GLR Mariah 54 - Block 3 Video Build

[SinfulDarkLord]

Hey guys here is another thread on Giant Leap Rocketry's Mariah series. This time it is the Block 3 version of the Mariah 54. Once again it is a new design and it is definitly a completed kit. Enjoy the thread. Here is a picture of the parts that will be going together.

[SinfulDarkLord]

Okay as usual I like to get the breadbox/shotgun out of the way first. Ive started of by gluing together the rings into the breadbox sliding door. Then I glued the double layer centering rings.

1. Glued Centering rings for breadbox sliding door
2. Glued together the double layer centering rings




Here is the video to this section of the build

[SinfulDarkLord]

Okay everyone I have done some more gluing to the breadbox/shotgun. First things first I glued the inside bulkhead then I glued the top centering ring. Next is the forward centering ring and then the afterwards centering ring. Pictures are in order.

1. Glued Inside Bulkhead
2. Glued top Centering Ring
3. Glued Forward Centering Ring
4. Glued Afterwards Centering Ring



Video to this portion of the assembly, Enjoy .

[BearMan]

Not to interrupt progress here..... but wanted to let the readers of this thread know I have posted some updates in my Mariah 54 thread.......

http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthr...005#post356005

[SinfulDarkLord]

So I decided to edit this post to make room for the video of assembling the E-bay sled where your electronics will be mounted to, enjoy.

[SinfulDarkLord]

Edited this post for new pictures and a video describing the assembly for the parachute recovery. Enjoy .

[blackbrandt]

Cool!

[SinfulDarkLord]

Edited this post to include the video of the drilling of the ports and for the rivets and screws that hold the e-bay sled. Also I had to include the part where you glue in the nose cone to the shorter airframe. Enjoy

[BearMan]

I am looking at the shock cord routing...... Is it correct? I know mine is the original design but seems like something is different.

[SinfulDarkLord]

Okay so I decided to edit this post to make room for the fin attachment video. Here are some pictures.



Here is the video, enjoy.

[BearMan]

My cords terminate inside the cannon/ av-bay and come out around the middle Centering ring. I would be leary that your could be jerked off the surface mount...... If this is what you did. Maybe a layer of glass and resin over would help.

[BearMan]

I do not trust 5-30 mib epoxy....... Have found the bond too inconsistent and brittle/flaky. If you can break the kevlar before the ends pull off then you will be fine ;-)

The original design had knots tied in the cord and the kevlar went through holes drilled in the wooden bulkhead..... Extremely secure IMHO. I have recently surface mounted some kevlar to a nose cone but I used[URL West Systems 207 /105 with several layers of 10oz cloth over 12" area and pressure from a balloon during the cure.

I recently had a rocket separate at apogee from a 1g charge! The weak link was a 3/16 eye bolt the straightened out!

[freddiejojo]

Okay folks,

You can't please everybody anytime. I moved the shokcord attachement to the outside of the Shotgun tube because of complaints mounting it to the bulkhead inside, now I'm getting bagged on by putting it on the outside. I like the outside mounting now because it is a method used by PML for years and I have nothing but the greatest respect for their kits. Also, it frees up room inside the Shotgun tube and makes replacement (if necessary) possible. I didn't run them under the rear centering ring on the Shotgun tube because it was not possible to do so in a production mode. And this method has proven itself numerous times in field testing. It is one thing to make a "one off", but making kits requires that I make a product I like, the customer likes, a low enough price the customer will pay for and keep the expenses down to keep the boss happy. Very few times does that all work together.

As for tearing apart mounting hardware with one gram charges, it must be re-stated again and again, the Mariahs are like Formula 1 race cars, built for performance and only require less than 1/2 to 1/3 of a gram in the M38 for instance and just a few flakes more for the M54. You are not flying some old Hudson or Desoto that can not be beaten to death and you put 10 grams of charge in it just to hear the boom at ejection. If you want to put fiberglass over the shokcords, well Shazam, there is some included with the kit so go for it.

As for not trusting 5-30 minute epoxy, okay, your choice and experiences. And now that I know better, yes, products like Aeropoxy are better. But for the record, I built the first prototype of the Talon6 in 1998-9 which flew successfully first time out of the chute for my L3 shot and it was built exclusively out of 15 and 30 minute epoxy purchased from hobby stores.

Kent/GLR

[cwbullet]

Nice build thread. I have one of these to build.

Kent,

I too built my level 3 with 15-30 minute epoxy. I did use some west system also. I have yet to have a glue related failure.

[flynfrog]

What are you plans for motor retention? Before you bond in that hard point check out the aeropack min tube diameter retainer

[cwbullet]

What are you plans for motor retention? Before you bond in that hard point check out the aeropack min tube diameter retainer

I would recommend this also. It is awesome.

[gldknght]

What are you plans for motor retention? Before you bond in that hard point check out the aeropack min tube diameter retainer

Before you buy one of these (if you are talking about the one that goes up inside the airframe tube), be aware they will NOT fit inside the Mariah 54 body tube as is. I used one of these in my Mariah 54 and had to pound it down inside the airframe with a rubber mallet and a length of PVC pipe. I don't recommend trying this. You must sand or grind off a bit of the aluminum from the outside diameter of the motor retainer for it to slide down inside. You will also need to have on hand the longest motor case and reload you are planning to fly so you can get the retainer in the right place.

