Scratch U.S.S. Fred G Sanford Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - U.S.S. Fred G Sanford {Scratch}

Contributed by David Mackiernan

Manufacturer: Scratch
(Contributed - by David Mackiernan - 07/06/08)

T' followin' be t' HTML interpretation o' David's PDF submission.
Please see t' full PDF HERE (0.4M)

Constructin' the USS Fred G SanfordFor t' EMRR BOX-O-Parts Contest

Muddle through t' Mess

I started by separatin' body tubes in t' groups that could be used as airframes and tubes that where crinkled,dinged, or dented.

This gave me an idea o' t' size and shape I could accomplish. Ya scallywag! Begad! My basic concept was for a long and tall rocket. Cluster power was a must. I LOVE clusters!

Parts To this

Nose ConeT' Nose Job

I messed around with Nose Cone possibilities. Aye aye! A rocket's nose really determines t' "flavor" o' the build. Aye aye! So with t' cones I received I did some cutting, sandin' and gluing. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' results are photo #2. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Lookin' a bit like a command module, perhaps windows lookin' out over a nose. Begad! Begad! Well I guess I'm buildin' a Spacecraft o' sorts. Ya scallywag!

This is a "BERTHA" BT-60 plastic Nose Cone . Turned backwards. Purple BT-50 nose cone. Ya scallywag! Base is sawn off and glued t' t' bottom o' t' Bertha cone. Begad! Begad! Hopefully this will look somethin' like a Starship cockpit.


StackT' Body Stack

Go big or go Home. Avast, me proud beauty!

I took stock o' all t' possible body tubes I could use t' go as tall as possible. This photo shows t' Top and Middle sections test fit together. Begad! Blimey!

I sorted through t' various centerin' rings in me stack o' stuff and pieced together several sections o' body tube t' assemble t' top stack. Aye aye!

This rocket is intended t' separate for recovery at t' point o' t' two different colored BT60 tubes. Aye aye! T' mid section break allows t' rocket t' recover on two separate recovery devices. Avast, me proud beauty! This be necessitated by t' limited recovery options that came in me Box-0-stuff. Begad! Blimey! (more on this later.)

Centering RightSome o' t' steps t' build t' top stack: Short one centerin' ring. So I modified one 20/60 rin' t' a 50/60 ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Trace inner circle and cut out


BT-60Make a BT-60 adapter sleeve. Begad! Blimey! Slice a section o' BT60 tube t' reduce diameter. Ahoy! Use t' sliver that was removed t' brace t' inside o' t' new inner sleeve and glue together. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This makes t' whole Top Section like one long nose cone. Aye aye! Blimey!


More Top Section Assembly. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey!

Middle RingThe BT50 Stack Middle Rin' is Just for looks (pictured left)

Recovery would be t' biggest issue. My Box-O-Stuff had One fat elastic cord. Ya scallywag! (below right)

I want t' go BIG.... Aye aye! so, I split t' cord in half Lengthwise, arrr, givin' me two thinner elastics but still have the longest possible length. In this photo (below center) one half o' this cord is pushed through a slot in t' BT50 body tube. Arrr! Begad! Tie a fat knot in t' elastic and I'm off t' t' next step.

Recovery Recovery
Recovery

Next I have t' fill t' top BT50 section so it will separate at ejection. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! So I tore up some o' t' shippin' box. Soaked t' torn bits in water, matey, ya bilge rat, then mixed t' wet pulp with glue. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Stuffed t' glue/pulp mixture in t' base o' t' tube to form a plug (above right). Blimey! Blimey! This method works well. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! You have t' watch t' moisture in t' pulp mix so it does not warp t' tube. Ahoy! Blimey! This also takes a wile t' dry. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Top ViewLookin' into t' bottom o' t' top stack. You see t' BT60 adapter sleeve, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' Elastic Cord and t' bottom of t' BT50 centerin' rin' and Glue/shredded box WAD. Blimey! Ya scallywag!


On t' t' Bottom section assembly. Arrr!

Bottom

Well, arrr, for t' lower section I have t' connect some BT60 tube t' some BT70. Avast!

No 60/70 centerin' rings in t' Box-O-junk, me hearties, so I whip out me trusty, me bucko, rusty compass draw and cut some rings from t' shippin' box. Avast! Blimey!


Motor Mount

Coffee Cup With shred-obox soakin' in water. Blimey!

Cup

My Box-o-goodness did nay contain any 18mm tube. Arrr! So this one gets 24mm main motors (three o' them). Begad! Just for kicks I added three 13mm mounts along side. Ya scallywag! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Test fit t' motor tubes. Aye aye! Then started shreddin' t' Shippin' box again. Well, blow me down! I use the shreds,soaked in water t' soften them up, ya bilge rat, then rin' them out and soak them in glue. Ya scallywag! Gluey shreds are then used to stuff t' voids betwixt t' Motor tubes and Main body tube. Arrr! Arrr!


