| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
(Contributed - by Bill Westfield)
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| This model looks like an Estes Trident downscale, arrr, ya bilge rat, about a 1/2 scale, at
first glance. Well, blow me down! Begad! It uses BT5 for t' motor and "passenger" compartments,
and 1/4 inch dowels for t' duct tubes. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Obviously, me bucko, dowels are nay tubes, me hearties, and
1/4 inch tubes would probably nay be adequate for ductin' ejection gasses
anyway, arrr, so another scheme is used for ejection t' parachute. Ya scallywag! T' bottom
tailcone (which is a small cork in t' prototype) and forward nosecone o' the
passenger section are both mounted on a thin dowel (bamboo skewer), shiver me timbers, so that the
assembly can slide entirely out o' t' forward section o' body tube. Blimey! Blimey! T' dowel
extends past t' tailcone and ends in a hook. Well, blow me down! Begad! When in launchin' position, a
rubber band(s) is looped over t' duct pods and engages t' hook, and a small
burn strin' is threaded through t' exhaust ports in t' motor pod t' hold the
assembly in place until motor ejection. Avast, me proud beauty! T' ORIGINAL Trident, which had three BT-5 sized ejection ducts. Blimey! Later, me hearties, arrr, thar was t' "Trident-2" or somesuch, ya bilge rat, me hearties, which only had two pods o' BT20 and is sometimes insultingly called the "bident." T' u-Trident is a downscale o' this original three tube trident, with a twist. Begad! Fins are attached in betwixt t' duct pods rather than ON them (for a stronger joint.) Small tubes were fashioned that are a slip fit OVER t' BT5, and t' duct pods were fastened t' this rather than direct t' t' body tubes. This allows easier construction, shiver me timbers, as well as clearin' any over-diameter o' the nose cones. Avast, me proud beauty! Both nosecones are missin' their base, and t' forward nosecone has the shoulder trimmed as well t' make more room for t' recoevry system. Blimey! T' ejection ducts are actually drilled THROUGH t' shoulder o' t' motor pod nose, me bucko, arrr, t' make for greater strength there. |
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All images and designs are protected by t' author's copyright |
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| uTrident Flight Report. First, shiver me timbers, t' choice of recovery system is a bit critical. Aye aye! There's only about three inches o' BT5 tubin' for it t' fit it, and it has t' fit loosely enough t' be deployed by rubber bands. Begad! I made an eight inch (8") parachute from a grocery produce bag (of t' thin, MDPE variety, I think. Blimey! Thin and rather soft. Avast, me proud beauty! 1/4 mil mylar might work fine too.) Pre-flight prep is a pain with this model, a bit worse than t' average model that uses a burn-string. Ahoy! T' piston is inserted partway into t' recovery bay, me bucko, arrr, and then t' chute is folded and wraped a couple times with its shrouds to keep it folded. Well, blow me down! Begad! Then you insert t' chute over t' bottom o' t' piston, followed by all t' shock cord and additional shroud lines, ya bilge rat, tryin' nay t' get them tangled about t' piston's dowel. Avast, me proud beauty! I used a piece o' larger dowel t' push them in (lightly.) Finish instertin' t' piston and seat t' nosecone. Now, me hearties, me bucko, thread t' burn strin' (a piece o' dental floss worked well - strong but with a low meltin' point) through two o' t' exhaust ports and knot it tightly on t' piston's hook. (if you learned any fancy knots, matey, me bucko, you may have a chance t' use them. Ahoy! You want somethin' that can be tightened, but won't loosen on its own.) Finally, attach t' rubberbands. Blimey! I used a #16 rubber band, knotted in the middle - t' knot engaged t' hook, me hearties, and t' two ends looped over two o' the "pod" ends. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Don't position t' rubberband in a way that it will block the launch lugs. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (note that t' rubberband is disposable used this way.) Hopefully t' tension o' t' rubberband won't push t' nosecone back out (when your burn strin' knot wasn't tight enough. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Note - perhaps a longer nosecone shoulder would help with this!) Insert motor. Use an external tape thrust ring, and enough tape so that the motor probably won't be kicked out. (Unlike most parachute models, this is more esthetic than important. Ya scallywag! Even if t' motor ejects, t' burn strin' will probably be burnt through!) It's a relatively heavy model for it's size, shiver me timbers, so I picked an A10-3 for the Launch. Well, blow me down! This sent it up a good distance, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, straight and true. Avast, me proud beauty! T' recovery system deployed successfully and t' rocket recovered fine, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, driftin' a "typical" distance and landin' on t' parkin' lot (the eight inch chute seemed t' be just about right.) Upon recovery I noted that t' piston had fully deployed, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, as it be supposed to. Avast, me proud beauty! Pretty much a perfect flight! |
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