The “Dahak”; Tu-Be or not Tu-Be.

In my continuing quest to share my recent builds with the forum I give you “Dahak”. Built around a heavy wall BT-70 tube the forward command section is 3” dia. and the central engineering section at the rear is a BT-101 the rocket using a 29mm motor tube.


“Dahak” came about because I wanted to build a tube fin rocket wherein the tubes were not the usual single wall tube. The outer tube of the tube fin is a BT-80 whereas the inner is a BT-70. Lots of centering rings, lots of paper shrouds with the result being they have a 3D aspect giving them that “Drive pod” housing appearance.


Why five? Partly because I think it looks better than would four or six and partly because it saved me from having to build six of them. The sponsons are 1/4" basswood which pass through the 101 and are socketed into slots in the 70 tube.

The narrow end passes through both walls of the “Drive pods” the whole thing being about as stout as you can get. I built a jig that allowed me to attach the sponsons so as to be straight and the pods onto the sponsons so they are parallel with the main airframe. The result of all of that is a rocket that flies as straight as a arrow and has absolutely no spin whatsoever.

It would be a great rocket to attach a camera to, perhaps inside one of the pods, but I can’t help but wonder if a disruption of airflow through one of the pods might induce the very spin, the lack of which, is the reason for attaching a camera in the first place.


The ring you see about halfway up the main tube is a case of form fitting function. I had to have something to hang the forward launch lug onto and I didn’t want to use the typical fin style standoff. So instead I cut ten standoffs and connected them all with a 101 ring. And here I built five pods instead of six because I wanted to save myself a bit of work.

I’m still deciding what color to paint the inside of the pods. Red would be the obvious choice but I kind of like the idea of “Ion Engine Blue”.

It has been flown twice now, once on some “F” motor the likes of which I can’t recall and once with a G64 W that gave it great performance, all things being relative and assuming you like your relatives.

I vote for an "electric" blue. Anyway, that's a great looking rocket. As I was scrolling down, I was like "that's an interesting color choice for a Ventris... PODS!"

scratches head, I thought dahak was/is a planetoid class heavy cruiser . nice looking bird.
Rex

Great job. I love it. Really like the pods!

Rex R said:

scratches head, I thought dahak was/is a planetoid class heavy cruiser . nice looking bird.
Rex

Click to expand...

And another reader of the early works of David Weber rears his head.

Actually “Dahak” is the Satan figure in a couple of ancient mythologies.
Babylonian and Persian being the two biggies.
Either that or a reoccurring Big Bad from “Xena: Warrior Princess”.

Fantastic design! Really like the 3D fin tubes, and the center radiator.

Wow! Very cool design - those 3D pods look great! I thought it was a Ventris too until I scrolled down. Red is a nice choice and it fits with the 5-pointed inverted pentagram (was that subconsciously planned? ). Perhaps fluorescent red for pod interiors? Fluorescent yellow fading to orange might work too. and black bands/accents would really add some weight & menace. Nice work!!!