Mailing Tube Rocket

[aditat2]

Just for fun - seeing as how my leviathan is almost complete - I decided to see what I could come up with with some mailing tubes I have had laying around. So far all I have finished is the sizing of the tubes for the airframe and the tube couplers ( which are shown below ). I haven't decided how I'm going to do the fins or nose cone yet, but that's next. The brown tubes are for the engine tubes (29mm), and need to be strenthened with a coat of epoxy before they are ready to go in. Am in the process of cutting all my centering rings. The overall length of the body tube, when assembled, will be 42" so it's going to be a good sized bird. Will add more pics as I progress.

[aditat2]

Seeing as how MPR is something new to me I thought that rather than start a new thread I'd just carry on with this one. This is a pic of my finished Leviathan. This is the first MPR I've completed even though I have a couple of others in the works. The decals are ones I created for this kit - as it doesn't come with any, as I'm sure you're aware. I wanted to do it a bit different - to make it more individual - and this is what I ended up with. I hope you like it.

[fyrwrxz]

Extremely awesome looking bird! By George! I think you've got it! Carry on...

[MasonH]

If you were going for different, you certainly hit it on the head! Great job! Custom Decals?

[chadrog]

Love the lettering!

[scsager]

Agree - lettering is very sharp! - howja do dat?

[aditat2]

The decals were actually the easiest part of the entire build - which wasn't all that difficult to begin with. I got the decal paper at the local Hobby Lobby (I should be getting kick-backs from them for all the times I have recommended them). Used my trusty lap-top with Corel Draw on it and went through the 2000 some-odd fonts I have installed ( I use them for business as well as pleasure) and printed them out on my good ole ink jet printer. The hardest part was deciding which font to use. To get the best print quality I set the printer for "Photo" quality and set the paper quality as "premium matt photo". Easy! Glad you like it - my wife thinks it looks kinda phalic - but then she would (heeheehee).

[topper]

So what did you end up using for the fins and nose cone?
Looks good by the way.. !!!

[astroimgur]

Dude that looks amazing!

[aditat2]

topper - if you're asking about the physical nose cones and fins - those are from the kit. If you are asking about the decals - same as above. Corel Draw to create them. Graphics packages are so easy to use - at least for me - that I sometimes wonder how I ever got along without them. Now days - with the availability of decal paper for ink-jet printers - it just makes sense to do your own designs. I know it cuts out the guys who try to make a living (sort of) out of potential business, but if you can do it - then do it. But then I've always been a DIY kind of guy.

[aditat2]

Ok, now that the Leviathan if finished it's time to get back to the mailing tube project. After spending a couple of days learning how to use Open Rocket ( you can teach an old dog new tricks - it just takes longer) I put this together.

It looks like it's going to work. I have the tube couplers made. Now I just have to decide whether or not to epoxy the outside of the body tubes. I want it to be strong enough to withstand the pressures exerted during launch, so what do you guys think? Will the tubes be strong enough as is or should I coat them?

[MasonH]

The tubes should be plenty strong, unless you intend to go Mach speeds. Anything short of that will be fine if the internal parts, like the fins and motor mount, can handle it.

[aditat2]

That's what I was hoping. OR says that it could reach about .5 mach so I should be ok - I hope. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

[awseiger]

How'd you make that NC for the Mailing tubes? It looks very plasticy. Unless that's your Leviathan...

[MasonH]

That's what I was hoping. OR says that it could reach about .5 mach so I should be ok - I hope. Oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained.

People send cardboard tubed rockets way over mach without a problem. Rick Comshaw send a LOC Vulcanite up on a J600 I think, and he says his internal fillets were done with wood glue.

[aditat2]

Haven't made the NC for the mailing tube rocket yet. Am using a foam tree shape from the local HobbyLobby floral section. Will shape it down and epoxy it with a fabric coating to ensure durability. The cone is about 5 3/4" tall with about a 2 3/4" base so it should be easy to turn down to fit the tube. Yeah - the one in the background is the Leviathan prior to finishing the paint and decals. Will post pics when I make some more progress.Haven't had a chance to get much done this weekend due to "honey-do"projects.

