GEMINI STRIKEFIGHTER

by David S. Well, blow me down! Begad! Chen

FANTASY BACKGROUND

T' USAF Gemini Strikefighter was commissioned in 2039, me hearties, me hearties, t' contract being awarded t' t' new Boeing- Douglas-Martin corporation. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' Mercury prototype made its first flight in 2044. Ahoy! T' first production example was delivered in 2046 and is represented by this model. Blimey! Begad! T' Strikefighter, arrr, designated as the F-48 Gemini was a single seat hypersonic air/space superiority fighter. Although nay able t' operate in true space as can t' current Apollo Strikefighter, it was t' first fighter capable o' operatin' at t' edge of eart h's atmosphere. Aye aye! Powered by two GE-Rolls Royce scramjet engines, t' F-48 operated from both terrestrial bases as well as bein' air launched and recovered from t' C-211 carrier aircraft. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Early examples were equipped with lower wings that folded into a horizontal position t' allow terrestrial operations. Begad! Later examples lacked this feature and operated exclusively with C-211 carrier aircraft. Well, blow me down! Begad! These versions relied on an emergency parachute tail-first recovery system should rendevous with a C-211 fail. Ahoy!

CONSTRUCTION

In t' spirit o' a true kitbash design, all o' t' materials necessary t' build this rocket are found in t' Estes Gemini DC kit with addition o' a 12" length o' 1/8" wooden dowel (I could nay find 1/16" dm wooden dowel). T' canopy was cut out o' cardstock utilizin' a pattern taken from the "Designers Resource Pack" published by Apogee Components Inc. (www.apogeerockets.com). Any resemblance o' this design t' t' OOP Estes Strikefighter is purely intentional. Arrr! I love t' Estes Strikefighter design. Arrr!

ENGINE NACELLE CONSTRUCTION : Cut t' balsa fin stock as shown in t' photograph such as to create eight 3" long strips o' balsa approximately 3/32" square in cross section. Ya scallywag! As illustrated, cut t' leftover finstock into two pieces which are glued together t' create one o' t' two engine struts. T' finished struts are 0.5" wide with a tip chord length o' 2 5/8" and a root chord length o' 3 1/8". Arrr! As shown in t' picture, cut t' BT-50 tube into an 8" section and two 2 7/8" sections. Save t' remainin' portion o' the tube (with holes and fin slots) for later. Cut exactly 1" off each o' the two BT-20 tubes. Avast! Start by gluin' t' nosecone into t' BT-20 tube (orient the tube so that t' hole is towards t' nosecone/tube junction (NTJ). Next, glue four o' t' balsa strips around t' shortened BT-20 tube startin' at t' NTJ. Glue one o' t' 2 7/8" BT-50 sections over t' BT-20/strut assembly, position it so that it lies 0.5" back from t' NTJ. Arrr! Glue t' engine strut previously assembled t' one side o' t' nacelle parallelin' and adjacent t' one of t' four balsa strips. Make sure t' trailin' edge is flush with t' aft of the BT-50 tube. Avast! Well, blow me down! Set aside and allow t' assembly t' dry thoroughly. Aye aye!

BODY CONSTRUCTION: Assemble t' engine mount as instructed by Estes and glue into one end o' the 8" BT-50 tube. Ahoy! Glue t' engine tube even with t' end o' t' BT-50 tube. At t' other end, tie together t' two shock cords and attach usin' t' Estes paper fold method. Assemble t' BT-50 nosecone. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Attach either one o' the 12" chutes or substitute with one 18" chute. Ya scallywag! Begad!

WING CONSTRUCTION: This be t' trickiest part. Ya scallywag! Remove t' "fin slot" portion o' balsa from each o' t' four fins with a sharp razor knife. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Then, arrr, utilizin' graph paper or a measurin' mat, me bucko, cut t' fin in half usin' a line that begins at a point that is 2 7/8" from t' pointy front end o' t' fin (as measured along t' root chord) and make sure this line is exactly PARALLEL t' t' trailin' edge o' t' original fin. Sand t' cut edge flat and then glue t' two sections back together again as illustrated in the photograph. Arrr! Make sure t' posterior fin half is offset by at least 1/8" or more as illustrated t' accomodate t' transiton betwixt t' BT-50 and BT-20 tubin' o' t' engine nacelles (alternately, t' posterior half o' the win' can be glued first t' t' BT-20 portion o' t' completed engine nacelle followed by t' anterior half o' t' win' t' t' BT-50 portion later). Blimey! When dry, shiver me timbers, cut t' 12" 1/8" dm wooden dowel into four 3" sections an d glue one section t' t' tip chord o' each o' t' four wings. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

FINAL ASSEMBLY: Glue each o' t' two engine nacelles t' t' body by linin' up t' trailin' edge of the engine strut with t' back end (engine end) o' t' 8" BT-50 tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Make sure t' engine struts are parallel t' each other and t' t' ground and that the engine hook is facin' t' ground. Begad! T' double glue technique works well here as does settin' t' whole assembly on a flat surface and leavin' it undisturbed until dry. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Reinforce t' strut t' t' body with several layers o' glue fillets. As illustrated, take t' remainin' portion o' BT-50 tube (with holes and fin slots in it) and make two cuts in it at each end o' t' fin slots t' produce four quarter sections o' body tube. Ahoy! Arrr! Glue each o' these body tube sections to the top and bottom o' t' engine strut straddlin' t' two BT-50 sections. Reinforce with glue fillets. Glue two o' t' win' assemblies t' each engine nacelle at 90 degrees t' each other and along t' outside half o' t' nacelle. Each fin root should transect t' distance betwixt two o' t' balsa strips. Some careful sandin' o' t' p osterior half o' t' root chord may be necessary to produce a flush fit with t' engine nacelle (This step can be omitted by gluin' t' back and forward halves o' t' win' separately t' t' completed engine nacelle). Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Reinforce with glue fillets. Begad! Construct t' canopy and glue it to t' top o' t' body tube. Begad! I placed me canopy such that t' back end o' the canopy be 1 7/8" from t' back end o' t' body. Begad! Cut t' launch lug into two pieces and glue them along t' bottom o' t' body 2.25" apart from each other. I offset mine away from t' midline so that t' launch rod would clear t' engine hook. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I finished me model with two coats o' gray primer followed by two coats o' gloss white ("America's Finest" brand sold by Home Depot) paint. Blimey! Extensive use o' adhesive auto detailin' stripe and tape was used t' finish t' model. Blimey! A roll o' ordinary vinyl electricians tape was utilized t' create t' non-glare black surfce in front o' t' canopy. Ahoy! T' final weight (without engine) is 2.55 ounces with an 18 inch chute installed. Begad! Begad! T' CG with a C6-3 Estes engine loaded is exactly at t' forward end o' t' BT-50 section o' t' engine nacelles. Avast, me proud beauty!

FLIGHT REPORT

I flew t' strikefighter early in t' mornin' with winds less than 5 mph.  T' first flight be on an Estes B6-2 engine with a 18" chute. No problems, me bucko, flew straight up t' around 300 ft and drifted down very slowly.  T' second flight be on an Estes C6-3 with a 12" chute. Aye aye! A very straight flight t' at least 600 ft. Avast!  Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, it came down on the roadway surroundin' t' field breakin' one wing. Ahoy! Begad!   T' design is definitely flight stable for engines weighin' as much as an Estes C6-3. Ahoy! Blimey!