Fiberglass nosecones

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krislhull

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After being out of the hobby for over 10 years, I am getting back into it full bore. I am have ordered a kit to build to recert L1 in the spring, and am currently researching parts and supplies for a scratch built scale rocket for my L2. My question is that I am in need of a specific shape nosecone for my scratch built 4" project, and I found that both Madcow and Performance both sell ones that will work, with the Madcow being the best option. So my question is will the Madcow or Performance fiberglass nosecones fit Blue Tube or PML tubes with no issues? I know it might be a dumb question, but before I invest that much in a nosecone, I want to make sure!
 
A Madcow nosecone should fit fine as long as it is normal wall thickness and not the thin-wall variety (which I'm not sure they even have for 4" dia.).
 
Bluetube is funny to work with. I made the mistake of wet sanding once. You can imagine the results.
 
I am not certain, having never built blue tube or PML, but I believe the industry standard for tubes is on the inside diameter. IOW, a 54mm FG tube and a 54mm phenolic tube are going to have the same ID, but different thicknesses (outside diameter). All you care about is that the OD of the nose cone shoulder fits the ID of the blue tube, and I believe that is a given.

The only place where this differs is with Estes tubes and clones. Estes does not follow standard ID numbers; for instance, the Estes 3" BT is measured by the OD, not the ID, and will not take a NC made for 3" ID. So, you can't buy a Pinnacle NC and stick it in an Estes Leviathan, for example.
 
Thanks for the help, guys. I went ahead and ordered one of the Madcow filament wound nosecones, and it fits like a glove!
 
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