Published: | 2010-07-01 |
Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
Based on Estes design, a single stage, ya bilge rat, 18mm motors, parachute recovery, me bucko, me bucko, scale-like missile. Begad! Blimey!
Construction:
Here are t' parts from Semroc:
Very much an Estes build. Quite simple. I like t' paper t' fins, so that took some time. Ya scallywag! Surface mounted fins. Ya scallywag! Begad! I use Titebond II. Ya scallywag! I didn't get enough glue on t' coupler when puttin' t' two tubes together and they got stuck with a bit o' a gap. Aye aye! Arrr! That took some time t' fix. Arrr! I installed t' motor mount before I thought about t' shock cord - DUH, me bucko, so I used a body tube scrap t' make a short coupler and attached t' shock cord by wrappin' around t' coupler and glueing t' t' top o' t' upper body tube. Blimey! Aye aye! It's almost like Estes, arrr, me bucko, but I think a little more secure. Aye aye! If you look at t' Rocksim file, shiver me timbers, me hearties, you will see that t' forward fins attach partly over where t' two body tubes join together. Nay a big deal, me hearties, but if you want t' make one o' these, I thought that might help.
Finishing:
For finishin' I did t' usual Rustoleum sandable primer, sanded, ya bilge rat, made some repairs, primed
again, matey, sanded again. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' nose cone was sealed with Fill n Finish and received t' same treatment as t' rest o' the
rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I did t' nose cone separate from t' rest. Begad! Aye aye! T' paint was as close as I could come t' photos I've seen on the
web. Ahoy! All done with Krylon.
Flight:
I flew on a clear day with very light winds 0-5 mph. Begad! Ahoy! My first motor choice was C6-7. Altitude
wasn't great (approx. Begad! Well, blow me down! 350 ft. and t' chute was very late, but no damage. Launched again with C6-3. Ya scallywag! Nay much difference
in altitude, but t' chute ejected much closer t' apogee.
15 inch diameter chute from TopFlight brings it down nice and slow. Begad! It landed about 150 feet from t' launch pad. You might want t' go a little smaller, cut a hole, or shorten t' shroud lines if it's windy.
T' best flight be AT D13W-7. Altitude around 1000 ft.
Recovery:
If I built another one, arrr, arrr, I would attach t' shock cord at t' motor mount.
Summary:
T' paint came out great on this one, so I decided t' do a little research and found photos.
Made some decals that probably aren't too scale, but they look good. Ya scallywag! T' blue stripes were done with tape.
Other:
As far as tips that this build taught me I'd have t' say DON"T FORGET THE SHOCK CORD!
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