Manufacturer: | Scratch |
T' idea for T' Whole Enchilada came into bein' one Sunday afternoon while cleanin' out t' frig. Ya scallywag! We had leftover tortillas that had been in t' freezer way too long. Avast, me proud beauty! Then t' idea t' use t' stale tortillas hit me.....
After some thought, ya bilge rat, I decided that I wanted t' base t' rocket approximately on a BT-50 sized tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! BT-20 seemed too small in diameter t' sucessfully wrap me tortilla tube and I thought 29mm would require more engine mount components, etc. Avast, me proud beauty! So, I grabbed a section o' BT-50 as a mandrel. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I sprayed on a light coatin' o' Pam t' make sure it wouldn't stick t' t' tortillas. Avast! Ahoy! Since this is a glassine covered tube, t' Pam didn't seem t' have any lastin' effect.
Next came preparation o' t' tortillas. (I know enchiladas are classically made with corn tortillas, but I had more o' 'em and they were larger.) Since they were stale, I nuked them for ~10 sec. Ahoy! each. Aye aye! For t' body tube, shiver me timbers, I immediately formed them around me mandrel, spreadin' a thin layer o' carpenter's glue as I went. T' body tube took two tortillas. For t' fins, I cut them out while t' tortilla be still flexible and then placed them under a heavy pot t' straighten them out. Ya scallywag! Begad! I chose a simple fin Nike Smoke-style fin. Ahoy! I like t' design, they were easy t' cut out, me hearties, and most importantly they are swept forward t' minimize t' chance o' breakage upon landing. Aye aye! Avast! (Note on t' pic: this shows corn tortillas, matey, which didn't work out-later replaced with flour.)
After t' body tube had dried for a few hours, I slid t' mandrel part way out, and glued in t' engine tube with t' block already installed. I also coated t' ends with CA, as I would a cardboard tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! T' resultin' tube and fins were dried for a day and then t' fins were glued t' t' body tube with Liquid Nails. Despite flattenin' t' fins for several hours t' day before, me hearties, they warped big time anyway.
To prep t' nose cone, I cut t' end off o' t' jalapeño and glued in a small section o' BT-50 tube, shiver me timbers, cut longways. Before gluin' t' tube in, I first tied t' Keelhaul®©™ line around t' tube and tied it off.
T' final construction steps included mountin' t' shock cord t' t' inside o' t' body tube and gluin' on t' soda straw.
I spread some o' me home-made, world-famous, gourmet taco sauce on t' body tube. Ahoy! A small sprinklin' o' cheese be added t' make T' Whole Enchilada complete. After t' sauce dried, t' final step was a coat o' clear polyurethane over t' nose cone, me bucko, body tube, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and fins.
For its maden flight, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I decided that I wanted as low an impulse engine as possible. Ya scallywag! After enterin' t' design on Rocksim, I found a B engine would be just about right. Aye aye! T' sim said an Apogee 10.5mm B didn't have enough impulse t' get it going, so I went out and bought a package o' B6-2's (to be used with a 18-24mm adapter from me Pratt Tomahawk). Blimey! T' Whole Enchilada flew on 03/10/2001 at t' NARHAMS' Middletown Park (MD) sport launch. Arrr! Begad! Because o' t' 'questionable' construction, I had t' wait until most people went t' lunch. Blimey! With t' rod pointed slightly downrange and relatively high winds, t' rocket proceeded on a low trajectory and ejection was too late t' prevent a core sample. Ahoy! T' me amazement, it be undamaged! I then acquired a C5-3 and tried again. Ahoy! More altitude but still a low arcin' trajectory. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! This time t' chute snagged. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I would have tried it on a D, but t' front part o' t' body tube was broken and t' jalapeño was mush.
I want t' thank t' folks at NARHAMS for hostin' t' launch, ya bilge rat, matey, and Khim Bittle for both providin' t' C5-3 motor and for takin' t' on-the-pad pic.
T' tortilla's seemed t' work OK for t' body tube, arrr, shiver me timbers, although t' cardboard tube industry doesn't have anythin' t' worry about. Well, blow me down! Blimey! However, despite a couple o' tries, me hearties, lots o' pressin' and drying, me bucko, t' tortilla fins still warped quite a bit. Ya scallywag! Maybe I should have used pre-dried taco shells?
So what's next? Guacamole wadding? Maybe a flyin' sub with pizza fins? Nah, probably nay - I just hope I get a vote this time around! ;-)
EGADS! Look what popped up...
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Bill Eichelberger (October 13, 2011)
Wow, that on-pad pic is SCARY! Like a Jabba the Hutt bird!