Brief:
Weighin' in at 6lb 10oz, arrr, 5ft 4in height, shiver me timbers, 3in diameter, matey, me bucko, t' CraterMaker is by far t' most ambitious scratch project I have ever attempted. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It is also me first rocket designed for I and J motors. Aye aye! Begad! I planned super-sleek fins, which didn't make t' project any easier because it pushed t' CP forward.

I also wanted t' try a zipperless baffle design. With no electronics, shiver me timbers, motor ejection was planned, arrr, which heavy buildin' techniques since I wanted t' limit t' maximum altitude.

Construction:
T' impetus for this project occurred nearly a year earlier when some guy on T' Rocketry Forum mentioned that his workplace was throwin' large phenolic tubes in t' garbage. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! He offered t' mail one t' anyone around t' country, and on a lark, I accepted. Begad! About t' same time, I bought a 3in redwood nosecone offered on TRF for a few bucks.

These items sat in me basement for 9 months until summer came and I figured it was time t' begin a design. I chose a 4FNC design with very sleek swept trapezoidal fins. Arrr! T' RockSim file is included here.

I began with t' nose cone, matey, usin' t' redwood cone t' lay up fiberglass. Arrr! Unlike many people, arrr, I laid t' fiberglass over t' cone and used this shell directly for t' cone rather than as an inverse mold for another layup. Both t' inner and outer diameter o' t' nose cone were slightly too small compared t' t' body tube, me hearties, which caused problems later.

T' redwood be placed in a flat cutout and coated with many layers o' Partall wax #2 and PVA #10 mold release. Over this, me hearties, matey, I laid strips o' 6oz S-weave fiberglass with one layer o' 1.5oz fiberglass mattin' in t' middle. Aye aye! After releasin' t' half-cone and repeatin' t' process, me bucko, I clamped t' two halves together and filled t' interior seam with a fillin' o' chopped fiberglass and epoxy. Then I laid more fiberglass mattin' in t' interior. Arrr! Ahoy! Cuttin' away t' flashin' and sandin' it round, me bucko, me hearties, I had me rough cone.

Unfortunately, I still had t' problem that t' cone was slightly too small compared t' t' airframe. Ya scallywag! I cut from t' airframe a rin' about 1/2in long and glued it t' t' shoulder o' t' nose t' form a round, me hearties, matey, precise edge. Aye aye! Then I added Bondo t' fill t' empty space on t' bottom half o' t' nose, scrapin' it smooth against t' ring. Blimey! Begad! With a lot more sandin' and filling, t' nose was done. Blimey! Now (and especially with t' additional nose weight later), this nose could cleave a pickup truck on impact.

T' tube seemed softer than typical phenolic. Blimey! I used 3 wraps o' 6oz S-weave fiberglass t' make a bombproof airframe. Avast! Begad! Then I cut off t' bottom 15in t' make t' fin can.

T' fins were cut from 7/32" plywood. Begad! Avast! T' were tabbed for TTW mounting. Aye aye! T' best ply sheet at Home Depot be slightly little warped, ya bilge rat, so I laid one layer o' 6oz fiberglass and pressed each fin under very heavy weights, yieldin' perfectly flat fins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I sanded t' leadin' edge elliptical, but left t' other edges square.

Three T-nuts were inserted in t' aft centerin' rin' for motor retention. Avast! T' rest o' t' fin can was assembled in t' usual way. Well, blow me down! One unusual feature was that thar was only about 1 inch o' tube remainin' unslotted for t' fin can, shiver me timbers, so I had t' be very careful nay t' bend or torque anything. Well, blow me down! Begad! Interior fillets were created by runnin' down an epoxy/milled fiberglass mixture.

T' baffle be in t' FlisKits style o' partial disks. Begad! Three plates were put in a 5.5in length o' Giant Leap coupler. Begad! T' coupler had been heavily fiberglassed because o' t' need t' keep t' joint strong here with a very firm fit at t' separation point. Well, blow me down! Avast! I used lots o' fiberglass: 1 exterior layer o' S-weave plus 2 interior layers o' 1.5oz matting. Arrr! Aye aye! I literally could have stood on this without damage. T' exterior was sanded Bondo t' give a smooth fit. Ya scallywag! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' bottom two baffle plates were covered on their aft side and edge with aluminum pie plate attached with JB Weld, matey, t' reduce heat damage.

