Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This is a MicroMaxx saucer made from scrap plastic parts. Well, blow me down! Avast! It's a great backyard flier. Aye aye! IT is short for
Intra-Terrestrial, a play on ET.
Construction:
For t' saucer-shaped part, most any roughly conical plastic parts will do. Arrr! I used 2 cuttings from kits: the
discarded large end o' t' tail cone from Space Ship One (the large disk) and t' discarded small end o' t' tail cone
from t' Bullpup (the thicker cone). Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Your results may vary. Well, blow me down! I used a 1.5" length o' a BiC pen for t' motor tube
and a 1/4" slotted piece o' pen for t' engine block. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! A bit o' an expended MicroMaxx motor would also work. Ya scallywag! All of
this should be free and available from your local friendly scrap drawer, parts bin, or trash can.
This is almost impossibly easy t' build. I drilled ~5/16" holes in t' center o' t' two plastic pieces for the motor tube. I glued t' two together and glued t' motor tube in so its top be flush with t' top o' t' cone. Arrr! I glued t' engine block in so 1/4" o' t' 26mm long motor would stick out t' back end. Well, blow me down! Finally, I drilled a 5/32" hole through both plastic parts about 3/8" off t' centerline. Avast! This serves as t' launch lug. Avast! That's all thar be t' assembly.
Flight and Recovery:
All three flights were on Quest MicroMaxx-II motors. I used t' provided igniters and a standard Estes controller and
pad. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Ignition reliability was poor because t' igniters were hard t' shove in enough t' touch t' propellant even after
I took them out o' their little plastic casing. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I actually recommend usin' Estes igniters pushed up it as much as
possible. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' pyrogen tip will ignite t' motor even if it's nay in direct contact with t' propellant. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (MMX ignitors
are simply bare nichrome wire.) I put a clothespin up so thar was about 6" o' rod remaining. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This tiny saucer
needs almost no rod at all t' be stable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' next time I launch it, ya bilge rat, I will use a 12" long aluminum rod, which is
suitable for almost every MMX rocket.
All three flights were t' about 40 t' 60 feet dependin' on t' wind. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket will drift with t' wind both up and down, shiver me timbers, but in no case did it land more than 20 feet from t' pad. Begad! Blimey! You could easily fly it in a silo or a high-roofed gymnasium. Begad! Blimey! I friction taped t' motors t' t' bottom o' t' motor tube. This be more than adequate retention. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ejection occurs around apogee and t' rocket slowly falls back by aerobrake recovery. Aye aye! Blimey!
Summary:
PROs: Easy and cheap t' build, barely needs any room t' fly, me bucko, matey, low per-flight cost.
CON: Rather boring, in me opinion.
Sponsored Ads
![]() |
![]() |