Mac Performance 3" Black Fly 38mm L1 build

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liv3mind

liv3mind

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As my first step on my journey into HPR i decided to make i decently sized purchase from Mike at Mac Performance Rocketry. Best decision i have made in some time as he is quite a legit dude, very helpful and stellar customer service. As it seems to be the trend, this one is customized a little for me. 3” 38mm Black Fly with a stretched length of 48”. Added on the fwfg Wildman nosecone, Mac nosecone bay kit, aeropack retainer, rocketman 3’ chute, some protec recovery stuffs, 20ft shock cord, delrin rail buttons, fin jig, and some 15 min epoxy. I also ordered a 3” 54mm Zodiac with some sparts as well :p. This will be a build that will probably last a month or 2. I was so excited to get it i actually unpacked it all without taking pics, i will take some of everything soon, but here are a couple dry fit pics (don’t mind my wall sockets im painting)

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Started on the mmt today. A little sanding was required to allow the retainer to slip on comfortable (not loose, not overly tight)


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Next i sanded the tube where the forward centering ring was to attach. Following sanding i epoxied the retaining pin for the kevlar and the centering ring on. Taking care to apply tape to the kevlar as to not get epoxy on it. Please by kind as this was my first time mixing an applying epoxy. I used my finger to fillet, and actually found it easier than I expected. Hopefully it doesn’t look too terrible to the pros :p

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Next i sanded the inside of the airframe ahead of the fin slots with sand paper on a piece of pvc.

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I then spread epoxy just above the fin slots all the way around the air frame. I used a popsicle stick taped to a length of pvc. It worked pretty well, I dribbled a tiny bit and used alcohol and a rag to clean before sliding the mmt into the airframe with the tail cone attached. I took care to mark the mmt with the depth that the retainer needs to leave that portion exposed. Then I placed vertical and will leave to cure; then It will be time to remove the tail cone and try my hand at internal fillets. Definitely feeling a little timid about that.

Sorry for the crappy photo:
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So I did not actually get the fins done today. I marked them for sanding but need to go pick up som higher grit paper. I did however get the nosecone ebay built and finished. I am going to wait till I get a proper weight/cg measurement before I epoxy it into the nose cone , just incase I need to add a different weight. So that will be one of the last things I do.
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And now i finally got to doing a good portion of the fins tonight. It was pretty stressful. I started out marking and sanding the fins. I marked where I thought the external fillets would go and sanded up to that point.
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Next i got the fins in place and slid on the alignment jig.
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Next taking a playbook page from mpitfield i cut a small dowel to 3 lengths about 4” longer than the mmt. I slid it into where the internal fillets were going and marked where the fin went to on the dowel. Next i mixed up some 15min epoxy and applied it to the roots of the fins. Then in a line along the top of the dowel. I slid it in and put the epoxy in the corner between the fin and mmt and rotated. First 3 were semi messy and needed some extra attention. The rest went fairly smoothly. Here is a pic of the final 2:
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I used 1 dowel for every 3 fillets and managed 4 fillets on the 3rd dowel, good thing cause i only had enough for 3.

It was a little stressful feeling like i was on a timer after mixing the epoxy. But all in all went pretty smooth. Now i will let it cure till tomorrow and see what I’m going to do next
 
Very nice, I like your decisions so far. BTW the chute release is a great option for this fly. One thing just make sure you sim this fly and make sure she doesn't require nose-weight. The extra length may have eliminated it or mitigated it, but the flies are not stable without nose-weight and you don't want to be doing loop-de-loops for your L1.

Here is the base 3" BlackFly OR file that you can start with and customize from there View attachment MAC BlackFly 3".ork

BTW when I read the title I thought, cool a 38mm BlackFly, not a 3" with a 38mm MMT.

Good luck.
 
mpitfield said:
Very nice, I like your decisions so far. BTW the chute release is a great option for this fly. One thing just make sure you sim this fly and make sure she doesn't require nose-weight. The extra length may have eliminated it or mitigated it, but the flies are not stable without nose-weight and you don't want to be doing loop-de-loops for your L1.

