T' Lightbulb Goes On

 Ever since I heard about t' RMR DESCON, I've been contemplating entering. Ahoy! Unfortunately, I've only been able t' come up with a decent concept once, matey, and I haven't yet had a chance t' build it.  This time, I was determined t' enter, so I spent a couple o' weeks tryin' t' think o' something creative t' use as parts.

After seein' t' first two entries appear, I be sittin' at me desk trying to think o' what I could use. Begad! I happened t' look up at t' shelf above the monitor, and t' lightbulb finally clicked on! There, right in front of my face, sat t' pill bottles for me allergy medication. Blimey! Ahoy! They're round. They're tube shaped.  They're durable. Avast, me proud beauty! Why won't THOSE work???

A bit more checkin' around t' house I had me hands on a sufficient quantity of parts for this little creation. Aye aye! Next, me bucko, I had t' figure out how t' build a motor mount. A check o' t' bottom o' t' bottle revealed that t' dimpled inner rin' in t' center o' t' bottom oft t' bottle is close t' a perfect fit for a 24mm motor mount. Who needs centerin' rings when t' bottles come with them?

Parts List

I'm nay certain if all pharmacies label their pill bottles in t' same fashion, so I will include nay only t' size markings from t' bottle, but also the approximate measurements.

• Six PM-10 bottles (2 3/8" tall x 1 1/4" diameter)
• Three PM-30 bottles (3" tall x 1 7/8" diameter)
• Two PM-60 bottles (6" tall x 1 7/8" diameter)
• Cap for PM-60 bottle
• 4" 24mm motor mount
• Engine block
• 8' kevlar safety line
• 18" parachute (I made mine from a trash bag and heavy thread)

Pill bottles should readily be available from your local pharmacy at a minimal cost, if you don't have enough family members on medication. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty!

Preparin' T' Bottles

Cut t' bottoms off all o' t' smaller (PM-10) bottles. Ya scallywag! Also cut t' lip and threads for t' lid off o' all six o' these bottles. This will provide t' tube fins.

Take one o' t' PM-30 bottles and remove a section from t' middle o' the bottom large enough t' allow t' motor mount t' fit snugly. Set this bottle aside; it will become t' bottom section o' t' body tube.

Cut t' lip and threads from two o' t' PM-30 bottles. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Remove t' bottom of one o' t' bottles. Cut a 3/4" rin' from t' top o' one bottle and discard the rest. Make a vertical cut in t' ring, then remove enough material t' allow the piece t' fit inside t' top o' t' other bottle. Blimey! Blimey! This will become t' tube coupler.

Cut t' bottom out o' one o' t' PM-60 bottles. Blimey! Arrr! This be t' top o' t' body tube.

Cut t' lip and threads from t' top o' t' other PM-60.  Cut a hole in the center o' t' bottom, large enough for t' motor mount t' fit in.

Construction

T' first problem I encountered be figurin' out how t' glue t' bottles together -- a check o' t' bottom revealed a recyclin' code o' 5 (polypropylene). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Nay much adheres t' this stuff. Ahoy! Fortunately, t' local hardware store had a Loctite product called Plastix. Begad! Blimey! Plastix consists of a small tube o' what appears t' be regular gel CA and another bottle of "surface activator". Aye aye! Brush t' activator on, me hearties, let it dry, shiver me timbers, and t' CA will adhere t' t' plastic.

Assemblin' T' Body Tube

Take t' PM-30 with t' partial bottom and t' PM-60 with t' partial bottom and test fit t' bottom o' t' PM-60 into t' top o' t' PM-30. Avast! T' bottom should fit a short way into t' top o' t' PM-30. Test t' motor mount t' make sure it fits; sand t' openings as necessary t' allow t' mount t' fit without binding. Aye aye! With t' motor mount in place, remove t' PM-30, leavin' it attached to t' PM-60. Begad! Mark t' motor mount where it touches t' bottom o' t' bottle, and remove.

