Brief:

Hybrid motors have always fascinated me. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' extra complexity o' a fuel and oxidizer in different states and tryin' t' get them t' combust makes adds a new challenge t' rocketry. Also, ya bilge rat, since t' fuel is inert, ya bilge rat, me hearties, thar are no permits required for storage, arrr, me bucko, and ideally (except for Aerotech) require no haz-mat fee for shipping. Aye aye! Until recently, t' only hybrid motors on t' market are in t' Level 2 range and above. Begad! Blimey! T' Hypertek system required expensive ground support system, and you must have a tank o' N20 and O2 on t' field. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Aerotech.s system had t' advantage o' allowin' you t' fill t' tank before comin' t' t' launch, but had t' disadvantage o' havin' a complex pyrotechnic valve system that is expensive, arrr, complex t' set up, shiver me timbers, and requires a haz mat fee for shipping.

Recently, hybrid technology has come down t' t' Level 1 arena. Avast! Aye aye! Ratts Work.s be t' first company that offered a certified hybrid system that any level 1 user can use. Ahoy! T' ground support is pricey, but t' design o' t' motor is a lot simpler than what Aerotech and Hypertek have t' offer. Begad! Arrr! T' reload kits do nay require a hazmat fee, me bucko, but they do nay come with igniters or pre-heater charges. However, some dealers (ie Pratt Hobbies) throw these components into t' kit for you. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' Ratts Work Hybrid motors are designed t' fit in a 29mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, with slight modification t' t' rocket for venting. Blimey! Begad! Also, t' fuel tank be t' same cylinder as t' oxidizer tank. Arrr! Begad! T' fuel and oxidizer are separated by a .floatin' bulkhead.. Begad! T' fuel is consumed from t' top t' t' bottom. Arrr! This means that t' pressure o' t' N2O pushes t' bulkhead down as t' fuel is consumed. They have three motor designations, H70, I80, shiver me timbers, and I90. T' H70 and I80 use t' same size grain, but t' case is longer.

Construction:

I won a H70 case and a few loads on a ROL auction. Avast, me proud beauty! Robert Galjes already had t' ground support system for t' RATT's work system and offered CMASS members access t' it, shiver me timbers, so t' only thin' that I required for it was a rocket t' fly it in. Ahoy! T' H70 has a 3 second burn time, ya bilge rat, and only has a total impulse o' about 180 n/s. Blimey! I wanted a rocket that was light enough t' launch with t' motor, me bucko, and t' added weight o' t' recovery hardware, and stay within 2000 ft so I can don.t risk loosin' t' rocket in t' tree filled New England area. I decided that t' Aerotech Mirage be t' perfect candidate. Aye aye! It can launch on a motor as small as a F25, and with me calculations, will go about 1,500 ft with a 180 n/s motor. Arrr! My fifteen year old friend Ryan Sebastian wanted t' help out with t' project, so he became me partner in designing, and buildin' t' rocket.

There were a couple conditions that I wanted for this rocket. Ahoy! It had t' carry electronics t' deploy t' recovery system. Begad! I wanted t' put a bulkhead near t' engine that will hold t' charge, yet protect it from any leakin' N2O. But I also want t' option o' launchin' t' model with conventional motors. Aye aye! Blimey! So t' charge bulkhead had t' be removable. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Because o' this, t' three sections o' t' Mirage have t' be removable. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' use screws t' hold t' rocket together.

T' Hybrid Mirage was built with three main sections. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' Booster Section, shiver me timbers, Parachute Bay, me hearties, and Payload section. Begad! T' Motor Section be t' lower section o' t' Aerotech Mirage, and is heavily modified. Ya scallywag! T' motor hook is still used, shiver me timbers, but t' motor hook is trimmed t' allow t' longer H70 motor t' pass beyond t' motor hook. Aye aye! It is attached in t' position that t' hook locks over t' aft closure o' t' Hybrid, and standard 29mm High Power motor. Well, blow me down! Also, arrr, this section has t' ventin' tube permeably attached t' t' airframe.

