Modification Star Wars R2-D2 Modification

Modification - Star Wars R2-D2

Contributed by Ken Johnson

Manufacturer: Modification

Rocket PicBrief:
An engineerin' exercise t' test t' flight characteristics and durability o' t' Estes R2D2 rocket by upgradin' t' a 24mm motor mount.

Modifications:
T' only tools required are ones that every modeler has: an Xacto knife or similar, arrr, a ruler (in me case metric, because I don't understand that English feet, pounds, ounces stuff), matey, matey, and a LOT o' 30 minute epoxy.

Our club requires that anythin' over a C motor have a 5mm launch rod, shiver me timbers, so simply hackin' off t' original cast-in-plastic launch lugs and epoxyin' on a new 2" launch lug be simple.

Construction:
I used approximately 1 inch o' t' original 18mm motor tube, ya bilge rat, coupled t' a 24mm tube for t' remainder o' t' "motor pod." All that was required t' adapt this t' t' styrene plastic adaptor was a little Xacto knifin' and some coarse sandpaper, and LOTS o' epoxy.

Rocket PicT' flimsy plastic fins were deemed too wobbly t' handle t' thrust o' an E motor, so 1/8" balsa was epoxied t' t' flimsy plastic after roughin' up t' surface. Finally, me bucko, me bucko, t' keep t' balsa from charrin' in flight, ya bilge rat, matey, t' balsa was coated in aluminum foil, again held in place with a liberal coatin' o' 30 minute epoxy. Avast, me proud beauty! T' result was a very heat resistant and strong fin assembly. Blimey! Ahoy! T' R2 tends t' char t' fins in flight, arrr, due t' t' extremely short polar moments o' t' stubby body. Arrr! Begad! No problem anymore! Rocket Pic

T' extra weight o' t' 24mm tube and balsa reinforced fins necessitated weight added t' t' nose area. Avast, me proud beauty! Since this area is hollow, thar be sufficient room for it. Surprisingly, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' $0.03 solution was t' epoxy three pennies t' t' top bulkhead. Begad! Aye aye! T' result is perfect stability; exactly that o' t' original unmodified R2.

T' R2's weak point has always been t' wacky aft deployment `chute. About 3 feet o' Keelhaul®©™ was substituted for t' original shock cord, matey, me bucko, and a 1/8" hole be drilled into t' bottom o' R2. This allowed t' Keelhaul®©™ t' be stuffed inside t' hollow body, matey, shiver me timbers, instead o' bein' wrapped around t' motor pod, like Estes originally designed. Avast, me proud beauty! T' other end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ was attached t' t' plastic adaptor on t' aft end o' t' motor pod. Begad! T' results were mixed; t' system performed well, shiver me timbers, but since R2 was still travellin' at a pretty good speed when t' ejection charge blew out t' motor pod, ya bilge rat, t' mylar `chute shredded, and R2 pranged. Hard. Aye aye! T' debris was gathered and examined, and t' damage be deemed very minor. He'll fly again soon, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but with much stronger Keelhaul®©™ and a nylon parachute.

All t' parts in all o' t' Estes R2D2 kits I have built have been present and fit well, shiver me timbers, with t' notable exception o' t' fins. They are lousy, warped from t' factory, and break after one or two flights. Ya scallywag! I strongly recommend buildin' your own out o' balsa or G10, or reinforcin' them with thin balsa like I did. If usin' a B or C motor, CA will hold it together just fine. Blimey! Anythin' stronger and a liberal amount o' epoxy is needed.

Flight:
My kids each have an R2, shiver me timbers, and they flew decently on a C6-5, matey, arrr, and better on a C5-3. Avast! Aye aye! Never fly this model on a windy day! T' aft motor pod ejection system is pitiful, and has never worked. Arrr! Nay once in 6 flights. No waddin' is required, ya bilge rat, but cleanin' out t' inner tube with a toothbrush is necessary after each flight, or t' pod will get stuck.

Recovery on a D12-5 is about near apogee, though an E15-7W it may still be cruisin' at a good bit o' speed at ejection. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Expect it t' almost disappear on an E motor. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! Build it adherin' as closely t' t' Estes instructions as possible, modifyin' as little as necessary. I built mine a little on t' heavy side so it would last a long, arrr, shiver me timbers, long time. Avast! Blimey! T' flights are arrow straight, and really get movin' on an E motor, though performance on a D12-5 is nothin' t' sneeze at.

Summary:
T' main pros o' t' kit are ease o' assembly (about an hour) and t' uniqueness o' t' kit. T' cons are related t' t' crummy fins and t' horrible aft pod ejection system. Avast! I rate t' ejection system about a 1. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Future R2s will feature a true nose cone- another engineerin' challenge I look forward t' tackling.

Other:
Epoxy and balsa can really stiffen flimsy plastic parts!

Comments:

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Ken Johnson (March 13, 2014)

Wow, it's been years since I built this rocket (the kid in the picture has 3 kids of his own now) and I recently got the oldest grandkid into rockets. Time flies! 

This rocket only survived one more flight. I put an E30 in it and it vaporized off the pad, flew straight up and disappeared. The motor pod recovered safely with a streamer, but the body was just a thousand fragments after coming back straight down. 

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Ken E. Coyote (March 10, 2015)

Hey Ken, Great review and mod!  One question though...how did you manage to fit the chute into R2 when the tube is now the larger 24mm?  Space already seemed quite sparse in the stock R2 and there seems to be half as much space with a 24mm main pod tube.  

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Ken Johnson (June 4, 2015)

I really don't remember a great deal about the construction, since it's been a while (the kid in the picture holding the rocket now has 4 kids of his own!) but I do recall using a professionally built nylon parachute and wrapped it tightly around the motor tube. Sadly this rocket flew awesomely but pranged hard. I put a lot of time into this thing just to get a few flights. It did all right on a D so I went for it and used a E30, which was crazy to watch.

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