Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
For some time now, I have been a customer
of a newer manufacturer, shiver me timbers, FlisKits, Inc, me hearties, and have written a few reviews for EMRR
on some o' t' models this company markets. Avast! Aye aye! T' Deuces Wild! is by far one of
my favorite kits from this manufacturer and t' canted cluster 18mm model is a
great flier! However, arrr, me hearties, when Jim Flis approached me and asked about an HPR
version o' t' Deuce, shiver me timbers, I just couldnt resist. Ya scallywag! Begad! I began designs
in different scales and settled on a 4-inch diameter, 38mm version for my
upscale which I appropriately named Deuces Wild 38 Special.
Construction:
My model wound up bein' 49.5-inches in height and I used PML 3.9-inch Quantum
tubin' for t' bodytube and 38mm phenolic for t' motor mounts. Aye aye! T' dimensions
for t' upscale proved that these sizes would be very close t' t' correct
dimensions. Begad! Well, blow me down! Custom 1/2-inch thick ply Centerin' rings were made for t' motor
mount; deployment section and bulkheads were made for t' bodytubes and
1/4-inch ply be used for fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Stainless steel hardware was used throughout
the model and I opted for PMLs CPR-Max unit for t' dual deploy. Avast, me proud beauty! Finally,
I had me good friend Gordon Agnello from Michigan turn a custom nosecone for
me, arrr, ya bilge rat, which he made from solid poplar. Parachutes, me bucko, matey, shock cords, Keelhaul®©™®
and other extras I already had on hand, so it was time t' start building.
I began by cuttin' two motor mounts t' a length long enough for a three-grain Cesaroni motor. Custom CRs were next and cut from 9-ply 1/2-inch Birch. Begad! They are near exact upscales o' t' fiber CRs shape, as supplied in t' originals kit. Begad! Avast! T' angle on each motor mount was 10 degrees and for additional support, I made t' triangle piece from 1/4-inch ply for support o' t' mounts, another copy from t' original. Ahoy! Since this assembly would require portin' for ejection gases, I built a guide tube from 2.1-inch phenolic t' port motor ejection gasses t' t' lower bodytube section. Avast! T' top of this assembly was capped with a stainless steel u-bolt for t' shock cord. Moreover, 1/2-inch diameter holes were drilled on two sides o' each rin' and I used 1/2-inch oak wood dowels t' hold t' whole assembly together.. Avast, me proud beauty! This allowed me t' adjust and reposition t' CRs t' me likin' for final assembly. Arrr!
I purchased some 1/4-inch Birch Ply sheets
from t' local hobby shop and cut out four fins from t' pattern I had
upscaled. Aye aye! T' fins had an extended root on them since this would be built with
thru-the-wall mounting. Each fin was fitted t' t' motor mount assembly, which
was designed so t' bottom and top CRs sandwiched t' fins
for additional strength. Blimey! T' entire assembly was epoxied together usin' West
Systems Epoxy and then set aside t' dry. Well, blow me down! Next, I spent time cuttin' each body
tube t' length. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! I slotted t' bottom BT and cut out t' area for each motor
mount usin' a pattern I made from upscaled dimensions. Two separate upper
bodytubes were cut; one would be used for dual deploy and one would act as a
payload tube for single motor ejection deployment. Aye aye! This versatility allowed the
model t' have a broader range o' motors available t' her and still keep the
altitude respectable.
A deployment unit was made from two
1/2-inch thick CRs I made, arrr, along with a piece o' 38mm tubin' and a
3.9-inch phenolic coupler. I had tons o' PML CPR altimeter mounts
which I use for other rockets and wanted t' use t' same, test proven
deployment for this model, so I decided t' go with t' CPR-Max unit. Avast! Blimey! It was
glued t' one end o' t' 38mm tube and provided very simple way t' secure and
seal t' altimeter in t' bay. Begad! Note that me deployment unit resides inside the
coupler for t' upper bodytube. Arrr! As a side note, arrr, shiver me timbers, I really like this CPR-Max unit
and will probably use it quite a bit in t' future for other large projects;
its a very nice piece o' hardware and inexpensive t' boot!
