Components

Construction

I ordered t' fin slots t' be t' same width as t' fins themselves. Begad! T' fins obviously did nay fit and therefore I had t' widen them. Avast! By use o' a dremel, shiver me timbers, I widened them carefully until they could slide in. Aye aye! Next I lined up t' bulkheads in a vice and a clamp t' drill holes in them for t' antizipper design.

I drilled a 3/4" hole in t' center o' t' three bulkheads and eight 1/4" ones around that.  I had t' use multiple 3/16" bulkheads because t' holes drilled into t' wood weakens them. Ya scallywag! T' thickness increase provides structural strength. Aye aye! I attached one o' me dad's wide u-bolts that is slightly smaller in diameter than t' bulkhead itself. Blimey! This is t' spread t' load over t' entire bulkhead. Ahoy! As said on t' Vastaas rocketry page, matey, if you use an eye-bolt, arrr, t' center o' t' bulkhead could be ripped out if t' deployment is too fast.

T' antizipper design needs t' be very strong because t' point is t' be able t' deploy a 'chute high velocities.  I epoxied t' bulkhead assembly usin' a generous amount o' 15-minute epoxy and was very careful that none o' t' epoxy went into t' holes I had previously drilled.  Also, ya bilge rat, I fiberglassed t' inside o' t' already strong phenolic coupler for stiffness and strength.

T' motor mount assembly contained three 3/16" centerin' rings, and one 36" long 54mm MMT.  T' booster section o' t' rocket is 28" long, but t' coupler protrudin' from it adds another 4 inches and therefore is 32" in length. Well, blow me down! I wanted t' MMT t' be on t' long side so t' gases from t' motor ejection when I use that will have less space t' pressurize. T' do that I cut t' MMT t' 24" long, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, leavin' only a 4" by 8" area within t' coupler assembly t' be filled with gasses. Ya scallywag! T' rocket will have t' space t' accomodate a 54/852 motor up t' a Cesaroni 54mm L. 

I glued two centerin' rings as one at t' forward end about 2" from t' tip o' t' MMT and t' other one just in front o' t' end o' t' TTW fin tabs t' add support t' them. Ahoy! For added strength I fiberglassed t' exterior o' t' MMT on t' portion nay comin' in contact with t' TTW fin tabs. Well, blow me down! I left t' aft centerin' rin' un-glued, matey, but drilled two small holes in each side o' it. Ya scallywag! Avast! This way, when I glue t' fins in, me hearties, me hearties, I can pull off t' centerin' rin' and add internal fillets. 

I glued the couple in usin' 30-minute epoxy due t' it bein' t' highest strength in shop-grade epoxy.

T' fins were t' widest I could purchase through t' custom orderin' process at Public Missiles. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used 15-minute epoxy t' tack them down onto t' MMT. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast! Blimey!  I wiped clean any areas on t' body tube where t' epoxy was using a wet paper towel. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I paid close attention t' the fins for t' 15 minutes and used me deadlights t' do t' adjustin' for t' majority o' t' time. Arrr! Blimey! However I did utilize a right-edge t' be more exact. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I let each fin dry for about two hours before I rotated t' airframe t' place t' next one.

I used 30-minute epoxy t' create the external fillets. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I mixed about 7/8 o' an ounce o' epoxy in one o' t' cheap little mixin' cups you can get at Smart & Final. Then I used a syringe t' suck out the right amount of epoxy for each fillet. Blimey! I did only two at a time t' prevent sagging. Aye aye! T' evenly spread t' epoxy, arrr, I rotated t' airframe up and down and side t' side. Avast, me proud beauty! This is described in more detail in t' article from info-central which I employed on me rocket.

Even though I left t' aft centerin' rin' off t' do internal fillets, me hearties, I called an expert tellin' him that me goal be t' eventually launch an Aerotech K-1050W and a Cesaroni L-1030 R and he said that they were unnecessary. Instead I added epandable foam t' t' internal structure.

T' nose cone is 24" long total but has 20" exposed. Arrr! Begad! It is fiberglass and be purchased through What's up Hobbies. Avast! I needed t' sand t' seams on either side t' ensure everythin' was smooth. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nose cone shoulder be an extremely tight fit with t' Dyna-wind body tube so in order for t' nose cone t' actually fit in t' rocket I had t' peel a layer or phenolic off t' inside o' t' body tube and sand t' nose can down a lot. Aye aye! Well, matey, blow me down! becuase o' t' anit-zipper design, arrr, T' nose cone does nay come off durin' flight and therefore does nay need t' slide on and off easily. It is actually preferable if it is a tight fit becuase t' rocket will separate at t' coupler.

T' aft centerin' rin' I glued on last but after I painted because I only had one day o' sun t' paint for a week. Avast! After epoxyin' t' aft CR on t' MMT, I used JB-Weld t' secure an aeropack retainer for t' motor.

Usin' a door stop, I drew a straight line t' line up me conformal rail buttons I purchased from Giant Leap Rocketry.

T' anti-zipper design I used is directly from these links:

• http://www.info-central.org/?article=132
• http://www.vatsaas.org/rtv/construction/antizip/anti-zipper.asp