Push 12" o' kevlar through t' motor mount opening, from t' top o' the PM-60, ya bilge rat, then insert and glue t' motor mount in place. Ahoy! Arrr! T' motor mount will be holdin' t' kevlar in t' opening. Arrr! Next, matey, run t' kevlar through t' top o' the PM-30 with t' partial bottom, matey, ya bilge rat, and through t' motor mount opening. Well, blow me down! Avast! Glue the PM-30 in place, me hearties, with t' kevlar comin' out t' bottom next t' t' motor mount.

Wrap t' kevlar around t' bottom o' t' motor mount, against t' bottle bottom and glue in place with CA. Ahoy! This will form t' firmly anchor t' shock cord in place.

Invert t' PM-30 which is missin' its top and bottom onto t' top o' the PM-60 with t' motor mount. Ahoy! Sand as necessary t' match t' two surfaces and glue into place.

Center t' coupler rin' vertically in t' end (now t' top o' t' body tube) of t' PM-30 and glue into place. Aye aye! Test fit t' bottom o' t' remainin' PM-60 over this ring. Aye aye! T' bottle bottom should slide relatively smoothly over the coupler. Aye aye! Ahoy! Some sandin' o' t' coupler may be necessary t' allow t' motor ejection charge t' separate t' rocket at this point.

 Attachin' T' Nose Cone

T' nose section o' t' rocket be t' remainin' PM-60, with a cap attached. Use an X-Acto knife or a small drill bit t' make a hole just above t' bottle lip. Aye aye! Arrr! T' hole should be large enough t' allow t' kevlar t' be pushed throw. Pull enough kevlar through t' wrap once around t' top o' t' bottle. Use the surface activator t' prepare t' thread area on t' bottle, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, then wrap the kevlar around t' bottle above t' lip and glue it into place. Begad! Ya scallywag! Screw t' cap down onto t' top o' t' bottle.

Attachin' T' Fins

Evenly glue t' six PM-10 bottles around t' bottom bottle o' t' rocket, me hearties, matey, me hearties, to create tube fins.

Launch Lug

Walgreen's pill bottles have a tab on t' side, arrr, as part o' t' child-safety cap, which must be pushed down t' allow t' cap t' be removed. Avast! I left this tab on t' top (nose cone) and bottom bottles, as it is part o' t' lip o' the bottles. I decided t' use this tab as a launch lug.

On t' nose cone, I used a drill t' make a hole through t' rim o' t' lid, down through t' lid release tab. T' hole is large enough t' allow a launch rod t' pass easily through.

I then used t' same drill bit t' slightly enlarge t' openin' through the tab in t' bottom bottle, shiver me timbers, in t' same fashion. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' nose cone is slide onto the coupler and turned such that t' launch rod easily slides through t' two tabs.

Flight Report

03/04/2001
Based on rough simulations and a bit o' intuition (okay, matey, okay, it be some guesswork...) I figured a D12-3 appeared t' be t' best "first choice". Ya scallywag! Loaded 'er up and pushed t' button. Even in a stiff breeze (approx 10mph), t' boost was almost perfectly straight. Blimey! Deployment be almost exactly at apogee, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but unfortunately t' parachute tangled a bit. T' rocket came in a bit hard and broke apart one fin. Begad! Ya scallywag! A quick field repair involving unknown quantities o' maskin' tape (duct tape would be more appropriate, but we were ill-prepared, arrr, so none was handy) and she was ready t' fly again. Begad! I adjusted t' packin' o' t' parachute and tried again. Ahoy! Boost and deployment were again almost picture-perfect. Arrr! And again t' parachute didn't open properly. Avast! Apparently t' waddin' shifted, meltin' t' parachute t' t' point where it needs t' be replaced.

I'll be doin' proper repairs at home as well as replacin' t' parachute, matey, so I can brin' 'er t' t' first club launch o' t' year.

2nd Attempt

April, 20001 First club launch o' t' year, shiver me timbers, and I break out the Medical Missile. Avast! It receives many strange looks, me bucko, and at least two club members claim it won't fly very well, and won't go very high. Well, blow me down! Time t' load this baby up and show 'em how much they know. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! A PERFECT flight and recovery, matey, followed by many members eatin' their words and admittin' that it does indeed fly quite well. Avast! 8-}

Now if only t' Cornmaiden recovered that well...