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Cool, plan to fly it on 29mm Hs? I love saucers. I now have numerous Art Applewhite saucers. I've flown two 10.5" saucers on G35/38s and am building a 12" kit that I hope to fly on a Cesaroni H. I also have 2 variants of the 12"er - a 29mm Aeroshell and a 3 x 24mm cluster. Once the weather clears, the aliens will attack :)
 
yea i like the look of those kits and i will get one, but i dont have time(shipping takes about 2 weeks) or the money(saving for a rrc2). for the ribs im using plywood 1.5mm well 4 ribs out of ply and 2 out of thick card(i dont have anymore ply).
i hope to fly it on a H97J or a G40w i dunno yet


matt
 
hmmm that got me thinking could you stage two ufos?????:D
or CHAD stage them?


matt
 
I've CHAD staged my Estes saucer, D12-0 to C6-0. I also staged my Art Applewhite 7.5" saucer to the 9" saucer, C11-0 to D12-0. The C11 wasn't up to the job so the D12 lit when it was pointed down range. The upper stage buried its nose in the ground and the burn-through of the motor charred the motor tube badly. Easily replaced, but embarrasing :eek:
 
Hey, hey, hey, myself and Aren Gates are kings of the UFO wars :cool: . At XPRS, we flew many, many clustered and staged Snitch UFOs. Friday we flew a 4x cluster of 18mm. Saturday we flew a 4x cluster staged to a single motor (twice), a 7x cluster, a 7x cluster staged to a 4x cluster, and a 7x cluster staged to a 4x cluster staged to a single motor. Sunday we flew the three stager again, but then the wind came up. We got all the motors to light every time with Estes ignitors. But let me warn you-- they go unstable with anything over 2 stages :D . A fun time for all. See Aren with one of the 2-stagers (I think) in the XPRS article in Extreme Rocketry.
 
Originally posted by daveyfire
Hey, hey, hey, myself and Aren Gates are kings of the UFO wars :cool: . At XPRS, we flew many, many clustered and staged Snitch UFOs. Friday we flew a 4x cluster of 18mm. Saturday we flew a 4x cluster staged to a single motor (twice), a 7x cluster, a 7x cluster staged to a 4x cluster, and a 7x cluster staged to a 4x cluster staged to a single motor. Sunday we flew the three stager again, but then the wind came up. We got all the motors to light every time with Estes ignitors. But let me warn you-- they go unstable with anything over 2 stages :D . A fun time for all. See Aren with one of the 2-stagers (I think) in the XPRS article in Extreme Rocketry.
Click to expand...

Sounds very cool. Can you give a short description of the construction of a 7 motor Snitch? I have heard of a 29mm Snitch but have no description of what they did to mod it (replace plastic fins,etc.)

On a separate note, I could swear mine wasn't called a Snitch when I got it so many years ago. Can't remember for sure. Anyone else know if it was called a Snitch in the mid 80s'?
 
i foamed it well the top cone anyway i will do the bottom bit later on tonight, im not sure what is gonna weigh but with all the foam i feel fin about flying it on a H97J, then i might try a H180W then if i could get I200W in NZ i would try that



matt
 
The Snitch is the new Estes plastic saucer. As far as mods go, we didn't do anything special because this was a "rush" job. We just got a couple Snitches from RocketSilo and some 18mm tubing. Then we cut the 18mm tubing about the right length for the motors, and CAed it onto the joint between the fins and the original plastic motor mount. We were going to do a 13-motor Snitch, but we ran out of time because Sunday got blown out... :)

Staging Snitches is easy. Just glue 1/8" dowel rods into the 3 sets of launch lugs on the booster and align them with the launch lugs on the sustainer. Glue on another launch lug on the booster, and you're done. Just make sure you have enough power to take the stack off the pad. 4 motors works great for 2-stagers, 7 motors for 3-stagers.
 
Thanks for posting the link, it was great. I had seen some pics of Tom's saucer but hadn't seen a video.
 
It flew It flew:D and did it fly great! up on a H97J to around 500' and then it fell down and it bounced(a M rocket bounced as well but it didnt come off that well) it looks a big more like a pyrimad .


matt
 
Bigger and better
i last one was foam this one will be fiberglass
im thinking 54mm motor mount 4' bottom diameter going up on I,J and K sugar motors and maybe a AT motor or too
has anyone done a saucer this big and if you have can you give me some tips on it? it probably with be like a Delta saucer like the Ones Rstaff has (i cant remember the company name) and it will be hollow I'm thinking 2-4 layers of 8oz fiberglass and maybe a 6oz on top or something, Dick (or someone Else can you tell me how the aerobrake recovery works?


matt
 
The Delta is one of Art Applewhite's creations (although I only have a 6" 24mm Delta). I haven't built a saucer that big but I know Art did his L2 on a fiberglassed saucer. Maybe you could email him; I'm sure he'll explain what he did.

'Aerobrake' (as afar as I can tell) implies a slow ballistic recovery (no tumbling) due to high drag and light weight. My 12" saucer with a metal 2grain motor casing came down nice and slow. My 12" Aeroshell even fell bottom first on one flight.

