| 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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, a Weenie-Seekin' Missile!
I toyed with various ideas for openin' t' capsule at apogee. I realized that t' egg only had t' survive t' boost phase o' t' flight, and since this flight would DQ anyway, shiver me timbers, thar was no need t' keep t' egg enclosed. Ya scallywag! Begad!
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, I cut a scrap o' BT-20 sliced it open lengthwise, matey, 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 be 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' egg could sit neatly on top o' the booster. Begad! Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey!
T' booster be 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, I used a small, cheap crepe paper streamer. T' shock cord is not attached t' t' nose. Arrr! Blimey!
I put t' nose in place, and then glued t' launch lug t' a fin, shiver me timbers, 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, shiver me timbers, I selected a long delay. Ahoy!
I tested me design at KCAR's first launch at our new HPR field. No weenies showed up. I aimed t' rod carefully, hopin' for a direct hit with maximum collateral damage. T' rocket performed flawlessly, boosting to a good altitude and arcin' over before ejectin' t' egg. Someone observed, "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.
Duct Tape
Gluin' t' shoulder on t' egg
Needs a lug
On t' pad
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