Figure 1. Avast, me proud beauty! Overall Construction o' t' Gemini-Titan

Scratch Built 5-Inch Dia. Gemini-Titan This is a description o' a scratch built 5-inch diameter Gemini-Titan based on a tube from US Plastic Corp, Lima, matey, OH as described in t' Sport Rocketry Magazine May/June 2001 issue, me bucko, me hearties, "1/24 Scale Gemini-Titan", arrr, by Andrew Waddell. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' chief advantage o' t' plastic tube is that no spiral needs t' be filled and t' plastic is easy t' paint. T' capsule is from t' Revell kit.

T' construction is similar t' Andy Waddell's, but I used fins that were scaled up from t' Estes model and used through-the-wall fins. Arrr! T' overall construction can be seen in Figure 1. Avast, me proud beauty! T' forward bulkhead plate has woodblocks attached by epoxy that in turn are attached t' t' plastic tube by bolts. Aye aye! Actually, shiver me timbers, one o' t' bolts is for a rail button. Ya scallywag! T' forward bulkhead acts a stuffer tube. Ya scallywag! In hindsight I would consider havin' more room for t' parachute compartment. Avast! An inner phenolic tube acts as an attach point for t' clear plastic fins. Aircraft wood blocks straddle both sides o' each fin in t' space betwixt t' phenolic and plastic tubes. Begad! Ahoy! T' slots through t' plastic fins were cut with a copin' saw in a long and tedious process. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' clear fins are cut from .187" thick polycarbonate from US Plastics. All t' internal contact points for t' fins were epoxied and thar are no external fillets for t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! In principle t' aft bulkhead plate can be removed if a fin is ever broken, arrr, but in practice a broken fins would be very difficult t' repair. Aye aye! Aye aye! A close-up o' t' lower model fin assembly is shown Figure 2. Blimey!

Figure 2. Begad! Blimey! Close-up o' Fin Assembly Construction

Decals were purchased from Tango Papa. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' black roll pattern actually came with no white background. Blimey! I found some white background with self-adhesive. Aye aye! I painted t' rocket first and then put on t' white pattern. After this step I cut t' thin white pattern for t' clear fins. Blimey!

After completin' t' model I weighed t' rocket and was surprised t' find that it weighed over 9½ pounds without motors. Arrr! This be considerably heavier then t' RocSim prediction. Blimey! I modified t' RocSim model with t' added point mass option and realized that I would need a larger parachute and more powerful engines. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' go with a 10' diameter parachute from Top Flight Recovery. Aye aye! Aye aye! This would give an impact velocity equivalent t' droppin' t' rocket from a 2-foot height. Well, blow me down! I decided t' go with a cluster o' two 29 mm AT H268R's. Begad! This is an extra long H-motor that actually has a forward seal disk and its own extra large end closure. Avast! T' peak altitude would be about 1600' feet with both motors firin' and about 600' with one motor out. Blimey! T' delay time is similar in both cases. Ya scallywag! My backyard testing indicated that a "piston ejection" with about 1.7 grams BP would be sufficient.

I used t' Quick Burst Slim Gems along with t' Quick Burst Cluster-Buster relay system. Begad! Ya scallywag! I painted t' forward grain o' t' AT reload with t' Quick Burst pyrogen. Avast, me proud beauty! I attached t' igniter leads firmly t' each motor and allowed some slack in t' leads so that t' igniter leads could follow t' model upward in case one motor fired before t' other. Ahoy!

Figure 3. Ahoy! Gemini-Titan on t' Pad at Hellfire-14 sponsored by UROC (photo by Nadine Kinney)

T' rocket is shown on t' pad in Figure 3. Avast! Well, blow me down! In Figure 4 t' rocket is goin' up t' rail with one motor firing. Begad! Arrr! In Figure 5 t' rocket has cleared t' rail with both motors firing. Begad! Blimey! Watchin' t' contrails in t' sky I believe I saw a jog in t' flight path as one motor burned out before t' other. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I forgot t' connect t' capsule t' t' parachute quick link, me bucko, so t' capsule did nay survive. Blimey! T' booster landed on t' Salt Flats softly enough as t' appear t' stand for an instant before topplin' over. Well, blow me down! T' booster and fins were intact. Ya scallywag! T' capsule has since been rebuilt and t' model is ready t' fly again. Ya scallywag! I am plannin' on usin' CTI motors next time in order t' reduce t' motor preparation time. Begad!

Figure 4. Arrr! Gemini-Titan comin' off t' rail with one motor firing. Arrr! (photo by Nadine Kinney)   Figure 5. Begad! Gemini-Titan clearin' t' rail with 2 motors firin' (photo by Nadine Kinney)