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

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

Anyway, me bucko, matey, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I knew that they were at a loss for words so I defined 3ncf. Well, 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. Ya scallywag! I be missin' one important morsel o' information. Begad! Well, blow me down! In me case, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! That's why I was havin' that feeling. Anyway, that's how 3ncf was born.

Materials
I wanted t' make this out o' scrap rocketry materials I had layin' around, arrr, t' only exception bein' t' fin. Avast! I found a bunch o' sections o' 24mm LOC motor mount and three Estes NC-50 nose cones. A fuchsia one from a Mongoose, matey, me hearties, a black one from t' "Flight Probe" from a Darth Vader Tie-Fighter (best thin' that rocket ever did be crash), and a white one that came from an Estes I-can't-remember-what. Avast! Blimey! Also thrown in t' mix is a short section o' PML 54mm motor mount, me hearties, a PML 54mm-2.6" centerin' ring, arrr, two 1/4" launch lugs, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, some lightweight Bungee, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! Then I glued that and t' two longer motor mounts together in a triangular configuration t' make t' body o' t' rocket. T' motors will be installed with maskin' tape thrust rings and motor retention will be via friction fit. 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! 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 be a lampshade. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Blimey! While cuttin' those holes, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Arrr! Blimey! Well, me bucko, arrr, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Arrr! Together, they formed a support for t' lampshade. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Aye aye! I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. Avast! 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 was recovery. T' avoid tangles, matey, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' recovery system t' be deployed from one tube. Avast! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Ya scallywag! Begad! Further, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 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. Blimey! T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. I used Estes style paper tabs t' anchor t' shock cords in t' tubes. 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 be on three Estes D12's. Aye aye! A three second delay be used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. Blimey! I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. Blimey! T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! It be a great ascent, matey, perfectly straight and nay too much altitude. Ya scallywag! T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge spittin' out t' two chutes and a moment later t' two D12-5's fired theirs. Unfortunately, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' was a bit harder than I would have liked. Ya scallywag! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, matey, they extended as well. But I figured I'd fly it a second time anyway.

For t' second flight, me hearties, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Again t' LCO gave it a five count and pushed t' launch button. This flight proved t' be far more excitin' than t' first. T' rocket hadn't cleared t' rod when I heard a loud bang. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket kept ascendin' but clearly, it be nay under full thrust. Avast! It appeared t' stage but then seemed t' be under even less thrust, matey, ya bilge rat, and it started cantin' t' one side. Well, blow me down! Begad! Fortunately, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' D12-3 fired its ejection charge and both chutes deployed properly. 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, t' rocket made a nice soft landing.

I found two o' t' D12-0's at t' pad, ya bilge rat, and they had obviously CATO'd. Ya scallywag! One had no remnants o' t' nozzle or ejection charge cap. Ahoy! 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. Avast! Begad! Blimey! I retrieved t' rocket and inspected t' business end. T' me surprise, t' motor that ejected from t' back o' t' rocket was t' D12-3. Begad! T' back end o' that motor tube was flared, probably from t' force o' a CATO. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! Fortunately, me hearties, enough o' t' energy from t' ejection charge did what it be supposed t' do. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! One o' t' D12-5's had fired but t' other had not. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Curiously, all three nose cones had ejected. 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, matey, me bucko, two o' t' boosters CATO'd. Avast! T' CATO o' t' booster attached t' t' D12-3 jammed t' D12-3 forward, arrr, me bucko, flarin' t' end o' t' motor tube.
3. One o' t' CATO's ignited a sustainer, I believe it be t' D12-3. Ahoy! 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, 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. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! T' hardware store has more, but t' material is too brittle for this purpose. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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. Begad! Stability was excellent. Arrr! T' first flight be arrow straight. Well, blow me down! Even t' ascent o' t' second flight was 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. Avast, me proud beauty! That way, shiver me timbers, t' problem o' fittin' t' fin t' t' 3x24 airframe is simplified. Ya scallywag! Once t' cut for a single piece o' cardstock is determined, arrr, it can be duplicated for t' other two.

^*Hah!