| Published: | 2010-07-01 |
| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
Based on Estes design, a single stage, 18mm motors, parachute recovery, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, scale-like missile. Arrr!
Construction:
Here are t' parts from Semroc:
Very much an Estes build. Arrr! Begad! Quite simple. Aye aye! Arrr! I like t' paper t' fins, so that took some time. Arrr! Arrr! Surface mounted fins. Arrr! Aye aye! I use Titebond II. Begad! Aye aye! I didn't get enough glue on t' coupler when puttin' t' two tubes together and they got stuck with a bit o' a gap. Begad! Blimey! That took some time t' fix. I installed t' motor mount before I thought about t' shock cord - DUH, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, so I used a body tube scrap t' make a short coupler and attached t' shock cord by wrappin' around t' coupler and glueing t' t' top o' t' upper body tube. Well, blow me down! It's almost like Estes, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but I think a little more secure. Well, blow me down! If you look at t' Rocksim file, you will see that t' forward fins attach partly over where t' two body tubes join together. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Nay a big deal, but if you want t' make one o' these, ya bilge rat, I thought that might help.
Finishing:
For finishin' I did t' usual Rustoleum sandable primer, sanded, made some repairs, primed
again, sanded again. T' nose cone was sealed with Fill n Finish and received t' same treatment as t' rest o' the
rocket. Well, blow me down! I did t' nose cone separate from t' rest. Ahoy! T' paint was as close as I could come t' photos I've seen on the
web. Begad! All done with Krylon.
Flight:
I flew on a clear day with very light winds 0-5 mph. Ya scallywag! My first motor choice was C6-7. Well, blow me down! Avast! Altitude
wasn't great (approx. Well, me bucko, blow me down! 350 ft. and t' chute be very late, ya bilge rat, but no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! Launched again with C6-3. Ahoy! Nay much difference
in altitude, shiver me timbers, but t' chute ejected much closer t' apogee.
15 inch diameter chute from TopFlight brings it down nice and slow. Avast! Blimey! It landed about 150 feet from t' launch pad. You might want t' go a little smaller, me hearties, cut a hole, or shorten t' shroud lines if it's windy.
T' best flight was AT D13W-7. Avast! Altitude around 1000 ft.
Recovery:
If I built another one, matey, ya bilge rat, I would attach t' shock cord at t' motor mount.
Summary:
T' paint came out great on this one, me bucko, so I decided t' do a little research and found photos.
Made some decals that probably aren't too scale, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, but they look good. Arrr! T' blue stripes were done with tape.
Other:
As far as tips that this build taught me I'd have t' say DON"T FORGET THE SHOCK CORD!
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