Scratch U.S.S. Fred G Sanford Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - U.S.S. Fred G Sanford {Scratch}

Contributed by David Mackiernan

Manufacturer: Scratch
(Contributed - by David Mackiernan - 07/06/08)

T' followin' be t' HTML interpretation o' David's PDF submission.
Please see t' full PDF HERE (0.4M)

Constructin' the USS Fred G SanfordFor t' EMRR BOX-O-Parts Contest

Muddle through t' Mess

I started by separatin' body tubes in t' groups that could be used as airframes and tubes that where crinkled,dinged, or dented. Blimey!

This gave me an idea o' t' size and shape I could accomplish. Blimey! Blimey! My basic concept be for a long and tall rocket. Cluster power was a must. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I LOVE clusters! Blimey!

Parts To this

Nose ConeT' Nose Job

I messed around with Nose Cone possibilities. Ya scallywag! A rocket's nose really determines t' "flavor" o' the build. Arrr! Well, blow me down! So with t' cones I received I did some cutting, sandin' and gluing. Ahoy! T' results are photo #2. Lookin' a bit like a command module, perhaps windows lookin' out over a nose. Arrr! Well I guess I'm buildin' a Spacecraft o' sorts. Well, blow me down!

This is a "BERTHA" BT-60 plastic Nose Cone . Turned backwards. Avast! Purple BT-50 nose cone. Base is sawn off and glued t' t' bottom o' t' Bertha cone. Aye aye! Hopefully this will look somethin' like a Starship cockpit. Begad!


StackT' Body Stack

Go big or go Home. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey!

I took stock o' all t' possible body tubes I could use t' go as tall as possible. This photo shows t' Top and Middle sections test fit together. Begad!

I sorted through t' various centerin' rings in me stack o' stuff and pieced together several sections o' body tube t' assemble t' top stack. Ahoy!

This rocket is intended t' separate for recovery at t' point o' t' two different colored BT60 tubes. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' mid section break allows t' rocket t' recover on two separate recovery devices. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! This be necessitated by t' limited recovery options that came in me Box-0-stuff. (more on this later.)

Centering RightSome o' t' steps t' build t' top stack: Short one centerin' ring. Blimey! Blimey! So I modified one 20/60 rin' t' a 50/60 ring. Blimey! Blimey! Trace inner circle and cut out


BT-60Make a BT-60 adapter sleeve. Blimey! Slice a section o' BT60 tube t' reduce diameter. Use t' sliver that was removed t' brace t' inside o' t' new inner sleeve and glue together. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This makes t' whole Top Section like one long nose cone.


More Top Section Assembly. Aye aye!

Middle RingThe BT50 Stack Middle Rin' is Just for looks (pictured left)

Recovery would be t' biggest issue. Begad! My Box-O-Stuff had One fat elastic cord. Ahoy! (below right)

I want t' go BIG.... Blimey! so, me hearties, I split t' cord in half Lengthwise, matey, me hearties, givin' me two thinner elastics but still have the longest possible length. In this photo (below center) one half o' this cord is pushed through a slot in t' BT50 body tube. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! Tie a fat knot in t' elastic and I'm off t' t' next step. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Recovery Recovery
Recovery

Next I have t' fill t' top BT50 section so it will separate at ejection. Ahoy! So I tore up some o' t' shippin' box. Soaked t' torn bits in water, arrr, me bucko, then mixed t' wet pulp with glue. Ya scallywag! Stuffed t' glue/pulp mixture in t' base o' t' tube to form a plug (above right). This method works well. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! You have t' watch t' moisture in t' pulp mix so it does not warp t' tube. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! This also takes a wile t' dry. Aye aye!

Top ViewLookin' into t' bottom o' t' top stack. Begad! You see t' BT60 adapter sleeve, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' Elastic Cord and t' bottom of t' BT50 centerin' rin' and Glue/shredded box WAD.


On t' t' Bottom section assembly. Begad!

Bottom

Well, me bucko, for t' lower section I have t' connect some BT60 tube t' some BT70.

No 60/70 centerin' rings in t' Box-O-junk, me hearties, so I whip out me trusty, rusty compass draw and cut some rings from t' shippin' box. Ahoy!


Motor Mount

Coffee Cup With shred-obox soakin' in water. Begad! Blimey!

