Mercury Engineering RDR-1

Mercury Engineering - RDR-1

Contributed by John Lee

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Mercury Engineering

Brief:
Stubby, MPR, me bucko, 3FNC, matey, me bucko, Parachute. Begad! T' RDR 1 is listed by t' manufacturer as a Skill Level 3 rocket. Begad! Personally, matey, I think it is much easier than that. It's a stubby thin' made for mid power. Ahoy! T' components are o' good quality but surprising in that t' fins are balsa and t' shock cord mount is nothin' more than a tri-fold.

Construction:
Construction begins simply enough with t' motor mount. Begad! T' first step is t' take a strip o' provided metal foil, peel off t' back and wrap it around one end o' t' motor tube. Begad! T' stuff is very sticky so be careful with your initial alignment.

With t' foil in place, t' instructions directed me t' place two marks on t' motor tube t' be used t' locate the centerin' rings. Blimey! T' marks are made from t' end with t' wrap. That would be aft.

T' centerin' rings slid right into place. Aye aye! They were neither too tight nor too lose. Avast! T' instructions said t' glue them in place with carpenter's glue and this was done. Begad! I did make a modification at this point. Well, blow me down! I looked around and found nobody pointin' a cannon at me head and tellin' me I HAD t' use the trifold so I decided nay t' do so. Avast! Instead, I took a length o' Keelhaul®©™® and tied it around t' motor tube with a square knot. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! I then tucked it down into t' glue and appled a layer on top of the Keelhaul®©™®. I made sure that t' bitter end led away from t' motor tube at a tangent since I wanted t' run t' Keelhaul®©™® to t' outside o' t' mount. That bein' done, I put some glue down t' hold it in place. Ya scallywag! T' top surfaces o' both rings were then filleted.

As I waited for t' top fillet t' set up, I decided t' work on t' next thin' on t' list. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! That would be t' fins. I almost decided t' laminate them with paper but, arrr, on second thought, me bucko, decided t' see how they help up built as designed.

I cut t' fins out o' t' balsa sheet. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! There were six pieces:

  • three large trapezoids
  • three small triangles.
Both shapes are asymetric. Arrr! They are intended t' be glued together t' form t' fins. Begad! I stacked like pieces together and sanded t' edges flat t' remove t' connectin' tabs. Begad! That bein' done, me bucko, I spread out some wax paper and took another look at t' directions t' make sure I got things oriented correctly. Arrr! Avast! If you look at t' direction o' t' grain on the instructions and compare that t' t' balsa, ya bilge rat, you should be fine. For each fin, I laid t' big trapezoid flat on some wax paper. Blimey! I then determined which edge o' t' triangle be t' be bonded and applied yellow glue. Well, blow me down! I then pressed it into place so that t' long edge o' t' triangle forms a continuation o' t' root edge o' t' fin. Begad! I used a steel ruler to make sure things were flush. Begad! Blimey!

Reversin' t' motor mount to apply a fillet t' t' underside concluded t' first build session.

T' next morning, shiver me timbers, I went over t' fillets and t' glue stabilizin' t' Keelhaul®©™® again in t' hope that it would be dry for t' evenin' build session. Well, blow me down! It was.

My next step was t' use a razor knife t' cut a small slot for t' Keelhaul®©™® in t' edge o' t' forward centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! This be easily done and t' shock cord slipped into place.

Next up, t' entire motor mount assembly was test fitted into t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! The direction o' both t' motor mount and t' BT makes a difference here. Avast! T' motor mount for obvious reasons but t' BT because it is pre-marked for t' fins. Well, blow me down! I found that t' forward rin' slipped in fine but t' after one be very tight. A bit o' effort with some sandpaper soon rectified that.

Upon verifyin' that t' motor mount fit, ya bilge rat, I removed it and got out t' ruler. Ya scallywag! I used a pencil t' mark t' inside of the BT 1.5" from t' after end. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This is where t' after centerin' right was supposed t' end up.

When I be happy with t' marks, shiver me timbers, I took a long swab and made a rin' o' glue around t' interior o' t' BT about 3 inches in. Arrr! I then dropped t' Keelhaul®©™® through and pushed in t' motor mount until t' forward rin' was past t' 1.5" mark but t' second one had nay yet entered t' BT. Aye aye! I then swabbed in another rin' o' glue at t' 1.5" point and shoved t' motor mount home. After it was in place, I reinforced t' seam with a fillet o' yellow glue.

