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

Purpose
I've been thinkin' about this rocket for a while. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I needed t' free some space within me brain's limited capacity for important stuff. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! T' only way t' do that was t' build t' rocket.

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

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

Materials
I wanted t' make this out o' scrap rocketry materials I had layin' around, me bucko, t' only exception bein' t' fin. Begad! Aye aye! I found a bunch o' sections o' 24mm LOC motor mount and three Estes NC-50 nose cones. Begad! A fuchsia one from a Mongoose, ya bilge rat, a black one from t' "Flight Probe" from a Darth Vader Tie-Fighter (best thin' that rocket ever did was crash), 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, me bucko, a PML 54mm-2.6" centerin' ring, two 1/4" launch lugs, some Keelhaul®©™ thread, 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. I had a yellow Estes engine block locatin' tube that I used as t' coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! Then I glued that and t' two longer motor mounts together in a triangular configuration t' make t' body o' t' rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. 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. 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. Well, 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. Blimey! While cuttin' those holes, t' lampshade plastic cracked in two spots. Well, matey, that sent me on a search for an appropriate adhesive t' repair t' cracks. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I ended up usin' Loctite Plastix. Ahoy! It be t' only adhesive I used besides yellow glue.

Next, I needed a way t' adhere t' fin t' t' airframe. Ahoy! Rather than use an adhesive, me hearties, I decided t' use a mechanical connection. Aye aye! Begad! I cut a slice from t' 54mm motor mount t' which I glued t' centerin' ring. Together, shiver me timbers, 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, somethin' I've never done before.^* So I found some 1/4" launch lugs and glued them on. Ya scallywag! I then traced t' cut I would need t' make on t' lampshade t' accommodate t' launch lugs. Arrr! I used wire cutters t' snip away small sections o' t' plastic. 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. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' avoid tangles, I wanted t' recovery system t' be deployed from one tube. Arrr! But I also needed a large enough chute given t' rocket's weight. Avast! Further, I wanted a soft landin' t' prevent fin damage. Begad! So after playin' with t' chute calculators available via ROL, I decided t' use two 24" Estes chutes. Avast, me bucko, 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. Begad! T' chutes are attached via a long Keelhaul®©™/Bungee bridle. Begad! T' other two nose cones are attached via underpants elastic. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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, me bucko, 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 be on three Estes D12's. Ahoy! A three second delay was used in t' tube with t' chutes and a five second delay in each o' t' other two tubes. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I found t' three best Solar igniters I had, ya bilge rat, installed them and set t' rocket on t' pad. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' LCO gave it a five count and away it went! It be a great ascent, perfectly straight and nay too much altitude. Avast! T' D12-3 fired its ejection charge spittin' out t' two chutes and a moment later t' two D12-5's fired theirs. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Unfortunately, only one o' t' chutes opened so t' landin' be a bit harder than I would have liked. Begad! T' two cracks in t' fin nay only re-opened, matey, they extended as well. Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! I installed t' igniters and set it up on t' pad. Again t' LCO gave it a five count and pushed t' launch button. This flight proved t' be far more excitin' than t' first. Arrr! T' rocket hadn't cleared t' rod when I heard a loud bang. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' rocket kept ascendin' but clearly, it was nay under full thrust. Well, blow me down! It appeared t' stage but then seemed t' be under even less thrust, matey, and it started cantin' t' one side. Ahoy! Begad! Fortunately, matey, shiver me timbers, 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. With both chutes out, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 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! Avast! One had no remnants o' t' nozzle or ejection charge cap. T' other had no nozzle left but did still have traces o' t' ejection charge cap. Well, blow me down! Both cases were also slightly smashed at one end, arrr, probably from hittin' t' blast plate on t' launch pad. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I retrieved t' rocket and inspected t' business end. Blimey! T' me surprise, arrr, t' motor that ejected from t' back o' t' rocket be t' D12-3. Ya scallywag! T' back end o' that motor tube was flared, matey, shiver me timbers, probably from t' force o' a CATO. Begad! Fortunately, enough o' t' energy from t' ejection charge did what it be supposed t' do. Begad! One o' t' D12-5's had fired but t' other had not. Avast! Curiously, me hearties, all three nose cones had ejected. Arrr! 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. T' CATO o' t' booster attached t' t' D12-3 jammed t' D12-3 forward, me bucko, flarin' t' end o' t' motor tube.
3. One o' t' CATO's ignited a sustainer, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I believe it be t' D12-3. Ya scallywag! Avast! 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. Avast! 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. 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. Begad! T' hardware store has more, but t' material is too brittle for this purpose. Ahoy! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Stability was excellent. T' first flight be arrow straight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Even t' ascent o' t' second flight was relatively straight considerin' t' rocket be flyin' with asymmetric thrust. Arrr! Blimey! I'm considerin' buildin' a three sided pyramid shaped fin from dowel rods and cardstock. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! That way, t' problem o' fittin' t' fin t' t' 3x24 airframe is simplified. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Once t' cut for a single piece o' cardstock is determined, me hearties, it can be duplicated for t' other two.

^*Hah!