(Contributed - by Eric Maglio - 12/19/04)
Brief:
T' Silver Streak 2 is a 2- stage rocket built with Estes parts. Blimey! It is a high
performance kit, ya bilge rat, capable o' reachin' high altitudes with very small engines. Well, blow me down!
Parts:
- Nose cone Estes - Estes - BNC-50K
- Material: Polystyrene PS
- Nose shape: Hollow Ogive, Len: 2.750 In., Dia: 0.976 In. Well, blow me down! Wall thickness:
0.125 In. Well, blow me down! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!
- Body tube Estes - EST 3086 - BT-50
- Material: Paper OD: 0.976 In. Begad! , ID: 0.950 In. Ya scallywag! , matey, Len: 21.000 In
- Parachute Estes - 12 in - 12 in. plastic
- Material: Polyethylene LDPE 1 parachute
- Shape: 6 sided
- Launch lug Estes - ESTES 2328 - LL-1/8
- Material: Paper OD: 0.188 In., ya bilge rat, me bucko, ID: 0.169 In., Len: 2.000 In., Loc: 16.250
In. Aye aye! Aye aye!
- Custom Fin set - Custom Click for Pattern
- Material: Balsa 3/16" thick
- Booster Body Tube Estes - EST 3086 - BT-50
- Material: Paper OD: 0.976 In. Avast! , matey, ID: 0.950 In. Ahoy! , Len: 3.000In. Begad! Avast!
- Booster Custom Fin set - Custom
Click for Pattern
- Material: Balsa 3/16" thick
- 2x Estes A-C engine Motor Mount Kits
- 1 Estes Shock Cord
- 1 Estes Shock Cord Mount
Construction:
As this is a fairly small rocket, I recommend Elmers Carpenters Glue
for construction.
- Motor Mounts: Glue t' Green Thrust Rin' t' inside o' t' yellow
body tube, me bucko, so it is flush with t' top o' t' tube. Begad! Next, arrr, ya bilge rat, matey, glue t' card-like
Centerin' Rings ½ inch inside from either end o' t' yellow body tube. Arrr! The
mount should now fit into t' BT-50 body tube. Trim t' centerin' rings if
necessary. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Then, shiver me timbers, repeat these steps on t' 2nd motor mount, arrr, me bucko, but omit t' Green
Thrust Ring.
- Motor Mount Installation: Spread glue with your finger about 1 inch
from t' bottom o' t' 21 inch long body tube. Begad! Blimey! There should be an even bead of
glue around t' inside. Nest, shiver me timbers, slide in t' motor mount with t' green thrust
rin' into t' tube, thrust rin' side first, me bucko, until t' yellow tube is flush with
the bottom o' t' body. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Let dry and repeat on t' 2nd motor mount
and 3 inch long body tube.
- Tube Marking: Accordin' to the RockSim file or other source,
mark t' body tube. Arrr! This is done by drawin' 3, me bucko, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 3 inch lines from t' bottom of
the 21 inch body tube, each line bein' evenly spaced apart. Arrr! Avast! Next, ya bilge rat, draw a 2 inch
line 2 inches from t' bottom o' t' tube and betwixt 2 o' t' fin lines. Also,
draw t' longer fin lines t' same way on t' booster tube.
- Sustainer Fins: You will now need t' install t' fins. Blimey! Glue 1 fin to
one o' t' 3 inch lines on t' body tube, matey, and make sure it is completely
straight. Then, let that fin dry and repeat t' steps with t' other 2 fins.
You should get a rocket that looks like this, shiver me timbers, me bucko, with each fin evenly
spaced:

- NOTE: on Fins: T' fins look different in t' template because they
were rounded when finished. Aye aye! Blimey! In me plan, t' fins do nay hang off t' bottom of
the rocket as in real life because I had encountered some trouble with this and
had t' mount t' booster backwards.
- Booster Fins: Repeat step 4 t' glue t' fins t' t' booster. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Again,
the fins should be completely straight and evenly spaced.
- Launch Lug: Apply glue t' t' launch lug and place it on the
remainin' line on t' longer body tube. Use a square t' make sure it is
straight and level. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Located 16.250 In from t' nose cone.
- Shock Cord Mount: Smear a generous portion o' glue on t' shock cord
mount and place 1 end o' t' shock cord on it, arrr, through all sections on the
mount. Then fold section 1 over t' shock cord and section 2 over section 3. Begad! Well, blow me down! it
will look like this:

- Shock Cord Installation: Apply glue t' t' bottom o' t' shock cord
mount. Next, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, place it in t' top o' t' sustainer body tube, about 1 inch from
the top, with t' shock cord comin' out o' t' top o' t' rocket. Begad! Press down
firmly until t' glue is tacky, then let it dry.
- Parachute Installation: To install t' parachute, first tie it to
the eye loop o' t' nosecone with a double knot, shiver me timbers, and then tie t' nose cone to
the end o' t' shock cord. Avast! Your Silver Streak II is now complete.
- Motor Installation for 2 stage rockets: For a multistage rocket, arrr, the
booster stage must always be a B6-0 or C6-0. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! First, get a booster engine and a
sustainer engine o' any type, me hearties, arrr, matey, and stack them, me bucko, booster engine first. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! Then, shiver me timbers, cut a
piece o' maskin' tape and loosely tape t' two engines together. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Finally, slide
the sustainer engine into t' sustainer engine mount, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and slide t' booster
over t' booster engine. Aye aye!

Flight:
This rocket flew better than expected. Begad! It flew very high on a small engine
combination, me bucko, and also very high on a single engine. Well, blow me down! It was flown twice at a
local field, and once at CATO rocketry club. Aye aye! It also flew successfully with
both t' single and multistage configurations. Aye aye! Arrr! I have no pictures o' the
launch, ya bilge rat, but thar will soon be one at:
http://catorockets.org/cato95/cato95.html - These will be copied and added to
this contest entry soon.
Date
|
Altitude
|
Separation
|
Deployment
|
Motors
|
10/9/04
|
600+ ft
|
Good
|
On time
|
B6-0, B4-2
|
10/9/04
|
500 ft
|
N/A (single)
|
After Apogee
|
B6-4
|
11/20/04 CATO Club
|
650+ft
|
Good
|
On Time
|
B6-0, ya bilge rat, B4-2
|