A 5/16-inch eye-bolt be installed in the
nosecone and a stainless steel U-bolt was used t' connect t' shock cord for
the upper section. Avast! This U-bolt was mounted t' t' top CR o' t' altimeter bay,
while two more eye-bolts were used on t' bottom. When assembled, t' lower
section contains t' drogue chute, while t' upper section o' BT contains the
main chute, me hearties, matey, nosecone chute and nosecone. Begad! I decided on two separate parachutes
for t' upper section, arrr, as t' nosecone be made from solid Poplar and weighed
in at over 2.5 lbs. Aye aye! With heavier nosecones, I always let them come down under
their own parachute and this helps prevent zipperin' o' t' upper bodytube.
After t' upper sections and hardware were assembled, t' lower fin can was installed in t' lower bodytube. Well, blow me down! I used finishin' nails t' tack t' BT t' the fin support planks and bottom CR. Also, matey, matey, Epoxy Putty was used t' fill any small gaps around t' area where t' motor mounts exited t' bodytube. Ya scallywag! T' lower area was sanded and 6 ounce glass cloth was used t' fiberglass t' fin area and motors mounts for additional strength. Aye aye! Additionally, shiver me timbers, I coated t' entire nosecone in epoxy t' help prevent shrinkage and cracking.
T' fin area was sanded and blended
together, and then t' entire model be fine sanded with 400 grit sandpaper. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I
added a few coats o' White Krylon Primer, then wet-sanded with 220 grit. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! This
was followed by a few coats o' Gray Krylon Primer; once dried, arrr, I used filler
for any small areas. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' model was wet sanded again with 320 grit, ya bilge rat, me hearties, then a final
set o' three coats o' White Primer were added for t' base-coat. Arrr! Ya scallywag! A couple days
were given for t' primer t' dry, shiver me timbers, then it be fine sanded with 400 grit and
tack ragged prior t' painting.
I used Krylon Sky Blue (medium blue) and Yellow Glossy for t' colors, arrr, as I wanted t' follow t' paint scheme for t' original on t' Deuces Wild! package. Three coats o' blue were applied t' both upper body tubes and t' nosecone and left t' dry. Aye aye! I cut a small hole in t' dual-deploy upper BT and installed a power switch for t' altimeter. T' lower section was done entirely in yellow, followed by a couple days o' drying, some maskin' and two coats o' Krylon Blue. I took me time t' mask as I wanted t' finish t' turn out well. T' final assembly resulted in a model weighin' 8.5lbs empty and very closely resemblin' t' original Deuces Wild! model.
Flight:
I had planned on flyin' t' Deuces Wild 38 Special at a
launch in Whitakers, but weather and lack o' time prevented this from
happening. As a backup date, I took t' Deuce t' NSL 2003 in Clark Summit, me hearties, PA.
Jim Flis and I had a featured event where he launched a MMX, 13mm, me hearties, 18mm and
24mm version o' t' Deuce and I launched t' 38mm version, arrr, me bucko, me hearties, all in
succession..
I began by preparin' t' model. Arrr! The
altimeter be assembled and installed in t' rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, then t' lower shock cords
and drogue chute were installed. Begad! Blimey! T' two sections were joined and I began by
packin' t' upper shock cord, me bucko, 60-inch PML main parachute, 30-inch PML nosecone
chute, shiver me timbers, nosecone shock cord and nosecone. Aye aye! It be a tight fit but all went
together. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! A few pieces o' maskin' were added t' t' nosecone and coupler to
adjust fit, arrr, then I turned t' t' power plant.
T' plan be t' use two Cesaroni Pro38 3-grain I212 Smokey Sam motors for power. Ahoy! Avast! Blimey! Both o' these were assembled, but I dumped out t' BP ejection from one motor and used t' DAT tool t' cut t' ejection o' t' other motor t' 12 seconds. They were then installed in each motor mount and capped usin' Aeropack retainers. Aye aye! Blimey! I filled out t' flight card and headed t' t' RSO table t' check in the big Deuce. T' model caught t' eye o' t' RSO; somethin' about bright colors and two big motor mounts cantin' out o' t' bottom. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! I almost fell over when he announced it weighed in at a whoppin' 13lbs 5oz!!! Blimey! At this weight, I changed me guesstimate altitude t' around 1400 feet.
