BACKGROUND:

I have never made it a secret that I love t' looks o' Nordic Rocketry's Meanie. Begad! It is usually t' first rocket I fly at every launch and I love it on D's t' F's. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Bein' t' case, I decided that I would love a 2x version.

Comin' up with a 2x version wasn't exactly possible since t' original be 2.6" diameter airframe and t' nearest t' 2x tubin' I could find was 5.5". Arrr! Ya scallywag! So be it, I have a 2.11x version.

I decided on usin' Phexible Phenolic tubin' which be purchased from Red Arrow Hobbies. Begad! Blimey! I also decided t' use 1/4" plywood for t' fins and t' LOC 5.5" Long Nose Cone (longer than t' Minni-Mags).

In addition, it was goin' t' be a 38mm motor mount and have an ejection baffle.

THE BAFFLE:

I heard about t' troubles that people expressed with baffles gettin' clogged up and even on t' LOC Baffle kit, me bucko, I purchased, arrr, it said t' clean it out with a pin every so many flights. Begad! Begad! This bein' t' case, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, arrr, I decided t' create a removable baffle unit.

T' removable baffle unit was constructed usin' plastic plumbin' components. Avast, me proud beauty! T' diameter o' t' 38mm tube was much too small t' securely fit inside t' plastic plumbin' collar so I wrapped it with tape until it fit in loosely. Aye aye! Then usin' liberal amounts o' epoxy I glued t' motor tube in place. I then epoxied t' plastic ferrule t' t' LOC baffle so that it slid inside o' t' 38mm tube and so that it was above t' collar-nut. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' pictures tell t' story better. 

THE NOSE CONE:

In order t' get t' Center o' Gravity where it needed t' be on t' "stubby" rocket, I needed t' get weight into t' nose cone. I didn't want it permanent though. Avast, me proud beauty! So I came up with a way t' do it.

I first cut a 1" hole in t' bottom o' t' nose cone. Then I used enough 24mm tubin' so that when pushed into t' hole it would reach all t' way t' t' top (tip) o' t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then used a large and small washer t' secure it. Avast, me proud beauty! I then used bb's until I had enough weight t' brin' t' CG t' where I needed it. T' bb's were epoxied in and then t' rest o' t' 24mm tube be filled with foam. Begad! Avast! Blimey! (Do this in small layers so it will dry) Usin' this method, I could use different 24mm tubes (weighted differently) as I changed motors . Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! . Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! . Arrr! or at least that was t' plan.

DID IT FLY?

Yes. Ahoy! Weighin' in at 6 1/2 pounds, ya bilge rat, utilizin' two 43" JP parachutes with a 20 foot tubular nylon shock cord, and loaded with an H128 (usin' a 29mm motor adaptor), this bird looked great on t' pad. A windy, windy day at Battle Park 1999, matey, however, shiver me timbers, she be goin' t' fly.

T' countdown . Blimey! . Aye aye! Ahoy! . ignition . . Ya scallywag! . Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! lift off. It was beautiful! It reached about 500 feet and then started downward. Well, blow me down! Avast! NO EJECTION!

WILL IT FLY AGAIN?

Yes. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! I will rebuild it. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I still have t' other half o' t' 5.5" tubin' but I need a new nose cone.

Below are t' makings for t' new motor mount. Avast! When finished it will be 1-29mm and 3-24mm. Blimey! Notice how t' 24mm are angled. Ahoy! These are aligned t' have thrust in line with Center o' Gravity. Begad! (I read about this cantin' in some publication)

In addition, ya bilge rat, I decided t' do it right, arrr, matey, so I paid Public Missiles t' cut me new fins from G10.

LESSONS LEARNED APPLIED:

I will nay be usin' a baffle unit this time. Ahoy! Blimey! Nay that it wouldn't work, however, I have moved toward altimeter based ejection on this one.

