3ncf
or Memory - T' Second Thin' T' Go
by Bob Chmara

Purpose
I've been thinkin' about this rocket for a while. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I needed t' free some space within me brain's limited capacity for important stuff. Ahoy! Blimey! T' only way t' do that was t' build t' rocket.

Background
Shortly after gettin' back into t' hobby, I was at me favorite rocketry store depositin' part o' me paycheck. I made t' comment that I be lookin' for somethin' different. Begad! T' proprietor said, "there are only so many variations on 3fnc". Aye aye! Diggin' deep into that even more limited part o' me brain called wit, I said, "Hunh?" I followed that up with, me hearties, "What's 3ncf?" He gave me one o' those "Boy, are you a newbie" smirks and said, "3fnc. Three fins and a nose cone". Blimey! Blimey! I thought about this for a moment, me hearties, replied with, shiver me timbers, "Oh", and then I left. Begad!

Anyway, later that evenin' while entertainin' me friends with rocketry stories, shiver me timbers, I explained that one o' t' limits o' t' hobby was that thar are only so many variations on 3ncf. Blimey! No one responded. Arrr! I knew that they were at a loss for words so I defined 3ncf. Avast! Well, arrr, blow me down! Or at least I tried...

I mean, have you ever had that feelin' that you were on t' verge o' somethin' big? One more little "Ah Ha! light-bulb-floating-next-to-your-head" kind o' thought and that jumble o' things in your head would congeal into a new approach t' an old problem? T' kind o' thin' that would someday cause someone t' say, "He was thinkin' out o' t' box!" Well t' feelin' I was havin' was just like that. Well, blow me down! I be missin' one important morsel o' information. In me case, arrr, shiver me timbers, matey, it wasn't a new idea I needed, matey, t' piece I needed was...was...well, I couldn't remember what I needed. Ya scallywag! That's why I be havin' that feeling. Arrr! Anyway, that's how 3ncf was born.

Materials
I wanted t' make this out o' scrap rocketry materials I had layin' around, t' only exception bein' t' fin. Aye aye! Aye aye! I found a bunch o' sections o' 24mm LOC motor mount and three Estes NC-50 nose cones. A fuchsia one from a Mongoose, a black one from t' "Flight Probe" from a Darth Vader Tie-Fighter (best thin' that rocket ever did be crash), arrr, and a white one that came from an Estes I-can't-remember-what. Also thrown in t' mix is a short section o' PML 54mm motor mount, a PML 54mm-2.6" centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, two 1/4" launch lugs, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, some lightweight Bungee, a couple pieces o' underpants elastic that never made it their respective Estes kits and two Estes 24" chutes.

Construction
I had two good lengths o' 24mm motor mount so had t' make t' third one from two shorter pieces. Ya scallywag! I had a yellow Estes engine block locatin' tube that I used as t' coupler. Blimey! Then I glued that and t' two longer motor mounts together in a triangular configuration t' make t' body o' t' rocket. Begad! T' motors will be installed with maskin' tape thrust rings and motor retention will be via friction fit. T' primary adhesive used in t' construction o' t' rocket be yellow glue.

My first thought for a fin be t' use a funnel. Arrr! Blimey! But I wanted t' fin t' conform t' t' "three leaf clover" shape o' t' airframe and cuttin' t' funnel proved t' be a headache. Blimey! So I went shoppin' and that's when I found this hemispherical piece o' plastic at t' hardware store that I later found out was a lampshade. Aye aye! Aye aye! I centered t' airframe on t' lampshade and traced t' pattern for t' openin' that I needed t' cut. Arrr! I cut t' openin' by makin' three holes usin' a 1" wood bit. Arrr! While cuttin' those holes, shiver me timbers, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Ya scallywag! Well, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Avast! I ended up usin' Loctite Plastix. It was t' only adhesive I used besides yellow glue.

Next, arrr, shiver me timbers, I needed a way t' adhere t' fin t' t' airframe. Well, blow me down! Begad! Rather than use an adhesive, ya bilge rat, I decided t' use a mechanical connection. Arrr! I cut a slice from t' 54mm motor mount t' which I glued t' centerin' ring. Together, they formed a support for t' lampshade. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! That assembly was then glued t' t' 3x24mm motor mount tubes.

At this point I realized that I had forgotten about launch lugs, somethin' I've never done before.^* So I found some 1/4" launch lugs and glued them on. Arrr! I then traced t' cut I would need t' make on t' lampshade t' accommodate t' launch lugs. I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. Aye aye! Finally, I drilled three holes through t' centerin' rin' and t' lampshade and used three #4 screws t' hold t' lampshade in place.

