Brief:

Big Ugly Bug II (BUB2) is me third scratch-built model rocket, and me second high-power model. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After t' Big Ugly Bug splattered itself all over t' NDRA launch site at Ulland Park, matey, I was a bit discouraged. I stuck with Estes model rocket kits and a few flights with a composite 24mm motor for a while. Eventually I got t' bug again, me hearties, and decided t' build me largest high-power yet. Naturally, me bucko, a scaled-up Mosquito isn't what you'd think o' when you think high-power, me hearties, so naturally that's what I decided t' build. Ya scallywag! Avast!

This time I decided t' go with commercial rocket parts, me hearties, since they would be lighter than buildin' me own, and make assembly go more quickly.

Construction:

This time I decided t' go with commercial rocket parts, me hearties, since they would be lighter than buildin' me own, and make assembly go more quickly. Ahoy! I still have to fabricate a nose and fins though. Ya scallywag!

For fin fabrication, I finally settled on usin' foam core fins, me hearties, which were laminated with fiberglass and polyester resin. Arrr! These were sanded t' shape, then the edges filled with auto body filler and sanded t' round. Avast, me proud beauty! Here is an image of the parts before t' fins were fiberglassed:

I used through-the-wall mountin' t' attach t' fins t' both t' body tube and t' t' 29mm motor mount. Ahoy! After t' epoxy had cured I filled t' space between t' motor mount and t' body tube with two-part expandin' foam. Well, blow me down! This adds weight but strengthens t' fin mount considerably.

I be plannin' on fabricatin' a nose cone for this rocket as well, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but a friend in t' Fargo rocket club sent me a link t' ScotGlas, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which makes (among other things) 4" diameter up-scale Mosquito nosecones! T' $30 price tag looked like a better bet than hours in t' shop, me hearties, ya bilge rat, sandin' more fiberglass, matey, so I bought one.

Finishing:

I was plannin' on paintin' t' BUB2 blaze orange, like t' BUB. Blaze orange looks a lot better with a bright yellow undercoat, so after applyin' grey auto primer and sanding, I put t' yellow on. Avast! However, I decided I liked t' yellow so much I skipped t' orange. Ya scallywag! Avast! I left t' nose unpainted, at t' request of other club members. Arrr! They want me t' put a strobe light in it if/when we ever have a night launch.

Flight:

On Saturday, me bucko, March 23, 2002 I made me NARRRRR Level 1 certification attempt. I launched t' BUB2 on an Aerotech H128W loaded in a Dr. Well, blow me down! Rocket 29mm 180 casing (had t' borrow t' 180 tube from another flier, thanks Mike!). Ya scallywag! T' BUB2 was the first certification flight o' t' day. Avast, me proud beauty! It launched with a nice, matey, ya bilge rat, bright white flame and weathercocked only slightly. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' medium delay was perfect, me bucko, t' 'chute deployed, and t' rocket landed about 200' down range from t' launcher. Begad! There was some slight damage t' t' paint and one fillet was cracked, me hearties, but t' rocket was still flight worthy so t' certification group signed off on t' flight.

T' BUB2 suffered a catastrophic fin failure flyin' on an Aerotech H180W. Here's t' gist o' what happened, cut and pasted from an email I sent a fellow HPR enthusiast:

Date: Saturday, ya bilge rat, April 20, 2002
Subject: Big 'skeeter blues...

(snip)

On launch, shiver me timbers, t' BUB2 weathercocks slightly and heads t' the north-east, just like me H128W certification flight. Ahoy! T' bright yellow rocket is roarin' along, spoutin' a white flame as long as t' body
tube, me hearties, matey, when suddenly, just before burnout and maximum velocity, somethin' goes catastrophically wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! In t' blink o' an eye, where thar be once a cool-lookin' rocket flyin' nicely, matey, thar be now a huge cloud o' bright yellow debris, arrr, flutterin' slowly down towards t' ground. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' majority o' t' rocket looks t' be still intact, t' body tube and nose still attached and the parachute deployed. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' black nomex pad has ripped away and settles t' the ground along with all t' other shreds.

What happened? Theories are many, but here is what I think occurred: On an earlier flight t' BUB2 slightly damaged two o' t' fins near their root edge. Well, blow me down! I repaired this with CA adhesive, and it
may or may nay have had a role in t' failure. Begad! Blimey! A simulation o' t' BUB2 on an H180W motor predicts a maximum speed o' 257 mph. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Since t' failure occurred close t' burnout, I suspect that t' long, arrr, relatively flexible fins started to flutter at this speed. This caused all three fins t' delaminate, shearin' at the foam core (the autobody filler caps didn't lend much strength, they were mostly for aerodynamics). Aye aye! T' unsupported fiberglass skins now underwent flutter and tore away from the
rocket body. T' sudden deceleration this caused made t' ballast nose separate from t' rocket body, pullin' out t' recovery system which deployed at probably better than 150 mph. Avast, me proud beauty! That in turn caused t' non-stretchable nomex to tear away from t' shock cord. Well, blow me down! T' cord and parachute, bein' stretchable nylon, had enough give t' absorb t' sudden shock and stayed together, me hearties, ya bilge rat, allowin' all the 'expensive bits' t' come back t' t' ground relatively undamaged. Arrr! Avast! In fact, all that really was destroyed was t' fins. Ya scallywag! Unfortunately, arrr, ya bilge rat, they were t' only components I designed and fabricated from scratch. Ahoy! Oh well, lesson learned. I'll have some images o' t' shredded rocket on me website soon.