In addition, me bucko, with t' 29mm motor, I have only made t' length o' t' motor mounts long enough t' handle me 29-180 casing. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This has given me more room t' pack t' shock cord, me hearties, altimeter and parachutes in t' body. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It be previously a very, very tight fit.

I will utilize t' nose cone weight method again because I liked how that worked, me hearties, ya bilge rat, however, I will be also need t' consider t' addition o' a shock-cord tube in t' nose cone. Arrr! Blimey! This will be used like a deployment bag for t' shock cord.

SUMMARY:

T' exterior design o' t' rocket is obviously nay me own, me bucko, however, t' "guts" are. Blimey! I learned a lot durin' t' first-round and should have t' second one ready t' fly at t' NSL in NY at t' end o' May. Ahoy! Blimey! It is gettin' primed right now!

NARAM-43 Update 8/01:

After sittin' nearly 2 years in t' "ready" state. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I was able t' brin' her t' NARAM-43 for t' maiden voyage.

Weighin' in at just over 6 pounds, I loaded me 29-180 case with an H238 and also three (3) 24mm E18's. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It was set up for motor ejection off o' t' H238 usin' a "S"hort delay (6 seconds) and t' 24mm motors used 10 second delays and then capped. Ahoy! Blimey! Accordin' t' RockSim, this should boost this rocket t' just over 1000 feet and t' delay time was perfect!

T' "heads up" flight (first flight) was announced and t' countdown began. Avast, me proud beauty! T' launch button was pushed and t' H238 "punched" t' rocket into t' air. Six seconds o' silence and a straight boost, boom, ejection and descent only 50 or so feet from t' pad. Aye aye! Perfect lookin' flight and several people commented on it. Well, matey, blow me down! One guy said (and I agree), "it doesn't have t' be high t' be a great flight, good job."

But...upon inspection, matey, only t' H238 lit.

T' next day, t' rocket was prepped exactly t' same way and actually turned in an identical performance on another H238 and 3 x E18 (same ones, didn't even remove them). Ya scallywag! Again, only t' central H238 lit.

I be pleased t' get both o' these flights and at how t' rocket performed. Begad! Aye aye! It be very stable and t' big RocketMan 'chute did t' job. Arrr! Looks live Rev 2 be a good design.

3 Oaks, ya bilge rat, Michigan Update 11/01:

I really wanted t' have a full perfect cluster launch, shiver me timbers, so I toted t' Meanie x2 t' Michigan. Begad! This time t' fly on those same three (3) E18's and this time a central H165 Redline Motor. Begad! Well, matey, I had very different results this time!

Everythin' was prepped and t' launch button pressed. Arrr! T' rocket slowly lifted from t' pad, cleared t' rail, lifted ever so slowly t' about 25 feet. Blimey! Turned gracefully and dived into t' soft mud. Ya scallywag! By now you've guessed it. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! ONLY t' three (3) E18's lit!! I was actually surprised that they lifted t' rocket.

Well, arrr, I collected t' rocket, me bucko, went right back t' t' inspection table and filled out another flight card. Well, blow me down! Returned t' t' pad and launched t' rocket on t' central H165. Avast! It gave a nice flight and perfect recovery.

I'll be tryin' again and tryin' t' perfectly match t' 4 ignitors t' get all motors t' fire, arrr, shiver me timbers, but in t' meantime am very pleased about t' performance o' me Meanie x2, shiver me timbers, me bucko, number 2.

LESSONS LEARNED:

I regret nay buildin' t' motor with a central 38mm. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! I didn't own any 38mm hardware and really didn't have t' intention when I built t' rocket over 2 years ago (almost 4 years for t' first version). Now, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I really stuck with H128's, H238's and H165's. Begad! This is goin' t' give me flights betwixt 1000 and 1200 feet usin' 24mm RMS E's and F's. I can get t' about 2400 feet with some 24mm G55's, but that is about peak. I'm okay with t' altitude limitation, but with t' 38mm hardware I could have tried many other motors.