Building the Estes #2188 Canadian Arrow

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Kruegon

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For those of you not familiar with it, the Canadian Arrow is one if the Ansari X Prize rockets. The design is based on the German V2 rocket. The main difference is total length. The Canadian Arrow is slightly longer.

This kit was designed to fly on the D12 motor. That's not acceptable to me. If it has a 24mm MMT, then I want E and F motors. So I'll be adding a few mods to the build.

Here's the entire kit. All the parts that will be used.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425250006.683045.jpg

I will be replacing the MMT with a heavy walled, foil lined tube. I'll be adding an Estes 24mm plastic retainer ring. The shock cord will be getting a 150# Kevlar cord leader with a 1/2" steel ring, leading to the 1/4" flat elastic. I'm also going to change the chute to a nylon one.
 
I've started by prepping and assembling the MMT and prepping the tailcone.

You can see the new MMT that replaced the original. The MMT was moved back slightly to give clearance for the retainer ring. I chose not to extend it's length. There was adequate space between the central and upper CRs to allow this. I had to sand all three CRs to allow the new MMT to fit them. I assembled the section using Elmer's Wood Glue. I find this to be very strong, fast drying and has a smooth finish. I DO NOT recommend the newer Wood Glue MAX. I find it difficult to get smooth fillets with it.

The tailcone was trimmed using a very fine toothed Xacto flat hobby saw. I used a very sharp blade to trim the inner edges of the slots. The surface was block sanded using a 320 grit paper.
 
Here's the picture of the MMT and tailcone. I forgot to add them to the post.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425250958.087617.jpg
 
I've added a thin 150# Kevlar shock cord leader. I used a fly rod knot to secure it around the MMT below the upper CR. The length was set to allow the ring to split the forward edge of the BT. The Kevlar line is thin enough to very easily zipper the BT. This should reduce or prevent that.

I've carried the Kevlar to the outside edge of the CR. This will move it against the BT and help reduce it's exposure to the hot gasses and sparks from the ejection charge.

The line was filleted to the MMT and CR with wood glue. I also ran an overlay of wood glue along the line to the edge of the CR. This should help reduce the chances of the leader zippering the fiber CR.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425251374.161111.jpg
 
As we can see here, the factory slot in the tailcone is a little short for the TTW fin tabs. Looks like I'll be extending the slots.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425251581.781917.jpg

I used a 1/8" drill bit to cut the slot about 3/16" longer. The result worked beautifully. But two of the slots got extended a little too far. I'm going to need to fill them forward if the fins. Otherwise, it was a complete success!

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425251695.124330.jpg

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425251764.296280.jpg
 
I've installed the MMT into the BT. I added wood glue to the inside of the BT. I used a slightly heavy application and placed it a full 1/4" short of the CR's actual depth. The excess glue will push forward of the CR creating an automatic fillet for reinforcement.

I used the tailcone to insert the MMT to depth. I added a small fillet to the central CR for reinforcement.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425252018.673041.jpg
 
The tailcone has been installed. I used Testors plastic cement. It's not the strongest choice, but I find the fillets are smooth and it's thinner formula penetrates paper and wood very well.

I've added a plastic cement fillet around the lower CR to secure it inside the bottom of the tailcone. The retainer ring is set so that, when loaded, the securing but will seat lightly against the edge of the tailcone. This will distribute the force on the thrust across a greater area of the rocket and reduce the rare chance of the thrust forcing the MMT out of the CRs.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425252407.093821.jpg
 
The fins use a TTW design. The tabs do not quite make full contact with the MMT. The instructions call for using plastic cement to attach the fins. The cement is very thin and slow to cure. I've decided to use Loctite 5 min two part epoxy. I used a liberal amount on the TTW tabs and a thin layer on the edge between them. The epoxy is making a filler contact between the tabs and the MMT. It's also creating a secure, fast drying bond to the tailcone. There are four fins to attach and align. The faster cure allowed me to install and align all four fins efficiently. They are VERY secure and near perfect 90°. I did still use the plastic cement to create my fillets. And I still have the concern of the filling to do forward on the fin slots.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425252837.529111.jpg

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425252848.268591.jpg
 
The fillet for the central CR stood a bit taller than planned. The tailcone didn't meet the BT as nicely as I had hoped. There is just a hair of a gap between the two.
 
