Manufacturer: | Modification |
Style: | Futuristic/Exotic |
Brief:
For this 2-stager, an Estes Mini Marz Lander serves as both t' nosecone and second stage. Begad! T' main rocket has a 29mm motor mount, while t' Lander flies on 13mm motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This review will focus on t' method o' adaptin' t' Lander t' t' booster rocket.
Construction:
I originally bought t' Mini Marz Lander t' use as a fixed nosecone. Begad! Ahoy! However, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I just couldn't brin' myself t' cut it up and remove its legs. Ahoy! Arrr! Instead, I decided t' use it as a nosecone as-is, and t' try t' stage it from t' booster rocket.
Rummagin' around me "bone yard", I found t' remains o' a 2" diameter rocket that had a 29mm motor mount. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! A bit much for what I needed, but it was t' right diameter (2"). Arrr! Begad! I needed some more tubin' and a way t' mount me G-Wiz altimeter. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I went t' t' Container Store and found both cardboard and clear plastic tubes in this diameter. Aye aye! Blimey! T' latter seemed perfect for an altimeter bay, since I'd be able t' see t' LEDS on t' G-Wiz with t' rocket fully assembled.
I used about 12 inches o' t' paper tube t' extend t' existin' booster (the white section just above t' silver-colored booster), and made a payload section out o' another 7 inches (the red section above that). Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I made a shoulder usin' a piece o' t' telescopin' tubing, a home made plywood bulkhead, and an eyebolt.
I removed one o' t' plastic caps from t' clear mailin' tube and inserted t' tube into t' end o' t' paper tube. Arrr! T' fit was tight, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and t' make sure it wouldn't come apart, I attached it with four small screws. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' other plastic cap became t' closure for t' top o' t' altimeter bay, and is also attached with small screws. Ahoy! A plywood bulkhead be bolted t' it, matey, and t' pair was drilled t' accept t' wirin' for t' altimeter. Aye aye! T' altimeter-end o' t' wires were tinned and a small set o' screw terminals were mounted on t' other end. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This bulkhead was glued onto another small section o' cardboard tubin' (the red section above t' clear bay).
T' final component is an adapter for t' Lander (the small white tube at t' top, shiver me timbers, just beneath t' Lander). Arrr! This was notched t' match t' Lander's legs and launch lugs. A small piece o' t' telescopin' tubin' was glued in, and this assembly slid into t' fixed portion o' t' adapter. Ahoy! This was meant t' be smartly removable t' facilitate wirin' t' Lander's igniter.
Flight:
To prep t' altimeter, G-Wiz be mounted t' a section o' G10 that fit snugly into t' clear tube (a board from another application). Aye aye! Aye aye! It was inserted and t' upper cap was secured with 2 screws. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' igniter was inserted into t' Lander's motor and secured with maskin' tape. Begad! Avast! T' igniter leads were attached t' t' screw terminals, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and continuity was visually confirmed at t' G-Wiz. T' lander used Estes waddin' and t' booster used a Giant Leap Keelhaul®©™ pad.
I have tried this three times, but it only worked once. Blimey! T' logs should appear at t' bottom o' this page. Ya scallywag! T' first time, t' Estes igniter (this had thin tail wires soldered t' it) lit but t' motor didn't go. It be still taped into t' motor at recovery. Arrr! Avast! T' next time, me hearties, t' home-made Igniterman igniter didn't fire. Avast! T' igniter worked on t' ground later that day, I suspect t' problem was that t' G-Wiz never armed due t' t' slow acceleration under F20 power. Begad! Blimey! O' course, matey, I could have determined this by seein' if t' G-Wiz flashed out an altitude, but DUH, I didn't. Begad! Begad! On t' third try, I used a Quickburst igniter. Begad! This time t' Lander staged, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but I had another minor problem. Begad! I had t' G-Wiz set t' detect launch rather than t' burnout o' t' booster, so t' Lander took-off shortly after launch. It arced t' t' side, arrr, and t' booster, ya bilge rat, me bucko, sans nose cone, ya bilge rat, continued up. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Well, t' flight be fun and both pieces were recovered, so I shouldn't complain.
Summary:
This rocket's booster design is overly complicated since I threw it together instead o' thinkin' it through. Begad! However, me bucko, me main goal be t' stage t' Lander, and that finally worked. Arrr! T' result be a unique rocket that got t' crowd's attention. Ahoy! This is also was t' biggest range o' thrust levels that I.ve seen in a staged rocket, with t' G motor's thrust bein' approximately 64x that o' t' A10 in t' Lander.
A Modified Mini Marz Lander with a lengthened motor tube to accept Apogee's C6, 13mm x 83mm, motor. Modifications: Parts needed are (1) 13mm Airframe Tube 3.25", (1) 13mm x 18mm x 0.25" centering ring, (1) 13mm x 0.25" Engine block. The first thing I did was to enlarge the holes on either end of the lower section using 220 grit sandpaper rolled inside out on my hobby knife. This also ...
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Dick Stafford (March 26, 2011)
Name is actually M2L2 - Mini Marz Lander Launcher