ICRS Ghost Rider

by Mike Crewe

Construction.

Parts.

For t' parts, shiver me timbers, I used t' parts list, ya bilge rat, rather than t' actual kit.

In t' parts list, me bucko, it has "launch lugs and recovery system as necessary for safe operation ".
I expanded this to:

• Two 1" launch lugs
• Approx 18" o' Keelhaul®©™® cord.
• 24" o' 1/8" elastic. Begad! Blimey!
• 1/4" section cut from used 18mm motor case. Ya scallywag! Begad!

T' motor clip from t' parts list was nay used.

T' card stock layout, fin templates, me bucko, and tube markin' wraps, were all created at 150 dpi.

Upper Section.

(Note. Blimey! Blimey! All construction images here are linked t' a higher resolution picture)

Two 5" lengths, arrr, matey, and a 3 1/2" length were cut from t' BT20. Usin' t' "BT20 Main Wrap", ya bilge rat, all three tubes were marked and lined. Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' t' "BT20 Top Tube Wrap" (and aligned on t' 'B' line) a diagonal be drawn around one end o' t' 3 1/2"  tube.  Each tube was marked at 7/8" along t' 'C' lines (at t' opposite end from the diagonal on t' short tube), and this rectangular section be cut out, and the bits saved for later. T' diagonal was cut off t' end o' t' short tube.
T' three tubes were then glued together, along t' 'S' lines, with t' cut out bits formin' a BT20 size 'hole' in t' middle. Ahoy!
1 3/4" be cut from t' rest o' t' BT20 for t' front coupler. One o' t' centerin' be rings glued t' t' top o' it. T' two extra rings were then cut from t' card stock, and glued together, halfway down t' coupler. This was then glued into t' gaps betwixt t' three tubes, shiver me timbers, matey, ensurin' it was straight and in line
A 5 1/2" section be cut from t' BT50, and be marked usin' the "BT-50 Top Wrap". Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' tube be slit along these lines for 1 1/2 " T' smaller sections were then trimmed into a taperin' triangle shape.
T' BT50 section was then glued onto t' front coupler, shiver me timbers, me hearties, with t' large sections slidin' inside t' BT-20 tubes, me bucko, and t' triangular sections on the outside. T' triangular sections were then glued down into t' gaps betwixt t' BT-20 tubes, formin' a sort o' transition.
T' three top transitions and t' couplin' collars were then cut from the card sheet, and rolled around one o' t' BT-20 nose cones t' get t' basic shape. Usin' a collar, arrr, arrr, each one was joined t' t' end o' one o' t' BT20 tubes, and the edges stuck onto t' BT50. After this be all dried, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I applied a thin coat o' CA over t' whole area for strength, and then sanded it smooth.
T' oval end cap and cabin housin' were cut from cardstock. Blimey! T' cap was stuck onto t' angled end o' t' shorter BT20, shiver me timbers, and t' cabin formed and glued on in front o' it. T' two nose cones were then attached t' t' longer tubes.
A 2 1/2" length was cut from t' BT50. Aye aye! A section was then cut out of the side, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' make it t' same size as BT50 coupler. T' rectangular sections cut from t' BT20 front tubes (well, two and a bit o' them actually) were stuck on t' inside t' keep it together. T' detached shoulder from t' BT50 nose cone (called t' BT50 bulk head in the parts list) be cut in half, and a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® tied through t' bottom bit. This be then glued into t' forward end o' t' coupler. Well, blow me down! T' whole coupler was then glued halfway into t' top BT50 tube. Ya scallywag!

Lower Section.

T' end be then cut off t' BT50 nose cone, shiver me timbers, leavin' it about 2 1/4" long. Blimey! With a bit o' sandpaper wrapped around a spent 18mm motor, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' inside was sanded out until t' remainin' length o' BT20 (the motor mount) could pass through. Well, blow me down! This left t' tail cone 2 1/10 " long. T' other part o' t' nose shoulder be glued into place on t' wider end. T' other centerin' rin' was stuck on t' end o' t' motor mount,  then this unit be glued inside t' tail cone. About 1/8" o' motor mount stuck out o' t' bottom o' t' cone. A 12" length o' Keelhaul®©™® was then tied t' a 1/4" section cut from a used motor case and this was glued inside t' top o' t' motor mount. Begad! Well, blow me down! A loop was tied in t' other end of the Keelhaul®©™®.
T' remainin' 10" o' BT50, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, was then marked up usin' t' 'BT50 Base Wrap', arrr, before t' tail cone was glued t' it. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! T' 'F' lines were extended down the tail cone. From t' card stock, t' six aft pods were cut out and glued together.  These were then glued onto t' BT50, arrr, arrr, along t' 'P' lines, matey, with t' end o' the straight section o' t' pods in line with t' end o' t' tube.
Usin' t' fin templates, me hearties, t' fins were marked out (the layout can be found here) on t' balsa sheet, me bucko, then cut out. They then had a couple o' passes through t' 'sand - sandin' sealer - sand' process. T' main fins were than attached t' t' tail cone along t' 'F' lines. T' dowel was cut into three equal pieces, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and glued onto t' small forward fins.
T' forward fins were glued onto t' body, in line with t' main fins, with the leadin' edge 3.9" from t' top o' t' air frame. Aye aye! T' top end o' the dowels was glued t' t' tip o' t' main fins, me bucko, and after t' bond had set, were trimmed and sanded t' t' correct size and angle.
A 1" launch lugs was glued onto a forward and matchin' main fin. These were positioned t' allow t' launch rod t' pass betwixt t' main fin and the rear pod.
Finally, shiver me timbers, t' completed rocket was sprayed with a coat o' primer, two foot of 1/8" elastic was was tied betwixt t' loops in t' Keelhaul®©™®, and t' 18" parachute was attached t' t' top loop. It was now ready for flight testing.

Flight Test

Stability

Firstly, I ran a quick CP calculation, matey, with t' top section simulated as follows:

• 4" long, me hearties, 1½" diameter parabolic nose. Begad! Arrr!
• 4" o' airframe. Aye aye! Blimey!
• 2" long transition t' t' BT50.

This gave a CP o' 19.4" (from t' nose).
With t' rocket fully prepped and loaded with a C6, t' CG was found t' be just aft o' t' leadin' edge o' t' forward fins, shiver me timbers, at 15.9"
This indicated a stability margin o' 2.6 calibres, so no nose weight be added.
To confirm t' stability, a swin' test was also performed successfully with the same motor loaded. Ahoy!

Motor Selection

T' rocket was weighed without a motor loaded, and was found t' be 53g (1.868 oz).
Usin' this figure, shiver me timbers, and a guesstimate for t' CD o' 0.8 some runs were carried out usin' rasp, ya bilge rat, me bucko, which gave t' followin' results:

From this, ya bilge rat, t' recommended motor list looks like:

• A8-3
• B4-2
• B6-4
• C5-3
• C6-3

First Flight

It was very windy at t' flyin' site, so I swapped t' parachute for a large streamer, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and loaded up a B6-4 motor, and let her go.
T' flight was incredibly straight considerin' t' wind - I was expectin' a lot of weather-cocking.
Deployment occurred just after apogee, and t' rocket was recovered without damage. A success!