ThirstyBarbarian
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I recently decided to get an LOC Warlock. I wanted something I could fly on H and I motors that would not go too high. The weight of the Warlock is right for many H and I motors, and the draggy 7.5" airframe should keep it pretty low. And then I got an idea that I think could be interesting.
This is what an Estes Curvilinear looks like:
I think the Curvilinear is a cool-looking rocket. It's s small rocket for 13mm A10-3 engines. The proportions are very similar to the Warlock's, so I thought you could probably add a similar ring fin (if that is the right term) to a Warlock for a cool Sci-Fi look. Here's the basic idea.
It's not exactly to scale with the Curvilinear, because the ring on the Warlock would have to be big enough for a rail to fit between the airframe and the ring fin. This example above shows a ring that is 11" in diameter to give about 1.5" clearance, and scale would be closer to 9", which would not have enough clearance. The Curvilinear is also a 4-fin rocket, while the Warlock is 3. So this would not be a true Curvilinear upscale, more of a Curvilinear-inspired Warlock.
This is just an idea I've been mulling over, not something I'm committed to doing. I want to keep it flyable on L1 motors, so this might add enough weight and drag that it would move more into the L2 range, in which case I would not do it. I had a similar issue with the pod rocket modifications I made to a Mega Der Red Max --- it is kind of heavy and draggy for G motors now, and the weight is what forced me to certify for L1. I don't want something similar to happen where I'd have to get an L2 just to fly the modified rocket!
Any feedback on the design is welcome!
What do you think of the proportions of the ring? Right now, the ring has an 11" diameter, and I'm not even sure sonotube or other kinds of large tubing comes in exactly 11" diameter. My feeling from playing with different diameters was that smaller was aesthetically better than larger, as long as the rail can pass through. So if the rail could pass through a 10" ring, that would look better that going to a 12" ring.
Also, the ring length shown in the example, is 5", which is half the length of the fin root. 6" looks pretty good too. As you go up in length, after a point, it gets too long and doesn't look right. Let me know if you'd like me to post screenshots of any particular ring tube lengths or diameters.
Some things that would be helpful to me would be some good info on the inside and outside diameters of different kinds of tube that I could use for the ring. I'd also like to get information about the weight of the different tubing options, so that I can plug it into the design and make sure I'm not getting out of the H and I motor range with the added weight. For that matter, I need to have an accurate Warlock OpenRocket file to start with --- I think this one is showing a little bit lower weight than I would expect.
If you've ever worked with the large tubing, or if you've ever built a rocket with a similar ring fin, I could use any advice you can offer.
Thanks!
This is what an Estes Curvilinear looks like:
I think the Curvilinear is a cool-looking rocket. It's s small rocket for 13mm A10-3 engines. The proportions are very similar to the Warlock's, so I thought you could probably add a similar ring fin (if that is the right term) to a Warlock for a cool Sci-Fi look. Here's the basic idea.
It's not exactly to scale with the Curvilinear, because the ring on the Warlock would have to be big enough for a rail to fit between the airframe and the ring fin. This example above shows a ring that is 11" in diameter to give about 1.5" clearance, and scale would be closer to 9", which would not have enough clearance. The Curvilinear is also a 4-fin rocket, while the Warlock is 3. So this would not be a true Curvilinear upscale, more of a Curvilinear-inspired Warlock.
This is just an idea I've been mulling over, not something I'm committed to doing. I want to keep it flyable on L1 motors, so this might add enough weight and drag that it would move more into the L2 range, in which case I would not do it. I had a similar issue with the pod rocket modifications I made to a Mega Der Red Max --- it is kind of heavy and draggy for G motors now, and the weight is what forced me to certify for L1. I don't want something similar to happen where I'd have to get an L2 just to fly the modified rocket!
Any feedback on the design is welcome!
What do you think of the proportions of the ring? Right now, the ring has an 11" diameter, and I'm not even sure sonotube or other kinds of large tubing comes in exactly 11" diameter. My feeling from playing with different diameters was that smaller was aesthetically better than larger, as long as the rail can pass through. So if the rail could pass through a 10" ring, that would look better that going to a 12" ring.
Also, the ring length shown in the example, is 5", which is half the length of the fin root. 6" looks pretty good too. As you go up in length, after a point, it gets too long and doesn't look right. Let me know if you'd like me to post screenshots of any particular ring tube lengths or diameters.
Some things that would be helpful to me would be some good info on the inside and outside diameters of different kinds of tube that I could use for the ring. I'd also like to get information about the weight of the different tubing options, so that I can plug it into the design and make sure I'm not getting out of the H and I motor range with the added weight. For that matter, I need to have an accurate Warlock OpenRocket file to start with --- I think this one is showing a little bit lower weight than I would expect.
If you've ever worked with the large tubing, or if you've ever built a rocket with a similar ring fin, I could use any advice you can offer.
Thanks!