T' parachute bay, me bucko, ya bilge rat, obviously, ya bilge rat, is where t' recovery system o' t' rocket is kept. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It is also t' section that t' ejection bulkhead is attached to. A paper rin' is attached inside t' tube so t' forward face o' t' bulkhead rests against it. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! When t' booster section is attached, t' tube coupler presses t' bulkhead against t' ring. This creates a nice seal betwixt t' motor bay and t' parachute bay. Avast! When t' Mirage is flown with a regular motor, ya bilge rat, matey, t' bulkhead is simply omitted.

T' Payload Section o' t' rocket is mostly empty space. Well, blow me down! T' electronics for t' recovery system is located in t' tube coupler. Blimey! Begad! I decided that I would use me custom built timer for recovery. I designed t' timer t' use a .burn wire. Blimey! t' start t' timer. T' utilizes this, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I had a couple short bolts stickin' out o' t' side o' t' rocket. Each bolt is a terminal which a .jumper. Ya scallywag! wire is connected too. Ahoy! Begad! T' jumperwire is fastened t' t' launch rod. When t' Mirage takes off, ya bilge rat, t' jumper pulls free from t' bolt, me hearties, me bucko, thus startin' t' timer.

Flight:

T' first opportunity t' try out t' Hybrid Mirage came on July 27th, ya bilge rat, me hearties, 2002. Blimey! It did nay work very well though. Ahoy! There was a N2O leak in t' vent tube. Arrr! Aye aye! T' N2O filled t' motor section, and spread into t' parachute compartment. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Just before t' countdown for ignition be started, t' N2O in t' parachute compartment pushed t' payload section off t' rocket, which started t' timer. Begad! T' countdown was aborted, shiver me timbers, and t' N2O dump button be pushed. While t' oxidizer was bein' drained, me bucko, t' charge went off. Well, blow me down! Paper, Wood, Oxidizer.... Blimey! now a heat source? You guest it. Aye aye! Fire. Well, blow me down! For about five seconds, t' insides o' t' parachute compartment was engulfed in flame. Arrr! I did nay know this until I dismantled t' rocket, ya bilge rat, hopin' t' reload it. Begad! T' charge bulkhead be completely chard. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It disintegrated just by handlin' it. Aye aye! Avast! About a quarter o' t' inside wall o' t' body tube be burned away from t' heat.

When t' Sept 14th rocket launch came, me hearties, ya bilge rat, Ryan and I decided t' launch t' Hybrid Mirage again. Begad! Robert Galjes could nay make it t' t' launch with t' ground support equipment and t' tank o' N2O, ya bilge rat, so Ryan and I decided t' launch it with a conventional motor, me bucko, arrr, a G75-10J. Begad! Aye aye! I decided t' arm t' timer too& just t' make sure it works. T' lift off o' t' Hybrid Mirage be beautiful. Aye aye! T' black and silver rocket streakin' skyward, me bucko, leavin' behind a dark smoke trail& nice :-). Begad! T' timer deployed both chutes right at apogee, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and t' rocket recovered without a scratch.

At NSL 2003, Ryan and I launched our Hybrid Mirage with t' motor we built it for. T' prevent t' same problem we had last time, matey, I secured t' vent hose t' t' motor with hot melt glue. Well, blow me down! Blue Thunder propellant cut off a F39, and a Magnelite igniter be used t' start t' motor. Aye aye! T' H70 motor ignited instantly, shiver me timbers, and lofted t' Mirage off t' pad with ease. Aye aye! Begad! Beautiful motor; small bright flame, arrr, very little smoke. I don.t think it burned for t' full three seconds, maybe t' N2O tank was t' warm, matey, me bucko, so t' motor did nay get a full fill o' oxidizer. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' timer deployed both chutes a couple seconds after apogee, shiver me timbers, me hearties, endin' its perfect flight.

Summary:

Overall, arrr, t' Hybrid Mirage project be a success. Arrr! We built a rocket that could fly on a Hybrid motor, and convention motor. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Future plans include more H70 launches with a PICO altimeter, me hearties, and don't be surprised if you see a I80 case in me hands in t' near future ;-).