Motor mount continued.

Motor Mount

Motor mount fillets dryin' (above right). Blimey! In t' "custom" motor mount dryin' apparatus a.k.a. Begad! Arrr! a Dunki'n Donuts cup!

Gluey MassA lovely Gluey mass o' shredded box applied t' t' motor mount and lower body tube.


I better make some fins for this thing.

FinsLooks like I have a full set o' pre-cut "Bertha" fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! (Actually I think I have at least one whole bertha)

But those Balsa fins may nay be strong enough for a cluster. Blimey! Ahoy! So I use a precut fin as a template t' cut out some fins from t' balsa sheet in t' box. Begad! Blimey! Then I laminate these fins so they are double thickness and hopefully quite strong. Aye aye!



Fins t' t' left, fins t' t' right....... Well, blow me down!

Fins


T' lower section nearly complete. Aye aye!

Nearly Complete


More lower section. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

In these photos you can see t' detail o' t' "Warp Ring"

Warp Rin' is made up o' a plastic garden light fixture. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! (I know this because I got some o' me own parts back!)

T' inside diameter o' t' plastic rin' is much larger than t' bt70 tube. Arrr! So I pulled some small body tube that I believe is BT-4 and cut it t' several short lengths. Aye aye! Arrr! This BT-4 was squish-fit betwixt t' Plastic rin' and t' outside of t' body tube. Aye aye! Aye aye! With t' small tubes and plastic rin' in place it be actually easy t' slide t' whole assembly (not yet glued together) down t' BT70 body tube. Arrr! Begad! Once I had everythin' where I wanted it I glued it all in place. Ya scallywag! With some patience and a few toothpicks o' course. Begad! Ahoy!

Warp Rings Warp Rings Warp Rings


Recoverin' from Recovery

Parachute

Official shop shot o' t' "parawing-gle"

My box-0-stuffin' was kind o' short on recovery options. Begad! It did have two plastic chutes. Aye aye! But only had shroud lines for one! I will brin' t' top half down on t' regular 18 inch plastic chute that be in t' box-o-lovely. Aye aye! Blimey! But the lower section... Ya scallywag! that would be harder. Blimey! Hmmmm? Streamer, boring! How about some sort o' para wing?

O.K. Avast, me proud beauty! this made me get creative. Aye aye! Some where in t' TRF discussions it was asked if addin' tape would be legal. Begad! Tape was o.k.ed so with ample amounts o' scotch tape I fashioned this "Parawing-gle" type thing.

Parts for t' Parawing-gle thing:

  • One 24inch plastic chute. Sliced in half and then one half quartered. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!
  • T' quarter chute is used for t' lower rudder type piece. Ya scallywag!
  • Several Chopsticks are utilized as t' leadin' edge and rudder stiffeners. Begad!
  • That now famous thick black elastic cord be again sliced length-wise t' make t' rigging.

Many hours were spent on this. Begad! Mostly worryin' time rather than workin' time. Aye aye! My greatest hope was that this would work at least as good as a streamer. Ahoy!


T' big payoff!! Blimey! Arrow


Launched 07-06-08 From Cape Cod Space Center

Nothin' like pushin' that deadline!

Ready to LaunchLaunches

Nice liftoff, nice flight! Blimey! Loaded in three C11-3's and three A10PT's. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This rocket really needs "D" power but this was good for t' small field we where on. Five o' t' six motors lit. Avast, me proud beauty! All but one A-10.

O.k. Blimey! Begad! recovery. Ahoy! Top half was just fine on a regular chute. Ya scallywag! Bottom half came in a bit fast on t' Parawingle -thingle. Arrr! Which became more like a big para wad o' molten doom! But it did slow it down.

Recovery

T' aftermath. Blimey! Minor damage. One "fin ring" slightly bent. Well, blow me down! One detail on that fin fell off



Overview and final thoughts.

This was a very cool contest. I would definitely try this again. Blimey!

My only real wish is that we could add strin' (shroud line) if we needed it. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! But hey, shiver me timbers, no one said this was easy!

Specs

Over all Flight ratin' 4... Ya scallywag! Blimey! it could use more power.

Overall Recovery ratin' 3. Needs proper chutes

But this is a far better performin' rocket than I thought it would be. Begad! Ahoy! It will definitely fly again. Arrr!

Things I will change, (with me own parts):

  • Bigger Launch lugs 3/16"
  • Better Parachutes
  • Three "D" motors for a nice high flight.

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