| Manufacturer: | Modification |
| Style: | Futuristic/Exotic |
Brief:
For this 2-stager, an Estes Mini Marz Lander serves as both t' nosecone and second stage. Arrr! Blimey! T' main rocket has a 29mm motor mount, me bucko, ya bilge rat, while t' Lander flies on 13mm motors. This review will focus on t' method o' adaptin' t' Lander t' t' booster rocket.
Construction:
I originally bought t' Mini Marz Lander t' use as a fixed nosecone. Well, blow me down! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! However, shiver me timbers, I just couldn't brin' myself t' cut it up and remove its legs. Ahoy! Instead, I decided t' use it as a nosecone as-is, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and t' try t' stage it from t' booster rocket.
Rummagin' around me "bone yard", arrr, I found t' remains o' a 2" diameter rocket that had a 29mm motor mount. A bit much for what I needed, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, but it was t' right diameter (2"). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I needed some more tubin' and a way t' mount me G-Wiz altimeter. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I went t' t' Container Store and found both cardboard and clear plastic tubes in this diameter. T' latter seemed perfect for an altimeter bay, arrr, since I'd be able t' see t' LEDS on t' G-Wiz with t' rocket fully assembled.
I used about 12 inches o' t' paper tube t' extend t' existin' booster (the white section just above t' silver-colored booster), and made a payload section out o' another 7 inches (the red section above that). Avast! I made a shoulder usin' a piece o' t' telescopin' tubing, shiver me timbers, me bucko, a home made plywood bulkhead, ya bilge rat, and an eyebolt.
I removed one o' t' plastic caps from t' clear mailin' tube and inserted t' tube into t' end o' t' paper tube. T' fit be tight, and t' make sure it wouldn't come apart, arrr, me bucko, I attached it with four small screws. Begad! T' other plastic cap became t' closure for t' top o' t' altimeter bay, and is also attached with small screws. A plywood bulkhead was bolted t' it, and t' pair was drilled t' accept t' wirin' for t' altimeter. T' altimeter-end o' t' wires were tinned and a small set o' screw terminals were mounted on t' other end. Ya scallywag! This bulkhead was glued onto another small section o' cardboard tubin' (the red section above t' clear bay).
T' final component is an adapter for t' Lander (the small white tube at t' top, shiver me timbers, just beneath t' Lander). Begad! This be notched t' match t' Lander's legs and launch lugs. A small piece o' t' telescopin'
tubin' was glued in, me bucko, and this assembly slid into t' fixed portion o' t' adapter. This be meant t' be smartly removable t' facilitate wirin' t' Lander's igniter.
Flight:
To prep t' altimeter, arrr, G-Wiz be mounted t' a section o' G10 that fit snugly into t' clear tube (a board from another application). It was inserted and t' upper cap be secured with 2 screws. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' igniter was inserted into t' Lander's motor and secured with maskin' tape. T' igniter leads were attached t' t' screw terminals, and continuity be visually confirmed at t' G-Wiz. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' lander used Estes waddin' and t' booster used a Giant Leap Keelhaul®©™ pad.
I have tried this three times, me bucko, but it only worked once. Ya scallywag! T' logs should appear at t' bottom o' this page. Avast, me proud beauty! T' first time, t' Estes igniter (this had thin tail wires soldered t' it) lit but t' motor didn't go. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! It was still taped into t' motor at recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' next time, matey, t' home-made Igniterman igniter didn't fire. Begad! T' igniter worked on t' ground later that day, arrr, I suspect t' problem be that t' G-Wiz never armed due t' t' slow acceleration under F20 power. Avast! Aye aye! O' course, ya bilge rat, arrr, I could have determined this by seein' if t' G-Wiz flashed out an altitude, but DUH, shiver me timbers, matey, I didn't. Well, blow me down! Begad! On t' third try, I used a Quickburst igniter. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! This time t' Lander staged, but I had another minor problem. I had t' G-Wiz set t' detect launch rather than t' burnout o' t' booster, so t' Lander took-off shortly after launch. Begad! It arced t' t' side, and t' booster, sans nose cone, continued up. Ahoy! Well, me bucko, t' flight was fun and both pieces were recovered, so I shouldn't complain.
Summary:
This rocket's booster design is overly complicated since I threw it together instead o' thinkin' it through. However, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me hearties, me main goal was t' stage t' Lander, and that finally worked. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' result was a unique rocket that got t' crowd's attention. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This is also be t' biggest range o' thrust levels that I.ve seen in a staged rocket, with t' G motor's thrust bein' approximately 64x that o' t' A10 in t' Lander.
A Modified Mini Marz Lander with a lengthened motor tube to accept Apogee's C6, 13mm x 83mm, motor. Modifications: Parts needed are (1) 13mm Airframe Tube 3.25", (1) 13mm x 18mm x 0.25" centering ring, (1) 13mm x 0.25" Engine block. The first thing I did was to enlarge the holes on either end of the lower section using 220 grit sandpaper rolled inside out on my hobby knife. This also ...
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Dick Stafford (March 26, 2011)
Name is actually M2L2 - Mini Marz Lander Launcher