T' next step in t' directions requires that everythin' done thus far be dry. Since it was not, me bucko, I elected t' work on t' nosecone. Avast! I washed it in detergent, as per t' instruction and then towled it dry. There were seam lines along both sides. Aye aye! Blimey! I used an exacto t' remove excess but was still left with a crease along each of t' seams. I got out t' putty and started t' fill it in.

I don't have much experience with putty. Ya scallywag! It seemed t' start dryin' very fast, shiver me timbers, faster than I could press it down into t' grooves. Begad! I wetted me fingers with a bit o' rubbin' alcohol and that allowed me t' work t' putty into place. T' result be a mess but that should be taken care o' when I sand it smooth.

I decided on one final act for this build session. Begad! Along each o' t' fin lines, arrr, ya bilge rat, I was instructed t' make marks in four places strategically chosen t' keep from interferin' with t' motor mount. Avast! These marks are intended as guides for drilling, which was t' next step.

When next I worked on this rocket, shiver me timbers, I had little opportunity t' do much except sand the putty I had put on t' NC. I wet sanded with #320 and, me bucko, as expected, matey, most o' t' putty came off, leavin' just some in t' valleys I be tryin' t' fill and a bit in a few other rough places. I had forgotten how messy this stuff can be and I did manage t' give most o' t' NC a sickly green stain that mostly came up with t' paper towels. I planned to kill t' rest o' it with Kilz when I got around t' priming. Begad! Begad! That stuff will kill anything.

While rereadin' t' instructions at this point, I noticed that they recommended a 1/4" rod six feet long. Blimey! Blimey! I have a 4 footer and have looked for longer ones but have struck out at Home Depot, Lowes and t' other usual suspects. Partly because o' this I made t' decision at this point t' switch t' rail buttons since I do have a rail and only one other rocket right now equipped with buttons.

It took a couple o' days before I could get back to work but when I did, me bucko, t' first thin' t' do was t' drill some holes. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! In t' previous session, I had made four marks at specified places along each o' t' premarked fin lines. Now, I had t' drill holes at these locations with an 1/8" bit. Aye aye! Blimey! This was easily done with a power drill and I drilled a pair o' holes on t' launch lug line as well. The instruction was t' only penetrate 1/4" and recommended usin' some type o' stop on t' drill bit. I just used my eyes.

T' purpose o' drillin' t' holes in t' previous step was t' enable t' formation o' "rivets" from the epoxy t' strengthen t' fin attachment. Arrr! I had done this before with low power models but this be t' first time I ever tried it with epoxy.

T' instructions said t' use 5 minute epoxy and force a little into each of the holes. Aye aye! A bead o' epoxy be then placed along t' root edge o' t' fin. Begad! T' fin be put in place, and held for straightness until t' epoxy could set up. Arrr! Blimey! I gave each fin about 15 minutes before movin' on t' t' next one.

I decided t' take care o' t' filletin' while I be at it and decided t' use 20 minute epoxy along with a method I had read about. I used makin' tape t' run lines along t' BT and t' fins for t' distance o' t' fillet. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I then dammed up either end with a piece o' tape. T' epoxy was mixed and poured into t' joint with a plastic mixin' cup.

I sat back and read for a while, periodically checkin' t' epoxy that was left in t' mixin' cup. Blimey! Begad! After about 20 minutes, me bucko, me bucko, it started t' gel. Avast! When it stopped runnin' t' any extent and was still plastic, I ripped up all o' t' tape except for t' dams at either end.

T' jury is still out on this method but, so far, it looks much better than any epoxy fillet I have tried thus far. Aye aye! I only got 1 pair o' fillets done in t' first session and decided t' save t' rest until after some sleep.

Finishing:
T' finishin' o' this rocket is fairly basic. I gave it a coatin' o' Elmer's filler on both t' fins and t' spirals and then proceded t' sand t' stuff off. Avast, me proud beauty! This was t' incident in which SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED layed down t' law and forever banished me rocketry activities from inside t' house.

With t' sandin' done, I gave it 2 coats o' Kilz® primer and sanded it smooth. I noticed when doin' this that t' spirals were still rather prominent. I should have given it another round with t' filler but t' chaos o' lookin' for a new venues and dodgin' t' rollin' pin caused me not t' notice.

