So at this thing that happened last weekend we all got together and flew V2s on CTI M3100WTs and it was awesome. But two weeks ago, I only had a box of parts that vaguely resembled a V2. Here's what happened in between.
Wildman shipped me a 6" V2 kit back sometime before I departed the Midwest I bathed it when it showed up and put it back in the box, and forgot about it (graduation/job hunting/job getting/etc.). It was in my storage unit; the movers packed it up and shipped it to California along with the rest of my rocket stuff in August.
With the announcement of the awesome drag race deal (thanks Dr. J and CTI!), I decided I had no excuse to not put this thing together. But I was still settling in to the new job and catching up with all my old Los Angeles friends, and it wasn't until the weekend of the 18th that I realized I had no rocket-- only a pile of fiberglass and some tubs of epoxy. So, let's get started.
Here's the pile of parts on my deck, along with my trusty DeWalt. I was all set to go when I realized I needed supplies, so I made a quick bike trip to the hardware store (laugh at my basket NOW, Al!) for some screws, u-bolts, and a piece of PVC to do the fillets.
When I got back, I mounted the AeroPack to the aft ring. Don't forget to put the ring on the motor tube and a case inside to keep everything aligned while you're marking!
I also took this opportunity to put a pair of u-bolts in the forward centering ring. These will prove handy in a minute. Yes, I just kinda eyeballed the alignment.
Next step: bond prep! Scuff sand and clean with alcohol. Always. Everything. No excuses. Here's the motor tube ready to go.
And the pieces for the tailcone assembly dry fitted. Note that the rings aren't glued on here-- they're just there for alignment. Same goes for the forward coupler.
Next, the tailcone is bond prepped; scuff the inside surface around the forward and aft circumference. You can do the insides of the fin slots too, if you're feeling enterprising. Then, the whole dry-fitted motor assembly is dropped in from the forward end of the tailcone. I left the motor case in from the previous step. I'm not sure why.
Fin attachment time! It begins with... bond prep. You knew that. Scuff sand, alcohol wipe, don't touch the bonding surface again with bare hands (or bear hands, they leave fur).
I like doing all my fins at once, so I made a cardboard fin alignment guide from the handy template generator on Roger's website. I dry fitted everything-- thanks to the CNC-cut fin slots and quality G10, all the fins slid in on the first try. I also put some tape on the AeroPack to protect it.
One by one, I removed the fins, buttered their root edges with Aeropoxy ES6279:
and stuck 'em back in the tube. Once all four were in, I put some tape around them to hold them in place and checked to make sure I wasn't gluing the guide in place:
Wildman shipped me a 6" V2 kit back sometime before I departed the Midwest I bathed it when it showed up and put it back in the box, and forgot about it (graduation/job hunting/job getting/etc.). It was in my storage unit; the movers packed it up and shipped it to California along with the rest of my rocket stuff in August.
With the announcement of the awesome drag race deal (thanks Dr. J and CTI!), I decided I had no excuse to not put this thing together. But I was still settling in to the new job and catching up with all my old Los Angeles friends, and it wasn't until the weekend of the 18th that I realized I had no rocket-- only a pile of fiberglass and some tubs of epoxy. So, let's get started.
Here's the pile of parts on my deck, along with my trusty DeWalt. I was all set to go when I realized I needed supplies, so I made a quick bike trip to the hardware store (laugh at my basket NOW, Al!) for some screws, u-bolts, and a piece of PVC to do the fillets.
When I got back, I mounted the AeroPack to the aft ring. Don't forget to put the ring on the motor tube and a case inside to keep everything aligned while you're marking!
I also took this opportunity to put a pair of u-bolts in the forward centering ring. These will prove handy in a minute. Yes, I just kinda eyeballed the alignment.
Next step: bond prep! Scuff sand and clean with alcohol. Always. Everything. No excuses. Here's the motor tube ready to go.
And the pieces for the tailcone assembly dry fitted. Note that the rings aren't glued on here-- they're just there for alignment. Same goes for the forward coupler.
Next, the tailcone is bond prepped; scuff the inside surface around the forward and aft circumference. You can do the insides of the fin slots too, if you're feeling enterprising. Then, the whole dry-fitted motor assembly is dropped in from the forward end of the tailcone. I left the motor case in from the previous step. I'm not sure why.
Fin attachment time! It begins with... bond prep. You knew that. Scuff sand, alcohol wipe, don't touch the bonding surface again with bare hands (or bear hands, they leave fur).
I like doing all my fins at once, so I made a cardboard fin alignment guide from the handy template generator on Roger's website. I dry fitted everything-- thanks to the CNC-cut fin slots and quality G10, all the fins slid in on the first try. I also put some tape on the AeroPack to protect it.
One by one, I removed the fins, buttered their root edges with Aeropoxy ES6279:
and stuck 'em back in the tube. Once all four were in, I put some tape around them to hold them in place and checked to make sure I wasn't gluing the guide in place:
