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

Purpose
I've been thinkin' about this rocket for a while. Blimey! Blimey! I needed t' free some space within me brain's limited capacity for important stuff. Avast! Begad! 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. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I made t' comment that I was lookin' for somethin' different. Well, blow me down! T' proprietor said, me bucko, "there are only so many variations on 3fnc". Diggin' deep into that even more limited part o' me brain called wit, shiver me timbers, I said, "Hunh?" I followed that up with, "What's 3ncf?" He gave me one o' those "Boy, shiver me timbers, are you a newbie" smirks and said, shiver me timbers, arrr, "3fnc. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! Three fins and a nose cone". Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I thought about this for a moment, replied with, ya bilge rat, me hearties, "Oh", shiver me timbers, and then I left.

Anyway, shiver me timbers, later that evenin' while entertainin' me friends with rocketry stories, shiver me timbers, I explained that one o' t' limits o' t' hobby be that thar are only so many variations on 3ncf. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! No one responded. Aye aye! I knew that they were at a loss for words so I defined 3ncf. Or at least I tried...

I mean, shiver me timbers, 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 be havin' was just like that. I was missin' one important morsel o' information. In me case, it wasn't a new idea I needed, ya bilge rat, t' piece I needed was...was...well, I couldn't remember what I needed. That's why I was havin' that feeling. Anyway, arrr, that's how 3ncf was born.

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

My first thought for a fin was t' use a funnel. 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. Well, me bucko, blow me down! So I went shoppin' and that's when I found this hemispherical piece o' plastic at t' hardware store that I later found out be a lampshade. I centered t' airframe on t' lampshade and traced t' pattern for t' openin' that I needed t' cut. Begad! I cut t' openin' by makin' three holes usin' a 1" wood bit. While cuttin' those holes, arrr, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, matey, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I ended up usin' Loctite Plastix. Well, blow me down! Begad! It was t' only adhesive I used besides yellow glue.

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

At this point I realized that I had forgotten about launch lugs, matey, matey, 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. Blimey! I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. Avast, me proud beauty! 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 was recovery. Avast! Ahoy! T' avoid tangles, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' recovery system t' be deployed from one tube. Aye aye! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Avast, me proud beauty! Further, me hearties, matey, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, I decided t' use two 24" Estes chutes. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I prefer nylon chutes but given t' space restrictions for packin' t' chutes, matey, t' Estes chutes were a better choice. Begad! T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. Ahoy! I used Estes style paper tabs t' anchor t' shock cords in t' tubes. Begad! Ahoy! 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 was on three Estes D12's. Avast! A three second delay was used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. Ya scallywag! I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. Arrr! T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! It was a great ascent, perfectly straight and nay too much altitude. Ahoy! 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! Begad! Unfortunately, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' was a bit harder than I would have liked. Ahoy! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, they extended as well. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! But I figured I'd fly it a second time anyway.

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

I found two o' t' D12-0's at t' pad, matey, and they had obviously CATO'd. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! One had no remnants o' t' nozzle or ejection charge cap. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' other had no nozzle left but did still have traces o' t' ejection charge cap. Both cases were also slightly smashed at one end, probably from hittin' t' blast plate on t' launch pad. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I retrieved t' rocket and inspected t' business end. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! T' me surprise, t' motor that ejected from t' back o' t' rocket was t' D12-3. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' back end o' that motor tube be flared, me hearties, probably from t' force o' a CATO. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Fortunately, matey, enough o' t' energy from t' ejection charge did what it was supposed t' do. Begad! Blimey! One o' t' D12-5's had fired but t' other had not. Curiously, arrr, all three nose cones had ejected. Based on observation, arrr, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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, matey, I believe it was t' D12-3. 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. Now t' rocket was flyin' on only one motor.
5. T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge, me bucko, 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. 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. T' bigger issue be t' lamp shade. Avast! Avast! T' hardware store has more, but t' material is too brittle for this purpose. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Unless I can find a new fin that will use t' existin' fin mount, shiver me timbers, I probably won't repair it.

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

^*Hah!