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425253392.868383.jpg

In sure there are many was to fill this gap. I've decided to fill it just using an Elmer's wood filler. Easy to use. Water clean up. Fast drying. Sands easily. I just hope the finished work will hold up under full flight stress.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425253173.710740.jpg

Looks like two coats will be required. I'd really like this to be seamless in the finished product.
 
Here's the results of the Kevlar leader. As you can see, the ring just breaks the edge of the BT. This should distribute the force and prevent zippering. It's a little low to allow for any stretching of the Kevlar that may occur during the multiple deployments.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425253849.552013.jpg
 
I have one of these begging to be built. I'll be watching with interest...

Cheers,
Michael
 
Ok. What does :pop: mean here on the forums? Or is it suppose to be ": pop :" by chance. Even then, wtf does it mean? lol

If you look at the posts on the forum, :pop: inserts a smiley that is eating popcorn. It is used by people who are anxious to watch (as if a movie) the thread develop. If you look at it on your phone, maybe you just see text.
 
On the iPhone app, I see the :p emoticon with op: beside it lol. That's why it didn't click. I'll look at it on the web forum tonight. Thanks.
 
Ok. What does :pop: mean here on the forums? Or is it suppose to be ": pop :" by chance. Even then, wtf does it mean? lol


The way to think about it is "You've got our attention... and we want to let you know". It also acts as a reminder to me, as it flags the thread as one I've posted in. So, it makes it easy to recognize when it pops up again with updates.

Looking forward to seeing how your build progresses.

Best!
Jim
 
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By the eating popcorn icon, I was letting you know I was interested in your build thread and have subscribed to it so I would be instantly notified by Email when you or anyone else posts something new.
Keep the build going, many follow in the shadows and keep quite while they learn techniques.
Peace Brother
 
Bare with me. A few RL issues are delaying the build. I should have an update by tomorrow.
 
So I had the issue with extending the slots for the fins. No way to get behind the slot since it was installed already. Using a little wood filler, I created a surface for adhesive. Then after letting it dry, I made fillets with the same Testors plastic cement. It looks bad but the fillets seem smooth and cover from tailcone to fin tip.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425600087.218912.jpg

I was also displeased with the space between the BT and the tailcone. I filled the gap with Elmer's wood filler the sanded it smooth. Took 3 times to get a very even fill. I won't know exactly how even until I prime it.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425600207.228251.jpg

With any luck, I'll have the launch lug and rail buttons in place tonight. Once they are set, I can get the primer on it. Even if it's only primered, I'm hoping to fly it this weekend.
 
Launch lugs are on. I upgraded them to 1/4" lugs. Since I'm running APCP motors, I wanted the more truly MPR launch rod as an option.

The rail buttons are drilled, threaded, and ca has been applied to reinforce the airframe. Looks like it'll be tomorrow before I can epoxy the buttons in place.
 
I got the launch lugs and rail buttons completed. I drilled the holes and applied ca to strengthen them. I threaded the after it hardened. The rail button bottoms got a light coat of wax as did the threads of the screws. I wiped the excess of well. I then applied epoxy to the holes and secured the rail buttons. Thanks to the wax, they can now be removed and replaced at will.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425712186.542923.jpg

I attached the rail buttons centered on the launch lugs. That was a bad idea.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425712267.458776.jpg

I forgot to compensate for the neck of the nose cone. It wouldn't seat into the BT. So I had to either fill the hole and start over, or… make the nose cone fit. The later was faster and easier. I slotted the neck on one side to allow the rail button screw to pass the neck. Seems to fit perfectly and the nose cone slides in and out well.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1425712400.511588.jpg

She's definitely not get painted tonight. It's 2am and the launch is in 8 hours. She'll fly unpainted. But she WILL fly none the less.
 
Here she is. On the pad. Granted she never got painted, but I flew her on an E9-6 and it was perfect. Very straight. Very high. Nice, damage free recovery. I call her a smashing success. Time to paint her up and shove a 24/40 reload in. Let's see how high she can fly.

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1426221420.053347.jpg
 
Here she is. On the pad. Granted she never got painted, but I flew her on an E9-6 and it was perfect. Very straight. Very high. Nice, damage free recovery. I call her a smashing success. Time to paint her up and shove a 24/40 reload in. Let's see how high she can fly.

View attachment 257710


Congrats!
Sometimes it just feels downright great to fly before Paint, since then you atleast know it will be worth the effort.
 
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