Cup

My Box-o-goodness did nay contain any 18mm tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! So this one gets 24mm main motors (three o' them). Begad! Blimey! Just for kicks I added three 13mm mounts along side. Avast! Blimey! Test fit t' motor tubes. Arrr! Blimey! Then started shreddin' t' Shippin' box again. I use the shreds,soaked in water t' soften them up, ya bilge rat, then rin' them out and soak them in glue. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Gluey shreds are then used to stuff t' voids betwixt t' Motor tubes and Main body tube. Avast! Blimey!


Motor mount continued.

Motor Mount

Motor mount fillets dryin' (above right). In t' "custom" motor mount dryin' apparatus a.k.a. Begad! a Dunki'n Donuts cup!

Gluey MassA lovely Gluey mass o' shredded box applied t' t' motor mount and lower body tube.


I better make some fins for this thing.

FinsLooks like I have a full set o' pre-cut "Bertha" fins. Aye aye! (Actually I think I have at least one whole bertha)

But those Balsa fins may nay be strong enough for a cluster. So I use a precut fin as a template t' cut out some fins from t' balsa sheet in t' box. Then I laminate these fins so they are double thickness and hopefully quite strong. Arrr!



Fins t' t' left, arrr, fins t' t' right....... Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Fins


T' lower section nearly complete. Ahoy!

Nearly Complete


More lower section. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down!

In these photos you can see t' detail o' t' "Warp Ring"

Warp Rin' is made up o' a plastic garden light fixture. Avast, me proud beauty! (I know this because I got some o' me own parts back!)

T' inside diameter o' t' plastic rin' is much larger than t' bt70 tube. So I pulled some small body tube that I believe is BT-4 and cut it t' several short lengths. Well, matey, blow me down! This BT-4 was squish-fit betwixt t' Plastic rin' and t' outside of t' body tube. With t' small tubes and plastic rin' in place it was actually easy t' slide t' whole assembly (not yet glued together) down t' BT70 body tube. Aye aye! Once I had everythin' where I wanted it I glued it all in place. Ya scallywag! With some patience and a few toothpicks o' course. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Warp Rings Warp Rings Warp Rings


Recoverin' from Recovery

Parachute

Official shop shot o' t' "parawing-gle"

My box-0-stuffin' be kind o' short on recovery options. Aye aye! It did have two plastic chutes. Aye aye! But only had shroud lines for one! I will brin' t' top half down on t' regular 18 inch plastic chute that was in t' box-o-lovely. But the lower section... Well, blow me down! that would be harder. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Hmmmm? Streamer, boring! How about some sort o' para wing?

O.K. Aye aye! this made me get creative. Begad! Some where in t' TRF discussions it was asked if addin' tape would be legal. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Tape was o.k.ed so with ample amounts o' scotch tape I fashioned this "Parawing-gle" type thing. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty!

Parts for t' Parawing-gle thing:

  • One 24inch plastic chute. Sliced in half and then one half quartered. Begad!
  • T' quarter chute is used for t' lower rudder type piece. Well, blow me down!
  • Several Chopsticks are utilized as t' leadin' edge and rudder stiffeners.
  • That now famous thick black elastic cord was again sliced length-wise t' make t' rigging. Aye aye!

Many hours were spent on this. Mostly worryin' time rather than workin' time. My greatest hope be that this would work at least as good as a streamer.


T' big payoff!! Arrow


Launched 07-06-08 From Cape Cod Space Center

Nothin' like pushin' that deadline!

Ready to LaunchLaunches

Nice liftoff, shiver me timbers, matey, nice flight! Loaded in three C11-3's and three A10PT's. Arrr! This rocket really needs "D" power but this was good for t' small field we where on. Ya scallywag! Five o' t' six motors lit. Arrr! All but one A-10. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

O.k. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! recovery. Top half was just fine on a regular chute. Begad! Bottom half came in a bit fast on t' Parawingle -thingle. Aye aye! Which became more like a big para wad o' molten doom! But it did slow it down. Aye aye! Arrr!

Recovery

T' aftermath. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Minor damage. One "fin ring" slightly bent. Begad! One detail on that fin fell off



Overview and final thoughts.

This was a very cool contest. Well, blow me down! I would definitely try this again. Blimey!

My only real wish is that we could add strin' (shroud line) if we needed it. Well, blow me down! Blimey! But hey, no one said this be easy! Blimey!

Specs

Over all Flight ratin' 4... Blimey! it could use more power.

Overall Recovery ratin' 3. Begad! Needs proper chutes

But this is a far better performin' rocket than I thought it would be. Ya scallywag! It will definitely fly again.

Things I will change, (with me own parts):

  • Bigger Launch lugs 3/16"
  • Better Parachutes
  • Three "D" motors for a nice high flight. Begad!

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