Brief:

T' Cobra 11 is an 11th hour entry into t' EMRR Box 'o Parts contest. Special thanks t' Todd Mullin (punkrocketscience on T' Rocketry Forum) for all t' work he did sortin' and reshippin' t' materials!

Tubes and more tubes! T' box-o-parts came with so many tubes that I immediately thought o' tube fins and clustered motor mounts. Well, blow me down! Then I thought about puttin' those cluster mounts _IN_ t' tube fins. Avast! Begad! And I did have a lot of those plugged A10 mini-motors. So an idea be hatched for a 3 motor cluster rocket with 3 outboard pods. Clusters are cool and besides, arrr, me bucko, they score bonus points in this contest. Aye aye! So lookin' at t' parts available t' me, me bucko, I opted t' make an "old school" Estes Cobra-type rocket. Ahoy!

Construction:

Parts List:

• BT50 nose cone
• BT50 clear payload tube, 4"
• BT50 body tube, ya bilge rat, 5.25"
• BT50 motor tubes, arrr, me hearties, (3)
• BT50-60 balsa transition
• BT60 body tube, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 13.5"
• BT5, shiver me timbers, 9"
• 18mm motor blocks, shiver me timbers, (2)
• 3/16" Balsa fin stock, 3"x 10.5"
• 1/8" Balsa fin stock, scrap, roughly 3"x 7"
• 18mm yellow spacer tube
• 24mm yellow spacer tube
• 14" Quest plastic chutes (2), and thread
• Screw eye
• 1/8" Elastic, me bucko, 6'
• Bamboo skewers, ya bilge rat, matey, (2)
• Avery label paper, (1/2 sheet)
• 1/8" Launch lugs, (2)
• 20lb paper, matey, about 5 sheets. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Printed on one side, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, creased and folded and stapled. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Build t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Three pre-cut motor tubes came on t' box, me bucko, how nice! Only two engine blocks included though. Well, blow me down! Three 3/8 inch sections are cut off a yellow spacer tube. Avast, me proud beauty! (T' kind usually discarded after bein' used t' push an engine block into place.) One rin' is then cut vertically, placed inside t' motor tube, shiver me timbers, and t' overlap is noted. This strip is trimmed out. Ahoy! T' rin' is test fit and then glued in place. Well, blow me down! T' third section is then prepared t' same way and fit into t' second. Ahoy! Glue t' other two motor blocks into t' other two motor tubes, arrr, then glue t' tubes together. Begad!

Fin design. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Balsa was in short supply so a major goal in pickin' a fin layout and shape is t' maximize the stabilizin' effects o' t' available material. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Six fins will be made from t' materials available. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I cut 3 fins from fat 3/8" balsa, usin' as much o' t' sheet as possible. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Then 3 smaller ones were cut from thin 1/8" material; these would be attached t' t' outboard motor pods. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

Fin alignment. Well, blow me down! T' two fin designs will be alternately placed around t' rocket. Ya scallywag! I used an Estes fin alignment guide, arrr, which has detents at 0, matey, 90, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 120, 180, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 240, and 270 degrees. Avast! I fit t' main BT onto it and marked with a pencil at 0, shiver me timbers, 120, and 240. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Then I rotated t' BT so that me first mark was aligned with t' 180 detent. I made marks again at 0, 120, and 240, arrr, givin' me a total o' 6 lines evenly spaced around t' outside o' t' tube. Begad! Ahoy! I lengthened these lines by placin' a strip o' angle iron against t' tube as a guide. Well, blow me down!

Side pods. I cut BT5 tubin' on a 45* angle usin' a razor saw and mini miter box. Blimey! I drew a circle o' glue on scrap paper and dipped t' BT5's beveled end into it. Begad! Then I cut a 1" square o' balsa and pressed t' BT5 onto it. Aye aye! When the glue was dry I trimmed off t' excess balsa and then sanded t' edges flush t' t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! This was repeated for the other two pods. Ya scallywag!

Paperin' t' fins and pods. Blimey! Those old printouts would be used t' paper t' fins. T' trick was t' have the unprinted side face outward and avoid usin' creased areas. Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I used 3M 77 spray t' stick t' paper t' t' balsa, arrr, then trimmed off t' excess paper. Worked great as always t' strengthen t' balsa and provide a smooth surface. Begad! Avast! However it was nay an ideal technique for t' side pod "caps". Blimey! Trimmin' off t' paper proved t' be difficult because of the bevel. It also does nothin' t' cover t' exposed edge o' t' balsa. Blimey! (Wood Filler would have been a better way to smooth out t' pod tops.)

Small fin attachment. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' small fins were glued t' t' short side o' t' pods. I wanted t' paint t' pod assembly separately but I also didn't want t' glue onto a painted surface. Ahoy! These short, small diameter tubes would present very little surface area for glue against t' main BT60 body tube. Pretty weak considerin' they'll be packin' A10 motors. Ahoy! I decided t' beef up t' attachment area. Bamboo skewers were cut into six 2-inch dowels. Avast! These were tacked in place with CA about 1/8" on each side o' t' BT markings for t' pods. Begad! Aye aye! If done right t' pods would rest against both dowels and t' body tube. Mine weren't perfect but close enough that a few thick glue fillets would close t' gaps. Arrr! Begad!

Large fin attachment. Begad! T' 3/16" balsa is so thick that it doesn't rest well against t' curved surface o' the body tube. So I sanded a very shallow channel down t' centerline o' t' fin's root edge. T' fins were then attached to t' body tube with double wood-glue joints. Ahoy! Two thin white glue fillets were added later. Well, blow me down!

Launch lug. Aye aye! Begad! One into a fin fillet, matey, another further up t' body.

