Biggest scratch build yet - Bluto

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qquake2k

Captain Low-N-Slow
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Some have a need for speed, some have a need for altitude. Well apparently, I have a need for girth! Bluto will be 7.675" diameter, 82" tall, and (according to Open Rocket) approximately 17lbs on the pad. He'll have a 54mm motor mount, and be set up for dual deploy, although I don't know yet if I'll fly him dual or single. That's my 6'3" 300lb son standing next to the components. He's gonna be a big one!

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View attachment Bluto SD_3.ork

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I haven't decided yet on the color scheme, but I've been playing around with some ideas.

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The fins are so big, I had to print the template on three sheets of cardstock. I'm using 3/8" birch plywood for the fins, and there are four of them. I pinned the fins as usual, but this time with 5/16" dowel, instead of 1/4".

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After pinning them together, I drilled a 3/8" hole inside the angle of the leading edges. I'm hoping it'll give me a nice radius there after sanding. I also drilled a 3/8" hole above the tip of the leading edge, to turn the bandsaw blade in. I want to keep as much of the material as I can, for centering rings and bulkheads.

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I like to use the bandsaw's fence wherever I can, especially on the fin tabs.

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HOLY SHNIKEY'S, that's a MONSTER! I don't see the outboard cluster of air starts - it's in there, right?
 
Wow thats cool Jim. Love the name. How about a central 54 with 3 or 4 38mm?
 
Wow Very nice, will be watching this one.

Have more than slight interest :grin:

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Ill be watching this for sure, the more I keep seeing your builds I wanna build one just like you have been! You don't take orders do you?? Just kidding, but keep up the great work/posts to let us watch your progress.
 
I think you've caught the "bigger is better" bug! Are those fin upscales of your SST wings? They look good where ever they came from.
 
Great looking fins. They're like a much more reasonable PML Pterodactyl.

I think you've caught the "bigger is better" bug! Are those fin upscales of your SST wings? They look good where ever they came from.

Yes, the inspiration for the fins came from the X-Plane. I played around with a lot of fin designs in Open Rocket, and four of these gave me the best stability with the least nose weight. Although it calls for 20oz of nose weight with these fins, some fin designs required up to 32oz.
 
Ill be watching this for sure, the more I keep seeing your builds I wanna build one just like you have been! You don't take orders do you?? Just kidding, but keep up the great work/posts to let us watch your progress.

Oh man, I can't even keep up with my own builds!
 
All right, all right, I'm thinking about it. How about the central 54 and two outboard 29's?

How many fins? Your outboards should be equal to the fin quantity.
 
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I sanded what I could with the big stationary sander, then used my 1" belt sander to sand the leading edges. It did a good job, but I wish it had more power. It only has 1/3 horsepower, but they all do, even the Craftsman, Rikon, and Jet sanders.

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I did a little more sanding on them with my cordless palm sander. They turned out pretty good, but I do have some chips to fill.

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Seriously, Jim? Seriously?

No wonder the 3/8" baltic birch ply was calling me today at the Woodcraft store.

Bluto, indeed!
 
Four fins. I can't see myself adding four outboards.

Just giving you a hard time, your question about timers had me wondering. Just because all those holes are there, doesn't mean they all have to be filled - but one day you might want to.
 

QQ Listen... I am your friend... you are out of control... admit it... admission is the first step towards acceptance. And acceptance is bliss. At least two 38s holes... four if you can manage it... you can adapt down... plug them.

You are already into $100/flt for the CTI or AT 54mm Baby K load... whats another $100 for a couple of J420s? Or J500s? Hmm... airstarted... with a PET-2 Timer...

I can feel the acceptance washing over you... like a ATM ... rolling by silently in the night...

 
Oh man, I can't even keep up with my own builds!

I bet, you really are inspiring me to build something bigger than what I have and am going to accquire shortly. I guess one step at a time. You don't have any rockets for sale do you? I know this isn't the forum to ask this, but was just curious. Man, I really want to build something similar, I'm gonna bookmark this page and take some serious notes.....Well good luck!
 
I bet, you really are inspiring me to build something bigger than what I have and am going to accquire shortly. I guess one step at a time. You don't have any rockets for sale do you? I know this isn't the forum to ask this, but was just curious. Man, I really want to build something similar, I'm gonna bookmark this page and take some serious notes.....Well good luck!

I don't know, at the rate I'm building them, maybe I should start selling some! LOL
 
Got a bigger backing plate made for the bulkhead u-bolt. I used 1/8" x 1" aluminum bar.

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Before I decide on whether or not to add outboards, I had to make sure I could even make the massive centering rings. I made a template, marked the center, drew a centerline, and drilled a 5/32" hole in it. I had made a simple circle cutting jig for the bandsaw, but quickly discovered a problem. Apparently the outside edge of my bandsaw table has a slight angle in it, which made the jig sit at an angle when I clamped it.

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