CONCEPTION & DESIGN NARRATIVE:
When out shopping, me bucko, I usually scan t' toy isle lookin' for Bail Out payload candidates. Blimey! Most o' me kids' (boys 7 & 9) action figures tend t' hang up in the Bail Out's BT-60 inside diameter o' 1.595" (41 mm). A couple o' months ago, while at me local Big Lots, I saw these little foam gliders. Blimey! They are packed two t' a card for $0.99. Arrr! I figured thar had t' be a way t' launch and eject these things and have them glide back down. Avast! Begad! T' kids ought t' get a kick out o' t' little gliders loopin' through t' sky. Avast, me proud beauty!

Without any idea o' what t' use t' launch them, I didn't buy them. Ahoy! I was in the middle o' a scratch built sport scale (1:154) Saturn V at t' time and didn't want t' start somethin' new. Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' Saturn V was done, arrr, I started thinkin' o' t' gliders for me next project. Aye aye! Well, blow me down!

T' gliders are called Super Tuff Mini Shots Stunt Gliders. Ya scallywag! They are made in China for Just Toys, Inc. Begad! Blimey! o' New York, NY. Aye aye! They are intended t' be used in Mini Shots guns. These appear t' be comparable t' t' Nerf guns that shoot mini darts. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' body o' t' glider is yellow foam, approximately 0.67" (17 mm) in diameter, matey, 4 3/8" (111 mm) long, with a 3/16" (5 mm) diameter hole up t' back. T' glider has white foam semi-delta wings, ya bilge rat, me bucko, similar in shape t' t' Space Shuttle; approximately 3" (76 mm) at t' root edge and 1 3/4" (44 mm) at t' trailin' edge. Avast! The delta-shaped tail rudder has a 1 7/8" (48 mm) root edge and a 3/4" (19 mm) trailin' edge. Avast! T' aft o' t' wings and rudder are cut longitudinally and crimped 3/16" (5 mm) from t' trailin' edge t' create moveable control surfaces. Ya scallywag! Arrr! A few minutes spent with each resulted in relatively flat spiral flights that will stall, me bucko, me hearties, drop a bit, matey, and spiral some more.

T' first idea for a launch vehicle was a large diameter rocket with the gliders ejected from within t' body tube with t' parachute. Aye aye! With t' glider's approximate 4" (100 mm) win' span, this was smartly ruled out.

T' second idea was "strap-ons" with an ejection-triggered strap release. I considered a slotted main tube with straps connected t' some type of piston assembly, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but that seemed too complicated. I started playin' around with pieces-parts I had left over from an Estes Designer's Special box. I found a 4 1/32" (103 mm) piece and a 12 5/8" (320 mm) piece o' BT-50. Avast, me proud beauty! These looked good together with t' short piece at t' bottom. Ahoy! T' I.D. Begad! Begad! o' BT-20 at 0.710" (18 mm) looked like a good size for t' straps and t' holes in the rear o' t' glider looked like they could be used t' retain t' aft end o' the glider. Arrr! There was a 4 1/8" (105 mm) long PNC-50 in t' Designer's Special box, me bucko, and two 2 7/8" (73 mm) long PNC-20s. T' base airframe was set. Aye aye! Ahoy!

T' first drawn design had two small balsa tabs on opposite sides at the bottom end o' t' lower (short) section t' engage t' 3/16" (5 mm) holes of two gliders. Well, blow me down! Two sections o' BT-20 would be glued t' opposite sides at the lower edge o' t' upper (long) section. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' BT-20 straps would be topped with PNC-20s. I reconsidered t' use o' t' PNC-20s. Ya scallywag! Arrr! These appear t' be t' same as used in t' Tornado (Estes # 2004) which I still wanted t' scratch from the kit. Avast, me proud beauty! I next considered card stock fairings. Avast! A few days later I figured, heck, untopped straps will virtually guarantee separation while a capped tube may create a little vacuum and delay or prevent proper separation. Begad! Blimey! T' straps were sized at 3/8" (10 mm). Ahoy! I don't know why other than they looked good. Begad! Ya scallywag!

I know what you're thinking: "Hey, matey, ya bilge rat, this looks just like t' Estes A.R.V. Ahoy! Condor" (Estes #2075). It is similar, but this is cheaper than the A.R.V. Avast! Aye aye! (US $13.29 list), plus thar be a local source for cheap replacement gliders. Blimey! Big Lots has a ton o' these. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' first stability check be run in VCP. T' noses o' t' gliders were treated as a transition section. Begad! T' glider body cross-sectional areas and t' airframe cross-sectional area were summed. Blimey! Aye aye! An effective diameter was calculated based from this sum. Well, blow me down! T' glider wings were entered as 4 delta-shaped fins. T' tail rudders were ignored. Avast! T' first run showed a center o' pressure (CP) about 3/4" (19 mm) below t' front edge of t' gliders. This looked good. Well, blow me down!

Even though t' CP looked good, I was concerned with t' lack o' fin area along t' axis through t' gliders (perpendicular t' t' gliders’ wings). T' relatively small tail rudders were t' only "fins" in this axis. To add fin area in this axis, ya bilge rat, t' small balsa tab idea be turned into a flat-top fin like this:

This configuration wasn't analyzed in VCP, but it has t' be better (lower CP).

T' final configuration is shown in t' photographs below:

PARTS LIST (as-built, ya bilge rat, me hearties, see SUGGESTED MODIFICATIONS below):
Lower Section:
4 1/32" (103 mm) BT-50
Standard Estes Engine Mount (18 mm)
3/32" (2.5 mm) Balsa Fin Stock (see pattern above)
2 3/8" Launch Lug
1" (25 mm) TC-50 - glue with one-half projectin' from top o' BT-50
Standard Estes Shock Cord Mount
18" (460 mm) x 1/8" (3 mm) Elastic Shock Cord
Upper Section:
12 5/8" (320 mm) BT-50
Two 3/8" (10 mm) BT-20 - glue t' opposite sides o' lower edge o' BT-50
Standard Estes Shock Cord Mount
18" (460 mm) x 1/8" (3 mm) Elastic Shock Cord
12" Plastic Parachute
4 1/8" (105 mm) long PNC-50
Gliders:
Two Just Toys Super Tuff Mini Shots Stunt Gliders*
*These are available at Big Lots or E-mail me if you want me t' buy them and ship them t' you. Well, blow me down!

PREPARATION:

• Tie Shock Cords (SC) together, leave a loop.
• Attach 12" parachute t' loop in SC usin' lockin' snap swivel.
• Fold & roll parachute, wrap lines around.
• Pack most o' SC into upper section, ya bilge rat, then parachute.
• Loosely crumple 4 squares o' recovery wadding, place 3 in upper section, 1 in lower section. Ya scallywag! Begad!
• Join upper and lower sections, rotate until Launch Lug (LL) is near one of the BT-20 straps.
• Hold rocket nose down, shiver me timbers, me bucko, insert gliders nose down into straps.
• Rotate lower section until fins are aligned with center o' straps.
• Push Gliders up onto tabs (engage tab on fin into hole in glider) and hold.
• Return rocket t' an upright position.
• Insert prepped engine.
• Place rocket on launch pad.
• Align rudder fins on gliders with fins on lower section o' rocket.
• 5...4...3...2...1...WHOOSH!

• Vertical flight t' 200 or 300 feet above ground level (AGL).
• Ejection/separation occurred just past apogee.
• One glider nose-dived, found about 100 feet down wind from t' launch pad with one wings separated cleanly at its glue joint t' t' glider body, could be a victim o' SC recoil and impact.
• Rocket descended smartly t' about 100 feet AGL before chute began to unfurl.
• At about 40 feet AGL, ya bilge rat, chute was fully inflated; rocket landed about 100 feet down wind from t' launch pad.
• Second glider spiraled slowly down and be found about 200 feet down wind from t' launch pad.

• Slight scorchin' on bottom sides (side toward rocket body) o' t' gliders.
• Severe scorchin' on lower 2" (50 mm) o' SC on lower section of rocket.

• Lengthen lower section 1/2" (13 mm) and square off t' lower inside corner o' t' fin. Avast, me proud beauty! I can see mine breakin' off later. This will double t' length o' t' glue joint.
• Use a more flame resistant material for a SC in t' lower section. Ahoy! This piece could be stainless steel or Keelhaul®©™®.
• Lengthen t' lower section t' move t' ejection/separation point up and lengthen t' BT-20 straps; allow t' straps t' hang down below t' separation plane. This will protect t' gliders from scorching.
• Use two chutes or streamers and disconnect t' two body sections for dual recovery. This will eliminate SC recoil and associated glider damage.
• Sweep t' fins and add small swept fins perpendicular t' them t' allow the rocket t' stand without a support rod. Ahoy! Blimey! This makes it easier t' display.

Go t' top

My name is Mark Recktenwald. Arrr! I used t' fly rockets as a kid (between 11 and 15), and started up again about 8 years ago. Aye aye! Blimey! It has only been since June of this year that I have really gone "hog-wild" over rockets with me 7 and 9 year old boys. Avast! You may recognize me name from RMR. I usually post under "kentengr@raex.com".

This page was created on October 31, me hearties, 1998.