Can't wait to see how the project progresses.
 
hey, wait everyone!! What's Up Hobbies now offers an upscaled snitch UFO. It is made of all plywood and fiberglass pieces and has a 54mm motor mount. it is 24" in diameter and 12" high. It also has rear ejection of the parachute by means of routing the ejection charge backwards. it is reallt cool, I would recomend it to anyone that wants a really unique high power rocket. I believe Andy said it can take any motor up to an Aerotech J415.
 
No on the website yet, at least i didn't find it...sounds neat though. Got a price?
 
Yeah, sorry I didn't mention that. It probably wont be there for a week or two, as Andy just released it today at ROCstock. I can give a price on Sunday. Also, as I am sure most of you would want to know, he has got a HIGH POWER TWO STAGE NIKE HERCULES:D in the works. th prototype is a beauty. It has 4-38mm motor tubes in the booster and a single 38mm in the sustainer. It can take 4 38/480 motors max in the booster and pretty much any 38mm in the sustainer. max altitude is around 7-8000 feet. I dont know when it will be produced, but he said it would be about $400 for the kit. sounds like a lot, but believe me, it is well worth the money!:D so open your wallets a little wider now! But beware of your wives if you are married!:kill: :D

One other thing, It needs 7 pounds of noseweight to be stable. I have a pic that can be posted if someone would be kind enough to show me how to.:) the pic is minus the nosecone as he lost the first one somehow.
 
On February 14th, He put a notice on his site. It said that he had in development, two kits. The Pershing II, which has been on the site since Feb 18th, and a 5.5" Mosquito. He said they would both be available by NARCON and Springfest. I have been checking the site everyday. Any word on when the Mosquito will be coming out, if ever?
 
I honestly have no idea when the mosquito will be ready. I haven't seen a prototype yet, and he always brings all of his kits to the launches. He may have abandoned that project, but I am not sure.
 
I got to see the BIG snitch today! It was awesome! It costs $139. I unfortunately did not get to see it fly though. Hopefully David(daveyfire) will chime in here, as I am sure that he did get to see it fly. It should be available from Skunk Works Rocketry and Whats Up Hobbies online shortly.
 
well now I'm actually going to build my big saucer
i have all the bits and since i got a loki research 54/1600 for Christmas this seems like the perfect thing for it.
does anyone have any tips ? i going to put a Altimeter in it too
as its a bit heavy for aerobrake recovery. for the main shroud I'm going to use a cardboard template which well be stuck on then fiberglass with a layer or two of 6oz glass with west systems.


thanks
 
Originally posted by matt_taylor
well now I'm actually going to build my big saucer
i have all the bits and since i got a loki research 54/1600 for Christmas this seems like the perfect thing for it.
does anyone have any tips ? i going to put a Altimeter in it too
as its a bit heavy for aerobrake recovery. for the main shroud I'm going to use a cardboard template which well be stuck on then fiberglass with a layer or two of 6oz glass with west systems.


thanks
Click to expand...

Here's a pic of my L2 saucer:

https://users.adelphia.net/~iceage/pictures.htm

It weighs about 1kg without motor and, yes, anything bigger I would use a 'chute. Flew perfectly on a J285 with a nice not so slow flight. Aerobrake recovery makes many people nervous and the larger the model, the more they sweat ;)

I am thinking of building the Aeroshell that was in SR a year or so back for my L3. Definately time for a big 'ol SkyAngle!

Patrick
 
Here's a shot of my 54 mm motor saucer on a K160. It's 23" diameter. There are 3 54mm tubes in line, the center one holds the motor, the side 2 each contain a timer and parachute. I found it lands safely even without chutes so I just stick a motor in it and let it rip. My biggest one (40" diameter) uses 98 mm motors and has altimeters and chutes in the side tubes.

54mm: https://www.tripolisc.org/modules/xgallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=album41&id=abo

98mm:https://www.tripolisc.org/modules/xgallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=album38&id=aak
 
Originally posted by matt_taylor
Nice looking saucer you have there, how did u construct it?


thanks
matt
Click to expand...

Thanks Matt,

It was a fun project to build and the flight was way too quick. When I originally mentioned that I wanted to fly a saucer for my L2 everyone was all for it. When I showed up the following month, bird in hand so to speak, it ruffeled a few feathers, but the powers that be finally succumed to Her Majesty and all ended well :p

The top and bottom of the saucer is simple poster board with four layers of glass. The top and bottom are seperated by a reinforcing ring of foam backed board going all the way to the 38mm motor mount, like an 18" donut with a 38mm hole :D

OOPS, don't forget the launch lug! Straight Estes BT-5. I had originally thought of using a rail, but I was worried the extra internal cavity going all the way thru may weaken the structure.

Glassed everything I could to the MMT, and then glassed some more :rolleyes:

Let dry for a weekend.

The entire thing is filled with expanding foam. Having the top and bottom partitioned helped in the curing of the foam, half of the volume to cure at a time instead of one big blob. Let dry some more. I had foam creeping out of the vent holes for about 48 hours. Mega slow but keep checking and removing flash until it stops. Let dry some more...

I cleaned it up a little and threw a coat of primer on the Friday before the launch. It still needs a lot more finishing but I'm not sure I will. She's a tough old girl and since she was born in Kentucky, I may leave her with her 'native' ruggedness.

Good luck and post pics!

Patrick
 

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