[aditat2]

Ok. So I got my order from Apogee - motor mount tubes and centering rings, a couple of bulkheads, etc., so the build is afoot. First thing I did was take a foam cone and fit the base of it into the nose section tube that was already prepared.

After a little filing I had it pretty much shaped close to the final shape.



While waiting for the spackle to dry I assembled the motor tube - after carefully shaping the centering rings to fit the mailing tube.

Next was to mark the body tube for the fins and cut the slots prior to installing the motor tube in place.

Next came a gentle sanding of the nose cone and the application of the second coat of spackle.

[aditat2]

Next was to give the nose cone a light sanding and second coat of spackle.

While waiting for the second coat to dry I cut out the fins and glued them together.

Then I drilled vent holes in one of the two bulkheads for this build as a baffle for the ejection.

All in all it was a fairly productive couple of days. More as the build progresses.

[aditat2]

New Pictures!!! Well I once again had some time to work on this thing. Added the fins to the lower tube as you can see:

This is just the first one ( duhhh ). Here's a shot of the rocket with all the fins attached and the upper airframe attached:
Next weekend I'll start painting. I think I'll call it "Going Postal". Sound good?

[awseiger]

looking good!

I have to try your Styrofoam cone method. Mine turned out.... bad.

[aditat2]

It's really not that hard. Once I glued the foam tree shape into the body tube I took a file and just started taking off a little at a time until the base matched the BT and the shape was a close approximation of what I wanted. It is a bit messy but that's what vacuums are for.

[Polyalcoholic]

If you don't want to make a nose cone, the Giant Leap Pinnacle 3" nose cone is a perfect fit for a 3" mailing tube.

[DRAGON64]

I cloned my NCR SA-14 Archer using 3" mailing tube... flew great on H128 reloads. Homer Hickam signed it at NSL 99.

[aditat2]

Very cool. Especially getting it signed by Hickham. I am going to be building my Lev1 soon - I hope - and will probably use a 3" mailing tube for it as well. It's good to know that they work well for BTs. This is the first time I have built with them so its been interesting. In the past I just used commercialy available tubes (Estes) and nose cones. But then the last time I was involved with this hobby mid-power was just a D motor - at least that was all that was available at the hobby shops. That was almost 20 yrs ago. Things have sure changed in this hobby - and I am glad to see it.

[DRAGON64]

Here are some pics of my mailing tube creations:

The 3" SA-14 Archer on an H128:


My Excalibur flying on a HyperTEK motor:


Excalibur on my launch pad:


Like any scratch build project, the possibilities are endless, but with the mailing tubes, those possibilities become a little more affordable.

[aditat2]

Those are sweet. Makes me want to start on mine sooner - oh well, one thing at a time. No sense getting ahead of myself

[Handeman]

I am going to be building my Lev1 soon - I hope - and will probably use a 3" mailing tube for it as well. It's good to know that they work well for BTs. This is the first time I have built with them so its been interesting. In the past I just used commercialy available tubes (Estes) and nose cones.

Just be aware, mailing tubes are not as strong or durable as tubes made for rocketry, like LOC tubes. They are about as strong as the Estes tubes because they are thicker walled, but not as strong as the denser and better made tubes like you get from LOC. The 3" & 4" mailing tubes are the same size as the LOC tubes so standard nose cones fit, but I will only use mailing tubes for MPR or upper payload sections on smaller HPR. The last time a made a MPR/HPR rocket with mailing tubes, it only lasted 4 flights. Of course, a wrap or two of fiberglass will fix most durability issues.

[aditat2]

Ok - I know - I better have something new to show. I realize it has been a while since I started this thang but it is finally finished and I can get on with some other rocketry goodness. SO ..... without further ado, here she is ......GOING POSTAL!!!!!

[chadrog]

Love the graphic! Did you make that one too?

[aditat2]

Yep, that's one of the fun things about scratch-builds or kits that have no decals included with them. And it is oh, so easy to do.