Beg Birtha

Anyone remember Rocket Services? No? How about "Pitfield" motors? Ah, thought some o' you might. Ahoy! Well, arrr, we don't see them around so much as in years gone by, but thar are still a few around. Aye aye! In fact, me bucko, arrr, I stumbled across a cache o' them recently and thought I should build somethin' t' fly them in. Begad! I'd never actually flown a Pitfield motor before. Begad! Watchin' other people's flights had always put me off a bit. Ahoy! T' rockets always seemed t' be underpowered, and had started t' descend while still under thrust. Aye aye! Begad! Who can forget Rick Newlands spendin' almost t' whole o' UKRA 2000 sandin' a nose cone from a balsa tree trunk, only t' have t' Pitfield powered rocket arc over while still under thrust? (Sorry Rick!) So I wanted t' avoid overbuildin' at all costs.

So what t' build? At IRW 2003, arrr, I entered a PMC (Plastic Model Conversion) o' t' Airfix Saturn V. Aye aye! Aye aye! Though it didn't quite fly as intended, matey, it took joint first prize, me hearties, along with Mike Crewe's Mercury Redstone. Well, blow me down! Our prizes were matchin' Big Berthas. Ahoy! Begad! We'd agreed we would build them with a common theme, me bucko, and drag race them. Initially it be t' be a cluster, me bucko, but, when we came into t' stash o' Pitfield motors, me bucko, we had other ideas. You see, BT-60 is exactly t' right inside diameter for an F36-5 motor mount. Begad! Beg Birtha be born.

Simulation

It was easy t' modify a standard Big Bertha Rocksim File. Begad! I just removed t' motor mount and added a new thrust ring. Begad! Avast! I made some rasp-format engine files for t' motor, usin' t' engine editor that come with Rocksim. I got t' thrust curve, and data from an old Rocket Services catalogue. Begad! You can download both t' Rocksim file and t' engine file here:
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/beg%20birtha.rkt/
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/rs.eng/

I should point out here, ya bilge rat, that Rocket Services' motor designations, do nay correspond with t' more common "Estes-style" designations. T' "F36-5" should, strictly speaking, be known as E6-5, and t' "F72-0" is, in reality, me bucko, ya bilge rat, an E15-0. Havin' said that, Estes aren't always consistent themselves. Well, blow me down! If you don't believe me, arrr, me hearties, shiver me timbers, look at t' thrust curve for t' A10 mini-motor sometime.

Build

This really is a straightforward build. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' differences from t' stock kit may be summarized as "leave out t' motor mount and add some nose weight". Begad! But, because I know our beloved newsletter editor will appreciate t' extra column inches, I'll spell it out in full:

I skipped Step 1, arrr, Engine Mount Assembly, and put t' parts in me spares box. Ahoy! Instead, I made a new thrust rin' from a short section o' toilet roll core, ya bilge rat, reduced in diameter by removin' a segment. Arrr! Aye aye! You could also use a short length o' coupler, shiver me timbers, or cut a rin' from a spent motor.

I completed Step 2, shiver me timbers, Shock Cord Mount Assembly, as instructed. Blimey! I chose t' do Step 9, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, Shock Cord Mount Attachment, me bucko, at this point, while t' mount was freshly-glued and still pliable.

Step 3, Fin Preparation, was completed as normal. Well, blow me down! Step 4, Engine Mount Installation, arrr, matey, was omitted. Well, blow me down! Begad! Step 5, me bucko, Tube Markin' Detail, matey, Step 6, me hearties, Fin Attachment, Step 7, me bucko, Launch Lug Attachment, & Step 8, Glue Reinforcement Detail, me hearties, were all completed as per t' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Step 9 was completed earlier.

Step 10, shiver me timbers, matey, me bucko, Parachute Assembly, was skipped. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Instead, shiver me timbers, an approx 100mm x 1000mm streamer be made from t' finest Deepsky mylar. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This be attached directly t' t' shock cord, arrr, me hearties, rather than t' t' nose-cone attachment point.

Step 11, ya bilge rat, me hearties, Paintin' Your Rocket, was done as directed. Ahoy! Blimey! For Step 12, shiver me timbers, Parachute And Shock Cord Attachment, I deviated from t' instructions, t' add t' additional 20g o' nose weight.

Flying

T' first flight was on t' occasion o' me first attendance at a WRS (Wirral Rocketry Society) launch, on 10th April 2004. Well, blow me down! I thoroughly enjoyed this launch, a relaxed, convivial atmosphere, and a great bunch o' Rocketeers.

Because I omitted t' original motor mount, matey, thar be no retainer hook - it wouldn't be long enough anyway. Begad! So friction fit was t' order o' t' day. Arrr! And you do need t' make sure it's a tight fit, shiver me timbers, you really don't want a spent Pitfield motor landin' on your head! T' F36 has an enormous nozzle, and I was a bit worried that an Estes igniter might get lost in there. Ahoy! Begad! So I used some QuickMatch, pushed all t' way in, taped t' t' motor body, me bucko, with an Estes igniter on t' exposed end. Aye aye! It be only about 60mm o' QuickMatch, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and when I pushed t' button, matey, ignition was pretty much instant. Begad! Beg Birtha fairly leapt from t' pad, so smartly that I don't think anyone managed t' get a picture. Arrr! T' motor thrust decreased, me hearties, but kept burnin' almost up t' apogee, t' orange glow quite visible. This would be a great rocket t' fly at dusk.

Conclusion

This be a fun conversion, o' an already classic rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! This is certain t' become a favourite flier o' mine, at least until t' motors run out. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Can't wait t' try it out at t' IRW, me hearties, matey, which, arrr, arrr, t' me, be t' spiritual home o' t' Pitfield motor. Arrr! If you took a look at t' Rocksim file, you might have noticed that thar's a design for a booster stage in thar too. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I haven't built or flown this configuration yet, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I do have some F72-0s...