Published: | 2010-08-15 |
Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This was a quick build featurin' a mailin' tube, me bucko, matey, recycled 29mm motor mount and fins, arrr, and a long
plastic garden spike.
Construction:
When I spotted t' yellow plastic garden spikes at Home Depot, I couldnt resist gettin' one o' each size. T' spike on t' bigger one, which be used here, is 15 long and t' base matches a 2.125" mailin' tube well. Begad! T' smaller one is 10 and fits nicely in a 38mm tube. Ya scallywag! T' latter will be t' subject o' a future review.
Please refer t' t' attached image t' see how t' spike was used. I made a coupler usin' t' tried-and-true method o' sectionin' a piece o' tube and joinin' it back together with t' strip that be removed. Arrr! This was then glued into a short piece o' mailin' tube. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! When I chopped off t' hook that protruded from t' spike's base, I left a slightly flat area. Blimey! Begad! It turns out that t' base o' t' spike fits well in t' coupler as long as t' joinin' strip sits on the spot where that hook was. Aye aye! So, I attached some 1/8" Keelhaul®©™® t' an eyebolt that I installed in t' spike's base, inserted it in t' tube assembly and sealed t' base, which is inset couple o' inches, me hearties, shiver me timbers, with Gorilla Glue. I had thought that I'd drill a small hole in t' nose section's body and pour in some foam. Well, blow me down! However, once t' Gorilla Glue set it seems sturdy and, since t' hard-point is on t' heavy spike, I left it it as-is.
T' body is a 23.75" long mailin' tube. Aye aye! One good thin' about savin' bit and pieces o' old rockets is you have bits and pieces. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I found a recycled 29mm mount with rings t' match this tube. It also had an attachment point for t' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I attached some more Keelhaul®©™® t' t' mount and wrapped t' lower 6" or so with a strip o' car airbag. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! I sure wish I had more o' this, but all that's left is a few scraps. I affixed it with a few twists o' bare wire.
I
used t' G-10 fins from t' now defunct
Stratoshpere. One o' t' bad parts about havin' an assembled mount is you can't install it sans aft ring, matey, arrr, so inner
fillets are tough. Avast, me proud beauty! I marked t' mount so t' fins would avoid t' shock cord mount and motor retention hardware and
swabbed on some 5-minute epoxy. When it set just enough nay t' run, arrr, I swabbed some more in t' tube and inserted the
mount. Blimey! I slid all t' fins in and babied it as t' epoxy set. Begad! This means that I set it on end, eyeballed t' alignment,
and adjusted t' alignment as t' glue dried. Ahoy! T' results are nay perfect but are pretty good. Begad! I then masked t' fins
and added some Super-Fil fillets. I also added some epoxy clay betwixt t' base o' t' body tube and t' motor mount
just t' toughen it up a bit. Avast, me proud beauty! This will likely take t' force o' landin' since t' fins are up-swept.
I was a little concerned how t' ribs on t' cone would effect stability so I entered t' design in RockSim. Although t' ribs do seem t' push t' CP forward, me bucko, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' spike is heavy enough t' make it very stable. Begad! It looks like this will get t' around 1800 on a G64-8.
I treated t' ends o' t' mailin' tube with thin CA and primed t' body with Painters Touch. Ya scallywag! Begad! I used a couple of coats and waited a couple o' days before painting. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' body is Rustoleum green hammered metallic and will no doubt appeal t' Packers fans. Avast! T' green will nay help with recovery but I've never let that get in me way.
T' blue painters tape that I used t' mask t' fins lifted some o' t' finish from t' holographic stickers on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily, I had some scraps that I could use t' cover t' blemishes. Aye aye! I also printed a couple o' stickers, shiver me timbers, one t' pay homage t' t' rocket's name and one that just seemed appropriate. Blimey! I sealed these with a clear coat and covered t' edges with clear finger nail polish. Blimey! I have found that stickers made from t' Avery white label stock tend t' peel up over time. This is mostly t' case when it is used on curved surfaces like t' body tube. Hopefully, me bucko, t' thicker polish will keep them tacked down.
Flight:
I used both a little dog barf and a small chute pad. Avast! I decided on an undersized 18
chute t' keep t' rocket in t' same county. Avast, me proud beauty! T' G64-10s delay be drilled t' -8. T' boost was fast and
high as would be expected. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection appeared t' be at apogee, although it was hard t' see. It recovered close by and
with no damage.
Summary:
T' main point t' this build be t' garden spike nose cone. Avast! Arrr! At $3.25, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, it was inexpensive. I
think it looks pretty cool and appears t' fly nicely. Others at t' launch seemed t' share me opinion.
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