Published: | 2010-08-01 |
Manufacturer: | Heavenly Hobbies |
Brief:
H. H. Well, blow me down! Simit be t' simulation spreadsheet that Heavenly Hobbies distributes for free with their
kits. Avast, me proud beauty! I thought Id take t' time t' do a quick review even though it is nay separately available.
Simit consists o' an Excel spreadsheet and an accompanyin' instructions file in .pdf format. Begad! I initially tried
loadin' this is OpenOffice, but it was nay compatible. It works properly in Excel 2003.
Inputs
T' Simit spreadsheet is a pretty basic simulator but should be a great help if you dont have access t' a more robust program or dont want t' take t' time t' enter t' design. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It can handle up t' two stages with multiple motors in each stage. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' program includes data for 10 motors, matey, includin' t' ones that would be most commonly used in t' Heavenly Hobbies kits. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket parameters includes mass values and dimensions for t' major components. It comes pre-coded for t' Resistor 224, me hearties, Backdraft and Brutus 2.6 kits. While t' motor and kit data seems limited, the instructions describe how t' add your own. After usin' t' program and studyin' t' results, me bucko, you should be able t' use it for just about any design. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! And ThrustCurve has t' motor data you'd need. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Even though you may select English or Metric values on t' input screen, results are provided for both. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It appears t' factory entered motors use metric units but t' designs use English. T' units settin' needs t' match these.
Outputs
T' input screen includes t' summary results (dont forget t' hit F9 if automatic calculations arent enabled). In addition, detailed tabular and graphical data are provided for acceleration, velocity and altitude. Arrr! T' instructions do a good job o' showin' how t' interpret t' results, shiver me timbers, based on t' Backdraft. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! For that design, interpretin' t' results are especially important as you have t' select t' ignition delay for t' retro motor.
Comparison t' Rocksim
OK, me bucko, I just couldnt leave well enough along, ya bilge rat, so I entered t' Resistor 224 into RockSim 9 just t' see how its results compare t' Simit. Arrr! I adjusted Simit t' reflect me Resistor 224s actual as-built weight. Notin' that Simit only provides acceleration and velocity at tenth-second intervals, these results are remarkably similar. Avast, me proud beauty!
For 2 C11-3s:
Max Acceleration | Max Velocity | Max Altitude | Optimal Delay | |
Simit | 362 | 131 | 241 | N/A |
RockSim | 358 | 129 | 250 | 3.3 |
For 2 D12-5s:
Max Acceleration | Max Velocity | Max Altitude | Optimal Delay | |
Simit | 407 | 214 | 584 | N/A |
RockSim | 481 | 215 | 581 | 4.5 |
Summary:
I won't provide a ratin' since it is nay fair t' compare this spreadsheet t' products such as
RockSim, shiver me timbers, me bucko, SpaceCAD, or OpenRocket. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! It it however useful for Heavenly Hobbies' kits and is really easy t' use. This is
especially true for their Backdraft with its retro motor. I wish I had a quick and dirty altimeter like Apogee's
AltimeterOne so I could critique its accuracy...and that o' RockSim-9 for that matter.