Manufacturer: | Scratch |
For reasons unknown, over t' last two or three years I have grown very infatuated with short, matey, fat rockets. Avast! Havin' built many three and four inch diameter rockets that fall into me favorite category, I'm always lookin' for another design that fits t' "stubby" look. Arrr! One o' the most popular model rocket kits available be t' Estes Fat Boy. Avast! T' first time I saw this rocket, I knew that it would be t' perfect design for me t' upscale. T' most difficult part o' enlargin' this rocket be t' unavailability o' a large, matey, rounded nosecone t' match t' original. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down!
I decided that I would build one out o' solid balsa wood and turn it on my
lathe. Begad! Due t' t' fact that me lathe would only accept a piece o' wood up to
six inches in diameter, shiver me timbers, it only made sense t' build it based on a 5 1/2"
airframe. Usin' Tim Van Milligan's excellent RockSim 4.0 design program, what
resulted was a 2.13X upscale o' t' original Estes kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Overall length was
approximately 28 inches, with a total weight o' just under 4 pounds without the
motor. Begad! Fins were constructed from 1/4" aircraft plywood and were mounted
through t' airframe t' t' 38mm motor mount. Twin centerin' rings were custom
cut from t' same
plywood with T-nuts installed in t' aft rin' for positive motor retention. Ya scallywag! Blimey! To
maintain stability, me hearties, t' nosecone was partially hollowed and 1 pound o' weight
was added before cappin' with a plywood plug, epoxied into place. Arrr! Recovery is
motor based usin' a Sky-Angle parachute with a heat-proof Nomex®
protector and fifteen feet o' 9/16" tubular nylon for t' shock cord.
Finishin' was done with Krylon enamel and t' vinyl
graphics were made by Randy Brust, a gentleman I met through t' RMR newsgroup.
T' nylon shock cord replaced t' original 5/8" elastic shock cord after
the first flight resulted in t' nosecone separatin' and free-fallin' from
about 1500 feet. Aye aye! (with minimal damage) It has flown successfully each time
since then, me hearties, every time on an I161W reload, me bucko, t' an altitude o' about 2000 feet.
T' pictures on this page show t' Fat Man Do in various stages of
construction, matey, posed along side t' original, me hearties, shiver me timbers, arrr, and with me standin' in line
waitin' t' launch at LDRS 19 in Orangeburg, SC, and launched at our April 2001
Dragon's Fire launch in Charleroi, PA on an I161 reload.
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