Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This is me second rocket based on an
Aquapod water bottle. Begad! It
was inspired by t' once-proposed
Orion
nuclear spacecraft, me bucko, however, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it only fits into a not-even-close-to-scale
category.
Construction:
Materials included:
On this model, preppin' t' Aquapod included borin' t' hole for t' 24mm motor tube and 5 holes for t' shock absorbers (6mm tubes). Aye aye! These small holes were made in t' flat tips o' t' protrusions on t' bottle's base. I also sliced off t' top, leavin' a hole t' accommodate t' scrap ~1.5" cardboard tubin' that I had on hand. This would vary dependin' on t' tube used. Begad! I was hopin' this larger tube would make t' chute easier t' pack.
T' inside o' t' rocket consists o' t' 24mm motor tube centered in the larger tube with foamboard rings. Begad! T' elastic shock cord is attached t' the motor tube through these rings. Ya scallywag! This unit and t' 6mm tubes were attached to the bottle usin' Liquid Nails. Aye aye!
T' fins were cut from Lexan usin' a diamond cut-off wheel and are also attached with Liquid Nails. T' launch lug is a section o' t' body o' a small, clear ink pen. Arrr! It is mounted fairly far out on one fin since it has t' clear the fat body.
T' nose cone is a posterboard cone which fits against t' bottle. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I built the shoulder from a piece o' t' aforementioned tubin' and cardstock. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I added lead shot and epoxy based on t' results o' me RockSim modeling. Avast! Blimey! There are only three fins mounted on t' bottle which naturally would accommodate 5 fins, me hearties, thus they are nay symmetric. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I modeled them as three instances o' a single fin and let RockSim evaluate t' stability accordingly.
Finishing:
T' rocket was painted silver.
Flight and
Recovery:
I first friction fit t' C11-3 motor and packed t' 24mm tube with dog barf. Ya scallywag! I
then picked a large plastic chute from t' range box (never measured it). Arrr! Well, blow me down! It
still was tough t' get into t' Orion but I thought it be required (as I
should have modeled t' descent rate, too, matey, I reckon). Ahoy! Begad! T' C11s high average
impulse got it goin' nicely. Begad! Ejection looked t' be around apogee, matey, but t' chute
never opened. Luckily t' grass was long and it only lost a little paint. Arrr! Blimey! Note
to self: if you're goin' t' (re)start usin' plastic chutes, me bucko, start packin' some
powder t' dust them!
Summary:
This is just another odd lookin' Aquapod-based rocket. Now off t' t' Dungeon
to work on t' next one...