2001 Space Clipper

[DaveC]

Has anyone converted the Space Clipper model found here: http://jleslie48.com/gallery_models_other.html for flight?

Could it be as simple as inserting a body tube up the spine and stiffening the wings?

It would be a fun trick to have it use glide recovery, but I am not sure if the wing area is great enough.

Time for a few non-powered flight tests. If I can get it to nose over and glide with an expended motor in it that will be half the battle. If it won't glide as a rocket I'll try for a parasite glider design. I really don't want to have to go with a streamer or parachute recovery. It's a plane after all.

[DaveC]

Well, slapped together a build of the cardstock version. That answered a couple of questions right off the bat.

Wings are too small to sustain glide, I was afraid of this.

The tail end suggests a truer to prototype motor location would be where the tail rocket is on the original, in a sort of blister mount on the upper tail.
A spinal BT and motor mount would require substantial surgery to the tail. Either losing the tapered tail entirely or requiring a reconfiguration of that section to allow for something that would give the tapered profile but still allow a functional engine mount.

Parachute or streamer recovery would be easy to incorporate, there is a natural panel break just forward of the wings.

The whole craft is flat on the ventral surface.

So now, back to the drawing board.

There is a plastic model that may also provide fodder for conversion, or it may well be simpler to scratchbuild.

The tail structure is the difficult bit to work into a functional model. Maybe if I went big enough for two motors side by side in the tail, the arrangement of the prototype? It will be a while though before I am ready to tackle a rocket that big.

[SecretSquirrel]

There is a plastic model that may also provide fodder for conversion, or it may well be simpler to scratchbuild.



There are 3 kits; Aurora, Airfix and Mobeius and issued injection plastic kits of the Clipper.

[dlazarus6660]

Yes, it's been done in PMC.
See Micromeister and "hambanjo" Chris Michielssen
Both did a PMC
Check EMRR too!