Der Mad Max - The Estes Design on Steroids

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EeebeeE

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In addition to my ongoing 100,000' project which is on hold until after a heavy workload subsides in mid November, I also wanted to have two other winter builds. The first is an upgrade to my Mega Der Red Max and the second is an upscaled Estes Plasma Probe. The Plasma Probe will be the subject of another thread.

My MDRM has been a real trooper even though I have subjected it to a lot of abuse, but I was looking at it recently and thought...this thing needs some TLC...a LOT of TLC. So I decided to do some rebuilding...from the bottom of the nose cone on down. My thought was, I want to fly the hell out of this thing, so it better be sturdy...and if it is sturdy...let's put a bigger hole in it.

This thing will look like a normal MDRM. Same height, diameter, the fins might look a little thicker, but it will be everything but. The airframe will be 4" Bluetube. 3/8" Fins and rings will be cut by Upscale CNC. They will be interlocking in such a way that the rings will hold the fins in place at the root. I may use paper and epoxy to coat the fins. This will be a non-fiberglass mach buster with a 54mm Bluetube hole capable of holding up to 5-grain K's. I can't wait to enter an MDRM drag race where everyone else will be using H's and maybe I's, and mine will sit on the pad with a K2045.

The rocket will have a small altimeter in the nose cone to separate at apogee, then I am thinking of using a jolly logic chute release to deploy the main.

So if I am going to build an MDRM that will fly like a madman, I had to give it a different look. Something to distinguish itself from other MDRMs with aliens instead of skulls, etc. I hearkened back to one of my favorite movies...The Road Warrior. This Rocket will be called, "Der Mad Max." I have been designing decals for it using images from the movie as well as fan-supported imagery, along with some key movie quotes.

Below is the OR design as well as a collection of images that will be used in the decals. You can possibly see what will go where according to the typical decal placement, although this will not be completely true to form.

I don't know what color to paint the airframe. I'm kind of thinking to paint it white or possibly a white hammered look. The decals are starkly black and blood red and they would really stand out against a white background.

Whaddaya think?

Der Mad Max Images.jpg Der Mad Max.jpg
 
That's gonna be an awesome bird....would you be willing to share the sim file? I'd love to add that to my Rocksim database.
 
Brilliant, thank you. I'm on my iPad so I put it in my Dropbox....I'll grab it with my MacBook Pro tomorrow.
 
Looks like it'll be a lot of fun!

I just realized I lost my .ork file of the MDRM with my HD failure... DAMN!

If someone can get me the dimensions of the nosecone, I'll whip up one sometime this week.

The nose cone in the folder I attached is the right length, dia. and weight. Just that OR cannot quite get the shape.


This is the file I did for my original MRDM.
View attachment Mega Der Red Max.ork
 
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The nose cone in the folder I attached is the right length, dia. and weight. Just that OR cannot quite get the shape.


This is the file I did for my original MRDM.
View attachment 303856

Thanks!

The trick to doing nosecones like the MDRM is to "break" it down into parts. The nosecone in the .ork file would be a parabolic or power series section that would consist solely of the hemispherical section, the next part would likely be a ogive transition with the shoulder.

If I can get the length of the hemispherical section, and the diameter of it, I can make it look right.
 
When I built my Blue Tube MDRM clone I bought the Estes kit just for the nose cone. I sold the fins and threw away everything else.
 
When I built my Blue Tube MDRM clone I bought the Estes kit just for the nose cone. I sold the fins and threw away everything else.

I'm basically doing the same thing...All I did first was fly the hell out of the original airframe.
 
Can you get just the nose? I've been thinking about a 38mm version with better fins and airframe for a while, but I'm not completely okay with using the wrong nose cone.
 
Can you get just the nose? I've been thinking about a 38mm version with better fins and airframe for a while, but I'm not completely okay with using the wrong nose cone.

They used to sell the nose separately - haven't seen it in a while on the website. I bought one for a 4" NASA Pegasus... :)

Chris
 
Have at it and please repost the file. Thanks.

Will do... Just as soon as someone get's me the length of the hemispherical section and the aft diameter of it, I'll be able to do my voodoo that I do so well. :wink:
 
Will do... Just as soon as someone get's me the length of the hemispherical section and the aft diameter of it, I'll be able to do my voodoo that I do so well. :wink:

Aft dia.: 0.875"
Length: 0.375"
 
View attachment Mega Der Red Max on Steroids.ork
Will do... Just as soon as someone get's me the length of the hemispherical section and the aft diameter of it, I'll be able to do my voodoo that I do so well. :wink:

Here is the file for this particular rocket with the nose cone corrected.
View attachment Mega Der Red Max on Steroids.ork

This is what it looks like. The line in the center of the nose is the ballast. I add the ballast weight, estimate the length and then show it as "0 inches" in dia.

Der Mad Max 2.jpg
 
..This thing will look like a normal MDRM. Same height, diameter... but it will be everything but..
Very interesting because I began a similar project on 10/17 in preparation for a contest next year. Although we're both going with a 54mm motor, my design will adapt the kit NC & BT to accommodate the greater forces exerted by larger motors. For example, CF wrapping the BT. But my fin design will only be 1/8" thick. I can't share more detail now as my competitors visit TRF... :wink:

BTW, my K2045 sims to just shy of 6,000 ft @ MACH 1.5.
 
