MMWW - MMX Centuri Vulcan

John:
did you ever Finish the micro Vulcan?
has it flown yet?

Micromeister said:

John:
did you ever Finish the micro Vulcan?
has it flown yet?

Click to expand...

This one is in exactly the condition as left in the last post. I finally get a day off tomorrow and finishing this one up is one of my goals.

Tying the recovery system to the motor mount was a non-issue for me. I decided to try something that started as a bit of an accident on my Fliskits Dead Ringer and mount the cord outside the body tube in the hope that this would provide a degree of protection. The cord was fished through the shroud and then tied onto the BT about 1/3 of the distance from the end with a simple overhand knot. The knot was then "spot welded" in place with a drop of white glue and allowed to dry.

When that glue was dry, a proper knot was tied and white glue was used to fix it all into place.

When the shock mount had dried, I checked that everything was ready for the final assembly and made sure that the cord would go where I wanted it to go. The aft bulkhead was fit in place in approximately the right position and everything was lined up.

Some glue was then spread around the inner surface of the forward end of the shroud and along the BT in the approximate location of the aft bulkhead and the body tube was slid into place. A pen cap was used to push the bulkhead into place and a fillet of glue was applied at the juncture of the bulkhead and shroud.

It was about this time that I realized that I had no thrust ring. I took a spent MMX casing and cut one from the end. A toothpick was then used to smear some glue at the right depth and a pen was used to push the ring into place.

I was unloading my camera earlier and was surprised to find that I had never gotten the photos of the finished product. Here they are and it should fly on the 13th.

Looks good. let us know how she flies

kullas said:

Looks good. let us know how she flies

Click to expand...

Will do.

JAL3 said:

For noseweight, the plans described dropping a few small pieces of lead shot into a cavity in the nose cone. Not having any shot or a hollow nose cone, I devised another plan. I used a 12mm brass screw to drive a hole in the back end of the cone. I then backed the screw out and filled the hole with white glue. The screw was then driven almost all the way back in. A long piece of Kevlar thread was then tied around the base of the screw and some more glue was applied to fix it in place. The excess was then cut away.

Click to expand...

JAL3 你的手工不错哦！！！

ck101 said:

JAL3 你的手工不错哦！！！

Click to expand...

Translated: Your handwork is good!!!

Muchos gracias

The day finally arrived for the maiden flight of the Micro Vulc. It was to be the first flight on my newly completed MMX launch rack. The rocket was prepped by putting a few bits of dog barf into the tube and then spending the next 10 minutes trying to coax the Kevlar into place. When that was done, a motor was inserted and the rocket was taken out to the pad.

I then had to wait while Todd Schroeder's Executioner took off. When I had the Executioner framed in the camera, the Micro Vulc barely registered as a pink blob.

When my turn came, the MMX Vulcan showed up a little better on the pad.

Its hard to say much about the flight. I only saw a puff of smoke.

I didn't see the rocket again until after it had hit the ground. By all accounts, it was a wild and unstable flight. I guess I need more nose weight. Back to the shop.

OH man;
what nose weight did you use and how far forward in the NC did it sit?
the reason I ask; I use #9 lead shot for nose weight as it packs very tightly in exceedingly small spaces. is allow the mass to be concentrated prehaps a bit further forward then some other materials. That might explain the need for a bit more in your model?

As a side note; I've started hollowing out just about all my balsa and basswood turned nosecone so I can push any needed noseweight mass as far forward as possible. this means I have to add a kevlar loop NC attachment in the mix but that has proven to make changing cones or recovery methods a bit easier.
Hope this note gives some alternatives.

Micromeister said:

OH man;
what nose weight did you use and how far forward in the NC did it sit?
the reason I ask; I use #9 lead shot for nose weight as it packs very tightly in exceedingly small spaces. is allow the mass to be concentrated prehaps a bit further forward then some other materials. That might explain the need for a bit more in your model?

As a side note; I've started hollowing out just about all my balsa and basswood turned nosecone so I can push any needed noseweight mass as far forward as possible. this means I have to add a kevlar loop NC attachment in the mix but that has proven to make changing cones or recovery methods a bit easier.
Hope this note gives some alternatives.

Click to expand...

I have to admit I didn't use any of the lead shot. I counted out however many were in the plan and then compared it to the brass screw I inserted in the NC. The screw won so I thought it would be plenty. I guess I thought wrong.

JAL3 said:

I have to admit I didn't use any of the lead shot. I counted out however many were in the plan and then compared it to the brass screw I inserted in the NC. The screw won so I thought it would be plenty. I guess I thought wrong.

Click to expand...

I have to agree: I won't use Lead if it weren't the most concenterated stuff out there.
1 noticed on a few larger models I was able to reduce the amount of Clay conciderably but using Lead sinkers instead reducing the actual mass needed by moving the lighter load further forward.
With Micros this becomes almost a necessity on some models. It seems it's nearly impossible to get enough of some materials far enough forward or in enough quantity to correct the CG.
When Looking at adding Nose weight it's seems not all locations require the same mass

I was planning on introducing some nose weight to get this thing flying right. Its a moot point now. Bobby stepped on it an my Dead Ringer and both are beyond repair.