New scratch build: Bomber Betty

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The bulkhead is 30" from one end of the body tube. I thought I would be able to reach in to install the u-bolt, but no such luck. My arm isn't quite long enough. So I made a jig. I love jigs!

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Finally got some work done on Betty. I drilled the vent holes and built a painting stand. I also sealed and sanded the fins, and primered them.

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Other than the spirals, it doesn't look half bad. It's certainly good enough for me. I really like the satin finish.

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For once, it's not good enough for me. And this time, the photos look better than real life. It didn't cover well, and the spirals are very prominent.
I was lazy, and didn't primer it first. I might primer it tomorrow and reshoot it.


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Looks great! I really hate bugs too, they are out in force during the painting time these days!
 
Fortunately, I didn't have any bug problems yesterday or today.
 
Much better. Now I need to put on the decals, and she'll be done.

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I have the decals. I'll apply them tomorrow after the paint has cured a bit longer.
 
That looks GRRRREAT! I too really like the satin finish....nice!!!:clap:
 
Thanks Eric! I've used satin paint on my last few builds. It covers well, and doesn't show as many defects as gloss does.
 
Got the harness attached. I'm borrowing the harness from my L2 bird, The Shadow. That's about 30' of 9/16 tubular bylon, and 5' of tubular Kevlar.
The chute I'm using is a LOC 78".


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Got the J350W assembled. I couldn't figure out why the o-ring wouldn't seat in the groove of the forward seal disc, until I discovered that I had left the last o-ring in it. A black o-ring in a black seal disc is hard to see!

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I'll be launching Bomber Betty tomorrow at the Snow Ranch launch. Swatkat made a 3D printed retainer for me, but we're not 100%
certain it will hold up to the heat of the J350. So I made one retention clip for it, just in case.


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I'm looking forward to watching it fly. I like Aaron's retainers. He gave me a 29mm and I would love to see how it handles the heat. See you in the morning.
 
The retainer did melt a little bit. I don't think it was compromised, but it's not reusable. I'll stick with my homemade clips moving forward.

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Yessir, video and photos. I just haven't gotten around to making a launch report yet, but here they are.

[YOUTUBE]51iWrVTerfI[/YOUTUBE]

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Thank you!!!
That was absolutely awesome!
Great job “Captain”!!!
Please post your report when you can.
Again, great stuff!



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