Executioner Clone Build

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
This is usually the longest step in the build process, attaching and Filleting the fins.
The glue tends to shrink a lot and I go over each joint several times.
The fins are glued to the motor tube and to the mid bulk head.
Glue has been applied to the inside of the airframe where the fin meets the airframe and fillets on the outside of the airframe.

33.5.jpg

The last step is applying a bead of glue to the edge of each fin, and then seating the bottom centering ring in the glue.


With the fin can sealed up I can finish the motor retention. I'm using a screw on retainer from Rocketarium.

Single use and RMS style motors will fit in these retainers, and they are so easy to use. Not as inexpensive as a simple motor clip, or a "Kaplow" clip, but so convenient. They are attached per manuf. Instructions with JB weld epoxy.

0034.jpg

0035.jpg


I always mount (permanently) the rail buttons and launch lugs before I paint. I've seen it done the other way… paint first then Lugs. I'm not sure which is better. Since I had a batch of JB weld mixed… A little goes a long way.

This is the first time I'm using the Doghouse Rocketry buttons with the counter sunk heads. Hope they work as nice as they look. The machine screw length on these is generous. Much longer than I really needed, but I did not trim them. I could have mounted these before finishing the build, and with the tube "open" I could have secured them with nuts on the inside of the air frame. Coulda' - but I didn't. I use the mounting methods described by Matt of Railbuttons.com - he no longer sells the buttons but the mounting info is still on the web. I have never had any buttons come off a rocket ... yet.

0036.jpg

The Executioner Kit weight is advertised at 230 grams. With my mid break baffle design, Kevlar shock cord, and 24" nylon parachute, I'm at 275 grams.


Here's a shot of the old (busted)... and the new (hotness) together.

0037.jpg


Wisconsin weather - bah! I'm going to have to build another rocket or three while I wait for good painting weather.

Last, but not least... Hey KenRico... here's your Tommy Lee Jones... :D

[YOUTUBE]ha-uagjJQ9k[/YOUTUBE]
 
Last, but not least... Hey KenRico... here's your Tommy Lee Jones... :D

[YOUTUBE]ha-uagjJQ9k[/YOUTUBE]

Hey thanks, he was in 'The Executioners Song ' , used to be a fan but now he is two face

Strong but light weight build ! Mine came in over 50 grams higher with a cold air baffle. Should re-weigh it now, had to pull the baffle out after toasting the upper air frame now sporting a kevlar blanket on my Executioner. Flew recently with a CTI VMax F120, love this bird !

Kenny
 
Experiment Time - as noted in post #22 above: How well does a simple "Piester" baffle work at stopping hot ejection gasses and particles from reaching the recovery gear.

I used two similar sized rockets, one with a baffle and one without.
The Goblin below has just a 24mm motor tube and no baffle.

test1.jpg

Next I taped on a loop of typing paper to the top of the open tube. My thought was to see what damage would happen to the typing paper as a result of the ejection blast.

charge.jpg

I prepared ejection charges for each rocket. I used one third of a standard Aerotech ECK-1 ejection charge or about 0.46 grams of ffffg black powder. I used Quest Q2G2 igniters in Aerocon charge holders.

We set up the two rockets side by side at night - (for visibility) and filmed the results in IR night vision and HD video.


hd1.jpg

The results were pretty amazing - even though the HD camera was poorly framed.

The ejection charge creates a huge fireball for a very brief time. It's bright enough to be visible thru a Painted BT-80 airframe. The spirals light-up in a bright red orange color.

The "baffled" rocket had the motor tube running all the way to the baffle, essentially making it a "double wall" so nothing was visible thru the airframe.

Mostly smoke shot from the top of the baffled rocket, and left four small carbon smudges on the typing paper. The baffle seemed to quench/snuff/contain the blast very effectively.

On both charges, the cap of the charge container was blown off. The cap was caught in the baffle, and later retrieved. The "open motor tube" rocket ejected the cap like a plastic bullet. It tore a hole in the typing paper, and was never seen again.

The Typing paper on the open tube rocket was riddled with a thousand pinhole burn marks.

test2.jpg

Conclusion- The "Piester" type baffle is very effective. It will not eliminate all the heat damage that an ejection charge can cause, but is much better than no baffle at all.


[YOUTUBE]dy0Z_SWGc_M[/YOUTUBE]
 
Back
Top