Sort of after the fact, I've been posting bits and pieces about this project all over TRF for some time, but the past week and a half I started building it in earnest and finished it early this afternoon. The basic form is a conglomeration inspired by the Delta and Ariane vehicles. Based on a BT80 frame with a core of three 24mm motors and four 18mm powered outboards.
The boosters were derived from spare Alphas I used a few years ago for one my rocketry classes. They were the perfect length.
I added fashion eyelets so that during burn through of the booster motors, the hot gases could jet outside and not over-pressure the tube. And, it might even look cool on an inflight video....
I used a Sunward cluster assembly and a BT 80 baffle. The baffle was located 5 inches ahead of the motor cluster or, about 14 inches from the bottom of the tube. 300# Kevlar cord was ran through the baffle and to the top of the body tube where it will be connected to an elastic shock cord.
During recovery, the rocket will separate in two halves. As luck would have it, both halves are of equal weight. Each weigh-in at 6.3ozs.
Initially, perhaps the most fiddly part was the installation of the boosters. It took over 45 minutes to adjust the first one where I knew it was straight orientated correctly. Subsequent boosters were given additional alignment markings and it went a whole-lot faster. It took about six hours to add all the boosters and fins.
The upper half of the rocket had been assembled the day before. The nose cone, transitions and tube couplers came from Balsa Machining and the body tubes from BRS Hobbies. I loved this. I'm hooked. This by far, for me, was the most satisfying experience yet. I love to build kits, but to design one on Rocksim and then to build it...that's something else. I'm doing another one for sure. This is the start of a beautiful relationship.
Assembled Photos will follow.
The boosters were derived from spare Alphas I used a few years ago for one my rocketry classes. They were the perfect length.
I added fashion eyelets so that during burn through of the booster motors, the hot gases could jet outside and not over-pressure the tube. And, it might even look cool on an inflight video....
I used a Sunward cluster assembly and a BT 80 baffle. The baffle was located 5 inches ahead of the motor cluster or, about 14 inches from the bottom of the tube. 300# Kevlar cord was ran through the baffle and to the top of the body tube where it will be connected to an elastic shock cord.
During recovery, the rocket will separate in two halves. As luck would have it, both halves are of equal weight. Each weigh-in at 6.3ozs.
Initially, perhaps the most fiddly part was the installation of the boosters. It took over 45 minutes to adjust the first one where I knew it was straight orientated correctly. Subsequent boosters were given additional alignment markings and it went a whole-lot faster. It took about six hours to add all the boosters and fins.
The upper half of the rocket had been assembled the day before. The nose cone, transitions and tube couplers came from Balsa Machining and the body tubes from BRS Hobbies. I loved this. I'm hooked. This by far, for me, was the most satisfying experience yet. I love to build kits, but to design one on Rocksim and then to build it...that's something else. I'm doing another one for sure. This is the start of a beautiful relationship.
Assembled Photos will follow.
A whole pack of 24mm motors and 4/3 of a pack of 18mm! Wohoo!