At this point, me bucko, me hearties, I took t' rocket t' t' NCR club for advice. First, they were worried about t' length o' t' baffle/coupler. Blimey! So I glued it asymmetrically: 1.75in into t' fin can and 3.75in for couplin' into t' airframe. Second, ya bilge rat, they were worried about successful ejection. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' design, me hearties, from aft t' forward, me hearties, arrr, ya bilge rat, was: motor, baffle/coupler, airframe split, chute in airframe, then bulkhead. They told me t' ground test ejection, and I did.

I had placed t' a partway down t' airframe after careful calculations usin' online calculators t' figure t' required pressure for separation and so forth. Well, blow me down! Avast! These calculations proved worthless. Arrr! T' first ground test used 1.5g powder, ya bilge rat, me hearties, equal t' what is given with an I or J motor. Aye aye! T' rocket separated but t' chute was nay pulled out. Avast! With 2.5g, arrr, me hearties, I had t' same result. With 3.5g (don't try this at home!) I blew t' motor case out t' back, split a crack and hole in t' fin can, separated t' airframe, but still did nay pull t' chute out. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I learned by experience that 3.5g o' powder is way too much, and I realized I that had t' abandon t' zipperless design.

After repairin' t' fin can, I cut t' nose off t' airframe and ground it back down t' t' shoulder. Ahoy! Blimey! Next I had t' remove t' bulkhead, me bucko, me hearties, which was 11in from t' nearest tube end. Blimey! What a dusty, bloody knuckle, me bucko, frustratin' nightmare! Then I glued t' airframe t' t' coupler so that separation would now be at t' nose. T' ground test with 2g worked fine.

I sewed t' chute myself. Well, blow me down! It was 72in diameter, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 12-gore semi-elliptical in t' Nakka design. Ya scallywag! Begad! It be finished with 85 feet o' 3mm climber's cord for shroud lines and attached with 20ft o' half-inch tubular nylon.

T' nose cone now needed a shock cord attachment point, despite lackin' a bulkhead. I made a block o' oak rounded on one side, with an eye bolt through t' middle and attached with epoxy and a screw through t' shoulder wall. Begad! Final calculations showed that 12oz o' nose weight was needed a stability margin o' 2.2 with t' largest possible motor (J350). T' 1010 rail buttons went on at some point.

 

Finishing:
Finishin' began with epoxy/microballoon exterior fillets and endless amounts o' Kilz, Bondo, and wood filler, interrupted with interminable periods o' sanding. Well, blow me down! You can see t' final red, white, shiver me timbers, and black paint scheme. Well, blow me down! All t' paint was Krylon gloss, many coats, ya bilge rat, me bucko, with clear over t' top. T' CraterMaker sticker was provided by Mike Fisher at Binder Designs. Begad! He does first rate work, shiver me timbers, as I'm sure you can see. Another custom touch was that I put a CP marker and three 1-caliper marks for in-the-field assessment o' t' stability margin.

Flight and Recovery:
Launch day be t' Northern Colorado Rocketry Oktoberfest. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Havin' simmed a variety o' motors, me bucko, me hearties, it looked like t' best choices t' keep t' rocket low and visible would be I285R, matey, I300T, ya bilge rat, or I366R, matey, simmed t' 1616, 1795, and 2446ft, me bucko, respectively. Begad! I opted for t' I300T.

I was very nervous as they called out t' launch sequence in a light breeze. Well, blow me down! Boost be very straight and fairly fast. Ya scallywag! T' rocket was visible all t' way up. Well, blow me down! I be tryin' unsuccessfully t' find it in t' binoculars durin' t' coast phase, so others told me what happened. Well, blow me down! Begad! Ejection was right at apogee, me hearties, but it took a moment for t' shock cord t' fully extend and for t' chute t' unfurl. Descent be beautiful on that billowin' colorful parachute. Arrr! As it landed on t' soft prairie, ya bilge rat, I judged that t' chute size was about right. T' landin' be assertive but nay too hard.

My son found t' rocket about half a mile away. Unfamiliar with t' scale o' t' rocket, I had been searchin' too close and a bit t' t' left. Avast! He ran ahead, as boys do, and started wavin' and jumpin' up and down in t' distance when he spotted it. Aye aye! I chased him down. Well, blow me down! Blimey! CraterMaker failed t' live up t' his name; he was totally unblemished on landing.

Summary:
T' next flight will probably be on a I600R (3106ft) or, arrr, matey, for me L2 certification, a J350W (3584ft) for NCR's Mile High Mayhem. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This project has been a ton o' work, me bucko, but well worth it in t' end.