3" fiberglass build, need some fin help

Riley,,
Those bevels are just as sharp as a tack...
Really precise work...
Well done Riley...

Teddy

onebadhawk said:

Riley,,
Those bevels are just as sharp as a tack...
Really precise work...
Well done Riley...

Teddy

Click to expand...

Thanks Teddy, both these rockets will be returning on One Bad Hawk harnesses. Can't wait for this season to start!

taiwanluthiers said:

So how do I bevel G12 fins if I don't have any of the fancy machines these guys have? I don't think I can use hand planes on fiberglass.

Click to expand...

I've had good results with a disk sander. A good file also cuts G10 very well. I've seen people use routers and table saws with pretty simple fixtures and get great results.

Want to finish this build thread.... I'm using my usual build method again, seems to work well. using the retainer, aft centering ring, and fins for spacing, install front centering rings and kevlar harness. this time I tacked them in place with superglue, fit it inside the body tube to make sure everything was good, then glued it in with JB weld. it's messy, but it'll do.



I used my 1" 40 grit sanding drum on a stick to reach in and sand the internal surfaces.

here's the motor mount glued in. I used a cheap vise to hold the motor tube in place while the jb weld set up. I put jb weld inside the tube and then put a bunch on the middle centering ring. I had to move quickly but I'm pretty sure once together and vertical the goop on the middle ring settled out and bonded to the body tube.


fin time. after sanding and cleaning everything I mixed up jb weld and poured it into a microjet, then injected a thick bead on the mmt through the fin slot. stuck the fin in and wiggled it around, repeated 3x. then slid the cardboard template onto the fins and started working from the back. I injected jb weld and let it run down forming internal fillets. I used a heat gun to help things flow. once I was happy with the coverage inside I stuck in the rear ring and motor retainer. working with natural FG is nice, you can see where the glue is and where it isn't.

got the fillets done today. I put a little green dye and a drop of black in just to see how it would look. It will get covered with paint so I figured it was a good one to try the dye on.

Ok, got the vent band epoxied on using the handy masking tape method,nice and clean. then measured, marked and drilled all the holes needed. Three 4-40 ss screws to hold the payload tube to the ebay, three 2-56 nylon screws for the nose cone, three 1/8" holes around the vent band, an 1/8" hole in the center of the booster tube and a .110" hole in the center of the payload tube. I tap the screw holes using a drill, so it's nice and quick. then clearance drill the tube for the ebay screws and the nosecone for the shear pins. why? so the ebay screws hold the tube nice and tight to the bay, and the shear pins push right out of the nosecone holes and unscrew from the body tube after the flight.



Dried and wet sanded. this rocket was huge until I decided to put that L1030RL in it.

in case you're wondering...

got this done...

after much frustration with painting it finally looks pretty good. I ended up building a curing oven so I could bake the whole thing at 140F.
now it haz stickerz!

14k feet and 1163MPH!!!!!!!!!! L2 cert flight on a CTI L1030 Red Lightning!



Thanks Dave! Make sure you check out his LDRS34 pics at https://davidmccann.zenfolio.com/

was pretty sure I lost this data, but I was able to figure out a work around. here is a gps plot of the flight.

What tracker are you using?

Riley,,
Super build,,
Just unreal,,
You used an "L" for a level 2 cert flight..
Good for you man...
Excellent..

Teddy

Nick@JET said:

What tracker are you using?

Click to expand...

Tracker is an Eggfinder. I use a serial to bluetooth adapter on the Rx then use the Rocket Locator app on my android phone. immediately after the flight you have to "save path" then go to the folder location and rename the file so it does not get over written the next time. This flight I was so excited I forgot to save the path but I did save the log file. I was able to pull the GPS data out of the log, convert it from NMEA to KML format using GPS Babble and then copy and paste it into a KML header from another flight. was a PITA but I got it to work. once you have a KML file you just open it in Google Earth.

onebadhawk said:

Riley,,
Super build,,
Just unreal,,
You used an "L" for a level 2 cert flight..
Good for you man...
Excellent..

Teddy

Click to expand...

Thanks Teddy, was a ton of fun, still smiling after that flight. Thanks again for letting me launch Thursday morning even though you already had your tracker on the board.