Trident I missile build

Looking good! great project!

Thanks to both of you! Hopefully I will be able to finish application of the decals this weekend, then get a coat of clear over them. Unfortunately, I will not be able to make the next club launch, so it will be a while longer before I can launch it.

Ahhhh, some progress !

The copper wrap looks great ,I like that !!

I look forward to the finished missile.

Cheers

Paul T

Got most of the rest of the decals on: interstage and adaptor/equipment section, hatches etc. Still have some of the little rivet decals to apply, then clear coat. Have yet to paint the aerospike, although I figure with the weight of the nosecone, the spike has a life expectancy of about 0.95 flights. i think it will get supeglued in place just before launch, as even riding around in the car probably won't be very safe for it.

oh that`s looking nice ! Man.....I bet getting those wraps on could not have been easy !

Is the clear coat going to dull the copper finish ?

paul T

Thanks! The hardest part of putting the wraps on was trying to get the transition area covered. I probably should have cut out a piece like a paper transition, but live and learn. I will probably touch bases with Mark at Stickershock before painting. He came up with a nice set of wraps. It would be bad to mess them up, although I can see some of the outer layers peeling off without a little something over the whole thing. My biggest hope is that the rocket doesn't self destruct on the first launch.

Yesterday, I took a couple of strips of the leftover copper wrap material, applied them to a piece of extra tubing I had laying around and spray painted one. Applied the clear on one piece rather heavily and it turned out looking pretty good. Actually, couldn't tell the difference once it dried. So, clear coating should work out OK.

Madison Alum said:

Yesterday, I took a couple of strips of the leftover copper wrap material, applied them to a piece of extra tubing I had laying around and spray painted one. Applied the clear on one piece rather heavily and it turned out looking pretty good. Actually, couldn't tell the difference once it dried. So, clear coating should work out OK.

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Very wise to have had a piece to do a test ,very good idea !

That`s pretty cool that the color or shine did not change ,good to hear.

Paul T

Well, here is my rocket, all ready to go. If all goes as planned, I should be able to get it into the air in two weeks, at the next club launch. Plan on launching it on an I245G, which should take it to about 1450 ft. Hopefully there is a second launch. Thank to Roachwerks and Stickershock for the great nosecone and wrap.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

Very nice- I can't wait to see it fly!

Thanks for the kind words. I too can't wait to see it fly. It's been a long drawn out build, but it should stay low enough to see the whole flight and hopefully not get lost in the crops up at the AMA. Not sure what they are growing up there this year. It's been beans the last two years, so I may be out tramping through the corn.

Beautiful and certainly a very different built.....I LIKE THAT !!

All the best on your first flight !

We got lucky this year ,our HP field is Soy beans ,nice and low growing.Last year it was wheat up to your crotch ,you could be 2 feet from your rocket and not see it !

Good luck


Paul T

Thanks. I wasn't able to go the launch in June, so I'm not really sure what is planted up at AMA this year. They don't seem to rotate the crops like they do most places around here.

Very cool.

Thanks! Hope to get it airborne on Saturday. Also hope to get some good pictures, or at least some pictures.

Finally got the Trident I into the air this weekend. Launched on an I245G with an 8 second delay. Flight was perfect. Recovery from the beanfield was non eventful save for a few trampled beans. Photo timing was poor, as usual. Decided that the aerospike was going to be a casualty regardless of how the flight went, so I flew the rocket without it. Was somewhat concerned with the lexan fins cracking on landing, but they didn't, so there will be another flight. Didn't use an altimeter, but the predicted 1400 feet looked about right. Only have a shot of it setting on the pad and some blue sky. Yep, just sitting on the pad.

Madison Alum said:

Finally got the Trident I into the air this weekend. Launched on an I245G with an 8 second delay. Flight was perfect. Recovery from the beanfield was non eventful save for a few trampled beans. Photo timing was poor, as usual. Decided that the aerospike was going to be a casualty regardless of how the flight went, so I flew the rocket without it. Was somewhat concerned with the lexan fins cracking on landing, but they didn't, so there will be another flight. Didn't use an altimeter, but the predicted 1400 feet looked about right. Only have a shot of it setting on the pad and some blue sky. On second look, there is some movement, as the red cap is on the ground and the ignitor cord is on the ground. Launch first motion. Tube closure is blowing.

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Amazing, How much payload can it carry? Just kidding, But man. It looks awesome. Im hoping to create my first candy rocket. I'm still learning but Im going looking forward to getting above 50m. But, How high did you go with that good looking rocket?

Thanks! On the I245 motor it only goes to about 1400 feet. The lexan fins are heavy so there is a lot of nose weight and I tend to overbuild. The loaded weight was a little less than 10 pounds.

10 pounds :y:

I had no idea it was that heavy.

Congratulations on a successful flight !! :handshake:

I think you were wise to remove the spike !

Would have loved to see video of that beauty taking off.

Take care


Paul T

Someday I may figure out how to get a decent video of a launch. Currently still trying to just get a good picture. The fact that it survived means it will be back out ther someday, although now it has some bean juice smeared on it.

Looking back at the weights on this thing, it is just a hair under 7.5 pounds. Got my conversions messed up . Was using grams in the sims and converting into 12 oz cans for some reason.

Madison Alum said:

Looking back at the weights on this thing, it is just a hair under 7.5 pounds. Got my conversions messed up . Was using grams in the sims and converting into 12 oz cans for some reason.

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Ah...beer comes in 12oz cans !

Damn bean juice !


Paul T

What do ballistic missiles do? They take off, fly a ballistic path, more or less and then go kersplat, or something to that effect. Little did I know that todays flight of my Trident I was scheduled to be a research project to determine the type of topsoil that exists in the surrounding bean fields. Don't know why it happened, but the chute didn't deploy, although the nose cone did and the rest was entertaining but painful. My thanks to those that helped in the rcovery effort. Finding a chuteless rocket in a beanfield was not an easy task. I would guess the farmer who had planted the field may be glad he didn't find the rocket with his combine. Anyway, here is a final picture on the pad. My attempt at making a video of the event was worse than my usual picture taking, so will not be included. Repair is not an option. The nosecone is split into 3 pieces and the body tube, although made ofsome beefy LOC material, is crumpled in a few places. Amazingly, the lexan fins, which I had heard tended to be somewhat prone to cracking escaped unscathed. Future build of a new version is a possibility.

Madison Alum said:

What do ballistic missiles do? They take off, fly a ballistic path, more or less and then go kersplat, or something to that effect. Little did I know that todays flight of my Trident I was scheduled to be a research project to determine the type of topsoil that exists in the surrounding bean fields. Don't know why it happened, but the chute didn't deploy, although the nose cone did and the rest was entertaining but painful. My thanks to those that helped in the rcovery effort. Finding a chuteless rocket in a beanfield was not an easy task. I would guess the farmer who had planted the field may be glad he didn't find the rocket with his combine. Anyway, here is a final picture on the pad. My attempt at making a video of the event was worse than my usual picture taking, so will not be included. Repair is not an option. The nosecone is split into 3 pieces and the body tube, although made ofsome beefy LOC material, is crumpled in a few places. Amazingly, the lexan fins, which I had heard tended to be somewhat prone to cracking escaped unscathed. Future build of a new version is a possibility.

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Awwwwwww...BUMMER !

I sure am sorry to hear about this ,very sad end to your great project ,although your story had me laughing.

Hope you have plans for another build.

Take care my friend !!

Paul t


**** RIP Trident *****

My condolences on the loss of your rocket. It was a sweet build.

Thanks to both of you. I think that I may try to rebuild, but I may wait until getting my level 2 cert and making it bigger.