After sandin' t' primer, I painted t' entire rocket with Krylon Gloss White®. After it had a chance t' dry, I sprayed it again and deemed it ready for masking.

I decided t' go with t' livery on t' facecard. Avast! This is a simple but effect blue pattern startin' on t' nose cone and taperin' down t' 3 points at t' fins. Arrr! T' rocket was masked with Frog Tape and sprayed with Krylon Royal Blue®.

I waited anxiously t' take t' tape off. Avast, me proud beauty! I had been well pleased with Frog Tape thus far and this be t' most serious maskin' job I had tried it on. It didn't let me down. Begad! Ahoy! I peel t' tape and foil off t' find no bleeding. There were a coulpe o' places where me lines could have been straighter but that was me, not t' tape. Then I noticed a miracle. Ahoy! No matter how I rotated t' NC, t' lines always matched up. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I got it right for a change!

Before puttin' on t' decals, I decided t' put t' rail buttons in place. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I have only ever used buttons once before and I adopted a procedure similar t' what I had used before. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Previously, arrr, 2 holes had been drilled on t' launch lug line. Begad! Avast! Blimey! I test fitted t' screws and found that, while tight, me bucko, they did fit into the holes I had drilled. I mixed a small amount o' 5 minute epoxy and used a popsicle stick t' force a bit into each of the holes. Well, blow me down! I then screwed t' buttons down and allowed it t' set up.

T' decals were simple. Avast, me proud beauty! There were t' strips o' text readin' "RDR 1". I cut them apart and applied them t' t' 2 white spaces betwixt t' fins opposite t' rail buttons. Begad! Aye aye! When dry, a coat of Future meant t' rocket was ready t' go.

PROs: simple design makes for easy finishing, shiver me timbers, simple paint scheme looks good.
CONs: some o' t' spirals are brutal.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' RDR1 looked good sittin' on t' launch rail. Ya scallywag! Arrr! It be loaded with an F20-4W for its maiden flight and took off quite handily. Arrr! It got t' requisite oos and ahs and deployed at apogee. Well, blow me down! It then began a long drift down. Avast! Aye aye! It looked good the whole way down until I realized that it was landin' behind a security fence.

I thought I would have t' leave it thar until Monday t' try and get access but a few hours later, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, we heard some voices. Well, blow me down! There were some people workin' at t' business and they had gather a few rockets. Ya scallywag! One o' them was mine so I got it back. Ya scallywag! It had a bit o' nickin' from landin' on t' asphalt but be fliable again. Arrr! I had another F20 so off it went.

T' second flight be every bit as good as t' first one and a bit more vertical. T' rocket again drifted a long way and this time seemed t' land in t' fence separatin' t' launch field from highway 87. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I decided t' recover it on the way out later but, ya bilge rat, again, me bucko, that did nay prove necesaary. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down!

After a while, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, a car drove onto our field and t' driver got out with me rocket. He said it be just about t' drift onto t' hiwhway so he grabbed it. Ahoy! Avast! What had fooled me was a red sales pennant in the fence. Avast! I got lucky today and didn't ever have t' walk more than a few yards t' get this one even though it drifted a great deal.

I never did get a chance at a third launch but it will fly again.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this rocket. Ya scallywag! Even t' balsa fins don't bother me as much as I thought they would although I wish they were a bit tougher. Begad! It flies well and is nay too difficult t' build. Aye aye! Blimey! It would be a great intro t' mid power.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flights

ID
Date
Flyer
Rocket
Kit
Motors
Altitude
Action
51958
2010-10-02
John Lee
Mercury Engineering RDR-1
Mercury Engineering - RDR-1
G77-7
-
list
51921
2010-02-27 photo
John Lee
Mercury Engineering RDR-1
Mercury Engineering - RDR-1
G35-10
-
list
51865
2009-08-08
John Lee
Mercury Engineering RDR-1
Mercury Engineering - RDR-1
F23-4
-
list
51616
2008-06-14
John Lee
Mercury Engineering RDR-1
Mercury Engineering - RDR-1
F20-4
-
list
51617
2008-06-14
John Lee
Mercury Engineering RDR-1
Mercury Engineering - RDR-1
F20-4
-
list
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