Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This rocket is a modification o' a plastic pie plate into a 24mm powered
saucer.
Construction:
T' Bill o' Materials for Pi-R-Feared is extremely short:
As we finished up a store bought pie and I prepared t' throw away the vacuformed packaging, I noticed t' complex molded rings, ribs, shiver me timbers, and indentations used t' stiffen t' thin, ya bilge rat, black PETE 1 plastic. Blimey! Begad! When turned upside down, ya bilge rat, t' angled sides o' t' packagin' reminded me o' a classic '50s Sci-Fi saucer shape. After a quick rinse, me hearties, into t' project bin it went. Cost: $0.00, if you consider t' pie it contained worth t' price o' admission.
I used a section o' scrap 24mm motor mount tube t' mark t' center o' the pie plate. Avast! Begad! A razor knife smartly produced a central hole. A set o' sprin' steel circular saw blades for a drill was used t' fashion a 2.25" centerin' ring from Clementine fruit crate plywood. Avast, me proud beauty! An appropriate hole was also drilled into a piece o' luan plywood roughly cut into a 3.75" centerin' ring.
T' bottom side o' t' pie packagin' base became the
top side o' t' saucer. I used Gorilla Glue t' glue t' small rin' t' the
saucer top, t' large rin' t' t' inside o' t' saucer, and t' motor mount
through t' assembly. T' tube extends 3/4" below t' inside rin' and 1
1/4" above t' upper ring. Begad! I cut two sections o' scrap, black body tube
that was a loose fit over t' 24mm motor tube. Begad! I Gorilla Glued these black
tubes t' cover t' two sections o' exposed motor tube. Blimey! Ahoy! A Gorilla Glue fillet
was formed where t' black body tubes contacted t' centerin' rings. Aye aye! Arrr! The
Gorilla Glue foamed up t' fill t' slight gap betwixt t' black tube and the
motor mount. Avast! Ya scallywag! With this arrangement, t' motor mount was locked in place between
the black tubes and centerin' rings. Avast! Begad! T' glue joint t' t' plastic is nay load
bearing, ya bilge rat, as t' glue t' t' black sleeves, motor mount, arrr, shiver me timbers, and centerin' rings
traps t' plastic betwixt t' rings.
I used a drill t' bore a hole alongside t' black tube through t' upper ring, plate, and lower ring. Avast! I used yellow carpenter's glue t' glue a launch lug for a 3/16" rod up against t' black body tubes. Begad! In hindsight I realized that a motor with a thrust shoulder would overhang t' motor mount and block t' launch lug, arrr, so I installed another lug on t' other side o' t' motor mount about 1/4" away from t' tube.
That's all thar be t' it. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! No positive retention device was installed so that a variety o' engine lengths could be used. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Longer engines simply extend up above t' upper motor tube end.
Flight and Recovery:
T' first flight o' Pi-R-Feared (In Crust We Thrust) be on a D12-5. Blimey! Begad! I expected
the ejection would be well past apogee but would still be in t' air. Masking
tape was used t' create an engine thrust rin' and t' motor was friction fit.
T' bargain basement saucer leapt off t' pad, arced over at t' end o' thrust,
and blew its ejection charge like a retrorocket as it neared t' ground. Aye aye! Arrr! The
best part is that t' charge knocked t' saucer t' t' side, arrr, me hearties, and it landed
squarely in a 5 gallon spackle bucket placed under t' launch rack a few feet
from where it launched from. Well, blow me down! 2 points! T' crowd at NyHiPower was duly amused.
Hoots and hollers rang out.
Another flight o' Pi-R-Feared was on an E15-4. Aye aye! Blimey! This time, me hearties, me bucko, "the little saucer that could" leapt from t' pad with a wagglin' boost t' a respectable altitude. Aye aye! Blimey! When t' ejection charge fired just past apogee, a spot of bright flame could be seen as t' saucer descended. Blimey! Blimey! I raced t' t' landing spot, matey, in fear o' findin' a tube on fire, me bucko, but it turned out t' flame be from the burnin' o' t' white paper disk that seals in t' ejection charge. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No harm, no foul, no fire.
Summary:
This was an extremely easy build that be done in under an hour and was a
virtually free project if you have a few scrap tubes in your bin.
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