Easy to build, cheap 54mm saucer?

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I'll experiment. I'll build a 38mm paper saucer on a low thrust baby H motor and work my way up.
I am going to reinforce it, and use epoxy instead of wood glue.

Thanks,
 
I flew the crap out of a 4-sided pyramid when I was younger. 12" equilateral triangles, 29mm mount and 1/4" brass lug. Flew really nicely on F20 Econojets.

Make it out of nice cardboard and it will last a long time. Good old wood glue works for the cardboard/paper joints, and 5 minute epoxy for the lug. Keep it lightweight and it will float down very nicely, no need for a chute or streamer.
 
I flew the crap out of a 4-sided pyramid when I was younger. 12" equilateral triangles, 29mm mount and 1/4" brass lug. Flew really nicely on F20 Econojets.

Make it out of nice cardboard and it will last a long time. Good old wood glue works for the cardboard/paper joints, and 5 minute epoxy for the lug. Keep it lightweight and it will float down very nicely, no need for a chute or streamer.

Yeah, my brother has made different paper plate saucers. One time, he made a cardboard pyramid, he flew it on 2 C6-0s, but one CATO'd, and destroyed it. :(

Thanks,
 
The 54mm is foamboard reinforced with fiberglass. The front edges are reinforced with quarter round molding. Very, very durable and really fun to fly!
 
Here you go Andrew,
Here's how to build a cheap pyramid (cousin to a saucer) easily. I built mine in a couple hours, not including glue curing.
image.jpegimage.jpg
Get a 1 inch x 2 ft x 8 ft sheet of extruded polystyrene also known as "blue [also comes in pink] board" or "Dow [also made by Owens Corning] board" at your local lumber yard/Home Depot/Lowe's. That should not set you back more than $20. Cut three 2x2 foot right triangles with a 45 degree bevel on the sides. (A table saw would be best, but a skill saw would work. You'll want adult supervision of course and a dust mask would be a good idea. Do they still have shop class in middle/high school?) You'll have plenty left over to build another later.
Glue these together with polyurethane glue like "Gorilla glue". Be sure to tape the pieces together well as the glue expands. It will look like the corner of a box if you sit it on one of the sides.
You'll need an equilateral triangle of foam and a plywood centering ring for a thrust plate. image.jpeg. A 3.9" to 2.14 (54mm) will be $8.91 from LOC Precision. (Alternatively, you could make one in shop for next to nothing.)
I used a 7 inch length of 38mm motor mount tube I had lying around. However, it would certainly take a 54mm motor mount? I have flown mine a couple times with a CTI J381 Skidmark. On the other hand, it also flies well on as little as a single grain 38mm Tiger Tale EX motor. 10" of 54mm motor mount goes for $2.89 from LOC Precision.
Finally, you'll need a launch lug to fit your needs and rod availability at your club. I used a 1/4 inch lug. Six go for $3.03.
It looked good originally painted black. Then I used spray adhesive to wrap it with a space blanket to give it the "futuristic space" look. I haven't decided if I like it or not. It might have been better to use three separate pieces instead of one wrinkly wrap around the three sides.
I hope this helps,
Matt
Thanks to Howie Druckerman for showing me this idea.
 
Are there any out there? Looking to fly a big motor in a easy rocket. Won't take much to build one. Or maybe a 38mm one.

I checked Art Applewhite's website, he has some good products, but didn't find too many HPR ones.

Here is one for you. It is made of those foam pool noodles that you can get just about anywhere these days. The guy flies it on 54mm motors.

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I'll experiment.

Thanks,

That's a great idea. This thread has offered a lot of good ideas. I've flown a Art Applewhite 12" saucer on an I; have flown a cardboard pyramid on a G+4 BP motors (D? E?, I forget) and it could easily handle more; a plastic spool on an I (this one needed a small chute which was merely stuffed in the top of the motor tube. Most anything can become a saucer rocket ;)

naram50018.jpg
 
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1503508328.746287.jpg

Here is my spool with a skyripper I hybrid. Going to fly it this weekend hopefully with the J-144
 
Here is my spool with a skyripper I hybrid. Going to fly it this weekend hopefully with the J-144

Please tell me you're going to bring some of this stuff to Midwest Power. oddroc drag race!
 
