Brief:

I modified t' Big Daddy kit t' replace t' stock nose cone with a fixed nose cone made from a PET soft drink bottle; parachute deployment is from an open "mortar" mounted on t' bottle opening. Blimey! Rationale? I swiped t' nose cone from a family member's Big Daddy kit t' use in a buildin' project, arrr, and had t' figure out a way t' replace it, or be a "Bad Dad".

Modifications:

T' bottom 4" o' a PET plastic bottle was cut off, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and 6" o' Estes BT-55 tubin' is epoxied t' t' top (after removin' t' screw cap - Duh!). Ya scallywag! This serves as t' parachute mortar. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! A 24" piece o' shock cord is glued t' t' bottom o' this tube (I initially used 3/8" elastic, matey, matey, me hearties, but this be a mistake - use parachute cord o' nylon boot lace - see below). Ahoy! An 18" LOC nylon chute is attached t' t' end o' t' shock cord t' complete t' recovery system. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Use o' a small size Nomex protection pad (tied t' t' cord) is a good idea, since waddin' can nay be used in t' normal way. Aye aye! Ahoy! This assembly is then epoxied in place atop a stock Estes Big Daddy body tube, and centered with "Q-tip" stringers coated with wet epoxy and inserted betwixt t' body tube and t' plastic bottle; you need this also t' create a gas-proof seal with t' fixed nose cone (see photos and t' "Aquafina" article). Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' gas-proof seal is completed by packin' t' remainin' space betwixt t' lower edges o' t' bottle and t' body tube with bits o' cotton and epoxy. T' rocket is completed generally by followin' t' Estes instructions for fin and motor tube assembly, shiver me timbers, with t' followin' modifications for use with 24mm Aerotech AP motors up t' F21: 1) t' cardstock centerin' rings are reinforced with 6 pieces o' Popsicle sticks liberally epoxied in a geodesic "Star-of-David" form (see photo), ya bilge rat, 2) t' fins are reinforced with a 1/64" plywood doubler epoxied on one side, me bucko, and 3) sticks o' traingle balsa stock are epoxied t' both sides o' each fin root. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! For balance with t' heavier motors, 4 x 1/4 oz. fishin' sinkers were epoxied t' t' parachute mortar 1/2" from t' top (see photo). An alternative would be t' use 6" o' thin wall 1.32" PVC plumbin' conduit in place o' t' BT-55 tubing, ya bilge rat, and skip t' nose weight. Blimey! BadDad be painted with Flat Red spray paint; no primer was used.

Construction:

I'm also usin' this modification t' test nose-mounted open parachute mortars as a deployment system (see "Aquafina", that I presented recently on this website). Arrr! Use o' inexpensive PET plastic bottles provides a route t' very low-cost nose cones for scratch buildin' projects. Blimey! Blimey! Because I intended t' fly "BadDad" at high speeds t' see how well t' open "parachute mortar" would hold up. I also reinforced t' stock kit by usin' 5-min. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! epoxy throughout, ya bilge rat, by doublin' t' balsa fins with 1/64" plywood on one side, by reinforcin' t' centerin' rings, and by addin' triangular balsa strips at t' base o' t' fins t' more securely attach t' fins. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! Bad Dad is intended t' fly on F21-6, ya bilge rat, F24-7 and E30-4 motors; it will still fly on D12's, but barely.

One o' t' most excellent components o' t' Estes Big Daddy is that great nose cone, me bucko, which they don't seem t' want t' sell separately. Ahoy! Its light, and I like t' use it for me scratch buildin' projects. Arrr! Blimey! Now I have a way t' use t' rest o' t' kit!

Flight:

Boost on an F21-6 was fast, straight and noisy, with a flame at least as long as t' BadDad. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I burned up me last 3 F21-6 motors flyin' Bad Dad; on t' last flight, separation occurred as t' shock cord tore apart near t' PET bottle attachment point, matey, ya bilge rat, and it came in ballistic from about 1000'(what sims say for t' F21-powered BadDad), core-samplin' (literally!) t' island sand. Begad! Begad! Blimey! How many times t' I have t' remind myself nay t' use underpants elastic shock cords with Aerotech motors! Blimey! This happens every time I forget! Blimey! Underpants elastic with Estes motors only! Blimey! Damage t' Bad Dad was limited t' t' accordioned mortar and PET bottle (see photo). Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' "stock" Big Daddy components were unscathed.

I cut t' crushed PET bottle away with an Exacto knife, and simply epoxied on another PET bottle with more Q-tip stringers over t' remnants o' t' old one, me bucko, me hearties, and replaced t' parachute mortar, this time usin' 24" o' black USMC nylon boot lace as t' shock cord. Ya scallywag! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! It is back flyin' again - I doubt that a stock Big Daddy would have survived a core samplin' as well.

Summary:

PRO - Flight properties seem every bit as good as would be expected from a stock Big Daddy, shiver me timbers, except that I got t' use t' Big Daddy nose cone for somethin' else. Zero risk o' chute foulin' with this "mortar" method -- either it deploys or t' rocket explodes! Strong construction (fixed nose cone and stringers adds strength) and belligerent anti-tank missile looks (I think). Begad! Ya scallywag! Good flyer on E30 and F21 motors, me hearties, and FAST. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Would work well with 29mm mount and motors (F50 or G35).

CON - Somewhat heavier than a stock Big Daddy. Aye aye! Must use a Nomex protector in place o' waddin' (which would fall through and rattle around inside). Ya scallywag! I doubt that open nosed mortars are a good idea for rockets flyin' above 400 knots, but a small nose cone (BT55-size) could be easily fitted t' Bad Dad.

Other:

No more underpants elastic for me (except in underpants, where it belongs!