Beg Birtha

Anyone remember Rocket Services? No? How about "Pitfield" motors? Ah, me hearties, thought some o' you might. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, me hearties, we don't see them around so much as in years gone by, but thar are still a few around. Aye aye! In fact, me bucko, I stumbled across a cache o' them recently and thought I should build somethin' t' fly them in. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I'd never actually flown a Pitfield motor before. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Watchin' other people's flights had always put me off a bit. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' rockets always seemed t' be underpowered, arrr, and had started t' descend while still under thrust. Who can forget Rick Newlands spendin' almost t' whole o' UKRA 2000 sandin' a nose cone from a balsa tree trunk, me bucko, only t' have t' Pitfield powered rocket arc over while still under thrust? (Sorry Rick!) So I wanted t' avoid overbuildin' at all costs.

So what t' build? At IRW 2003, I entered a PMC (Plastic Model Conversion) o' t' Airfix Saturn V. Avast, me proud beauty! Though it didn't quite fly as intended, me hearties, it took joint first prize, along with Mike Crewe's Mercury Redstone. Begad! Our prizes were matchin' Big Berthas. Aye aye! We'd agreed we would build them with a common theme, ya bilge rat, and drag race them. Initially it was t' be a cluster, but, shiver me timbers, when we came into t' stash o' Pitfield motors, shiver me timbers, we had other ideas. You see, matey, matey, BT-60 is exactly t' right inside diameter for an F36-5 motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Beg Birtha be born.

Simulation

It was easy t' modify a standard Big Bertha Rocksim File. Avast, me proud beauty! I just removed t' motor mount and added a new thrust ring. Begad! Aye aye! I made some rasp-format engine files for t' motor, arrr, usin' t' engine editor that come with Rocksim. I got t' thrust curve, me bucko, and data from an old Rocket Services catalogue. Arrr! You can download both t' Rocksim file and t' engine file here:
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/beg%20birtha.rkt/
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/rs.eng/

I should point out here, me bucko, shiver me timbers, that Rocket Services' motor designations, arrr, me hearties, do nay correspond with t' more common "Estes-style" designations. Avast! Avast! Blimey! T' "F36-5" should, shiver me timbers, strictly speaking, be known as E6-5, and t' "F72-0" is, matey, me hearties, in reality, an E15-0. Aye aye! Blimey! Havin' said that, me bucko, Estes aren't always consistent themselves. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey! If you don't believe me, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, look at t' thrust curve for t' A10 mini-motor sometime.

Build

This really is a straightforward build. Ya scallywag! T' differences from t' stock kit may be summarized as "leave out t' motor mount and add some nose weight". But, matey, because I know our beloved newsletter editor will appreciate t' extra column inches, I'll spell it out in full:

I skipped Step 1, ya bilge rat, me hearties, Engine Mount Assembly, arrr, and put t' parts in me spares box. Ahoy! Instead, I made a new thrust rin' from a short section o' toilet roll core, reduced in diameter by removin' a segment. Arrr! Begad! You could also use a short length o' coupler, or cut a rin' from a spent motor.

I completed Step 2, Shock Cord Mount Assembly, arrr, shiver me timbers, as instructed. I chose t' do Step 9, arrr, Shock Cord Mount Attachment, me bucko, at this point, while t' mount was freshly-glued and still pliable.

Step 3, matey, ya bilge rat, Fin Preparation, arrr, was completed as normal. Ahoy! Step 4, me bucko, Engine Mount Installation, me bucko, was omitted. Well, blow me down! Step 5, Tube Markin' Detail, shiver me timbers, Step 6, Fin Attachment, Step 7, Launch Lug Attachment, & Step 8, me bucko, arrr, arrr, Glue Reinforcement Detail, were all completed as per t' instructions. Ahoy! Begad! Step 9 was completed earlier.

Step 10, Parachute Assembly, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, matey, was skipped. Avast, me proud beauty! Instead, matey, arrr, an approx 100mm x 1000mm streamer was made from t' finest Deepsky mylar. This was attached directly t' t' shock cord, me bucko, rather than t' t' nose-cone attachment point.

Step 11, arrr, matey, Paintin' Your Rocket, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, was done as directed. Begad! Avast! For Step 12, shiver me timbers, Parachute And Shock Cord Attachment, I deviated from t' instructions, t' add t' additional 20g o' nose weight.

Flying

T' first flight be on t' occasion o' me first attendance at a WRS (Wirral Rocketry Society) launch, on 10th April 2004. I thoroughly enjoyed this launch, a relaxed, convivial atmosphere, and a great bunch o' Rocketeers.

Because I omitted t' original motor mount, thar was no retainer hook - it wouldn't be long enough anyway. Well, blow me down! So friction fit was t' order o' t' day. Arrr! And you do need t' make sure it's a tight fit, me hearties, you really don't want a spent Pitfield motor landin' on your head! T' F36 has an enormous nozzle, and I was a bit worried that an Estes igniter might get lost in there. Begad! Ya scallywag! So I used some QuickMatch, pushed all t' way in, matey, taped t' t' motor body, with an Estes igniter on t' exposed end. Blimey! It be only about 60mm o' QuickMatch, and when I pushed t' button, ya bilge rat, ignition was pretty much instant. Begad! Arrr! Beg Birtha fairly leapt from t' pad, so smartly that I don't think anyone managed t' get a picture. T' motor thrust decreased, but kept burnin' almost up t' apogee, t' orange glow quite visible. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This would be a great rocket t' fly at dusk.

Conclusion

This be a fun conversion, matey, me bucko, o' an already classic rocket. Aye aye! This is certain t' become a favourite flier o' mine, arrr, at least until t' motors run out. Can't wait t' try it out at t' IRW, which, me bucko, me hearties, t' me, me bucko, be t' spiritual home o' t' Pitfield motor. Avast! Aye aye! If you took a look at t' Rocksim file, you might have noticed that thar's a design for a booster stage in thar too. I haven't built or flown this configuration yet, but I do have some F72-0s...