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! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I needed t' free some space within me brain's limited capacity for important stuff. T' only way t' do that was t' build t' rocket.

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

Anyway, later that evenin' while entertainin' me friends with rocketry stories, I explained that one o' t' limits o' t' hobby was that thar are only so many variations on 3ncf. No one responded. Blimey! I knew that they were at a loss for words so I defined 3ncf. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! 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, ya bilge rat, "He was thinkin' out o' t' box!" Well t' feelin' I was havin' be just like that. Avast! I was missin' one important morsel o' information. In me case, it wasn't a new idea I needed, me hearties, t' piece I needed was...was...well, I couldn't remember what I needed. Arrr! Ahoy! That's why I was havin' that feeling. Well, blow me down! Anyway, me hearties, shiver me timbers, that's how 3ncf was born.

Materials
I wanted t' make this out o' scrap rocketry materials I had layin' around, me hearties, t' only exception bein' t' fin. Ahoy! I found a bunch o' sections o' 24mm LOC motor mount and three Estes NC-50 nose cones. Ahoy! 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), ya bilge rat, and a white one that came from an Estes I-can't-remember-what. Well, blow me down! Begad! Also thrown in t' mix is a short section o' PML 54mm motor mount, ya bilge rat, a PML 54mm-2.6" centerin' ring, matey, arrr, two 1/4" launch lugs, arrr, ya bilge rat, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, shiver me timbers, some lightweight Bungee, me hearties, 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. Begad! I had a yellow Estes engine block locatin' tube that I used as t' coupler. Arrr! Then I glued that and t' two longer motor mounts together in a triangular configuration t' make t' body o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! T' motors will be installed with maskin' tape thrust rings and motor retention will be via friction fit. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' primary adhesive used in t' construction o' t' rocket be yellow glue.

My first thought for a fin was t' use a funnel. Ahoy! 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. Begad! 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. Arrr! I centered t' airframe on t' lampshade and traced t' pattern for t' openin' that I needed t' cut. I cut t' openin' by makin' three holes usin' a 1" wood bit. Ya scallywag! While cuttin' those holes, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I ended up usin' Loctite Plastix. It was t' only adhesive I used besides yellow glue.

Next, I needed a way t' adhere t' fin t' t' airframe. Blimey! Aye aye! Rather than use an adhesive, I decided t' use a mechanical connection. I cut a slice from t' 54mm motor mount t' which I glued t' centerin' ring. Together, they formed a support for t' lampshade. Begad! That assembly be 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. I then traced t' cut I would need t' make on t' lampshade t' accommodate t' launch lugs. Well, blow me down! I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. Aye aye! Finally, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Blimey! Blimey! Further, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, me bucko, I decided t' use two 24" Estes chutes. Ahoy! I prefer nylon chutes but given t' space restrictions for packin' t' chutes, t' Estes chutes were a better choice. T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. I used Estes style paper tabs t' anchor t' shock cords in t' tubes. T' keep t' three nose cones from bashin' each other at ejection and possibly tanglin' up t' chutes, me hearties, 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 was on three Estes D12's. Ya scallywag! A three second delay be used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. Avast! Blimey! T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! It was a great ascent, me bucko, 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. Aye aye! Unfortunately, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' was a bit harder than I would have liked. Arrr! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, they extended as well. Aye aye! But I figured I'd fly it a second time anyway.

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

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

1. All three boosters lit.
2. Before it left t' rod, two o' t' boosters CATO'd. Well, blow me down! T' CATO o' t' booster attached t' t' D12-3 jammed t' D12-3 forward, shiver me timbers, me hearties, flarin' t' end o' t' motor tube.
3. One o' t' CATO's ignited a sustainer, shiver me timbers, I believe it was t' D12-3. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Now t' rocket was 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. Arrr! Begad! 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. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' bigger issue be t' lamp shade. Blimey! Avast! T' hardware store has more, but t' material is too brittle for this purpose. Arrr! Unless I can find a new fin that will use t' existin' fin mount, ya bilge rat, I probably won't repair it.

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

^*Hah!