T' Oat Propulsion Laboratory presents our latest Descon 10 entry

by Emmanuel Camburako

The Name
Descon 10 - Roman numeral 10 is X. Ahoy! Blimey! Typical designation for an experimental aircraft is X. Thus, shiver me timbers, arrr, me bucko, this experimental aircraft designation be t' X-10 or X-X. Double X

T' Double X has been designed as a vehicle t' investigate t' practical application o' a ground t' near earth orbit manned intercept vehicle. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! The mission for such a vehicle would be t' take off in a conventional manner, attain a low orbit, me bucko, intercept hostile incomin' weapons systems and return safely t' home once again.

Mission Parameters
For this project it was determined that in order t' be competitive in the current market t' NEO intercept vehicle would be designed and built using existin' technology and off-the-shelf parts (Gemini DC). Blimey! Blimey! T' keep research and development costs t' a minimum only existin' airframe, motors and toolin' would be considered.

The Parts
Use this link t' view t' list used for t' design and construction o' the Double X near earth orbit intercept vehicle.
Parts list
T' only variation from t' parts list is that balsa nose cones were used for t' NC-20's. Avast! Ahoy! Typical plastic NC-20's may be used but t' construction technique originally used balsa. Avast! For simplicity balsa was used for this application. 

T' Design
As with most designs, ya bilge rat, inspiration is be t' most important part o' t' process and t' most elusive element o' t' method. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' long list o' past and present X-planes and rockets had a great impact on t' source o' inspiration. T' most obvious influence be t' famous Douglas X-3 Stiletto. Less obvious is the Estes Rocket Plan #55 a.k.a. Avast! Excalibur which can be viewed on JimZ's site. Critical construction techniques were borrowed from this very nice design.
Missin' from this entry be t' traditional oat cereal box which has become the trademark design element o' t' OPL.
Sorry kids, maybe next time...

T' templates needed are included through links on this page.

• Vertical stabilizer template
• Horizontal stabilizer template
• Win' template
• Alignment guide

T' general layout design and preflight testin' was done usin' VCP and SpaceCad. Avast, me proud beauty! Both files are included here. Ya scallywag! Because o' t' relatively complex nature o' t' airframe cross section it was necessary t' simplify in the simulation.

Construction
As stated in t' description part o' t' construction technique is taken from the original Excaliber. Avast! This is important as thar be a newer version which does nay employ t' same construction methods.

What this applies t' be t' engine nacelles so we'll do that first. Split both o' t' BT-20 recovery system pods from t' Gemini kit in half lengthwise avoidin' t' ejection duct holes. Blimey! Cut one NC-20 in half lengthwise t' be glued into one end o' each o' t' tubes you just cut. T' next step is t' make t' nacelle assembly fit t' t' contour o' t' main airframe BT-50 by gently sandin' away t' part o' t' n/c that interferes. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Wrap a sheet o' fine grit sandpaper around a BT-50 (reinforcin' t' tube with couplers or whatever is a good idea) and slowly sand inside (hollow) part o' t' nacelle assembly back and forth lengthwise. Test fit often. 

Glue a BT-20 thrust rin' t' a piece o' card stock, carefully cut out the circle when dry and bisect t' assembly. Begad! Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Sand t' flat edge o' t' semi-circle to fit t' main airframe. Arrr! Blimey! This will become t' inlet o' t' engine nacelle and will be painted black.

Usin' t' fin templates cut out each o' t' fins makin' note o' two o' each one bein' left and one bein' right side. Use typical fin techniques.

Trim BT-50 t' 14.5 inches in length. Mark tube usin' alignment guide for all o' the lines. Begad! Ya scallywag! These parts line up at odd angles, matey, so pay close attention t' which part goes on which line.

T' motor mount will protrude 1/2 inch from t' back o' t' rocket. Arrr! Avast! This will eventually be painted black. Ya scallywag! Use whatever motor retention device you are fond of.

Typical shock cord and parachute mountin' usin' one o' t' 12 inch chutes.

Flight
T' flight simulation and actual flight reports can be viewed from this page. Ahoy!

Flight simulation usin' t' prototype design  layout in SpaceCAD.