Scratch Stiletto Original Design / Scratch Built
Scratch - Stiletto {Scratch}
Contributed by Jim Senecal
| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2012-05-22 |
| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief
This is an upscaled clone o' t' Estes Stiletto. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! This is one o' me favorite rocket designs, it looks fast even standin' still. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This version uses BT-55 body tubes rather than t' BT-50 o' t' original and is approximately 29" tall.
Components
T' parts list for this rocket includes an 18" Estes BT-55 body tube, matey, an additional 6" section o' BT-55, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and a tube coupler. Blimey! T' nose cone came from t' Estes NC-55 nose cone set, me hearties, and be t' pointed straight cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Also used was some 3/32" balsa stock for t' fins, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, a small section o' 1/8" balsa strip used t' make t' raceway and forward thrusters, shiver me timbers, an Estes 18mm engine mount, ya bilge rat, me hearties, an Estes 18" parachute, 1/8" launch lug stock, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and some 1/8" elastic fabric cord for t' shock cord. Avast! Decals came from me stock o' leftovers from other kits. Avast!
Construction
For intructions I downloaded t' original Estes instructions from t' JimZ website. Arrr! Begad! I made fin patterns by upscalin' t' JimZ patterns. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I then cut out t' fins from t' 3/32" balsa stock. Ahoy! I added a section t' t' root edge o' t' main fins as I intended t' make through t' wall fins. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I rounded t' fore and aft ends o' t' main fins as well as t' small secondary fins. I built t' engine mount in t' standard fashion, and added centerin' rings cut from some cardboard stock. Begad! T' two body tubes were glued together with t' coupler. Arrr! I inserted t' engine mount into t' body tube and allowed t' glue t' dry. Once t' glue be dry I cut slits into t' aft o' t' tube large enough for t' main fin mounts. Ahoy! Avast! I glued t' main fins on and allowed them t' dry. Begad! I then lined up t' seconday fins above t' main fins and glued them on. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Glue fillets were applied t' all t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! I then created t' raceway out o' t' 1/8" balsa strip and glued it on, matey, filletin' it as well. Avast! T' forward thrusters were also made from 1/8" stock, and glued on in line with t' fins. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I cut two launch lugs each about 3/4" long, and mounted them on some thin cardboard. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' lugs were then glued t' t' side o' t' rocket as well, me hearties, spaced along a side away from t' raceway. Arrr! T' final bit o' buildin' on t' body be t' create t' three raised bands around t' body. Ahoy! One band goes directly t' t' aft o' t' small secondary fins, matey, ya bilge rat, another directly t' t' aft o' t' foward thrusters, shiver me timbers, and t' last just above t' fore end o' t' raceway. Begad! I made t' bands from t' facecard frome an Estes rocket kit. Avast! Avast! T' bands are about 1/4" wide and wrap around t' circumference o' t' body tube. Avast! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' wraps were glued on with white glue. Well, blow me down! Finally I added a shock cord usin' t' standard tri-fold method, substitutin' fabric elastic for t' typical rubber cord. Arrr! For a rocket this size I have had fair winds with this type o' cord. Constuction went well, shiver me timbers, proceedin' without any problems.
Finishing
I sealed all o' t' balsa with thinned Elmer's wood putty, then sanded this smooth. Avast! Arrr! One thin' I should have done was t' fill and sand t' fins prior t' addin' t' body wraps. Sandin' t' aft end o' t' secondary fins and thrusters was complicated by t' position o' t' wraps. Several coats o' primer followed, sandin' betwixt coats. Aye aye! T' final color was simple, I used Walmart gloss white on t' entire body. Arrr! T' nose cone and t' upper inch o' t' body tube were then sprayed with Walmart gold. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Once all t' paint was dry, I added t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! I searched me stash o' old decals and decal stripe stock t' make t' markings on t' rocket. Ahoy! Luckily t' markings are fairly simple so it be possible t' do this. Aye aye! If you really want t' go crazy you could buy decals from one o' t' aftermarket companies. Blimey! Blimey! I really had no issues overall with t' paintin' or decaling.
Flight
This model has been flown twice usin' Estes B6-4 motors. T' rocket performs very well on this motor, and would really go on a C6, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but at me flyin' field it would probably be lost. Avast! On both flights, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' rocket flew very straight.
Recovery
T' rocket was equipped with a standard 18" Estes plastic parachute. On both flights t' parachute ejected normally without issues and t' rocket was recoverd with no damage.
Summary
Overall this is a great rocket design. Avast! Blimey! It is only slightly more complicated than an ordinary 3FNC design, but really looks sophisticated. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! It also has t' look o' a real Air Force missle with t' markings and t' raceway. Aye aye! Blimey! It also flies excellent.
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