fyrfytr310's Level 3 - Polecat 10" Nike Smoke

Work has been a challenge lately and I will be out of town all next week. Suffering in Ft Myers, FL so please feel bad for me.

I had to make some progress or I wouldn't feel right.

The nose had a small hole so I decided to do a little foam work.





On my TAPs advice, I decided to paint a thin layer of epoxy on the av-bay shoulder. As I was prepping to do this I noticed a slight separation between the airframe and the coupler that needed to be filled. As I was filling with epoxy, I recalled that my TAP recommended I remove the ovality of the airframe by wrapping the coupler with tape prior to insertion. Naturally, I forgot this when I epoxied everything... Here we sit.

A little work on the av-bay lids and some pre-planning on the sled.

I am exploring charge well options now. The upper section of this is looking like some pretty significant charges.....

Nice thing about these big rockets is plenty of space to stash the payloads. Kurt

2" x 48" LOC tube installed in nose bulkhead for future weights and/or trackers. Should make for a solid distributed anchor once the nose is fully foamed.

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Getting close! Love your dedication. Your steady progress is coming to fruition! Thank you for keeping us updated. This thing is a beast!

Great build thread. Brings back memories.

Great looking build!

I certified L3 on an 8.25" Nike Smoke, running a CTI N1100 motor. Have a look and see if you find anything useful for your build:
https://www.ausrocketry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4612&start=16

We must have similar tastes in rockets. I have a Velociraptor as well

Just ran out of foam. Oh well. Just an excuse to buy other things at the same time. You know... for economics...

Combining many items into one large order is a great way to save on shipping!

OverTheTop said:

Great looking build!

I certified L3 on an 8.25" Nike Smoke, running a CTI N1100 motor. Have a look and see if you find anything useful for your build:
https://www.ausrocketry.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4612&start=16

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Very interesting Youtube vintage clip there showing a 'naked' Nike Smoke without the classic livery. Thanks for posting.

Lots of spillage while filling the nose cone. Buts it's done. I have filled the pour holes with wood glue and, once dry, will clean up the bulk plate before I do the shoulder fillet.



I have used a narrow sheet of fiberglass wrapped once around the airframe to cover the gap between the leading edge of the fins and forward edge of the fin slot. I could have done this with tape and foam injection but I have grown tired of my foam induced clumsiness.



Next will be the tip-tip glassing and filling the aft gap in the fin slot.

Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread, but what is the fin thickness?

3" strips of glass to start the fin reinforcements. I'll continue this along all fins then do tip to tip.

CoyoteNumber2 said:

Maybe I missed it earlier in the thread, but what is the fin thickness?

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3/8"

Are you planning on filling the fabric weave? I used Bondo on my 4" BBIII, couldn't imagine that technique on as much surface area as this monster has.

fyrfytr310 said:

3" strips of glass to start the fin reinforcements. I'll continue this along all fins then do tip to tip.

View attachment 303186

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No fin fillets before the glass? I would be worried about the strength of the glass at the transition point with such a sharp angle. Typically I would put a 3/4" radius fillet there to smooth the transition.

You doing 2oz glass?

NateLowrie said:

No fin fillets before the glass? I would be worried about the strength of the glass at the transition point with such a sharp angle. Typically I would put a 3/4" radius fillet there to smooth the transition.

You doing 2oz glass?

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I'll take this up with my TAP. There is a small fillet but definitely not 3/4" radius. Too late to change this set but I can try to make up for it with a better fillet under the tip-to-tip glass. Thanks for pointing it out.

Flyfalcons said:

Are you planning on filling the fabric weave? I used Bondo on my 4" BBIII, couldn't imagine that technique on as much surface area as this monster has.

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Man... I keep going back and forth with it. Obviously filling the fabric would be best aesthetically but I just don't know if I have the patience for it on this pig.

fyrfytr310 said:

Man... I keep going back and forth with it. Obviously filling the fabric would be best aesthetically but I just don't know if I have the patience for it on this pig.

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Mike, contact me off list.......

fyrfytr310 said:

I'll take this up with my TAP. There is a small fillet but definitely not 3/4" radius. Too late to change this set but I can try to make up for it with a better fillet under the tip-to-tip glass. Thanks for pointing it out.

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To be clear, I think you will be fine. If I was building the rocket I would have just gone with the epoxy fillet and then 1-2 layers full tip-to-tip.

Regarding filling the fiberglass, have you considered using peel ply to get a smooth finish?

Flyfalcons said:

Are you planning on filling the fabric weave? I used Bondo on my 4" BBIII, couldn't imagine that technique on as much surface area as this monster has.

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For my 9" diameter Deuce, I thinned the Bondo with acetone to paint consistency and brushed it on. It did take a couple days before sanding and then the very surface still tended to clog the sandpaper. Look starting on post 82 here https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?47449-Bigger-Deuce/page3

Rocketjunkie said:

For my 9" diameter Deuce, I thinned the Bondo with acetone to paint consistency and brushed it on. It did take a couple days before sanding and then the very surface still tended to clog the sandpaper. Look starting on post 82 here https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?47449-Bigger-Deuce/page3

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That's a good idea. I really like the value you get in these Polecat kits, and I'm happy again with my BBIII, but it's one of those deals where before I get my next one I'll actually have to wake up one day and say "Okay, I'm ready to do a ton of filling and sanding again". Today is not that day.

fyrfytr310 said:

Man... I keep going back and forth with it. Obviously filling the fabric would be best aesthetically but I just don't know if I have the patience for it on this pig.

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Take a look here for an easier way: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?134615-Moving-to-low-VOC&p=1626979#post1626979 (and believe me I've gone the filler route with two other large Polecat's before--it's a bee-ach).

+1 for acetone thinned Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty. If you wait until it is completely dry before you sand (no more smell at all) it won't clog the paper nearly as bad. And if you use wet/dry paper, you can rinse it out and let it dry.

What's the problem here? Box of 220 pads and your in business

Well, Mama did say "never screw something up by hand when you can use power tools."

NateLowrie said:

Regarding filling the fiberglass, have you considered using peel ply to get a smooth finish?

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The kit came with pre-fiberglassed tubes, so he has to fill with something or fly with a rough finish like I did on my L3 bird...

Adding fillets on top of the glass strips. I'll have these done first on the remaining fins.

Looking good. Did you use any filler with the fillets?

NateLowrie said:

Looking good. Did you use any filler with the fillets?

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West 406