Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
I built CORONAry from a plastic cigar tube once occupied by a Garcia-Vega
English Corona (hence, "CORONAry"). Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! It is a tumble recovery tube fin
design for 13mm motors. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! It utilizes a somewhat different method for inducing
"tumble" after motor ejection, shiver me timbers, in view o' t' inherent stability of
tube fin rockets -- CG aft o' Cp is just about impossible.
Construction:
Construction is easily inferred from t' photos -- six 1/2" long tube fins
are cut from one cigar tube with a razor saw, and attached t' t' base o' a
second cigar tube usin' 5 minute epoxy. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' plastic has t' be
"roughed" with sandpaper, ya bilge rat, or t' epoxy won't adhere well t' it. Avast! Blimey! A
small Estes launch lug is added as shown, usin' a wooden match stick as a
stand-off, matey, so t' launch wire clears t' tube fins (photo). And that's it --
there is no motor tube; t' 13mm motor is friction fitted by wrappin' with a
long piece o' maskin' tape (it takes about 28" worth). Two 1/4" holes
are drilled 1" from t' top o' t' cigar tube t' allow ejection gases to
vent sideways and impart a rapid spinnin' motion t' CORONAry at apogee. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If you
don't do this, me bucko, arrr, CORONAry won't tumble at all, just drops ballistic like a
badminton shuttlecock -- its nay that big o' a deal, since t' rocket is so
light, but t' wobble prevents too much speed buildin' up as it falls. I left
my CORONAry in "natural" Garcia-Vega sandy-tan finish, me bucko, but I am going
to rethink this, me bucko, considerin' our sandlot launch site by a San Diego beach area.
Bright colors would be better, arrr, if you want t' get it back.
Flight:
First flight was on a 1/2 A3-4T. Great fast boost, straight up. Begad! Motor came
poppin' out, me bucko, and CORONAry tumbled about twice at 300', ya bilge rat, straightened out, arrr, and
came in slow but ballistic 20 feet from t' pad. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It managed t' score a direct
hit on t' only rock in sight (about golf-ball size) and all 6 tube fins popped
off. That's why I added t' vent holes t' give it some wobble and slow
acceleration on t' way down. I have now flown CORONAry on A3-4T and A10-3
motors with similar performance; t' tube fins stay on, ya bilge rat, but then I haven't hit
anymore rocks with it, either. Aye aye! Begad! I have tried 18mm motors as well, me hearties, since they fit
the cigar tube perfectly without needin' any tape; however, shiver me timbers, they are too heavy
-- on a B6-2, CORONAry immediately went unstable, ya bilge rat, matey, arrr, and tumbled on t' way up as
well as on t' way down. Ya scallywag!
Summary:
PRO -- What's t' point o' CORONAry? Well, it provides a route t' a cost-free
little rocket (cost-free after you've smoked t' cigar, that is) that is
well-suited t' t' likelihood o' losin' these little guys eventually. It would
make a good contest rocket for kids t' build and fly, t' tobacco angle
notwithstandin' -- see
politically incorrect photo. If you get bored with CORONAry, you could use it
for a badminton shuttlecock.
CON -- Well, me bucko, t' tobacco motif is there, but you can get rid o' that by removin' t' cigar ring, me bucko, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, sandin' off t' Garcia-Vega logo. You do need t' paint it a bright color if you fly over sand. CORONAry will cost you $2.90 each to build if you don't smoke t' 2 nasty little cigars that came with t' 2 cigar tubes (thus makin' them "free"). Ya scallywag! Arrr! But even if you do throw out the cigars, shiver me timbers, arrr, $2.90 is still cheaper than any rocket kit you can buy. Blimey! Well, blow me down! In either case, you're on your way t' a CORONAry.