SANDMAN

Dennis "Doctor DynaSoar" McClain-Furmanski's Descon-14 Entry

Leftest: Three versions, original left most
Midleft: Sandman with nosecone and 2nd stage
Top center: Nose cone
Bottom center: first 3-to1 payload transition
Right: Business end

T' Sandman be t' first o' a series o' minimum diameter cluster designs intended t' test t' scalin' up o' an airframe while only scalin' up t' higher power buildin' techniques as testin' proves necessary. Avast, me proud beauty! Essentially, it is buildin' for performance while combatin' overbuilding. Materials are all "model rocket" quality, light paper tubes, medium weight balsa or basswood, and wood glue. Aye aye!

T' core o' t' design is 3 clustered 24mm tubes. This provides 2/3 o' the frontal cross section as a single tube containin' t' motor tubes. T' maintain the benefit in lower drag, ya bilge rat, matey, different configurations o' three-to-one tube complex curved transitions have been sculpted, as has a nose cone for testing without payload sections. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty!

T' airframe is three 24mm tubes glued together along their 30 t' 34" length. Except for motor and recovery equipment areas, t' tubes have been drilled along their contact lines so t' glue can "rivet" through these. Well, blow me down! Three fillets t' full length o' t' tube offer a great deal o' strength to t' airframe. Aye aye! (Interestin' aside: t' first model was left on top a hot car roof durin' a launch. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! An hour later it had a 10 degree curve along t' body. This remained t' next day after it had cooled. Begad! I thought it was ruined. Arrr! A week later, shiver me timbers, with no effort applied at all it was perfectly straight again, me hearties, and eventually flew beautifully. Ya scallywag! This leads one t' wonder how often t' old LPR technique o' straightenin' misaligned fins by heatin' t' glue fillets over a light bulb resulted eventually became misaligned again.)

Engine mountin' is Estes E size (3.75") engine hooks topped with a 20/50 centerin' rin' as an engine block. Well, blow me down! Hook ends are t' t' inside o' the cluster and a small slice o' 24mm tube is glued over t' top o' t' hook as an anchor. Blimey! Aye aye! Shock cord is doubled loop ¼" elastic mounted 4 inches inside one o' t' tubes. Blimey! T' other tubes contain chutes and/or streamers.

T' fins, balsa or basswood, ya bilge rat, are sanded t' a sharp edge on t' root and glued betwixt two tubes. This increases t' surface area o' t' fin contacting body tube, increasin' adhesion. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Fillets are wood glue. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' first version required repeated puncturin' and fillin' in o' bubbles in t' fillets due to the large amount o' glue used, especially on t' fillets betwixt tubes. Arrr! Well, blow me down! This was prevented on t' others by doin' t' fillets in many layers. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Launch lugs are glued against one fin root, and with t' addition o' a piece o' dowel between t' tubes as a stand off, arrr, near t' top o' t' body. Blimey!

Finishin' is first, me hearties, matey, spray lacquer sandin' sealer, matey, on everything. Blimey! Fins are sanded and a second coat is added and sanded. Aye aye! Arrr! Then primer, arrr, followed by white satin finish, covered with black gloss (except booster, which is flat black "high heat" stove paint and fluorescent orange). Avast! T' payload sections are painted (and named) gray, arrr, t' match t' Sandman costumes in "Logan's Run", blue red and white o' t' Russian flag (named "Mechtayu", meanin' t' dream) and t' traditional four colors o' t' four races from Native American history (named "Dreamcatcher").

First flight o' t' Sandman was with t' nose cone instead o' payload section, on three C5-3's in 18 t' 24mm adapters. Begad! T' flight was flawless and higher than expected. Begad! Well, blow me down! At ejection, me bucko, t' parachute failed t' open. Begad! However, me bucko, the large size but light weight allowed t' rocket t' float slowly down horizontally, and it suffered no damage. T' second flight was on three E9-6's. Due t' wind, me hearties, and t' testin' with several rockets previous t' t' flight, shiver me timbers, me hearties, it was launched upwind. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Again t' flight was flawless, but again t' chute didn't open, ya bilge rat, me bucko, however it did display t' same gentle horizontal descent. Blimey! Avast! Due t' the trajectory, arrr, it landed in an inaccessible swamp. Well, blow me down! T' lesson learned is, 24mm is hard on plastic chutes. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Unless thar's a significant payload, streamers may be enough for this rocket; weight with payload section before loadin' engines is from 6 t' 7 ounces. Begad! Aye aye! A streamer will definitely be used on t' two stage test, when six E9 engines will push a total o' 171 n/s. Begad! After these are fully tested repeated and examined for stress damage, shiver me timbers, t' next versions will be 29mm with enough engine space for t' longest available 29mm motors. Begad! Blimey! Both wood glue and epoxy versions will be built for comparison testing.