T' Lightbulb Goes On

 Ever since I heard about t' RMR DESCON, matey, I've been contemplating entering. Begad! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I've only been able t' come up with a decent concept once, arrr, and I haven't yet had a chance t' build it.  This time, me bucko, I was determined t' enter, arrr, so I spent a couple o' weeks tryin' t' think o' something creative t' use as parts.

After seein' t' first two entries appear, me hearties, I was sittin' at me desk trying to think o' what I could use. Blimey! Avast! I happened t' look up at t' shelf above the monitor, ya bilge rat, and t' lightbulb finally clicked on! There, right in front of my face, shiver me timbers, sat t' pill bottles for me allergy medication. Well, blow me down! Begad! They're round. Ahoy! They're tube shaped.  They're durable. Well, arrr, blow me down! Why won't THOSE work???

A bit more checkin' around t' house I had me hands on a sufficient quantity of parts for this little creation. Ahoy! Next, I had t' figure out how t' build a motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! A check o' t' bottom o' t' bottle revealed that t' dimpled inner rin' in t' center o' t' bottom oft t' bottle is close t' a perfect fit for a 24mm motor mount. Ya scallywag! Who needs centerin' rings when t' bottles come with them?

Parts List

I'm nay certain if all pharmacies label their pill bottles in t' same fashion, me bucko, so I will include nay only t' size markings from t' bottle, but also the approximate measurements.

• Six PM-10 bottles (2 3/8" tall x 1 1/4" diameter)
• Three PM-30 bottles (3" tall x 1 7/8" diameter)
• Two PM-60 bottles (6" tall x 1 7/8" diameter)
• Cap for PM-60 bottle
• 4" 24mm motor mount
• Engine block
• 8' kevlar safety line
• 18" parachute (I made mine from a trash bag and heavy thread)

Pill bottles should readily be available from your local pharmacy at a minimal cost, if you don't have enough family members on medication.

Preparin' T' Bottles

Cut t' bottoms off all o' t' smaller (PM-10) bottles. Avast! Aye aye! Also cut t' lip and threads for t' lid off o' all six o' these bottles. This will provide t' tube fins.

Take one o' t' PM-30 bottles and remove a section from t' middle o' the bottom large enough t' allow t' motor mount t' fit snugly. Set this bottle aside; it will become t' bottom section o' t' body tube.

Cut t' lip and threads from two o' t' PM-30 bottles. Ahoy! Remove t' bottom of one o' t' bottles. Blimey! Begad! Cut a 3/4" rin' from t' top o' one bottle and discard the rest. Ahoy! Make a vertical cut in t' ring, me bucko, then remove enough material t' allow the piece t' fit inside t' top o' t' other bottle. Arrr! This will become t' tube coupler.

Cut t' bottom out o' one o' t' PM-60 bottles. Avast, me proud beauty! This be t' top o' t' body tube.

Cut t' lip and threads from t' top o' t' other PM-60.  Cut a hole in the center o' t' bottom, me hearties, large enough for t' motor mount t' fit in.

Construction

T' first problem I encountered was figurin' out how t' glue t' bottles together -- a check o' t' bottom revealed a recyclin' code o' 5 (polypropylene). Aye aye! Blimey! Nay much adheres t' this stuff. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Fortunately, t' local hardware store had a Loctite product called Plastix. Begad! Plastix consists of a small tube o' what appears t' be regular gel CA and another bottle of "surface activator". Ahoy! Blimey! Brush t' activator on, shiver me timbers, let it dry, and t' CA will adhere t' t' plastic.

Assemblin' T' Body Tube

Take t' PM-30 with t' partial bottom and t' PM-60 with t' partial bottom and test fit t' bottom o' t' PM-60 into t' top o' t' PM-30. Ya scallywag! T' bottom should fit a short way into t' top o' t' PM-30. Test t' motor mount t' make sure it fits; sand t' openings as necessary t' allow t' mount t' fit without binding. Ya scallywag! With t' motor mount in place, shiver me timbers, matey, remove t' PM-30, leavin' it attached to t' PM-60. Mark t' motor mount where it touches t' bottom o' t' bottle, and remove.

