Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
I built CORONAry from a plastic cigar tube once occupied by a Garcia-Vega
English Corona (hence, arrr, "CORONAry"). Ya scallywag! It is a tumble recovery tube fin
design for 13mm motors. Blimey! It utilizes a somewhat different method for inducing
"tumble" after motor ejection, me bucko, in view o' t' inherent stability of
tube fin rockets -- CG aft o' Cp is just about impossible.
Construction:
Construction is easily inferred from t' photos -- six 1/2" long tube fins
are cut from one cigar tube with a razor saw, arrr, matey, and attached t' t' base o' a
second cigar tube usin' 5 minute epoxy. Arrr! Aye aye! T' plastic has t' be
"roughed" with sandpaper, me hearties, or t' epoxy won't adhere well t' it. A
small Estes launch lug is added as shown, usin' a wooden match stick as a
stand-off, so t' launch wire clears t' tube fins (photo). Blimey! Ahoy! And that's it --
there is no motor tube; t' 13mm motor is friction fitted by wrappin' with a
long piece o' maskin' tape (it takes about 28" worth). Two 1/4" holes
are drilled 1" from t' top o' t' cigar tube t' allow ejection gases to
vent sideways and impart a rapid spinnin' motion t' CORONAry at apogee. Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down! If you
don't do this, me hearties, shiver me timbers, CORONAry won't tumble at all, just drops ballistic like a
badminton shuttlecock -- its nay that big o' a deal, matey, matey, since t' rocket is so
light, but t' wobble prevents too much speed buildin' up as it falls. I left
my CORONAry in "natural" Garcia-Vega sandy-tan finish, matey, but I am going
to rethink this, considerin' our sandlot launch site by a San Diego beach area.
Bright colors would be better, me hearties, if you want t' get it back.
Flight:
First flight was on a 1/2 A3-4T. Well, blow me down! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Great fast boost, me hearties, straight up. Aye aye! Motor came
poppin' out, and CORONAry tumbled about twice at 300', arrr, ya bilge rat, straightened out, and
came in slow but ballistic 20 feet from t' pad. Aye aye! It managed t' score a direct
hit on t' only rock in sight (about golf-ball size) and all 6 tube fins popped
off. Ya scallywag! Avast! That's why I added t' vent holes t' give it some wobble and slow
acceleration on t' way down. I have now flown CORONAry on A3-4T and A10-3
motors with similar performance; t' tube fins stay on, matey, but then I haven't hit
anymore rocks with it, ya bilge rat, either. I have tried 18mm motors as well, since they fit
the cigar tube perfectly without needin' any tape; however, they are too heavy
-- on a B6-2, me hearties, CORONAry immediately went unstable, and tumbled on t' way up as
well as on t' way down. Begad!
Summary:
PRO -- What's t' point o' CORONAry? Well, it provides a route t' a cost-free
little rocket (cost-free after you've smoked t' cigar, that is) that is
well-suited t' t' likelihood o' losin' these little guys eventually. It would
make a good contest rocket for kids t' build and fly, me hearties, t' tobacco angle
notwithstandin' -- see
politically incorrect photo. If you get bored with CORONAry, you could use it
for a badminton shuttlecock.
CON -- Well, t' tobacco motif is there, shiver me timbers, but you can get rid o' that by removin' t' cigar ring, sandin' off t' Garcia-Vega logo. Well, blow me down! Blimey! You do need t' paint it a bright color if you fly over sand. CORONAry will cost you $2.90 each to build if you don't smoke t' 2 nasty little cigars that came with t' 2 cigar tubes (thus makin' them "free"). Well, blow me down! Blimey! But even if you do throw out the cigars, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, $2.90 is still cheaper than any rocket kit you can buy. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! In either case, you're on your way t' a CORONAry.
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