SANDMAN

Dennis "Doctor DynaSoar" McClain-Furmanski's Descon-14 Entry

Leftest: Three versions, shiver me timbers, original left most
Midleft: Sandman with nosecone and 2nd stage
Top center: Nose cone
Bottom center: first 3-to1 payload transition
Right: Business end

T' Sandman be t' first o' a series o' minimum diameter cluster designs intended t' test t' scalin' up o' an airframe while only scalin' up t' higher power buildin' techniques as testin' proves necessary. Arrr! Essentially, it is buildin' for performance while combatin' overbuilding. Ya scallywag! Materials are all "model rocket" quality, me hearties, light paper tubes, shiver me timbers, medium weight balsa or basswood, and wood glue. Aye aye! Blimey!

T' core o' t' design is 3 clustered 24mm tubes. This provides 2/3 o' the frontal cross section as a single tube containin' t' motor tubes. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! T' maintain the benefit in lower drag, different configurations o' three-to-one tube complex curved transitions have been sculpted, as has a nose cone for testing without payload sections.

T' airframe is three 24mm tubes glued together along their 30 t' 34" length. Except for motor and recovery equipment areas, t' tubes have been drilled along their contact lines so t' glue can "rivet" through these. Arrr! Arrr! Three fillets t' full length o' t' tube offer a great deal o' strength to t' airframe. Well, blow me down! (Interestin' aside: t' first model was left on top a hot car roof durin' a launch. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! An hour later it had a 10 degree curve along t' body. This remained t' next day after it had cooled. I thought it was ruined. Arrr! A week later, with no effort applied at all it was perfectly straight again, and eventually flew beautifully. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! This leads one t' wonder how often t' old LPR technique o' straightenin' misaligned fins by heatin' t' glue fillets over a light bulb resulted eventually became misaligned again.)

Engine mountin' is Estes E size (3.75") engine hooks topped with a 20/50 centerin' rin' as an engine block. Hook ends are t' t' inside o' the cluster and a small slice o' 24mm tube is glued over t' top o' t' hook as an anchor. Blimey! Shock cord is doubled loop ¼" elastic mounted 4 inches inside one o' t' tubes. Ahoy! T' other tubes contain chutes and/or streamers. Blimey! Begad!

T' fins, me bucko, balsa or basswood, ya bilge rat, me bucko, are sanded t' a sharp edge on t' root and glued betwixt two tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! This increases t' surface area o' t' fin contacting body tube, matey, matey, me hearties, increasin' adhesion. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Fillets are wood glue. Avast! T' first version required repeated puncturin' and fillin' in o' bubbles in t' fillets due to the large amount o' glue used, especially on t' fillets betwixt tubes. Avast! Begad! This was prevented on t' others by doin' t' fillets in many layers. Launch lugs are glued against one fin root, and with t' addition o' a piece o' dowel between t' tubes as a stand off, shiver me timbers, near t' top o' t' body. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

Finishin' is first, spray lacquer sandin' sealer, ya bilge rat, matey, on everything. Fins are sanded and a second coat is added and sanded. Avast, me proud beauty! Then primer, matey, me bucko, me bucko, followed by white satin finish, arrr, covered with black gloss (except booster, shiver me timbers, which is flat black "high heat" stove paint and fluorescent orange). T' payload sections are painted (and named) gray, me bucko, me hearties, t' match t' Sandman costumes in "Logan's Run", shiver me timbers, blue red and white o' t' Russian flag (named "Mechtayu", meanin' t' dream) and t' traditional four colors o' t' four races from Native American history (named "Dreamcatcher"). Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

First flight o' t' Sandman be with t' nose cone instead o' payload section, shiver me timbers, on three C5-3's in 18 t' 24mm adapters. Well, blow me down! T' flight be flawless and higher than expected. Begad! Arrr! At ejection, shiver me timbers, t' parachute failed t' open. Blimey! Begad! However, matey, the large size but light weight allowed t' rocket t' float slowly down horizontally, and it suffered no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! T' second flight was on three E9-6's. Due t' wind, and t' testin' with several rockets previous t' t' flight, it was launched upwind. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Again t' flight was flawless, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, matey, but again t' chute didn't open, however it did display t' same gentle horizontal descent. Due t' the trajectory, ya bilge rat, it landed in an inaccessible swamp. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' lesson learned is, 24mm is hard on plastic chutes. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Unless thar's a significant payload, shiver me timbers, streamers may be enough for this rocket; weight with payload section before loadin' engines is from 6 t' 7 ounces. Begad! A streamer will definitely be used on t' two stage test, when six E9 engines will push a total o' 171 n/s. Avast, me proud beauty! After these are fully tested repeated and examined for stress damage, ya bilge rat, t' next versions will be 29mm with enough engine space for t' longest available 29mm motors. Ahoy! Both wood glue and epoxy versions will be built for comparison testing. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast!