13mm Fiberglassed AIM-120 AMRAAM W/ TTW Fins.

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TopRamen

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Sorry, there won't be a build Thread, as I'll get flamed enough for even creating such a creature, but it is on its way, and when it is done, I'll share pics' and all that Jazz.

Has anyone else here ever done a 13mm with .75oz. FG Cloth?

Why will I build it? Because I can! :tongue:
 
Utoh.... I think I've created a monster! :y: lol

Sounds like a plan. Go for it!

Jerome :cool:
 
Utoh.... I think I've created a monster! :y: lol

Sounds like a plan. Go for it!

Jerome :cool:

Indeed you have!!
I added 1.5oz. cloth to my recent BT-60 Estes M104 Patriot, to include Tip to Tip on the Fins, and the overall weight gain from glassing was only .4oz.
Using .75oz. Cloth on something as small as I'm planning here would likely not add more than .05oz.-.1oz. tops.
 
Using .75oz. Cloth on something as small as I'm planning here would likely not add more than .05oz.-.1oz. tops.
I scratch built an Estes Astron Cobra using a paper towel core that was very close to BT-60 size. I wrapped the tube with .6 oz. cloth and epoxy, and even glassed the fins. In the end, the rocket was not a brick and flew very well. I think the primer and enamel paint I used to finish the model added more mass than the fiberglass did. I think that you're model will turn out very nice. Wait until you see how smooth and nice you can make your model before you paint it. It's going to end up looking like it was made out of plastic!
 
I had all sorts of Chores to do today, and still have more, but I hope to start on this project tonight.
I did a Scratch BT-60 AIM-120 recently, and I am also starting a BT-80 Scratch soon, so I'll end up having 3 AIM-120 AMRAAMs.
 
:pop:

This sounds like a very interesting project- I'll be eager to see the result!

Nate
 
So people "flame you" when you build something like you want? Even if they do, why would you care?

I only care because it detracts from a build Thread. The thread disintegrates into a "You sould'nt do it like that" type of thing, or a "I would never do that!" thing.
I appreciate constructive criticism, but when I've made up my mind to do a build a certain way, I don't want to hear about why I should have done it differently.
What really burns me up is when they suggest that what I'm doing somehow is "Unsafe".
So anyway, I continue to build MY Rockets MY ways, and I simply refrain from showing people my Techniques which obviously are offensive to some here.
Rockets still get built and flown, and the proof of their safe flight characteristics comes in the Launch Pics' and Video.:)
 
Anyhow, it's a BT-20 Size Rocket, and I just finished making up the MMT, and will cut the slots and glass the tube after supper.
I also made the bulkhead for the nose cone, as it is just a bottomless hollow plastic Cone. The kind that typically comes with a little plastic bulkhead that gets glued in, with a raised portion to put your cord through.
 
I for one would be interested to see a fiberglass treatment on a small bird. I've never glassed anything, yet would be interested to see the technique as applied to something small. Glass on!

Oh, and I'll occasionally do TTW fins, on rockets that I expect to land "fin down" hard enough to risk tearing them off. In such cases, my fins are reinforced to reduce likelihood of fin breakage. And the reinforcement on the fin attachment that TTW gives is nice. I've never had a bad landing on one of these.
 
Before glassing, the tube with slots cut weighed 6 Grams. After it weighs 8 Grams.
I used 15 Minute Epoxy for this since it is so tiny and all that was necessary was to cut the Glass cloth slightly longer than the Tube, slather on the Epoxy with my Nitrile Glove clad hands, and then just roll the tube onto the Glass Cloth and smooth it out with my fingers.

I dry fitted the Rear Fins after cutting through the Glass Cloth. I only need one centering Ring on the top of the MMT, as the Fins will secure the MMT in place and the Tail Cone I have yet to make will cover up the back.
I also still need to make the forward Fins.

13mm Glass 002.jpg
 
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Before glassing the tube with slots cut weighed 6 Grams. After it weighs 8 Grams.
I used 15 Minute Epoxy for this since it is so tiny and all that was necessary was to cut the Glass cloth slightly longer than the Tube, slather on the Epoxy with my Nitrile Glove clad hands, and then just roll the tube onto the Glass Cloth and smooth it out with my fingers.

I dry fitted the Rear Fins after cutting through the Glass Cloth. I only need one centering Ring on the top of the MMT, as the Fins will secure the MMT in place and the Tail Cone I have yet to make will cover up the back.
I also still need to make the forward Fins.

View attachment 249867

Way cool Top! You are very innovative ideas in your approach to the hobby. I hear you about getting flamed. Over on the beer brewing forum I am part of, people get flamed for not brewing "according to style". I brew to make beer I can't buy, use ingredients out of the norm, or improve on the stuff I can buy.

So, keep pushing the envelope!

Mike
 
Way cool Top! You are very innovative ideas in your approach to the hobby. I hear you about getting flamed. Over on the beer brewing forum I am part of, people get flamed for not brewing "according to style". I brew to make beer I can't buy, use ingredients out of the norm, or improve on the stuff I can buy.

So, keep pushing the envelope!

Mike

Thanks!
The Fins were great fun to cut out. They are so small that care had to be taken, and I had to harden the Balsa in some spots with CA on the edges before making the notch cuts in the Tabs to avoid the wood breaking in the way it sometimes does on tiny corners.
After they were cut and homogenized I strengthened them with the CA on all sufaces save for the Root edges, though it would not have mattered if I did as they are getting the Tip to Tip Glass anyway, so Bonding is not such an issue. Then I sanded away the excess CA.
They click together with a satisfying sound now, like Mahjong Tiles. They are small enough that warping from the CA was not going to be a problem.

Here's some more Pics':

13mm Glass 004.jpg13mm Glass 006.jpg

13mm Glass 007.jpg
13mm Glass 011.jpg
 
The Nose Cone is actually too long to be close to scale, so I'm going to paint the first 1/2" closest to the Shoulder Gray to blend in with the Body. I factored that into the design.
Hard to believe, but I even opened up an OpenRocket Sim for this.

The entire thing so far with my 6 Grams of Nose Weight weighs 25 Grams.
 
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Way cool Top! You are very innovative ideas in your approach to the hobby. I hear you about getting flamed. Over on the beer brewing forum I am part of, people get flamed for not brewing "according to style". I brew to make beer I can't buy, use ingredients out of the norm, or improve on the stuff I can buy.
USAF, it almost seems to me like your post is bait for my trolling. I know about "the beer brewing forum" that you are most likely reading, and if it is the same forum that comes to my mind, I strongly suggest taking the best that you can find there, and walk quickly away. We live in a world filled with insecure and highly conformist men who are so damn afraid of making a mistake, or "making the wrong move." Whether it's rocketry, brewing, or fantasy football, men these days seem to gauge their "performance" on what their perceived peers think, rather on what they personally and actually do. The end game is a templated cookie cutter approach to everything - work, play, life, etc. Personally, this is anathema to me.
Having said that, we can applaud TopRamen for "daring" to glass a 13mm rocket with TTW fins, BUT.... he's not breaking any new ground or "pushing the envelope." The only envelope that may be being pushed is TopRamen's own personal journey in the hobby, or perhaps tossing a little sod into the eyes of the conformist, rule-bound, man-droids.

So, keep pushing the envelope!
Amen to that, Mike...
-Wolf
 
Fiberglassing the Tail Cone was tough!!! Such a tiny piece of paper!

Stupid Tailcone!! 001.jpgStupid Tailcone!! 002.jpg

It will get a notch cut into it to accomodate the engine hook. Making this part was frustrating!!!:mad::yawn:
 
Nice work thus far! I've done a 13mm and down to micromax in carbon fiber. I used the sleeve material. No fancy parts like you, just tube, fins, and nose cone. I almost exclusively work in fiberglass and/or carbon fiber simply because of the joy I find in using those materials and the durability they give me.
Picture 10.jpg
-Ken
 
Nice work thus far! I've done a 13mm and down to micromax in carbon fiber. I used the sleeve material. No fancy parts like you, just tube, fins, and nose cone. I almost exclusively work in fiberglass and/or carbon fiber simply because of the joy I find in using those materials and the durability they give me.
View attachment 249993
-Ken


Awesome!!! An MMX Model in CF definitely takes the Cake!!!
 