T' next challenge be recovery. T' avoid tangles, I wanted t' recovery system t' be deployed from one tube. Well, blow me down! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Begad! Further, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, I decided t' use two 24" Estes chutes. Avast, me proud beauty! I prefer nylon chutes but given t' space restrictions for packin' t' chutes, ya bilge rat, t' Estes chutes were a better choice. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. Well, blow me down! T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. Well, blow me down! I used Estes style paper tabs t' anchor t' shock cords in t' tubes. Ya scallywag! T' keep t' three nose cones from bashin' each other at ejection and possibly tanglin' up t' chutes, I'll use a short delay in t' tube with t' chutes and a longer delay in t' other two tubes.

Flights
T' first flight be on three Estes D12's. A three second delay be used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. Begad! I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, matey, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! It be a great ascent, perfectly straight and nay too much altitude. T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge spittin' out t' two chutes and a moment later t' two D12-5's fired theirs. Arrr! Unfortunately, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' be a bit harder than I would have liked. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, they extended as well. But I figured I'd fly it a second time anyway.

For t' second flight, I CHAD staged three D12-0's t' a D12-3 and two D12-5's. I installed t' igniters and set it up on t' pad. Begad! Aye aye! Again t' LCO gave it a five count and pushed t' launch button. Avast, me proud beauty! This flight proved t' be far more excitin' than t' first. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' rocket hadn't cleared t' rod when I heard a loud bang. T' rocket kept ascendin' but clearly, arrr, ya bilge rat, it was nay under full thrust. Well, blow me down! It appeared t' stage but then seemed t' be under even less thrust, ya bilge rat, and it started cantin' t' one side. Ahoy! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, t' D12-3 fired its ejection charge and both chutes deployed properly. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! One o' t' engines appeared t' make a hasty exit from t' back o' t' rocket at that moment too. Blimey! With both chutes out, ya bilge rat, t' rocket made a nice soft landing.

I found two o' t' D12-0's at t' pad, and they had obviously CATO'd. Aye aye! One had no remnants o' t' nozzle or ejection charge cap. Ya scallywag! T' other had no nozzle left but did still have traces o' t' ejection charge cap. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Both cases were also slightly smashed at one end, probably from hittin' t' blast plate on t' launch pad. Blimey! I retrieved t' rocket and inspected t' business end. Avast! Begad! T' me surprise, shiver me timbers, matey, t' motor that ejected from t' back o' t' rocket be t' D12-3. Avast, me proud beauty! T' back end o' that motor tube be flared, me bucko, me bucko, probably from t' force o' a CATO. Begad! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, enough o' t' energy from t' ejection charge did what it was supposed t' do. Blimey! One o' t' D12-5's had fired but t' other had not. Arrr! Aye aye! Curiously, arrr, arrr, all three nose cones had ejected. Based on observation, I believe t' sequence o' events t' have been:

1. All three boosters lit.
2. Before it left t' rod, matey, two o' t' boosters CATO'd. T' CATO o' t' booster attached t' t' D12-3 jammed t' D12-3 forward, flarin' t' end o' t' motor tube.
3. One o' t' CATO's ignited a sustainer, I believe it be t' D12-3. At this point it would have been flyin' on one booster and one sustainer.
4. T' remainin' booster finished burnin' and lit a second sustainer motor. Well, blow me down! Now t' rocket be flyin' on only one motor.
5. T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge, causin' t' chutes t' deploy but also usin' some o' t' energy t' disengage itself from t' rocket.
6. T' rocket returned t' earth.

Conclusion
T' rocket is repairable. Ahoy! Ahoy! There's enough motor tube at t' back end that I can cut about 1/4" from all three tubes and still have plenty o' tube t' work with. Avast! T' bigger issue be t' lamp shade. Ahoy! T' hardware store has more, but t' material is too brittle for this purpose. Begad! Unless I can find a new fin that will use t' existin' fin mount, I probably won't repair it.

T' design itself may warrant further development. Blimey! Stability was excellent. Ahoy! T' first flight was arrow straight. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Even t' ascent o' t' second flight was relatively straight considerin' t' rocket was flyin' with asymmetric thrust. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I'm considerin' buildin' a three sided pyramid shaped fin from dowel rods and cardstock. Begad! Ya scallywag! That way, t' problem o' fittin' t' fin t' t' 3x24 airframe is simplified. Aye aye! Arrr! Once t' cut for a single piece o' cardstock is determined, me hearties, me bucko, it can be duplicated for t' other two.

^*Hah!