What did you do rocket wise today?

We sanded all the areas we will be gluing and did more test-fitting of the Dragonfly.

Worked outside most of the day building the frame for my lathe and when I got bored of that I started priming the modular components of the back-packable launch pad I've been putting together for awhile.
I had to go take my Mom to the Library, and when I got back it was too hot out to do very much, but I managed to build the frame for my foam hotwire cutter.

It's so awesome to build tools that build rockets!!!
It's also such a nice change of pace from only building rockets!!

I did manage to make a payloadbay fin jig for a rocket, and almost started putting fins on, but I'm wiped from the heat, and I need fins to be perfect so no more building for me tonight. Almost nap time.:yawn:

The lathe is going to be crazy!!!!
I managed to make it modular and collapsible just like I imagined, only better thanks to sacrificing my inversion table.
Being active building things is better therapy for my back than hanging upside-down anyhow, and I just got a new mattress given to me so I'm feeling pretty good.
Can't wait to finish it and share pics'!!!

The best part will be if I can make nice enough nose cones that I can do custom work for fellow members here!

Got my HAM callsign, and started to configure my TeleGPS.

Finished my L3 Estes Cherokee-D upscale!

rharshberger said:

Finished my L3 Estes Cherokee-D upscale!

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That is awesome, Rich!

Cherokee M for the win!

rharshberger said:

Finished my L3 Estes Cherokee-D upscale!

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Very nice!!!:clap:

That's one of the birds on my want list.(the 24mm version). I love the decals and everything about it.

rharshberger said:

Finished my L3 Estes Cherokee-D upscale!

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The crowd goes wild!!! :horse::clap:

Got the fins on my CF 13mm Star Trooper.

I forgot to make the mount for the rail buttons, but the CF for that is curing as I type this, and I'll put those on later or tomorrow. Also needs clear coat after that to make it glossy.
I will tape a launch lug on there for now so I can atleast fly it if the mood strikes me and the weather is calm later on tonight.

It's my very first carbon fiber rocket, so I'm pretty excited.
Thanks Cavecentral!

TopRamen said:

The best part will be if I can make nice enough nose cones that I can do custom work for fellow members here!

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+1
I have a project in mind and I may need some custom transitions. If things go well and I get the two builds I'm working on done in the early summer, I may be your first customer

rharshberger said:

Finished my L3 Estes Cherokee-D upscale!

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Absolutely beautiful.

Finished the CF Star Trooper.
She's got her recovery gear stowed on top of some recovery wadding, so she's ready to fly!




Also got a box of rocket stuffs from Scotty Dog. Thanks again Scott.

Today rocket wise, I am wishing I was TopRamen!

This has become the "What did TopRamen do rocket wise today".

Top - you are the Man! Share a picture of your fleet one day! You even launch in the forest??

You get my vote for most accomplish Mod rock builder in 2016!

Do you build one at a time or many?

Nick@JET said:

Today rocket wise, I am wishing I was TopRamen!

This has become the "What did TopRamen do rocket wise today".

Top - you are the Man! Share a picture of your fleet one day! You even launch in the forest??

You get my vote for most accomplish Mod rock builder in 2016!

Do you build one at a time or many?

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No kidding! I can't believe how quickly he built that sweet little CF rocket - I spend weeks/months to finish a rocket...

Thanks guys!!!

I was not trying to hijack the thread, but I can't warrant doing a build thread for everything, so I just drop my daily doings here.
Not everything I build or do works out great either, so I just share the stuff that I think others will enjoy seeing or maybe even get inspiration from.

I do have 5 builds going on right now, and I'm still designing/fabricating my lathe, so I try to stay busy.

I would not be so productive if not for the folks here who continuously encourage me and give me advice and even materials for building.
It keeps me out of trouble, so it's worthwhile for me to do it continuously.

I'll try to quit hogging the "Rocketwise Today" thread.:wink:

TopRamen said:

Thanks guys!!!

I was not trying to hijack the thread, but I can't warrant doing a build thread for everything, so I just drop my daily doings here.
Not everything I build or do works out great either, so I just share the stuff that I think others will enjoy seeing or maybe even get inspiration from.

I do have 5 builds going on right now, and I'm still designing/fabricating my lathe, so I try to stay busy.

I would not be so productive if not for the folks here who continuously encourage me and give me advice and even materials for building.
It keeps me out of trouble, so it's worthwhile for me to do it continuously.

I'll try to quit hogging the "Rocketwise Today" thread.:wink:

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I'm really hoping you will do a detailed thread (not necessarily a build thread, but a dedicated thread so it is searchable) on the foam cutter/lathe you are working on. That would be a really useful one, and the kind of project where the devil will be in the details.

Had some nice calm winds at the house today, so brought out some LPR in the back yard (14 acres of old farmland).

1x 1/2A3-4T
2x A10-3T
1 B6-4
2x C6-3
2x C11-3
3x C11-5
2x D12-5

Spread across a mini max, a monarch/phoenix bird bash, and an astron sprint XL.

Way more launches than I expected to get in today but kept reloading because the conditions were sooooo good.

Cl(VII) said:

I'm really hoping you will do a detailed thread (not necessarily a build thread, but a dedicated thread so it is searchable) on the foam cutter/lathe you are working on. That would be a really useful one, and the kind of project where the devil will be in the details.

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My lathe is being made out of an inversion table, a toolbox and some other things I just had around, so it is not going to be something you can just replicate with a trip to home depot or the hardware store, but I am taking pics' and will do a descriptive thread when it is complete and proven to work, so atleast it can inspire others to take a crack at making their own.

I flew the CF Star Trooper today:



Probably should have done 2 layers on the whole thing like I did on the fin/motor area.
Atleast we now know that it is a good idea to make the rail guide from carbon fiber too.



I'll sand it down tomorrow and add a wrap of CF to it in the "Affected Area".:blush:

It went entirely WAY too high. The tracking smoke on the A3-4 was just a barely visible squiggle way the heck up there, and showed that inertia was still carrying it ever higher. I thought it was lost, but my Son saved the day and found it after we searched for 15 minutes, making my recovery record safe at 100%
My Son is on the phone with one of his friends while we launched, so disregard his errant ramblings that don't fit the context of the video.

[video=youtube;8bloYEvuGGs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bloYEvuGGs[/video]

Flew my PSII Patriot on an H128 today.

Flyfalcons said:

Flew my PSII Patriot on an H128 today.

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Congrats on the L1 Ryan! I watched the flight from my prep area, great flight. Seemed like it took a while to find after the flight, its amazing how well rockets hide in that terrain.

TopRamen said:

Thanks guys!!!

I was not trying to hijack the thread, but I can't warrant doing a build thread for everything, so I just drop my daily doings here.
Not everything I build or do works out great either, so I just share the stuff that I think others will enjoy seeing or maybe even get inspiration from.

I do have 5 builds going on right now, and I'm still designing/fabricating my lathe, so I try to stay busy.

I would not be so productive if not for the folks here who continuously encourage me and give me advice and even materials for building.
It keeps me out of trouble, so it's worthwhile for me to do it continuously.

I'll try to quit hogging the "Rocketwise Today" thread.:wink:

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Please don't quit "hogging the thread"! I love hearing what you're doing.

Flyfalcons said:

Flew my PSII Patriot on an H128 today.

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Most Excellent!
Congrats!!!

Yea Top, your not hogging the thread - it is what you did rocket wise, I enjoy reading and your pics - it's all good

Flyfalcons said:

Flew my PSII Patriot on an H128 today.

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Congrats on the L1! Time to start thinking L2?

Successfully flew my Madcow Areobee Hi on a J 381 Skidmark for my Level 2 Certification.

Just back from picking up a bunch of motors from Robert at buyrocketmotors.com.

Mostly composite E and ad RC glider reloads, but a few high power motors as well.

Yesterday, I just about finished my profile RC RG version of the old HAWK fantasy plastic model of the XAB-1 Atomic Powered Bomber. It will get a maiden launch this coming week.

noffie79 said:

Congrats on the L1! Time to start thinking L2?

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Yeah I think so!

Flyfalcons said:

Yeah I think so!

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Oh boy! Me jealous...

Tried pulling fillets with Rocketpoxy. I wavered on "is it worth sacrificing the fancy epoxy" vs "is it worth going into trying this on The Real Thing without practice" for a while and decided to give it a try. I learned:
-My idea of wrapping an 18mm engine in aluminum foil was terrible
-A tongue depressor works just fine
-A fat sharpie is enough to mark lines
-Letting the rocketpoxy sit for ~10 minutes then pulling after another ~20 seemed to work fine.

I also cut a fin jig and put on a shock cord. Woo! Rain for the next 10 days or so means I may fly this naked at the next launch[Edit: The rocket may be naked. I will not.], but better naked than not at all. Besides, I don't want to rush paint.

Also: Trying to decide how much of that beautiful red fiberglass I want to cover with paint. Part of me says "Let it shine!" and part of me says "Explore fun paint schemes!"

ActingLikeAKid said:

Tried pulling fillets with Rocketpoxy. I wavered on "is it worth sacrificing the fancy epoxy" vs "is it worth going into trying this on The Real Thing without practice" for a while and decided to give it a try. I learned:
-My idea of wrapping an 18mm engine in aluminum foil was terrible
-A tongue depressor works just fine
-A fat sharpie is enough to mark lines
-Letting the rocketpoxy sit for ~10 minutes then pulling after another ~20 seemed to work fine.

I also cut a fin jig and put on a shock cord. Woo! Rain for the next 10 days or so means I may fly this naked at the next launch[Edit: The rocket may be naked. I will not.], but better naked than not at all. Besides, I don't want to rush paint.

Also: Trying to decide how much of that beautiful red fiberglass I want to cover with paint. Part of me says "Let it shine!" and part of me says "Explore fun paint schemes!"

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Just put clear coat on it and be done. That's what I'm going to do with my Wildman Demon. Same red FG.

noffie79 said:

Just put clear coat on it and be done. That's what I'm going to do with my Wildman Demon. Same red FG.

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Hmm. I just had an awesome idea: all black... With a punisher skull stencil on the side; clear coat over everything.