Hi folks,
At the end of 2011 I built a SEMROC Aerobee 150. It had a full build thread, here:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?30552-SEMROC-Aerobee-150-Build-Thread
I eventually lost it to winds aloft that dragged it over a heavily treed area. It had an 808 camera on it. I was very sad to lose it, but the worst part of it was that although I had a pretty solid bead on the direction and distance it went, I never found hide nor hair of it ever again. In the fall I canvased the area, looking all over the ground, through the leaves, and up in the branches. Though no part of the rocket would have been salvageable, I did hope to recover the memory card from the camera. Or, at least get some closure. Over a bunch of trips over the span of a year or two I found lots of other people's rockets, but never any trace of mine. Eventually, I gave up.
When I first heard of SEMROC closing up shop I quickly ordered a replacement. This rocket is a bit tough to clone in the absence of SEMROC since it uses BT58 tubing and cone. Not the most common stuff out there.
I finally got around to building it over the last week or two.
My goal in the build was to do a better job than I did the first time around. Specifically:
-In aero foiling the fins on the original, I made some of the edges too thin and fragile.
-The strakes (called shrouds in the kit) are supplied as rectangular cross section balsa pieces. We're supposed to round them into semi-elliptical shape. That's about 10 linear feet of shaping. I didn't do a great job of it.
-It was the first time I used pearl white paint. I didn't realize it wasn't opaque; some marking lines showed right through.
There were also a bunch of small finishing errors due to insufficient experience or care.
As I write this, the build is done, but there is still a lot of effort to be spent to make it look nice. This won't be a full build thread; I'll only cover areas of particular interest.
At the end of 2011 I built a SEMROC Aerobee 150. It had a full build thread, here:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?30552-SEMROC-Aerobee-150-Build-Thread
I eventually lost it to winds aloft that dragged it over a heavily treed area. It had an 808 camera on it. I was very sad to lose it, but the worst part of it was that although I had a pretty solid bead on the direction and distance it went, I never found hide nor hair of it ever again. In the fall I canvased the area, looking all over the ground, through the leaves, and up in the branches. Though no part of the rocket would have been salvageable, I did hope to recover the memory card from the camera. Or, at least get some closure. Over a bunch of trips over the span of a year or two I found lots of other people's rockets, but never any trace of mine. Eventually, I gave up.
When I first heard of SEMROC closing up shop I quickly ordered a replacement. This rocket is a bit tough to clone in the absence of SEMROC since it uses BT58 tubing and cone. Not the most common stuff out there.
I finally got around to building it over the last week or two.
My goal in the build was to do a better job than I did the first time around. Specifically:
-In aero foiling the fins on the original, I made some of the edges too thin and fragile.
-The strakes (called shrouds in the kit) are supplied as rectangular cross section balsa pieces. We're supposed to round them into semi-elliptical shape. That's about 10 linear feet of shaping. I didn't do a great job of it.
-It was the first time I used pearl white paint. I didn't realize it wasn't opaque; some marking lines showed right through.
There were also a bunch of small finishing errors due to insufficient experience or care.
As I write this, the build is done, but there is still a lot of effort to be spent to make it look nice. This won't be a full build thread; I'll only cover areas of particular interest.