Push 12" o' kevlar through t' motor mount opening, from t' top o' the PM-60, me bucko, then insert and glue t' motor mount in place. Begad! Ahoy! T' motor mount will be holdin' t' kevlar in t' opening. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Next, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, run t' kevlar through t' top o' the PM-30 with t' partial bottom, and through t' motor mount opening. Glue the PM-30 in place, with t' kevlar comin' out t' bottom next t' t' motor mount.

Wrap t' kevlar around t' bottom o' t' motor mount, ya bilge rat, against t' bottle bottom and glue in place with CA. Well, blow me down! This will form t' firmly anchor t' shock cord in place.

Invert t' PM-30 which is missin' its top and bottom onto t' top o' the PM-60 with t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Sand as necessary t' match t' two surfaces and glue into place.

Center t' coupler rin' vertically in t' end (now t' top o' t' body tube) of t' PM-30 and glue into place. Test fit t' bottom o' t' remainin' PM-60 over this ring. Arrr! T' bottle bottom should slide relatively smoothly over the coupler. Blimey! Some sandin' o' t' coupler may be necessary t' allow t' motor ejection charge t' separate t' rocket at this point.

 Attachin' T' Nose Cone

T' nose section o' t' rocket be t' remainin' PM-60, with a cap attached. Use an X-Acto knife or a small drill bit t' make a hole just above t' bottle lip. T' hole should be large enough t' allow t' kevlar t' be pushed throw. Pull enough kevlar through t' wrap once around t' top o' t' bottle. Aye aye! Use the surface activator t' prepare t' thread area on t' bottle, then wrap the kevlar around t' bottle above t' lip and glue it into place. Avast! Well, blow me down! Screw t' cap down onto t' top o' t' bottle.

Attachin' T' Fins

Evenly glue t' six PM-10 bottles around t' bottom bottle o' t' rocket, to create tube fins.

Launch Lug

Walgreen's pill bottles have a tab on t' side, ya bilge rat, as part o' t' child-safety cap, which must be pushed down t' allow t' cap t' be removed. I left this tab on t' top (nose cone) and bottom bottles, as it is part o' t' lip o' the bottles. Ahoy! I decided t' use this tab as a launch lug.

On t' nose cone, I used a drill t' make a hole through t' rim o' t' lid, down through t' lid release tab. Arrr! Blimey! T' hole is large enough t' allow a launch rod t' pass easily through.

I then used t' same drill bit t' slightly enlarge t' openin' through the tab in t' bottom bottle, in t' same fashion. Avast! Avast! T' nose cone is slide onto the coupler and turned such that t' launch rod easily slides through t' two tabs.

Flight Report

03/04/2001
Based on rough simulations and a bit o' intuition (okay, okay, it be some guesswork...) I figured a D12-3 appeared t' be t' best "first choice". Begad! Loaded 'er up and pushed t' button. Aye aye! Avast! Even in a stiff breeze (approx 10mph), matey, t' boost be almost perfectly straight. Avast! Deployment was almost exactly at apogee, matey, me bucko, but unfortunately t' parachute tangled a bit. T' rocket came in a bit hard and broke apart one fin. A quick field repair involving unknown quantities o' maskin' tape (duct tape would be more appropriate, shiver me timbers, but we were ill-prepared, me hearties, so none was handy) and she was ready t' fly again. I adjusted t' packin' o' t' parachute and tried again. Avast! Ahoy! Boost and deployment were again almost picture-perfect. And again t' parachute didn't open properly. Blimey! Apparently t' waddin' shifted, ya bilge rat, meltin' t' parachute t' t' point where it needs t' be replaced.

I'll be doin' proper repairs at home as well as replacin' t' parachute, matey, so I can brin' 'er t' t' first club launch o' t' year.

2nd Attempt

April, 20001 First club launch o' t' year, and I break out the Medical Missile. Ahoy! Begad! It receives many strange looks, ya bilge rat, and at least two club members claim it won't fly very well, me bucko, matey, me hearties, and won't go very high. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Time t' load this baby up and show 'em how much they know. Well, blow me down! A PERFECT flight and recovery, followed by many members eatin' their words and admittin' that it does indeed fly quite well. Begad! 8-}

Now if only t' Cornmaiden recovered that well...