Giant Leap Rocketry Avionics Bay (3.0-inch)

Giant Leap Rocketry - Avionics Bay (3.0-inch)

Contributed by Scott Pearson

Manufacturer: Giant Leap Rocketry
(Contributed - by Scott Pearson - 09/20/03)

Giant Leap 3.0in Avionics BayBrief:
When I was gettin' ready for me L2 rocket I decided that I wanted it t' be dual deployment capable. I was goin' t' design me own bay when I saw t' Giant Leap Avionics Bay. Avast, me proud beauty! Since I had never designed one before I decided it might be better t' use an existin' design and learn from it before buildin' me own.

Construction:
T' GL avionics bay comes with all t' basic foundation parts for an avionics bay. Blimey! It comes with an extended coupler tube, me hearties, three bulk heads, one O-ring, one length o' threaded rod, arrr, two eye bolts with washers and nuts and two pages of basic instructions on t' construction and theory behind dual deployment.

T' first page o' instructions tells you how t' construct t' bay while the second page describes t' theory o' it.

I started out test fittin' t' parts and decidin' how t' make it fit my purposes. Blimey! Avast! This bay does nay contain anythin' for mountin' t' electronics--you have t' decide on this yourself. Blimey! Avast! This is fine as thar be no one way for the electronics t' fit and must be customized for each. Avast! Blimey!

Giant Leap 3.0in Avionics Bay

I epoxied one bulkhead on t' end o' t' tube. Begad! I then added four basswood strips inside t' tube. Ahoy! These strips were thar for two reasons one, t' provide extra support for t' bulkheads when t' threaded rod is tightened and the second was t' keep t' electronics, shiver me timbers, matey, which would be mounted on boards, steady and stable durin' flight.

T' instructions for t' other bulkheads have t' smaller one affixed to the other larger one with t' o-rin' seated in-between t' seal t' tube. Blimey! I had some problems this part, matey, as I was nay sure if t' o-rin' should be in our out of t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! I finally decided that it would rest on t' top rim o' t' tube. Ahoy! I had t' modify t' smaller bulkhead; I beveled t' rim on t' small bulkhead to create a groove for t' rin' t' sit in. Aye aye! I then glued it all together I did not glue t' O-rin' in but just have it seated in t' groove by its own tension. Aye aye!

I designed me bay t' fit two altimeters in t' same bay. Avast! Ya scallywag! I found out that it was a tight fit but could work. Blimey! With t' threaded rod goin' down t' center I put one altimeter on either side o' t' center o' t' tube. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Each altimeter would be fixed t' a board that was cut t' fit snugly in t' tube with out much play. Begad!

I cut 2 1/2 inches o' tube off t' rockets body tube and glued that on at the center o' t' bay. Then I added four equalization holes in t' coupler and added holes on either end o' t' avionics bay for t' ejection charge wiring. Finally, me bucko, I sealed t' wirin' holes with modelin' clay t' keep out t' ejection charges.

T' avionics bay performance be as planned and on me second attempt I was successful with me L2.

Finishing:
There are special requirements t' finishin' this, ya bilge rat, me bucko, just paint it with t' rest of t' rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I found t' Giant Leap Avionics bay t' be a great starter kit t' get you going in creatin' a bay for your rocket. Ya scallywag! It is a versatile system that will offer you the basic shell t' complete your bay. Avast! It should nay be considered a complete avionics system, me bucko, as you must still create your own design for your purposes and electronics.

T' instructions were a bit light and could use an upgrade but are easy enough t' follow and get a good foundation in dual deployment theory.

All in all a nice unit.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

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