ARS Rockets needs your opinions!

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

What should be my next kit?

  • 1/4 Sparrow rocket

  • Sidewinder rocket

  • Amraam rocket

  • Other; please describe


Results are only viewable after voting.

rockets

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
1,274
Reaction score
56
Location
Denver, CO
After 1 month of my first kit release date, I'm working on my 2nd kit. And to pick a kit that people will like, I want everybody who wants to do so, to give your opinion on what my next kit should be.
So go on and vote! And if you click other, please describe what you want.

Just a quick note, I'm trying to stick with US missile designs for now.

And if you haven't already done so, check us out on the web, and buy a Patriot, and be quick! There's only 3 left in stock at eRockets!!!!!
erockets.biz
andrewsrocketryshop.blogspot.com
https://www.rocketreviews.com/andrews-rocketry-shop---patriot.html
[email protected]



Thanks,
 
Andrew,
do something a little less common.. Look at what TLP offers, and follow suit. Stand out with something neat, unique.. not done & re-done..

may I suggest:
Flail, Excocet, Maveric, Harm, Shrike, Rapier

Also, look at some designs that have a transition in them. I'll boost your design skills, and offer something that's not just a straight tube.
 
Andrew,
do something a little less common.. Look at what TLP offers, and follow suit. Stand out with something neat, unique.. not done & re-done..

may I suggest:
Flail, Excocet, Maveric, Harm, Shrike, Rapier

Also, look at some designs that have a transition in them. I'll boost your design skills, and offer something that's not just a straight tube.

I’ll second that.

If you really want a challenge, do a sprint missile!
 
Andrew, try making a square or triangular rocket.. I mean the body shape, so it’s not just a tube / cylinder. Start with the tube of choice, being the MMT tube, then add some ribs / formers that are the shape you want. Then sheet these ribs on 3 or 4 sides with thin balsa to get away from the round tube body.. Supply an oversized nosecone, and file / sand it to shape, to match the body.

If you vary the size of the inner formers, you can get a bulging shape, not a linear triangle (prism?) or square (box)..

The fins are easier than you think!

Get a tube, and some cardboard, both a thick piece for the formers, and thin (like a file folder) for the skins, and play around with the concept..



I’ve been toying with the idea for a number of years..

andrw 1.jpg

andrw 2.jpg
 
You could also very the above mentioned concept, to have round CRs in stead of a triangle or square, and use a multiple frustums (cones with the tops chopped off) to get a varying body shape.. You can find a frustum calculator online..
 
You could also very the above mentioned concept, to have round CRs in stead of a triangle or square, and use a multiple frustums (cones with the tops chopped off) to get a varying body shape.. You can find a frustum calculator online..

Admit it, you just wanted an excuse to say "frustum".
 
Andrew, try making a square or triangular rocket.. I mean the body shape, so it’s not just a tube / cylinder. Start with the tube of choice, being the MMT tube, then add some ribs / formers that are the shape you want. Then sheet these ribs on 3 or 4 sides with thin balsa to get away from the round tube body.. Supply an oversized nosecone, and file / sand it to shape, to match the body.

If you vary the size of the inner formers, you can get a bulging shape, not a linear triangle (prism?) or square (box)..

The fins are easier than you think!

Get a tube, and some cardboard, both a thick piece for the formers, and thin (like a file folder) for the skins, and play around with the concept..



I’ve been toying with the idea for a number of years..

I like that idea... I'll look into it further.




Thanks,
 
I'll look into it. What size do you want, LPR or MPR?


Thanks,


Lo-power is fine for starters. Just wanted to throw a rare rocket into the mix.


Love the non-circular ideas too. Maybe keep the lines of your Patriot and make it a PaTriangle? Kind of How New-way makes square versions of other rockets.
 
I've been looking for an IRIS-T or IRIS-slT variant for awhile.
That is quite an interesting rocket, with a huge amount of detail on it and a very unusual rear fin can. Plus the eyeball up front. I like. Would be challenging to build at all, much less kit up. Some sort of sport-scale version seems plausible at LPR size.

Here's a ginormous picture that shows it all pretty well: https://i0.wp.com/www.lima.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IRIS-T-freigestellt-Feb.08.jpg
 
Lo-power is fine for starters. Just wanted to throw a rare rocket into the mix.


