New educational rocket

I fondly remember the old Estes Phantom display model designed for teaching about model rockets. Clear Alpha 3 fin can and nose cone, transparent BT-50 payload tube for the body tube and a vac-formed cutaway motor to paint and install inside so you could see everything inside the model. Sadly, I never got one of those while Estes was still making them (hint to John Boren: bring back, maybe? Hint hint hint)

Anyway, our club is participating in our local museums Moon Festival next weekend and we've been asked to set up a display of rockets and talk to kids about rocketry. We would have loved to do a Make-it, Take-it, but sadly our museum is downtown and sandwiched between a four-lane expressway and the Ohio River. I wouldn't want to fly anything bigger than a Micromaxx there, and I sure wouldn't want kids trying it. So it's gonna be strictly a static display with a video running.

As a result, I decided a transparent rocket would be a nice addition to the display. Not content with doing anything small, however, I decided to go upscale and use a T-60 sized fluorescent tube shield for the body tube, clear styrene fins and make a display motor from CT-60 coupler stock. Got the stock in yesterday, so I started construction last night - I laminated several paper towel cores inside the half tube to buld it up to the proper thickness, glued the other half of the CT-60 inside (it is smoother than the cores), trimmed it all up and rough sanded the edges. I printed a half wrap on the computer to simulate B6-2 motor markings with our club logo in place of the motor manufacturer's logo. I plan to 3D print the nozzle, cap and simulated propellant grain, paint that and install in the center.

For the model, I decided to model an upscale Wizard instead of an Alpha, simply because the Wizard is an 18mm min diameter model. Unfortunately, the nose cone is a standard Estes Der Red Max cone, but I haven't the time to make a mold and cast a clear nose in resin. Should still look pretty cool though. Will post pictures as soon as I can drag put the camera and take some.

Got the "Visible Rocket" finished in time for the show today. Here are a couple pictures of the rocket.

Cool, Greg.

I managed to snag a couple of Phantoms when I got back in as a BAR and the one I take with me to launches and displays and such has a longer body from PST-50 tubing I got from Semroc so it's the same length as an Alpha III. Makes it easy to relate one to the other.

But bigger is better for viewing from any distance - looks like your see-thru model turned out very nicely.

I agree that Estes should bring the Phantom back. I can hear the "we won't be able to sell 10,000 of 'em" protest from John now, though.....

Very nice

That's cool, and not just for educational purposes.

The worst part was attaching the fins to the body tube. The tube is polycarbonate, and the fins are clear styrene. About the only thing that would seal them together is MEK, and I was worried that it would be too aggressive for clear styrene. I could prob keep it from eating the fins, but I was afraid that it would fog and craze too much of the fin before it dried. CA and epoxy were out because they prob wouldn't hold securely and would just pop off if the tube was flexed much. So hot glue was the only other choice. It does hold and it is a bit flexible, but the downsides are that it went on pretty lobby, and it is very sensitive to heat. SSSooo... The Visible Rocket is the last into the car, and the first out!

That really is cool.
Nice job!!

Nice Job!

I wish that I could have figured out how to do a nice motor simulation for my Clearokee D.



If I had to do it again, I'd also modify the tape holding the engine hook to allow you to see through a section of it.

For my fins, I used epoxy to glue them to the motor mount (TTW), and epoxy fillets for the body tube joint. Then again, I wasn't modeling a minimum diameter rocket either.