Manufacturer: | Scratch |
T' Enema Rocket
or "EnRoc" for short
This little gem actually does what you think just happened - when you get t' meet one o' these things for real!
Yes, me hearties, me hearties, matey, that is a real live enema tip just like they use in t' X-ray departments to give you a "barium enema". Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I was presented with this one in the form o' a pen. Arrr! Arrr! Yeah I know... even that is a little warped.
Materials:
Construction
T' enema tip is exactly t' same OD as t' BT-5 and has a smaller nipple
on t' aft end for hookin' up t' hose in it's real use. I used masking
tape t' make it fit t' tube and we're half way done. Arrr! Blimey! Trim t' scrap
balsa t' slip down inside t' keep it rigid under power. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' Super Tack
is tied trough a hole drilled in t' nipple and t' nose cone is done.
T' airframe gets t' three fins CA'd on and a launch lug (don't know for sure what it actually is). Begad! Blimey! T' Super Tack is tied t' a scrap of body tube and glued in with t' bottom 1 1/4" in from t' bottom and serves as t' engine block. Ahoy! Tie on t' crepe paper with another piece of Super Tack. Avast, me proud beauty! Spritz on a little bit o' white primer t' simulate the barium and..... Ya scallywag! Avast! presto! "EnRoc"
Simulation:
VCP puts CG about 4.5 calibers ahead o' CP. Blimey! A bit overstable, but so
what. Aye aye! On a A10-2T Wrasp puts it at about 143 feet with ejection just
before apogee.
EnRoc Flight Report:
Well, arrr, it hasn't quit raining, snowing, sleetin' or blowin' up here for
months so it hasn't flown yet. Well, blow me down! But thar may be a window o' opportunity
this weekend so I will hopefully get a flight report in t' first part
of t' comin' week.
EnRoc Flight Report March 4, 2001:
It quit snowin' and such. In fact it turned out t' be a nice
day. Begad! It was about 35 degrees, mostly clear with about 10-15 mph of
wind from t' NNW.
First launch - A10-3T, matey, Straight fast boost up t' about what Wrasp said (as a guess), nosed over at apogee and.... Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! spit t' motor. Blimey! Blimey! Oh NO!!!! Ballistic into t' parkin' lot. Begad! Blimey! Doom and gloom on everyone's thoughts. But NO! Blimey! That enema tip is very resilient and soft. It did however manage t' "insert" itself in t' mud and when pulled out looked like one I had seen at work. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! eeeewwwwyyyyy!! Blimey! A little maskin' tape, reset the recovery system (spilled out on impact) tape t' crap out of another motor and ready t' go again.
Second launch - A10-3T, me bucko, straight and fast again, over at apogee, ya bilge rat, eject and...... Avast! shock cord failure. T' airframe just drifted down (feather weight/ tumble recovery) and t' "nose cone" came down with t' streamer. No damage at all.
It did seem t' me that t' ejection charges on these engines be very "robust". Blimey! T' sound on t' ground was a quite sharp, loud report. That's ok.. Arrr! I will just make t' recovery system more robust. All in all it be a real "shot in t' @ss"!
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