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

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

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

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

I mean, ya bilge rat, 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, me hearties, matey, me bucko, "He was thinkin' out o' t' box!" Well t' feelin' I was havin' was just like that. Blimey! I was missin' one important morsel o' information. Well, matey, blow me down! In me case, me hearties, it wasn't a new idea I needed, me bucko, t' piece I needed was...was...well, me bucko, I couldn't remember what I needed. Arrr! That's why I was havin' that feeling. Well, blow me down! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I found a bunch o' sections o' 24mm LOC motor mount and three Estes NC-50 nose cones. A fuchsia one from a Mongoose, me bucko, a black one from t' "Flight Probe" from a Darth Vader Tie-Fighter (best thin' that rocket ever did was crash), matey, shiver me timbers, and a white one that came from an Estes I-can't-remember-what. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Also thrown in t' mix is a short section o' PML 54mm motor mount, a PML 54mm-2.6" centerin' ring, arrr, two 1/4" launch lugs, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me bucko, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, me hearties, some lightweight Bungee, matey, 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. Ya scallywag! Then I glued that and t' two longer motor mounts together in a triangular configuration t' make t' body o' t' rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' motors will be installed with maskin' tape thrust rings and motor retention will be via friction fit. Arrr! Avast! T' primary adhesive used in t' construction o' t' rocket be 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. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I centered t' airframe on t' lampshade and traced t' pattern for t' openin' that I needed t' cut. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut t' openin' by makin' three holes usin' a 1" wood bit. Begad! Ya scallywag! While cuttin' those holes, me bucko, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Aye aye! Well, ya bilge rat, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Begad! I ended up usin' Loctite Plastix. Begad! It be t' only adhesive I used besides yellow glue.

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

At this point I realized that I had forgotten about launch lugs, arrr, somethin' I've never done before.^* So I found some 1/4" launch lugs and glued them on. Avast, me proud beauty! I then traced t' cut I would need t' make on t' lampshade t' accommodate t' launch lugs. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! T' avoid tangles, shiver me timbers, I wanted t' recovery system t' be deployed from one tube. Begad! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Avast, me proud beauty! Further, ya bilge rat, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, me bucko, me hearties, I decided t' use two 24" Estes chutes. I prefer nylon chutes but given t' space restrictions for packin' t' chutes, t' Estes chutes were a better choice. Aye aye! Blimey! T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I used Estes style paper tabs t' anchor t' shock cords in t' tubes. Well, blow me down! T' keep t' three nose cones from bashin' each other at ejection and possibly tanglin' up t' chutes, ya bilge rat, 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. A three second delay be used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. Avast! Blimey! I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. Ahoy! Blimey! T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! Blimey! It be a great ascent, ya bilge rat, perfectly straight and nay too much altitude. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge spittin' out t' two chutes and a moment later t' two D12-5's fired theirs. Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, matey, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' was a bit harder than I would have liked. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, me hearties, they extended as well. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! But I figured I'd fly it a second time anyway.

For t' second flight, me bucko, 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. Blimey! Again t' LCO gave it a five count and pushed t' launch button. 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. T' rocket kept ascendin' but clearly, it be nay under full thrust. Well, blow me down! It appeared t' stage but then seemed t' be under even less thrust, and it started cantin' t' one side. Ya scallywag! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Fortunately, arrr, t' D12-3 fired its ejection charge and both chutes deployed properly. Avast! Aye aye! One o' t' engines appeared t' make a hasty exit from t' back o' t' rocket at that moment too. With both chutes out, me hearties, matey, t' rocket made a nice soft landing.

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

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

^*Hah!