parachute.
The final step involves joining the front section of the rocket (containing the parachute, electronics, and nose cone) with the main body (containing the fuel and fins). Since both sections have the same diameter, the speaker advises gently squeezing one section to fit it into the other, rotating as needed, and avoiding pressing it against a hard surface to prevent damage to the fins. The rocket is now ready for launch. For launch, any suitable base can be used, ensuring the launch angle is vertical but not exceeding 85 degrees. The altimeter board must face the launcher for monitoring, and both the temporary tape and the RBF pin must be removed before launch. Importantly, the rocket's sensor holes should not be parallel to the wind to prevent premature parachute deployment.