Still needs Conduit/Launch Lug, Tail Cone, Tip to Tip, Streamer and Paint.
Atleast it looks like an AMRAAM now.:)
According to Estes Motor Chart, Max Liftoff Weight for 1/2A3 and A3 is 57 Grams. A10 can do 85g., but I don't want to lose this model, so we'll see how she flies on the 1/2A to start with.
I expect to finish under 45g.


amraam120aim13mm.jpg
 
USAF, it almost seems to me like your post is bait for my trolling. I know about "the beer brewing forum" that you are most likely reading, and if it is the same forum that comes to my mind, I strongly suggest taking the best that you can find there, and walk quickly away. We live in a world filled with insecure and highly conformist men who are so damn afraid of making a mistake, or "making the wrong move." Whether it's rocketry, brewing, or fantasy football, men these days seem to gauge their "performance" on what their perceived peers think, rather on what they personally and actually do. The end game is a templated cookie cutter approach to everything - work, play, life, etc. Personally, this is anathema to me.
Having said that, we can applaud TopRamen for "daring" to glass a 13mm rocket with TTW fins, BUT.... he's not breaking any new ground or "pushing the envelope." The only envelope that may be being pushed is TopRamen's own personal journey in the hobby, or perhaps tossing a little sod into the eyes of the conformist, rule-bound, man-droids.


Amen to that, Mike...
-Wolf

Hehehe, not trying to bait ya, but I agree with you 100%!

Thanks Wolf!

Mike
 
I'm having an issue with Open Rocket. It won't stop the Motor at the Engine Block Ring that I used in the Sim. It just stuffs the motor all the way into the Tube right over my Engine Block.?????

OpenRocket13mmamraam 003.jpg
 
Posted my OR Question in the Electronics and Software Section and got squared away. Thanks T-Rex and Rex R.:

Revised OR Amraam 002.jpg


Here's the Flight Sim Stats. I'm glad it won't go high enough to lose it.

Revised OR Amraam 003.jpg
 
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Now to put the Tail Cone on, and then figure out how to add that to my Sim.
 
Guess it sorta' devolved into a semi build thread, but that's ok, nobody gave me grief about my choice of materials, and others showed up to say that they too have build smaller models with composite construction methods, so it worked out good.
Today I need to get my cloth cut for my TTT, and make a nice streamer.
The best think about this build is that I already have a motor on hand for its maiden flight, and because it won't go too high and has a streamer, I won't hesitate to go to the park and launch it even if there is a slight breeze.
It will be in the Air within the week, and I'll get a video.:)
 
This work is still in progress, but it is at the point where it needs a little light sanding before I can progress to the next steps, and the weather here has been too cold for me to be working outside on Rockets.
We are supposed to get some temps in the 40s on Sunday, so I'll get back into it then. I hate trying to sand when it is only 15 Degrees out, especially on small stuff. My work area is my livingroom, so I don't want Fiberglass floating around everywhere. I like to cut the glass cloth outside too when possible, so that's when I'll make up my "Tip To Tip" Skins.
As Astronwolf suggested in his earlier post about his Glassed LPR Bird, I want to make everything nice and smooth. I'm even thinking about a white and red Paint Scheme versus the usual Primer Grey and White Nose. I already have my BT-60 Size 120 in that Scheme, and a BT 80 in the works, that's getting the Scale Treament. The Red and White will make this one stand out against the Sky and show up well in Launch Pics'. I have some Vinyl in various colors I will use to make bands.
 
This work is still in progress, but it is at the point where it needs a little light sanding before I can progress to the next steps, and the weather here has been too cold for me to be working outside on Rockets.
We are supposed to get some temps in the 40s on Sunday, so I'll get back into it then. I hate trying to sand when it is only 15 Degrees out, especially on small stuff. My work area is my livingroom, so I don't want Fiberglass floating around everywhere. I like to cut the glass cloth outside too when possible, so that's when I'll make up my "Tip To Tip" Skins.
As Astronwolf suggested in his earlier post about his Glassed LPR Bird, I want to make everything nice and smooth. I'm even thinking about a white and red Paint Scheme versus the usual Primer Grey and White Nose. I already have my BT-60 Size 120 in that Scheme, and a BT 80 in the works, that's getting the Scale Treament. The Red and White will make this one stand out against the Sky and show up well in Launch Pics'. I have some Vinyl in various colors I will use to make bands.

Now where's my cat?

I need to find it before Top glasses it...
 
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