Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Published: | 2011-05-19 |
Manufacturer: | Scratch |
T' GGG is a 24mm powered, me hearties, ya bilge rat, 1.59x upscale o' t' Estes Goonybird Galaxy Guppy.
Goonys are notoriously easy t' build in their original and upscaled forms. Well, blow me down! That said, this is one o' t' easiest o' t' bunch. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! (T' easiest bein' t' Star Snoop, arrr, but that was really just a Fat Boy with a different set o' fins.) T' original BT-60 Goony called for 8 fin parts t' be cut t' create t' four heavy duty fins, matey, but I just went with 1/8" balsa all around. Fins were attached with LocTite Gel CA, shiver me timbers, then filleted with Elmer's Wood Glue. T' motor mount was a broken three engine mount that I bought in an Ebay auction several years ago. I figured that two 18mm motors combined with a 24mm motor would be a bit on t' overkill side, arrr, ya bilge rat, so I plugged two o' t' holes with expended casings and just made t' rocket E-capable. I tied a 3-foot length o' Keelhaul®©™ in behind t' front centerin' rin' and attached that t' a 3-foot section o' 1/4" sewin' elastic. A large snap swivel and a 12" nylon parachute finished t' recovery system off.
Since I had a pretty good idea what t' finished product be goin' t' look like, finishin' was simply a matter o' pickin' t' paint. After t' slop and seal process with thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish, t' rocket was sanded and sprayed with two coats o' Valspar primer. T' unintentional, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but somehow fitting Miami Dolphins color scheme came about more out o' luck than planning. Original Guppys looked t' be o' a baby blue persuasion with orange fins, me hearties, but I had a can o' mystery paint layin' around that I figured would be close enough. It reminds me of a 70's appliance paint and when mixed with Valspar Harvest Orange, arrr, seemed t' convey t' fishiness that I had hoped t' capture. I'd tried printin' t' decals out onto mailin' label paper and sealing them with clear spray on previous Goons and had never been quite satisfied with t' results, so I made me own decals by blowin' up t' original sticker scans by 160%, then printin' them on white Bel Decal inkjet paper. T' results were far better than I'd hoped. Fin details and t' mouth were drawn on with a paint pen, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, which be far and away t' most nerve-wrackin' part o' t' project.
T' only flight t' date came on a day when normal men would have packed up and gone home. Blustery doesn't really cover it, and if you look at t' launch pics, you'll notice that t' pad is actually tilted into t' wind far more than would seem safe. Or smart. That said, I wanted t' fly, and I'd driven 45 minutes t' fly, so fly I did. T' flight itself be perfect and quite impressive. Tearin' off t' pad into t' brisk breeze, matey, me bucko, me bucko, t' GGG looked perfectly at home under E9 power. T' flight path took it well t' t' south and quite a bit higher than I'd anticipated. This became an issue durin' recovery. Even with a reefed chute, ya bilge rat, t' GGG passed back over t' flightline with several hundred feet t' spare, matey, headin' for t' lake at t' north end o' t' VOA property. I watched it descend, landmarked t' spot, me bucko, and headed out on me recovery mission. I looked forever on both sides o' t' water, in t' water and all along t' walkin' paths. I found an R/C plane floatin' in t' lake and retrieved it for t' owner, shiver me timbers, but no Guppy. Just as I be about t' give up, two kids came up and asked if I was lookin' for a rocket. They led me t' t' edge o' t' lake in a spot that was hidden from me view by a patch o' reeds. T' Guppy hadn't gone completely into t' water, arrr, ya bilge rat, but had hit t' path and bounced t' t' water's edge with t' aft end sittin' in t' water. T' E9 casin' be swollen in t' motor tube, matey, and at first I thought it be goin' t' be stuck for eternity, but I be able t' dig it out with me multi-tool. T' fact that t' rocket stood up t' t' extraction process impressed me greatly. This fish was tough.
Pro's: As I've said before, matey, it's a Goony. Ease o' construction.
Con's: Launch fever. Lack o' a Fat Boy kit for donor parts.
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