EggsRific

I was walkin' through t' isles o' t' local dollar store after gorging on as many o' t' $1 star wars rockets as I could fit in a cart :-) and while in line I saw this Bright Pink Inflatable Easter Egg with little duckies on it.  Hmmm I be thinkin' should I get some o' these for the house and then it HITS me.  Inflatable rocket ! Drool Drool.

I buy one for a $1

Then I get t' thinkin' - I fly max D engines (cost) so how do I get somethin' this draggy t' any kind o' altitude on a D. Balsa fins are cheap enough but VERY heavy unless I make then so thin that they are unlikely to survive a single flight.  I am walkin' through t' grocery store with my mom and I see someone behind t' deli counter wrappin' meat in a meat tray and it dawns on me that THEY pack thar own meat in meat trays meanin' they MUST have meat trays.  Another $1 later and I have 4 large meat trays. Avast, me proud beauty! I would have preferred t' Yellow meat tray (more on theme with t' design) but white be t' only color that be Smooth on both sides.

That Night I am thinkin' how t' FLy this thing. and next t' me in the car is one o' many tubes I scavenged from a local 5&10 closin' down - Cores t' t' racks o' paper and plastic arts and craft stuff they got.  These tubes were a wee bigger than 29mm and nay bad on strength.  Better yet Light and they were Free anyway.

Mountin' T' Tube was goin' t' be tough since I had t' SEAL it for it to hold air since t' Egg had t' be TIGHT since that be t' integrity of the whole rocket.  T' Egg actually WAS t' structure.

I made t' tube long enough t' go all t' way t' t' front.  I could nay secure it t' t' front since it would tear off from inflating and deflating. Well, blow me down! Begad! Also by havin' it unattached t' t' front I could wiggle it around t' center t' thrust line.

I be goin' t' use a normal piece o' 24mm tubin' for t' MMT but I forgot t' brin' any.  I grabbed t' nearest Legal pad and cut a square and made one.

Here be t' neat Idea I came up with for recovery.  I rolled paper gluin' as I rolled into 3 small rolls until I had three little pencils of paper thick enough t' center t' 24mm MMT I fashioned in t' tube.

I glue these t' t' MMT like fins and then friction fit this into the Larger core tube. Ahoy! Blimey! Then glued it into place. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! (to allow t' ejection gases to vent out t' back.  SInce if you look at it for just a moment you will realize t' aft be t' only place t' eject anything.

I confirmed t' Egg had NO leaks before cutting. Arrr! (don't want any more problems than I need) I did find one leak and I sealed it. BOy would that have been a nightmare later on.

I then Cut open me egg.  I slid t' Core inside and centered it as best I could.  I then began tackin' t' Hole t' t' Core. Ya scallywag! Blimey! SLowing goin' opposite side t' side t' keep it even.

Once it be tacked all t' way around I smeared some Epoxy on it to really seal it good. Ahoy! I then partially inflated it so it would be in the proper orientation (the egg surface) when t' Epoxy cured. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! (I later found epoxy does NOT stick all that well t' this stuff I will scuff it well on the next try.)

Once t' epoxy set t' hard part was upon me - How t' attach t' fins. I chose t' epoxy except this time I smarted up and scuffed t' linin' a bit first.  T' Egg has 4 seams so Where t' attach t' fins be cake. I wanted t' fins t' arch back as much as I could BUT I also wanted t' nice curvy shape so it was a compromise. IE t' more severely I laid them back the more ungainly it would look BUT t' less Nose Weight would be needed to make it stable.

When They dried I inflated it and Wow it be a rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then it began to sag and then Plop is fell over as it sagged t' much t' hold its shape. Grrr t' next hour was spent findin' and sealin' all t' holes.

Apparently what happened was me Core tube PLUG was leaking.

I stuck in a piece o' Foam Rubber I had lyin' in me box and then smothered t' top with CA - apparently t' CA wicked into t' Foam faster than I could Accelerate it so it was nay airtight. Begad! On a hunch that this was t' problem I stuck in a motor and then loosely placed tape over the vents for t' ejection.  Heh it held sort of.  I had t' give it a little more mouth t' mouth about once a minute. Avast! But it held rigid more than long enough t' fly :-)

I can guarantee this rocket t' be worth $1.04 since I got 4 quarters and 4 pennies taped t' t' nose

At t' field I realized I did nay make plans for a launch lug Grrrrr. Grrrr Double Grrrr

I tape on a large piece o' 10.5mm tube t' one side and down t' fin. I stuck on a larger tube t' help prevent t' inevitable bidin' from having the lug so far from t' center line. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! (still workin' on that)

We Tried 5 times t' launch t' critter. Avast! Kept blowin' igniters (includin' 2 igniter man igniters wow !!)

Finally on t' 6th try I gave it one last mouth t' mouth (hope no one got that on tape :-) and said let her rip.

I was ready t' duck and it lit. Ahoy! Nay only did it fly but it flew REALLY well !! I was impressed. Avast! IT arched and blew it extra gas :-) T' venting works and down it came.  Bounce (Bounce recovery)

About ten seconds after pickin' it up a Literal WALL o' wind o' what I figure was at least 30mph NAILED US.  After a few second we realized it be NOT goin' away.  This was NO gust It just did not stopped.  That scrubbed t' launch for us.  It was almost as if mother be shocked and said how dare you fly such a abomination of aerodynamics and said NO more and hit us with t' wind. Ahoy! Begad! :-)

Now that I know t' design is Worth buildin' IE went high enough. Begad! I will build another with a little more thought. Blimey! It was a wee fast for bounce recovery. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' Inflated took most o' t' energy quite well but it still crunched t' core tube a little. Aye aye! Begad! (I will pop a chute or few streamer out the back.  T' streamers would look cooler but I think t' chute will be easier and nay weigh as much in t' rear.

I am still workin' on t' launch lug issue.  I could run one along the core and Out t' top and then seal it there. But I be kind o' trying not t' pierce t' Egg anywhere except t' aft for t' engine. Begad! I don't know havin' a hole at t' top takes somethin' away from it t' me.  I will have t' think about it - make a custom tower t' lob it from.