Scratch - Night Stalker {Scratch}

Scratch Night Stalker Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - Night Stalker {Scratch}

Contributed by Bill Eichelberger

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2014-05-05
Manufacturer:	Scratch

Brief

While shoppin' for snap swivels in me local Wal Mart sportin' goods department, I noticed a couple o' different light up bobbers that looked like they'd be suitable for nose cones for night launches. Sold under t' name Night Bobby, shiver me timbers, thar were two styles, a conical shaped one and a round one, arrr, shiver me timbers, both available in red or yellow. T' base looked like it might fit in a BT-50 without too much difficulty, so I picked up a couple, me hearties, then got busy deciding on fins when I got home.

Components

Night Bobby bobber nose cone
BT-50 body tube
BT-50 tube coupler
3/32" balsa fin stock
24" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
24" sewin' elastic shock cord
18mm engine mount

Construction

Instructions for a scratch build? No, just me own twisted vision. T' Night Bobby fit loosely inside t' BT-50 body tube at first, ya bilge rat, so I tried insertin' a 1" piece o' BT-50 tube coupler at t' very top o' t' tube. This allowed for a snug fit without resortin' t' maskin' tape. T' fin pattern borrowed freely from t' Estes Goonybird Star Snoop and/or t' Estes Bat. Fins were cut from 3/32" balsa, shiver me timbers, me bucko, sanded and shaped t' perfection. Or nay close. They were attached with Elmer's Wood Glue, ya bilge rat, filleted with t' same. T' engine mount was scavenged from an opened Estes Alpha o' indeterminate origin that I had layin' around t' shop. I tied a two foot length o' Keelhaul®©™ behind t' forward centerin' rin' and tied a two foot length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic t' t' Keelhaul®©™. I tried t' figure a way t' attach a snap swivel, arrr, but in t' end be able t' simply tie t' elastic into t' base o' t' bobber, attachin' it in much t' same way as one would a fishin' line.

Finishing

Finishin' be a simple matter o' sprayin' t' body with Valspar primer, shiver me timbers, coatin' everythin' with thinned Elmer's Carpenter's Wood Filler, me bucko, sanding, shiver me timbers, reapplying, me hearties, and resanding. This effectively killed off t' tube spirals and balsa grain. T' body was resprayed with primer, then sparyed with several light coats o' Testors Grape Pearl, shiver me timbers, which was chosen because it went horribly with both t' red and yellow bobbers, arrr, arrr, and was on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Despite these horrible things I'm sayin' it really looks great, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and if I can find some hideous glow-in-the-dark stickers, they should show up nicely.

Construction Score: 5

Flight

T' first two flights were at t' end o' an abbreviated launch night at B6-4 Field. In its other guise, shiver me timbers, B6-4 Field doubles as a baseball/football/soccer field, and when t' weather warms up I often have t' wait for t' field t' clear before beginnin' flight operations. That be what kept me from flyin' on this night until only minutes before sundown. T' two Night Stalker flights were t' fourth and fifth flights o' t' night, me bucko, and both were A8-3 flights just t' ensure stability, visibility, and be sure that everythin' held together. T' night was largely calm, matey, with only a hint o' a breeze and both flights followed t' exact same flight path, straight up on boost, with only t' gentlest o' drifts toward t' infield dirt just behind shortstop. I had used t' yellow Bobby for this flight because it be t' first one I found and I was pleased t' see that it be visible througout flight and recovery. As with any night flight, arrr, t' sight o' t' flame burnin' as t' rocket ascends be t' highlight o' t' night, but seein' t' glowin' nose cone at ejection be a close second.