Love the non-circular ideas too. Maybe keep the lines of your Patriot and make it a PaTriangle? Kind of How New-way makes square versions of other rockets.
OK, I will need to design this, but how about a 1/10 scale model, which would be 2 ft. tall and 1.2 inches in diameter with a 24mm motor mount.



Thanks,
 
OK, I will need to design this, but how about a 1/10 scale model, which would be 2 ft. tall and 1.2 inches in diameter with a 24mm motor mount

I'd say make it BT55 and scale accordingly. The shrunkified bit at the rear of the fin can could be BT50. Seriously, this would be a very interesting kit if you could pull it off, but it will not be easy. This is about 5 steps up in complexity from your existing Patriot kit, in every possible way.
 
OK, I will need to design this, but how about a 1/10 scale model, which would be 2 ft. tall and 1.2 inches in diameter with a 24mm motor mount.



Thanks,

That's closer to 1/5 scale, but I think that size with a 24mm mount is ideal! My initial musings on the IRIS make it require a little nose weight, which is good on the 24mm since the D12 is so punchy right off the pad.
Also, google IRIS-T missile site:nammo.com to get a great view of the back end of the rocket.

You've received a lot of cool suggestions in this thread, but if you do choose to kit up a sport-scale IRIS (ie. don't worry about all those details, adjust fins to be practical, etc.. ), there's a 90% chance I'd buy one. :cool:


Neil, I'll pm you with my "grand plan" that came into mind when I first saw the IRIS.
 
Last edited:
When I saw IRIS I was thinking this...

irisdonestacked.jpg


That would be an interesting kit as well, though hard to do as a multistage... I'll probably scratch build one one of these days.

Assuming normal light wall tubing I would think a BT-55 rocket would be better suited to 18mm... I guess it doesn't hurt to have a larger mount, but I would be concerned about stability. If I were to get one I'd probably fly it with an adapter a large fraction of the time.

If I were to add something else I'd pick some staged sounding rocket like the Iris, Aerobee, Boosted Arcas or Sparrow Arcas, etc... Then again, I have a soft spot for staged sounding rockets- I have two built and another in the works...
 
OK, guys.. So, there is NO Iris rocket kits with boosters. How about this, I include a booster! It could be bought with the kit, or bought separately.
It would probably have 18mm MMTs.


OOPS, My mistake... I thought you guys meant the Iris sounding rocket... Not sure if I can do that missile.


Thanks,
 
My interest is the missile, but that sounding rocket with booster would be a good challenge for you too.

Learn a new skill, refine the design, make a product, etc
 
I have gotten permission from the owner of the (no longer) Starlight Model Rockets to use some of Bob's designs.
You may be seeing some of Starlight model rocket kits coming back soon, but with a different name.
I'd expect that these should be coming late this year.



Thanks,
 
Well! Now that’s interesting. If I had to pick a Starlight design then my vote is for the Skymaster or the F32 Avenger - both are pretty nifty.
 
Of course, Andrew, another option for you is to go crazy with OR or RS, and create about a dozen or so designs, tweak them so they fly right & look right. Then give them funky names.. (When I played Mech Warrior, all my mech variants were girl names.. do the same with two or three designs you like.. Have 'the Pin Up' series of rockets.. Judy, Betty, Veronica, Sabrina, Tatyana, etc... and get someone to do some 'nose art' stickers for them.. (a la WWII bombers))

Now, the other thing to think about is parts cost & stocking (since you are a manufacturer, or plan to be..). It's cheaper to order 1000 pieces than 100 pieces of something. And, you then only need one bin for stocking, not two or three..

Pick two or three fin shapes you like. pick 2 or three body tube lengths, say a 16" tube, a 6" tube, and a 12" tube. Now, mix & match the fins & tubes to get different designs. Use the 16" tube & 3x fin style 'A'. there's one rocket. Add a coupler and the 6" tube, now you have that rocket, but the 'XL' or 'payload' version.. Take that rocket, and use 5 'A' fins, but upside down, and you have yet another rocket design.. (And, you were smart, and had the fins cut from 1/8" ply, so orientation isn't an issue) And you have another design with three of fin 'A and 3 of fin C (six fins total) on the 12" & 6" tubes, and you have yet another neat design.. you get the idea..
 
Back
Top