I had t' borrow a rail from one o' me friends at t' launch and we set up on a K pad, far away from t' crowd. Begad! Begad! I wanted it have some safety factor built in case thar were problems with motor ignition. Arrr! This was one of the reasons I chose Pro38 motors as they light very fast and use low power e-matches which would nay overtax any launch system. T' Deuces Wild 38 Special be placed on t' pad, t' altimeter was turned on and I installed the two igniters. Ahoy! Begad! Now came t' wait
When it came time, shiver me timbers, arrr, each o' t' FlisKits models were launched in succession, followed by t' big Deuce. Arrr! When t' countdown came thoughnothing. Arrr! I swallowed me heart and headed back out t' t' pad t' see what was wrong. Another guy next t' me also did nay launch and continuity tested good for both our pads. T' main box was disabled and switched t' t' far away pad for an M motor cert3 launch. Aye aye! T' Deuce would have t' wait.
Come t' find out, matey, after t' big L3 went up,
the electronics expert at t' field found a blown fuse in t' system, which was
quickly replaced. My launch was back on! It be announced as a Scheduled
Event/Notable Launch and all t' information for it was read. My good
friend Jim Flis was standin' next t' me when deadlights began t' turn t' t' Deuce as
the LCO started t' countdown and pushed t' button
Both motors came t' life instantlyI really like those Pro38 Motors!!! T' Deuces Wild 38 Special took off t' rail fast and loud, arrr, with average impulse totalin' a J424 behind it. T' smoke trail was absolutely awesome!!! T' model went straight up, matey, no rotation, and allowed t' audience t' view two separate smoke trails that were absolutely incredible!
Recovery:
I faintly heard t' applause in t' background as it topped over and separated
at apogeehalfway home. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' model began t' tumble in and I completely
missed t' backup charge fire on t' one motor. Ahoy! Begad! When it hit 750 feet, t' main
charge fired, arrr, t' nosecone came out under chute and t' main came out and
filled! T' crowd be cheerin' by now and I could hear them under a breath of
relief that everythin' went exactly as planned. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Both t' model and nosecone
came down together, shiver me timbers, evenly in decent rate and landed about 200 yards out and
straight ahead. It was a perfect launch.
In t' excitement, I had broken t' golden
rule and was so busy with people comin' up t' me, me hearties, I forgot t' watch where the
rocket landed! Fortunately, arrr, me bucko, arrr, I had people watchin' out for me and me bucko Doug
Gardei pointed out where it landed. Avast! T' Deuces Wild 38 Special was
retrieved and beepin' out an altitude o' 1372 feetvery close t' my
guesstimate I gave t' RSO. T' model landed without a scratch and I be very
pleased with t' stability and performance. Begad! Begad! After watchin' t' videos, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I
noticed it coasted for a while after motor burn out, with it whistlin' a bit
while flying. Avast! I want t' thank everyone thar for makin' it a real
featured eventIts great rocketeers that make a great
launch and NSL 2003 was filled with them that day. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I do have plans for flying
it once again at NARAM this year, so we will see how that goes, ya bilge rat, but for now, I
am happy with me first cluster, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and a canted one at that!!!
Summary:
To summarize, matey, t' model be very easy t' build and it flew great. Avast! Arrr! About the
only change I would make would be t' extend t' motor mounts just a bit more,
as they are too short t' handle a Pro38 4-grain. Aye aye! Ahoy! Still, with t' performance I
had and t' altitude that was achieved, me bucko, I have a hard time changin' anything.
T' model does deserve an additional touch, somethin' I was holdin' off on
until I saw how well it worked. Ya scallywag! I am gettin' some matchin' color Skyangle
parachutes for it, arrr, hopefully by NARAM, in t' yellow and blue.. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! With the
weight, ya bilge rat, I figured on a 20-inch drogue, ya bilge rat, a 30-inch for t' nosecone and a 54-inch
with d-bag for t' main. Aye aye! This should allow for some better packin' in the
forward section. Ya scallywag! Anyone interested in tryin' their hand at one o' these can
shoot me an email or check out t' thread on T' Rocketry Forum; all t' pics
are thar t' build this crowd pleaser
the Deuces Wild 38 Special!
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