The Clive Project
A high flying camera project.
At long last, I have finally managed to write this report.
Suppliers and sponsors of this project are below:
| Supplier: | Parts: |
| Electronic Barn (Sale Vic) - PH: (03) 5144 7700 (Google map Link) | Cameras, batteries, mercury switches, solder, wire, battery holders. |
| Snap Crackle and Pop (Sale) - PH: 03 5143 0666 (Google map Link) | Engines, Balsa, Nosecones, Wadding, Igniters. |
| Aussie Disposals | Flexible camping mirrors, Foam rubber. |
| Cobb and Co hardware | Brick layer's string, cheap ponchos (parachute material) |
| The Warehouse | Superglue (7 tubes for $2) |
| Leading Edge Computers (Sale) - PH: 03 5144 7022 (Google map Link) | USB Cables. |
INTRODUCTION:
I have been asked time and time again for details of this project - well here it is, construction notes, simulations, history, and specs all on the one page.
First off, what is the clive project you may as? well as the picture above may tell you, it's a rocket. A rocket with a small camera payload and a two-stage engine system.
So far we are up to version 4. previous versions have come to grief in one way or another. But such is the life of a prototype rocket.
4th version is yet to be tested but is depicted above. The physical model is set to be tested on the 1/3/08 permission and conditions prevailing.
If you have rocksim, the designs for each model are available for download below:
Please note that Clive IV is the most correct, previous models were not entered exactly as designed into rocksim.
Don't have rocksim?
Get the trial version here
| Clive I | |
| Clive II | Standard |
Clive III |
Standard |
| Clive IV | Payload bay and Camera mass object |
HISTORY:
Clive I - the prototype:
was a scratch build, half day prototype. Powered by a single E9-6 engine.
Flown successfully, a miniature camera was placed in the nosecone after some modification, involving balsa wood, a mirror and some mercury switches placed at angles of force. (These can be found on ebay or here)
The first used was a first gen model, I had laying around.
I scored a new generation model with compression mode for Clive III - allowing for a total of 30 seconds video.
The first gen recorded a few blurry and not very satisfactory images. Due to some mirror issues and camera focus problems.
300M altitude
200M altitude
The first prototype eventually met it's fate due to a parachute failure. The low heat tolerance of Estes chutes, and the lack of sufficient wadding (Quest brand) resulted in some melting (seen below)
And the rocket was damaged beyond repair on impact. Luckily the foam rubber padding on the battery compartment meant the pictures were retrievable.
Clive II - the second stage:
In the second prototype, a second engine stage was added. The original camera unit was salvaged from the wreckage of Clive I and refurbished. This however was rather pointless as Clive II did not survive it's first flight. as seen in the video below. A D12-5 engine was used as a booster and an E9-6 as a secondary. The intended booster should have been a D12-0, however due to some haste and negligence the wrong motor was used.
What this meant was that the rocket was facing downwards when the E9 engaged. Sending Clive II back to earth at around 400km/h.
A picture of the aftermath:
Some 30 minutes later we managed to extract the camera module that had become lodged 15cm into the fallen pine tree. The pictures were NOT retrievable.
Clive III - A little more success:
Clive III was essentially a remake of Clive II, but with a little more refinement and the correct engines fitted.
The second and third prototypes were a slight re-think. Rotating of the rear fins by 180 degrees made for more stable flight and some adjustments to the upper fins meant that it was less likely to angle into the wind, putting more thrust into vertical flight instead of fighting the upper level winds that we had to contend with at out launch site.
That coupled with some wet and dry sandpaper and some gloss paint, made for a much more efficient rocket. However, this rocket never flew. Some last minute ideas meant that we moved on to Clive IV.
A prototype of Clive III with a payload section was used to test the new camera module, now mounted behind the nosecone for added impact resistance. Seen below:
Note the screamer unit mounted to the rear fin, and the payload section mounted ahead of the forward fins.
The screamer was constructed from a $2 magnet window alarm. The transducer was separated and attached face down to the fin with hot glue. (no glue was applied to the resonating surface) The meant that the balsa wood fin became a sounding board and amplified the sound. Assisting greatly when the rocket landed in long grass. Or it would have, had I turned it on before launch.
The camera unit from the rear.
The camera unit from the front, with a spare camera board beside it.
The mode button wires extend (orange)
The shutter is controlled by two mercury switches in parallel (under black tape). One faces directly downwards in relation to the rocket body (contacts up). This allows for the negative G force of deceleration to trigger the rocket at apogee just before parachute ejection, and again as the camera is jerked back on the shock cord.