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View attachment 303912

Here is the file for this particular rocket with the nose cone corrected.
View attachment 303912

This is what it looks like. The line in the center of the nose is the ballast. I add the ballast weight, estimate the length and then show it as "0 inches" in dia.

View attachment 303913

Hi Evan,

I missed your updated information yesterday. I had some exciting news about the CinerocDV, and was busy trying to arrange things between several different parties.

The shape looks good... However, where's the shoulder of the nosecone?
 
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Update on this project... The BlueTube has arrived. Upscale CNC has the design and is fabricating an interlocking set of fins and rings that will lock the fins to the airframe. Build will probably start in December.
 
Nice to see another hot rodded MDRM in the works!! You will have fun building and flying it. I did a threesome of upscales and used Blue Tube and 1/4" Baltic Birch for the fins. No tip to tip just fiberlassed the fins on both sides and slid them into the slot. So far its been several J's in the Goblin and MDRM with no sign of trouble . The biggest MDRM motor has been a 4 grain sparky. Not sure about a K2045 I think its just a recipe for confetti:y:

Good Luck

IMG_5508.jpg

IMG_5502.jpg

IMG_0839.jpg

lam.jpg
 
Nice to see another hot rodded MDRM in the works!! You will have fun building and flying it. I did a threesome of upscales and used Blue Tube and 1/4" Baltic Birch for the fins. No tip to tip just fiberlassed the fins on both sides and slid them into the slot. So far its been several J's in the Goblin and MDRM with no sign of trouble . The biggest MDRM motor has been a 4 grain sparky. Not sure about a K2045 I think its just a recipe for confetti:y:

Good Luck

These rockets are sweet!

The Bluetube should be strong enough for mach speeds. Fins will be 3/8" in, and the interlocking fins and rings will prevent the rocket from losing a fin. It really should be OK... But at the end of the day, it will either be a good flight or a GREAT flight.
 
Nat finished cutting fins so I started on this project. The fin roots are full length. They will be held in place both by an interlocking fin and root design and a full length strip of glasscloth along the roots, which will also help to hold down fin flutter. The leading edges of the fins have been tapered by using a belt sander. I will hand-sand the final finish. Trailing edges will stay square so it has a whistle. No FG exposed anywhere. First snag is that the Estes MDRM nose cone fit into the Bluetube is too tight. Need to sand the shoulder... a lot.

This is the obligatory parts photo.

Der Mad Max 3.jpg
 
Fins and rings assembled and glued into place. The close-up shot shows how they lock in place. These are not coming apart anytime soon.

Der Mad Max 4.jpg Der Mad Max 4a.jpg
 
Very nice . What is the weight of that sub-assembly? Are the CRs also 3/8" ply?


Weight is 23.2 oz. for the fins. Rings weigh 1 oz. each (3/8" ply all cut from the same sheet). Just got into a FB discussion on the NAR page that glass-coated 1/4" ply really saves little if any weight because the surface area of the fins requires a little more than half a yard of 6 oz. FG for 2 layers. Add the weight of the epoxy and it will come in at best 1.5 oz. lighter and at worst 2.2 oz. heavier. Even so, the fins will still not be as rigid as 3/8" ply.

Because of the high CD, this is going to break mach one only through brute force...not through aerodynamics, so making it a little heavier isn't going to hurt much. A K2045 sims to Mach 1.25, but only takes it a mile high.

I simmed the rocket after weighing all the components, and with a K2045 it comes in right at 7 lbs. Final weight will probably be closer to 7.5 after adding in the epoxy. But this is being built to hold a 6-grain motor. Would love to fly it on a K1440. This is what it looks like with a K1440 in it.
Der Mad Max 2a.jpg
 
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Started work on my own mdrm build
I have a full fg airframe and fins only going to use the nose cone and decals from the kit
Will also be 54mm


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Weight is 23.2 oz. for the fins. Rings weigh 1 oz. each (3/8" ply all cut from the same sheet). ...Because of the high CD, this is going to break mach one only through brute force...not through aerodynamics, so making it a little heavier isn't going to hurt much. A K2045 sims to Mach 1.25, but only takes it a mile high.
Thanks for the info. What is the weight (and length) of the blue-tube MMT ?

My MDRM "EX" is completed except for finishing the NC paint, and I was interested in the weights of your version for comparison purposes as I've never yet used blue-tube. Only the kit's NC, BT, and fin shape & design were used. The BT has a CF overly, as do the fins, which have a G10 foundation with cutouts to save weight. The weight of my 3 completed fins are 18.67oz. My RockSim (as-built) model has a K2045 reaching 6,200 ft and Mach 1.37.

Our rockets would make a nice drag race... :y:
 
I really like the "Mad Max" theme. This is going to look great. As far as color for it, what about a bare Aluminium paint job? I think your vinyl would look good on it.
 
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