Here is the base 3" BlackFly OR file that you can start with and customize from there View attachment 341521

BTW when I read the title I thought, cool a 38mm BlackFly, not a 3" with a 38mm MMT.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the kind words and the OR file, I have been playing with the sim a bit with my LPR files but i plan to spend a lot of time in OR playing with this thing before i feel ok to fly.

I planned on using a JLCR for this build (need to order one). I know there is some fluctuated opinion on running electronics in first L1 flight, but i am contemplating working on an altimeter and possibly tracking for this build as well. I am not in a rush to complete it and would love to learn about those systems as well (hence the added nose cone bay). I am hoping the added length, fwfg nose cone, and electronics in the nose cone will help with stability but OR should help me sort that out. This will be my first journey into the land of epoxy as well.

I will see about editing the title for clarification:)
 
Welcome to the "BlackFly" swarm.

I look forward to your build. Subscribed!

Btw, if you haven't already done so, check out mpitfield's build thread "MAC BlackFly build thread" (Link) for tips and inspiration.
 
Tobor said:
Welcome to the "BlackFly" swarm.

I look forward to your build. Subscribed!

Btw, if you haven't already done so, check out mpitfield's build thread "MAC BlackFly build thread" (Link) for tips and inspiration.
Click to expand...

Ty! I have been reading through mpitfield’s build over and over the last week. So much good info in there. Im very excited to join the swarm and hope my build will be a decent addition!
 
I am not up to date with this rocket , but if you glued the forward centering ring on , and the retainer on , how are you going to get the rear centering ring and tail cone onto the motor mount ?
 
mpitfield said:
I typically glue my retainer on after the build and paint is complete. It is literally the last thing I do.

Looking good so far, do you have a theme picked out yet?
Click to expand...

Im actually trying to think of a way to showcase the materials in the build. Probably will end up clear coating the fins/nose cone. Then figure out what color the air frame can be that will tie the two together. Im going to order the Black Fly decals from stickershock for sure.
 
And I thought i would unveil the decals i ordered today from Mark at stickershock! Using the Black Fly design with my own added twist. Mark was easily able to take my idea and turn it into reality. And its a little nod to Mac Canvas. The colors of the rocket are not indicative of what I’m doing.......but you will get little idea

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liv3mind said:
And I thought i would unveil the decals i ordered today from Mark at stickershock! Using the Black Fly design with my own added twist. Mark was easily able to take my idea and turn it into reality. And its a little nod to Mac Canvas. The colors of the rocket are not indicative of what I’m doing.......but you will get little idea

.View attachment 341613
Click to expand...

Nice twist, I bet Mikey will like it.
 
I think we need t shirts that say “join the swarm” at this point.
 
So i will legitimately make some if people are interested. I can email Mark and Mike to make sure its ok?


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
So maybe i can get some input, i know for final version that i need to do mass cg/cp override, but i am playing in openrocket today while at work and added all my planned components/weights (minus altimeter because i have not decided on that yet) and this is what i came up with so far. Along with some possibilities for motors.

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What type of input are you looking for? Thats a good sized rocket for level 1. I tend towards the H123 because I favor lower cert flights, and assuming it is the Aerotech H123 - I used it to cert so it's got a special place for me!

All your velocities and ground hit info looks good. You are using a chute release for this or no?
 
viciouspeanut said:
What type of input are you looking for? Thats a good sized rocket for level 1. I tend towards the H123 because I favor lower cert flights, and assuming it is the Aerotech H123 - I used it to cert so it's got a special place for me!

All your velocities and ground hit info looks good. You are using a chute release for this or no?
Click to expand...

More looking for velocity off rod input, I wanted to stay above 40ft/s, I believe 45+ would be even better? The motor that is on that list is a CTI 123. The data for the Aerotech 123 comes in at 49ft/s off the rod and 1730ft apogee. I am also looking at the H130w as well on suggestion from gfunk but I need to import the sim data to check it out. I am going to be using a JLCR for this build. I may use the JL altimeter for this flight as well, but I really want to attempt putting a more diy alt/tracking into it. We will see if Im feeling up to it when the time comes.

I need to finish the build and get accurate finished weight before i really feel satisfied with the sim, but i figured i should start trying to figure out what possibilities are for different motors.
 

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