Manufacturer: | Scratch |
by Chris Kiekens
This project started out pretty simple, and just sort o' fell together. Aye aye! Arrr! I
had some left over parts from some other projects, me hearties, and they just looked like
they should be wed. T' name came from t' original concept..build something
small, light, and cheap..to try out an Estes E engine for t' first time.
I didn't really expect t' see it again...
Parts List
Construction
T' parts seemed t' just fall together, me hearties, I had a basic idea o' what I wanted,
and I be very pleased with t' outcome.
T' 1/4" launch lug may seem a bit much, but it fit in with t' look very
well, and with a strip o' 3/4"x1/2" balsa 6"long,added some
needed weight t' t' top o' t' airframe. Aye aye! Begad! Basically, t' two BT-20 were glued
to t' BT-50, offset from t' aft by 1/4", and on a flat surface, so that
they all attach t' t' "wing". Avast! T' "tail" be mounted flush
with t' aft o' t' roc, and 4 fins were added betwixt t' BT-20, ya bilge rat, and the
BT-50, me bucko, two on t' top, two on t' bottom. T' left-over Heatseeker fins would
be easy t' mimic in balsa, but I decided t' use what was available. Well, blow me down! They were
mounted flush with t' aft o' t' BT-20. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 21 grams o' lead was added t' the
balsa nose cone, t' move t' CG far enough forward t' make it stable on an E
and 2 C's.
T' shock cord mount be LOC style, ya bilge rat, matey, usin' nylon string, and tape/epoxy. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A
typical Estes shock cord, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and 18" plastic 'chute finished it off.
Finishing
Primer-sand-primer-sand-primer-sand-primer-sand-paint-sand-paint-stickers...done
T' stickers were left over from several other projects..
Everyone asks "Why Nana?"
Answer:I didn't have enough t' spell Na-na-na-na-na..
Flight Report
Oct 23/2001
A beautiful day, me hearties, matey, NO wind t' speak of...great day t' lose a rocket! Blimey! One Shot
Deal flew for it's maiden voyage on a D12-5, ya bilge rat, t' an estimated 925 feet..it sure
looked high! Blimey! Ejection occurred just after apogee, t' rocket landed 150 feet
from t' pad, unscathed, arrr, ya bilge rat, except for some heat damage t' t' paint (minimum
diameter rocket..)
I didn't want t' fly it again that day, for fear o' losin' it, shiver me timbers, and not gettin' any video t' share, me bucko, but one o' me buddies is worse than a 4 year old, and he bugged and bugged..fine up it goes! Second Flight was on an E9-6, t' an estimated 1868 feet! I thought it was gone! Great flight, much straighter than on t' D, matey, and Out O' Sight! Thank god for t' trackin' smoke! Who knows when ejection occurred.. I couldn't see it! Again, recovery was without damage, although it did visit a tree briefly. Next flight should be a cluster, me hearties, and E9 and 2 C's..maybe then I can say goodbye!
Oct 24/2001
Not as nice a day as yesterday, matey, but I was determined t' get some launch photos,
and a video. Blimey! Wind was about 20 Kph, me bucko, ya bilge rat, so I swapped t' chute out for a smaller
nylon one, arrr, and decided t' fly on a D12, me hearties, rather than an E9. Ahoy! Last DesCon, one of
my entries suffered a CATO, this entry is followin' that lead. Begad! Avast! Ignition looked
fine, but before it could even get off t' pad..BOOM Hopefully, arrr, I will
get it off t' ground again.
What is it with these D engines? DesCon CATO (AGAIN!)
As you can see from t' flight report, t' third flight ended dramatically. I wanted t' get some decent pictures for this contest, but I got these... Blimey! Aye aye! I hope it flys again soon!
I still want t' try it on a cluster o' an E9 and 2 C6's..