Might actually make a spool. Won't take much time, money, or effort. Just get a 54mm tube, 2 big 1/4 inch thick plywood circles, probably 12 inches in diameter? And fly it on J90, K185's all day.
Easy rocket + Cheap motor = Happy rocketeer. :grin:

Thanks,
 
Please tell me you're going to bring some of this stuff to Midwest Power. oddroc drag race!

Don't think I will make it this year... someday I will make it out there.
 
Details please! Tube size? Chute? I ask because I have a nice spool sitting in the garage!

No tube , I just chucked up the spool in my lathe and bored out the inside to 1.5" flipped it and bored the other side. The chute in the picture is a cheap estes 30" chute . Going to put a bigger chute this weekend. On the top of the motor is a piece of a pool noodle taped on to protect the case when it lands. I taped the motor on the top side of the spool so the motor wouldn't fall out.
 
Nice! Looks like it gets some good altitude, speaking of which, how high does it go? Yeah, it's always best to start small and go bigger. :)

That picture is about at burnout- it coasted for 3-4 more seconds, then the chute came out- so maybe 100 more feet from that picture.

Of course, you could try to fit an H motor in there.. no guarantees though :)
 
Got access to a laser cutter? Estes Blenders and Quinstars upscale nicely.

29mm Blender:
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1458440726.574041.jpg

38mm Quinstar:
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1489346121.000020.jpg

The Quinstar is pretty much limited to 1G motors. A 54mm version would just fit on a 12x24" laser cutter deck.
 
Not to steal the thread, but just snagged a Cool Spool. I'll do a quick build thread if you want. $20 seems more than fair and I lie low and slow so this is the ticket!

Anything bigger than this seems like homemade aside from the Wocket or the ones from Applewhite.
 
Related: Is there a good resource for designing and building oddrocs? I was thinking it would be fun to make a "lamp" oddroc (using an actual lampshade and a "base" that houses a motor, bonus points if I throw some LEDs in it so that you can turn it on for night flights) ...

Do the standard rules about CP and CG still apply for oddrocs? Can you estimate CP by balancing a cardboard outline? I'd love to get into building oddrocs but I'm not sure where to start. Or is it a matter of "Try it and if it crashes, try something else"
 
Also - not to be a jerk about it, but Art Applewhite, for whatever reasons, expressly prohibits upscaling or downscaling his stuff without permission. No idea about how amenable he is to giving permission, but if you're going to do that, you probably should ask.
 
Do the standard rules about CP and CG still apply for oddrocs? Can you estimate CP by balancing a cardboard outline? I'd love to get into building oddrocs but I'm not sure where to start. Or is it a matter of "Try it and if it crashes, try something else"

I only have a handful of oddrocs, but for ones that are at least somewhat aerodynamic (pyramid, applewhite priority stealth, etc) the best logic is to have weight in the top end. On the priority stealth, it's to have part of the motor sticking out of the top end. For my 6" pyramid, it has a good amount of BBs in the top end to make it very top heavy. My Rocketarium Turbo Vortico (propellor rocket) also has the motor sticking out the top, and very little on the bottom.

For the spool and related "non aerodynamic" ones, they're kind of drag stable, so that rule isn't as applicable.
 
I generally try to stick (fake) as much as I can in RockSim and add base drag if appropriate. I have heard of people doing a cardboard cutout. For oddrocs, you often need two, one in each orientation. In the end, many get a swing test. Then, put them on the far away pads.

Well, considering the thread, most of this doesn't apply. For most geometric things like a pyramid, saucer, etc the CP should be 2/3 of the length from the top. Art did formal tests on one of his delta saucers which showed the effective CP to be below the base of the saucer. Base drag, baby! Don't know if this is still on his website.
 
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A Hatchbox 3D printer filament spool is perfect for 54 mm. Very little mod necessary. I will be flying one at Airfest on a 1 grain I motor. If it survives I will send it to you if you pay the postage.

Sorry, but I can't fulfill the offer. It flew great on an I115W, but I drilled the delay too short, it stripped the chute, and broke the spool on impact. I really don't think Js or long burn Ks would be a problem for it though.
 
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