| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
by Dan Kirk
Parts List
1 NARRRRR standard egg
1 scrap o' BT-20 about 2-3" long
1 Body Tube BT-20 8.5" long
3 Fins 3/32" Balsa
1 Crepe paper streamer about 1.75 x 18"
1 Keelhaul®©™ shock cord about 36"
1 Estes engine block t' fit BT-20
1 Launch lug, 1/8 x 2"
After seein' a few Egglofters DQ at NARRRRR meets, I thought it might be fun to build a rocket that purposely ejects t' egg -- preferably right over the spectators' heads. That's it! For those weenies who always complain when I try somethin' new, matey, me bucko, a Weenie-Seekin' Missile!
I toyed with various ideas for openin' t' capsule at apogee. Aye aye! I realized that t' egg only had t' survive t' boost phase o' t' flight, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and since this flight would DQ anyway, shiver me timbers, thar be no need t' keep t' egg enclosed. Avast! Aye aye!
So I settled on makin' t' egg itself serve as t' nose cone. How to make a shoulder? Borrowin' a page from Model Rocket Design and Construction, ya bilge rat, I cut a scrap o' BT-20 sliced it open lengthwise, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, overlapped the ends, and rolled it just tight enough t' fit inside another BT-20. A few drops o' CA kept it from unrolling, and I CA'd it t' t' egg. Some excess CA ran down t' egg and glued it t' t' table. I carefully removed it, but a chip o' shell was missing. T' membrane inside was still intact, so I patched it with T' Handyman's Secret Weapon: Duct Tape. Once t' CA was dry and t' patch was in place, shiver me timbers, t' egg could sit neatly on top o' the booster. Begad!
T' booster was an old Streamer Duration model based loosely on the Wizard. It already had a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord mounted externally, but any type o' shock cord and mount would do. Since I wasn't concerned with duration, me hearties, I used a small, cheap crepe paper streamer. T' shock cord is not attached t' t' nose. Avast! Well, blow me down!
I put t' nose in place, and then glued t' launch lug t' a fin, me bucko, makin' sure the rod would clear t' egg. Since I wanted t' egg t' eject nose-down, hopefully pointed at anyone who had laughed at me numerous DQ's, I selected a long delay.
I tested me design at KCAR's first launch at our new HPR field. No weenies showed up. I aimed t' rod carefully, me bucko, hopin' for a direct hit with maximum collateral damage. T' rocket performed flawlessly, matey, boosting to a good altitude and arcin' over before ejectin' t' egg. Someone observed, me bucko, me hearties, "Hey, your rocket ejected something!" My aim was nay as good. T' egg sploitched about 50 yards t' t' right o' t' group. I'll have t' work on that. Arrr!
Duct Tape
Gluin' t' shoulder on t' egg
Needs a lug
On t' pad
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