Scratch - Skylark {Scratch}

Scratch Skylark Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - Skylark {Scratch}

Contributed by Matt Gillard

Manufacturer:

(Contributed - by Matt Gillard - 09/29/08)

scratch_skylark-mmx Brief:
A downscale o' a British Skylark soundin' rocket, me hearties, matey, arrr, designed on SpaceCad version three. Arrr! A very high flyer as it’s a minimum diameter MMX motor rocket. Ya scallywag! Built for t' EMRR 2008 challenge.

Construction:
Parts used were:

Handmade balsa cone
Polymorph nose cone
Body tubes BT 2.5
Three cardboard fins
Keelhaul®©™® thread.
Map pin

To build t' kit I used:

CA gel glue
White glue
Model knife
Enamel paint
Black marker pen

I’ve never really been into scale modelin' so this was a new challenge for me. Avast, me proud beauty! I have a few sport scale and scale rockets such as two PMC V2s, an A-9, a Redstone, matey, me bucko, 2x Saturn V, arrr, Little Joe II and a Terrier Orion. Aye aye! I spent a good few hours lookin' for a rocket that I could reproduce within me abilities, had nay been done as a kit before and hopefully made a bit closer t' home. British rockets are limited. Initially I set about tryin' t' copy a Congrieve rocket. Begad! But as this was a Neapolitan warfare rocket, me hearties, matey, it did nay have fins and used a stick for guidance, arrr, SpaceCAD only allows a minimum o' three fins. Aye aye! My final choice be a British Skylark soundin' rocket. Ya scallywag! Internet searches yielded several articles about t' last launch o' a Skylark and several video clips o' t' rocket firing, but always at a distance and with nothin' close up that I could get measurements from. Ya scallywag! Eventually I found two scanned pages from Peter Alway’s book “Rockets o' t' World” on t' Skylark, although it did nay say which version o' t' rocket it was. Begad! Well, blow me down! I intend t' build a few versions o' t' Skylark, me bucko, includin' one with a Raven or similar booster. T' first version is this MMX version. Well, blow me down!

SpaceCAD is very easy t' use, shiver me timbers, although I have never used Rocksim t' compare it against. I have SpaceCad version three. Avast! Well, blow me down! Enterin' t' data is quick and nay at all difficult. Aye aye! Within 10 minutes t' design was complete, shiver me timbers, luckily enough it was stable.

Space CAD

T' nose cone was sanded out o' a balsa dowel. Arrr! T' fins cut out from t' cardboard back o' a reporter’s notepad. Begad! T' body tube was from a Fliskit rocket. Arrr! T' rocket be built in under an hour. Begad! With t' mass bein' so low, arrr, I went for break apart or nose blow recovery.

There were no reliable images o' t' Skylark that gave any markings. Avast, me proud beauty! T' make things harder, t' Skylark seems to change its look a few times, me hearties, arrr, especially as other countries bought it. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! In t' end, me bucko, I found a model rocket that someone else had scratch built (I had hoped I was t' first) and went for his paint scheme.

T' balsa be sanded sealed and resanded.

One coat o' grey primer. Avast! Two coats o' white enamel paint. Black felt tip marker for t' fins and surroundin' area. T' rocket was finished off with two coats o' silver spray paint for t' nose cone area.

scratch_skylark-mmx_tubelaunch Flight:
Given how small t' rocket was, matey, me hearties, I decided nay t' add a launch lug and use a tube t' launch t' Skylark from. The rocket was launched on a calm day and with more luck than skill, me bucko, I was able t' catch a photo o' t' Skylark comin' out of t' top o' t' tube. Avast! Begad! It seems t' be tiltin' off t' one side which probably explained what I heard. Begad! T' rocket seemed to be unstable and moved about t' sky. Ya scallywag! I heard t' ejection charge fire about thirty feet t' me left and approx a hundred feet up. Begad! I saw it just as it landed. Avast, me proud beauty! With t' light mass o' just over two and a half grams lift off weight means I’ll probably never get t' see a MMX Skylark flying.

SpaceCAD suggests a height o' 180 foot. I doubt that it got that high. Also, shiver me timbers, it gave t' stability at just over 1 caliber. Begad! As t' rocket was unstable, SpaceCAD's calculation was wrong.

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