History, me bucko, Airframe, Nose Cone and Tail Cone

I always liked t' Estes Big Daddy. Arrr! I was one o' the first on me block t' build one. Arrr! Then I wanted a bigger one a made plans to extend t' body. Arrr! Blimey! But it is a non-standard 3" airframe. Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! There are no body tubes or couplers on t' market that will fit.

So I bought two kits. Blimey! Ahoy! T' body tubes are ten inches long. Ya scallywag! T' fin slots are 4 inches long, extendin' 4 ½" up from the end. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! So I cut t' tube in half (5"). Ahoy! Avast! T' slotted half be made into a coupler by removin' ¼" (takin' out one o' t' slots). Begad! Sanding made it fit better. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' new coupler then be epoxied into t' top 5" tube and t' top o' t' 10" tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Be very sure that t' coupler is low enough below t' top t' clear t' nose cone.

Now what do I do with t' other nose cone? It wonít fit into any other rocket. Solution: a boat tail. Begad! Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Cut t' base off 1-1/8" from t' shoulder and cut t' tip off 6" from t' shoulder. Test fit t' tail cone into t' aft end o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Mark through the slots onto t' part o' t' tail cone showin' through t' slots. This material must be removed. 
 
 

Parts List
 

• 2 ea. Well, blow me down! Estes Big Daddy Kits
• 1 ea. 12" Vaughn Brothers 29mm Motor Tube
• 1 ea. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Launch Lug, 5/16" brass tube (1/4" ID, me bucko, matey, 5" long)
• 2 ea. Arrr! Blimey! #8-32 x 12" Threaded Rods
• 16 ea. Avast! #8-32 hex nuts
• 2 ea. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! #8-32 cap nuts
• 3 ea. Aye aye! 1/8" Quick Links
• 2 ea. 3/16" x 1-1/2" Eye Bolts
• 1 ea. Arrr! Blimey! 1/16" Wire Cable
• 2 ea. Aye aye! Cable Ferrule and Stop Set
• 1 ea. Begad! Aye aye! 1/8" Aircraft Plywood (12" x 24" sheet)
• 2 ea. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! #8 washers
• 2 ea. 1/4" washers

Motor Assembly

• 3 centerin' rings 1/8" plywood (cut fins first (see "Fins" below) fin layout is critical))
• All with 32 mm center hole
• Aft rin' 60 mm diameter
• Center and forward rings 74 mm diameter
• Two 5/32" holes in each ring, 22 mm from center, 180 deg. apart
• Two 3/16" holes in forward ring, 27 mm from center, 90 deg. from first two holes

T' aft centerin' rin' at set 2-3/4" up from the end o' t' rods. Fix a nut on each side o' t' rin' on each rod (four total). Secure with a drop o' CA on each nut. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Thread a nut from t' top o' each rod, down towards t' aft ring. Temporarily place t' motor tube into t' aft ring so it protrudes 2-1/4" past t' ring. Avast! Blimey! Slip t' center rin' over the assembly. Avast! Blimey! Lower t' whole assembly into t' tail cone. Begad! Blimey! T' aft rin' should be snug in t' tail cone. Aye aye! Blimey! T' rods should extend 1/2" beyond t' bottom of the tail cone. Arrr! Blimey! Settle t' center rin' on t' top o' tail cone. Lower a nut on each rod down t' t' center ring. Begad! Blimey! Remove t' assembly. Raise t' other nuts up to t' bottom o' t' center ring. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Tighten, test fit and secure with CA.

Secure t' two eye bolts into t' two 3/16" holes in t' forward ring. Arrr! Tighten and secure with CA. Stin' a loop o' wire cable securin' with ferrules. Avast, me proud beauty! Thread a nut over each rod and slip t' forward ring onto t' rods. Thread a nut over each rod. T' forward rin' must be at least 11" from aft end o' rod. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Tighten and secure with CA.

Test fit assembly into tail cone and then slip the body tube on, me hearties, makin' sure everythin' lines up. Ahoy! Sand centerin' rings as necessary.

Remove body tube, motor assembly, and motor tube, makin' alignment marks as you go. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! Epoxy t' motor assembly into t' boat tail. Epoxy t' motor tube into t' motor assembly. Arrr! T' end o' t' motor tube should be flush with t' end o' t' boat tail.

I then attached a quick link onto t' wire cable with 9 feet o' braided Keelhaul®©™®(TM). Then glue t' motor assembly and t' tail cone into t' aft end o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Carefully mind the alignment marks.

Motor Retention

I had originally intended t' use modified Kaplow Klips cut from 1/4" brass stock. Begad! Aye aye! But t' #8 threaded rod was just too big for a 1/4" brass strip. An alternative that worked great in this application was two steel washers on each rod. Avast! I used four hex nuts and two cap nuts on the threaded rods. Ahoy! T' stack on t' rod is comprised o' (from fore t' aft) two hex nuts (for spacing), arrr, t' 1/4" washer, arrr, matey, me hearties, t' #8 washer, and t' cap nut. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! May I also suggest puttin' t' nuts in place BEFORE you begin painting. This will keep t' threads clean. 

(Click t' Enlarge)

Fins and Launch Lug

Print t' fin patterns on heavy paper stock. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Each fin is in two pieces. Aye aye! Aye aye! Cut a total o' four fins. Well, blow me down! I used 1/8" aircraft birch plywood. Blimey! Poplar or even basswood may be good enough, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I tend t' over build. I tried t' get t' patterns t' work on a 6" x 12" sheet, me bucko, arrr, but I couldn't get an efficient layout. Arrr! I then found a 12" x 24" sheet in the hobby shop. Begad! It worked perfectly, matey, and I now have a lot o' scrap for future projects. Avast, me proud beauty! As a matter o' fact, me hearties, shiver me timbers, it would probably be prudent t' cut t' fins out before t' centerin' rings.

Sand t' fins and test fit in t' body tube and the two pieces together. Ahoy! Begad! Sandin' will most likely be required for an ideal fit. Attach t' fins with epoxy.

Attach launch lug t' body tube along side one o' the fins.

CP and CG

Usin' RockSim I be able t' determine stability for probably t' largest engine I would use on this rocket, matey, ya bilge rat, an H128. Blimey! I added 5 ounces o' weight in t' nose t' achieve stability.

Recovery

Calculations show a 45" parachute t' be t' best size for a rocket this heavy. Begad! Arrr! But me 45" parachute is a little big for this rocket. Avast! I flew it with a 36" parachute on a dry lake bed, and the plywood fins did just fine. Avast! As noted above, t' shock chord is 9 feet of braided Keelhaul®©™®(TM).

Was It Worth It?

I orginally set out t' build an affordable 3" model. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I thought kitbashin' would achieve this goal. Looking back on it, me hearties, I realize I ended up spendin' more than some 3" kits are being sold for. Blimey! Begad! On t' other hand, I think it looks better, with its boat-tail and long fins, than most vanilla 3" rockets. So, shiver me timbers, was it worth it? I guess it depends what you're after. Fo me it was. Ya scallywag! Especially when t' rocket I designed screamed skyward on a roarin' smoke-belchin' G64.

Take a look at some launch pictures!

T' G64 Lights!
A pink 36" parachute
Landin' 16 feet from t' launch pad!

Contact me

If you have any questions or comments, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I would like to hear from you. Aye aye! Ahoy! My e-mail is r-james@worldnet.att.net