[troj]

Interesting. It should fit any 54mm airframe - if the motor case fits, the retainer should fit

I suspect you got one that was slightly out of spec - it wouldn't take much to make it a really tight fit.

[patelldp]

Do a search on this forum for my Crank 54mm rocket. I experienced the same tight fit inside Blue Tube and had to turn down the retainer on a lathe.

[freddiejojo]

Before you buy one of these (if you are talking about the one that goes up inside the airframe tube), be aware they will NOT fit inside the Mariah 54 body tube as is. I used one of these in my Mariah 54 and had to pound it down inside the airframe with a rubber mallet and a length of PVC pipe. I don't recommend trying this. You must sand or grind off a bit of the aluminum from the outside diameter of the motor retainer for it to slide down inside. You will also need to have on hand the longest motor case and reload you are planning to fly so you can get the retainer in the right place.

Dear Mr. Night,

I am so glad you brought up the tightness issue. We did have problems with the early Magnaframe, but new production runs of Magnaframe (including the tubing used to make the Block 3 Mariah 54's) have had that issue dealt with.

You have my deepest apologies for the difficulties you faced. I hope you will let me make it up to you.

Kent/GLR

[flynfrog]

Before you buy one of these (if you are talking about the one that goes up inside the airframe tube), be aware they will NOT fit inside the Mariah 54 body tube as is. I used one of these in my Mariah 54 and had to pound it down inside the airframe with a rubber mallet and a length of PVC pipe. I don't recommend trying this. You must sand or grind off a bit of the aluminum from the outside diameter of the motor retainer for it to slide down inside. You will also need to have on hand the longest motor case and reload you are planning to fly so you can get the retainer in the right place.

I had to grind mine down too. I forgot about that until you mentioned it. Pretty much until the groves are gone.

[flynfrog]

Kent I think its the retainer not the tube. The motor cases fit fine.

[patelldp]

See Posts 14 and 29.

http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthr...ght=crank+54mm

[Neuport]

I had to grind mine down too. I forgot about that until you mentioned it. Pretty much until the groves are gone.

I used the 38mm min dia retainer in a Blackhawk 38 and also had to sand the ridges down a bit to get it to go in. They are pretty nice but you can also make one pretty easily with a thick bulkhead and an eyebolt.

[flynfrog]

I think i would rather use JB weld then fix it clay. for mine I did the base fins with JB weld then mixed areopoxy with glass beads for the big fillets. I then glassed over the fillet. I did not do tip to tip to try and keep the weight down. Im hoping this will be good for mach 2.5 or so.

[Aksrockets]

I apologize I have not finished up the Mariah 54. I am still deciding on how to make the fillet. I know 15 minute with chopped fiberglass cloth works very well but I am just not experienced enough to work with it. I wanted to go with Aeropoxy but it is out of my hands and it will take me a long time to aquire some. My last option is the FIXIT Epoxy Clay that I still have. I didnt know how to make good fillets with it but after a little practice I finally got a nice fillet. However after talking with the makers of the FIXIT Epoxy Clay they told me about a product that they have that is called FIXIT Epoxy Clay Black. The one I have right now is the Aluminum Grey. After speaking with the maker he told me that the FIXIT Epoxy Clay Black has Carbon based fibers in it. So it is obvious that it has to be really strong and it is something I am willing to try for $10. So please be patient with me on this. Thank you

I wouldnt use any kind of epoxy clay. It's loaded with tons of fillers that just decrease strength (trust me, Ive had my problems).
If I were you, I would use chopped carbon fiber and epoxy. I did this on my MachMobile38 and these fillets are bullet-proof. They are a little hard to work with, being sloppy and hard to position correctly. However: once cured, these things wont ever crack.

Edit: These things DO take a lot of work. You're not afraid to work for your rockets, arnt you?

Alex

[tagerton]

If it were me, I would probably wait until I could get some good high strength epoxy. I believe Aeropoxy has nearly 3 times the strength of JB Weld.
Fixit clay could work. I feel like it isn't quite as strong and does not 'soak' in as much and thus forms a weaker bond.

For as high performance as this rocket is. I think it's worth waiting a week to get aeropoxy. I think I got 1/2 gallon for $41.75 + a few for shipping. The set time is nice and long and gives you more than an hour to get everything just right. Also, I think it would be much cheaper in the long run to get the aeropoxy versus the small $10 containers of fixit. The aeropoxy will be good for many builds down the road. Patience is an important part to building good rockets.

[CarVac]

It seems like Giant Leap now has pint kits of es6209 if people don't want to buy quarts.

[freddiejojo]

It seems like Giant Leap now has pint kits of es6209 if people don't want to buy quarts.

Dear Mr. Vac,

Ding, ding, ding you are correct and I'm very excited about that as we asked and they packaged that way just for us. Same thing goes for the Aeropoxy Laminating Resin/hardner kits as well.

Kent/GLR

[CarVac]

Aeropoxy 6209 soaks into and strengthens blue tube, just so you know.