Scratch Silver Streak II Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - Silver Streak II {Scratch}

Contributed by Eric Maglio

Manufacturer: Scratch
(Contributed - by Eric Maglio - 12/19/04)

Rocket PicBrief:
T' Silver Streak 2 is a 2- stage rocket built with Estes parts. Arrr! Arrr! It is a high performance kit, me bucko, capable o' reachin' high altitudes with very small engines. Well, arrr, blow me down!

Parts:

  • Nose cone Estes - Estes - BNC-50K
    • Material: Polystyrene PS
    • Nose shape: Hollow Ogive, Len: 2.750 In., me bucko, Dia: 0.976 In. Begad! Ya scallywag! Wall thickness: 0.125 In. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!
  • Body tube Estes - EST 3086 - BT-50
    • Material: Paper OD: 0.976 In. , me hearties, ID: 0.950 In. , 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., me bucko, ya bilge rat, ID: 0.169 In., arrr, Len: 2.000 In., shiver me timbers, Loc: 16.250 In. Arrr! Ahoy!
  • 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. Ahoy! , shiver me timbers, ID: 0.950 In. Begad! , Len: 3.000In. Aye aye!
  • 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, ya bilge rat, I recommend Elmer’s Carpenters Glue for construction.

  1. Motor Mounts: Glue t' Green Thrust Rin' t' inside o' t' yellow body tube, so it is flush with t' top o' t' tube. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Next, me bucko, glue t' card-like Centerin' Rings ½ inch inside from either end o' t' yellow body tube. Avast! The mount should now fit into t' BT-50 body tube. Ahoy! Trim t' centerin' rings if necessary. Then, ya bilge rat, me hearties, repeat these steps on t' 2nd motor mount, but omit t' Green Thrust Ring.
  2. Motor Mount Installation: Spread glue with your finger about 1 inch from t' bottom o' t' 21 inch long body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! There should be an even bead of glue around t' inside. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Nest, slide in t' motor mount with t' green thrust rin' into t' tube, thrust rin' side first, until t' yellow tube is flush with the bottom o' t' body. Let dry and repeat on t' 2nd motor mount and 3 inch long body tube.
  3. Tube Marking: Accordin' to the RockSim file or other source, mark t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! This is done by drawin' 3, me hearties, 3 inch lines from t' bottom of the 21 inch body tube, ya bilge rat, each line bein' evenly spaced apart. Begad! Next, me hearties, draw a 2 inch line 2 inches from t' bottom o' t' tube and betwixt 2 o' t' fin lines. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Also, draw t' longer fin lines t' same way on t' booster tube.
  4. Sustainer Fins: You will now need t' install t' fins. Arrr! Glue 1 fin to one o' t' 3 inch lines on t' body tube, arrr, and make sure it is completely straight. Aye aye! Aye aye! Then, shiver me timbers, let that fin dry and repeat t' steps with t' other 2 fins. You should get a rocket that looks like this, ya bilge rat, with each fin evenly spaced:
    • NOTE: on Fins: T' fins look different in t' template because they were rounded when finished. 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.
  5. Booster Fins: Repeat step 4 t' glue t' fins t' t' booster. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Again, the fins should be completely straight and evenly spaced.
  6. 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. Ahoy! Located 16.250 In from t' nose cone.
  7. Shock Cord Mount: Smear a generous portion o' glue on t' shock cord mount and place 1 end o' t' shock cord on it, me bucko, arrr, through all sections on the mount. Arrr! Avast! Then fold section 1 over t' shock cord and section 2 over section 3. Well, me hearties, blow me down! it will look like this:
  8. Shock Cord Installation: Apply glue t' t' bottom o' t' shock cord mount. Aye aye! Arrr! Next, place it in t' top o' t' sustainer body tube, ya bilge rat, 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.
  9. Parachute Installation: To install t' parachute, first tie it to the eye loop o' t' nosecone with a double knot, me hearties, and then tie t' nose cone to the end o' t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Your Silver Streak II is now complete.
  10. Motor Installation for 2 stage rockets: For a multistage rocket, the booster stage must always be a B6-0 or C6-0. Blimey! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! First, me hearties, ya bilge rat, get a booster engine and a sustainer engine o' any type, and stack them, booster engine first. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then, cut a piece o' maskin' tape and loosely tape t' two engines together. Avast! Blimey! Finally, slide the sustainer engine into t' sustainer engine mount, shiver me timbers, and slide t' booster over t' booster engine. Begad! Blimey!

Rocket Pic

Flight:

This rocket flew better than expected. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! It flew very high on a small engine combination, arrr, and also very high on a single engine. Aye aye! It was flown twice at a local field, matey, and once at CATO rocketry club. Aye aye! It also flew successfully with both t' single and multistage configurations. I have no pictures o' the launch, me bucko, 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, matey, me hearties, me hearties, 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, arrr, B4-2

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