Spacer tube saves t' day. Well, blow me down! A lowly 24mm yellow spacer tube provided materials for both an adapter and a coupler block. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! One end be dipped in glue and then pressed t' a small square o' balsa. Begad! When dry, t' excess balsa was trimmed away and sanded flush t' t' tube's edge. Arrr! This assembly was a loose fit inside BT50 so some Avery label paper, printed red t' match t' nose cone color, was wrapped around t' spacer tube. Another piece be used t' cover t' balsa cap. T' spacer tube was then cut in half.

Payload. Well, blow me down! T' piece o' spacer that had a cap be glued halfway into t' top o' t' upper body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' payload section was then attached with Testor's glue. Ya scallywag! T' red color visible through t' clear tubin' balances t' red nose cone shoulder. Avast!

Transition. Aye aye! Avast! T' transition's top was too skinny for BT50, me bucko, me bucko, so I glued t' other half o' t' 24mm spacer tube onto it. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' transition's base be too thick, so I used a file t' brin' it down t' BT60 size. Avast! An eye hook was screwed in, then backed out again. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! A drop o' wood glue went into t' hole and then t' hook was replaced.

Finishing:

T' balsa transition was rough and needed t' be filled. Ya scallywag! I spread undiluted Fill+Finish wood filler around, avoidin' t' shoulders, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and then "dry rubbed" it into t' grain with me fingers. Rub vigorously and the excess F+F comes off, shiver me timbers, leavin' a smooth surface. Aye aye! Almost No sanding! T' fins were paper covered and t' outside + trailin' edges filled with a FnF dry rub. Ya scallywag! Begad! NO Sanding!! And t' spirals on all t' body tubes were tiny so I opted not to fill them. NO SANDING!!! Sweet. In keepin' with t' No Sandin' theme, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I skipped t' use o' primer and went straight for t' paint. Aye aye! Besides I be runnin' out o' time before t' contest deadline. Avast! Arrr!

My paint maskin' skills are weak, so from t' beginnin' I had planned t' build process t' avoid this. Parts would be built into modules, arrr, me bucko, then t' modules painted before final assembly. Blimey! I only needed t' mask t' small areas where the pods met t' main body tube, shiver me timbers, betwixt t' bamboo dowels.

T' body got several light coats o' Krylon Semi-gloss White. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' transition and external motor pods were painted Krylon Silver. Begad! T' silver-colored pods blended right into t' white o' t' body - t' make them stand out more I used a black Sharpie marker t' color t' bamboo rods. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' nose cone was already a nice color red - after extra flashin' was carefully removed I simply coated it with NuFinish. Avast!

Decals. Arrr! I created some classic roll-patterns and other decals in Inkscape. These were printed printed on the supplied half-sheet o' Avery label paper. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' sheet was sprayed with two light coats o' fixative before t' decals were cut out and applied.

LINK HERE TO DECALS

T' completed rocket had a nice semi-gloss finish overall. Begad! I liked it so I did nay try t' apply any clear coat. Aye aye! Blimey!

Final assembly. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' transition and payload area were then glued together. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' shock cord was attached with a traditional tri-fold mount. T' motor mount be glued in, arrr, but what t' do about t' gaps? I tore a few chunks of cardboard off t' shippin' box and soaked them in water overnight. Avast! T' layers softened and separated. Blimey! T' cardboard was squeezed dry, ya bilge rat, me hearties, coated with a little Gorilla glue, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and wadded into t' motor mount gaps. Ahoy!

Flight:

T' rocket was completed on t' day before t' contest deadline! And t' forecast for t' next day was rain! Why did I wait so long? I charged me launch battery that night, me bucko, in case t' weatherman was wrong. Oh yeah, and I had to solder together a clip whip too! T' next mornin' thar was drizzle and a heavy low cloud cover, shiver me timbers, but just after lunch the clouds lifted a little and t' sprinkles subsided. Aye aye! So it be a race t' t' park!

I might only get one flight in before t' rain came back, me bucko, so why nay go for broke? T' central 18mm tubes were loaded with C6-7s and t' outer 13mm tubes got A10-PT's. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Motor retention relied on fiction fittin' with maskin' tape. There are no motor blocks in t' pods so a few extra wraps o' narrow tape were wrapped around t' nozzle end t' prevent the A10s from shootin' through t' tops o' t' pods. It felt tail heavy so I put a 1 ounce bag o' sand into t' payload section t' move t' CG up. Avast! Man, it took a long time t' prep and hook up 6 motors.

On ignition thar be plenty o' smoke and fire. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' flight be magnificent! Straight and true, me bucko, she flew t' maybe 1000 or 1200 feet. Ejection appeared t' be right at apogee (though t' be honest it was hard t' see.)

Recovery:

Both chutes deployed perfectly. Ahoy! One had been attached t' t' middle o' t' shock cord and t' other t' the transition's eye hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' rocket descended at a good rate, but a breeze blew it toward t' edge o' t' park. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' good news was it missed t' treeline. Begad! T' bad news was it went into t' river. Begad! Splashdown!

Five o' t' six motors had lit. One o' t' outboard A10's still had a plug and igniter in it. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!

Four motors had swollen with water so badly that I couldn't get them out. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! Her impressive maiden flight may be her last. Ahoy! Blimey! I need t' let t' rocket dry out a bit and see how it goes.

Summary:

That was me first big cluster rocket and I'm very happy with how it flew. Arrr! I think I received t' right mix of Parts t' Junk in order t' keep t' competition fun, me bucko, challenging, arrr, and nay too serious. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It was a good way t' find new uses for odd parts, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and try new techniques, both for buildin' and flying. Begad!

I now have some unusual parts left over that can be used t' scratch build other things. Or they can go back into the pool for next year's contest!!! Blimey!