The other is a few degrees above horizontal in relation to the rocket body (contacts outwards). This allows the rocket to take an image if the rocket spins or is buffeted by wind or the booster stage jettisoned shock. As a nice bonus that was not anticipated, this also helps to take a couple of pictures of the landing site. Finally, it allows for a small shake of the rocket while on the launch rod, to confirm the function of the camera, without the need to remove the payload.
Some video of this test model in action is below:
Conditions were not the best for this test.
The pictures it yielded were some of the best so far:
Ground Zero.. Almost
Booster Jettison
Apogee - estimated at 300m
Descent - shock cord in sight
Descent - a little further down.
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Blast off....
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Booster Jettison
This experimental platform was tested again in calmer conditions with a slight modification to the camera module.
A "clothespin" switch was added. Roughly explained, this consisted of two pieces of copper glued onto the side of the rocket. They were insulated from each other and connected to either side of the trigger button terminals. The tips were sprung so that they would touch. A small piece of thin plastic was then inserted.
This meant that when the camera was set to video mode, the act of holding down the shutter button could be simulated. The problem with this - the camera has a 4 second timeout on the mode selection screen. The mode button was quickly mounted on the outside of the rocket in the field and the below video was taken.
Note the short delay between removal of the tab and the launch. The PIP has been synchronized with the onboard video for your viewing pleasure. and a separate video of just the onboard camera is below that.
Below: onboard footage.
That ended my funding for a few weeks...
Clive IV - Yet to be tested...
Clive 4 is a variation of the experimental test bed, and includes the payload bay. The download for this design is at the top of this page. The rocksim design has been made as accurate as possible with all the mass objects for the camera, shock cord, wadding and parachute all calculated correctly.
Questions about the motor mounts....?
My way of making engine mounts is a little obscure, but it is merely a weight saving technique. I use layered balsa rings (6 X 5mm rings usually) glued in the rear. A small amount of insulation tape is applied to the motor at the nozzle end to prevent it from pushing forward through the motor mount. one or two layers are applied just behind this to make it fit more tightly into the mount.
A cutter was made by setting some aluminum tube on a lather and cut to 26mm OD (outer diameter), the end being tapered to form a sharp point. Inserted inside this were some washers to fit the ID (inner diameter) and they were welded in place. The was then set over a standard drill pit in a pedestal drill and used to cut holes from a 5mm balsa sheet.
Cut into squares with holes, these are then glued (cheap super glue - crazy glue to my US friends) with the grain at 90 degrees to the previous layer.
Shoved back onto the hole cutting tool I just made, this is then set back in the lathe and used as a holder to cut the excess balsa off and to shape the remaining mess into a motor mount.
This is then glued into the rear of the rocket.
"I don't have rocksim - but I still want to make this rocket"
Well you are lucky today - I have included some scale diagrams for you to print.
Please note that "M" on the design denotes a mass object (an object with a specified weight).
I have run a few simulations for this design and have listed them in a chart below.
Results of the physical test will be placed here when complete.
| Clive IV test criteria | Actual Result | Expected result | Comments |
| Booster Jettison | Success | Success | Alteration to trajectory, loss of altitude. Shift of CG needs to be fixed. |
| Sustainer ignition | Success | Success | Nice Smoke ring. |
| Flight path | Partial success | Success | Flew nice until upper level winds. |
| Rotation | Success | Uncertain | Nice rate of spin even when lateral. Centrifugal force was just enough to trigger camera. |
| Landing | Partial success | Success | Landed half in water second launch, just barely managed to get pictures off camera - now dead. |
| Launch | Partial success | Success | Loss of launch lug on first flight - need better launch lug assembly. |
Clive IV Test Flight:
Well the test flight of Clive IV went well. the first launch went a little horizontal towards the end but a long shock cord and some reliable wind speed measurements before launch ensured that it drifted back into the safe zone (middle of a side road) before landing.
Image taken by camera module as it hit the road.
The second launch was met with some unexpected high level winds and became fully horizontal. During the 5 second delay before parachute ejection, the rocket became partially inverted while still traveling at high velocity. This may have been due to the weight of the camera unit above the forward fins. Again a long shock cord meant that the parachute survived and the cord remained attached. The following image was recovered from the rather wet camera module - it shows just how stretched the shock cord was at the time:
Shoch cord stretch at high velocity.
Some images from the camera module before it's water damage on the second flight.
Above: A nice smoke ring as the booster falls away. (observe the view of one fin at the very bottom of the rocket)
Above: Launch #1 Image taken as the rocket buffeted in high level winds.
Above: Launch #2 deceleration into the negative G's close to apogee.
More video to come as it is uploaded to the dranoweb youtube account:
I hope you enjoyed this report - it is a work in progress, so check back again soon.