Soccer Field Build Thread

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UpsilonAerospace

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Hear me out.

Today, on a three-hour road trip, I began thinking about scale models, and, more precisely, what no one would dare try to make a scale model of. I gave this a lot of thought. My mind kept coming back to very draggy 'UFO' style models... and I was thinking about flat things that I could make a scale model of. And then, well, I thought about how easy it would be to make a scale model of a soccer field. So now I'm plotting the creation of a rocket-powered soccer field, scaled down to LEGO size so that I can use the deluxe LEGO soccer set that I got at a garage sale, compete with a variety of players, LEGO sized soccer balls and two goals.

I figure that as long as I space the mini soccer players almost evenly, I can just put a motor mount through the middle of the field, and make room for a launch lug right next to that. The field will likely be made of corrugated cardboard strengthened with wood glue, with a big green sheet of paper containing the soccer field lines on the top. Players and goals will be glued on top of the paper. (At least, that's my initial plan.)

Anybody want to talk me out of this before I really go for it?
 
I am really having a hard time visualizing a soccer field as a rocket. I am trying to imaging things roughly corresponding to a nose cone, a body tube, and fins. Are you thinking of a saucer/pizza pie rocket?

NewWay Rockets (https://www.newwayspacemodels.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=1)
has a "dare to be square" rocket which is basically a flat plate with a motor mount. Not sure this would work with scale you are talking about.

Can you post a picture of what you are thinking?
 
Soccer Field Rocket.jpg

Okay, I've revised the plan a little bit.

First of all, when scaled to LEGO size, a soccer field would be 52.5" on the long end. That's way too big. I'm going to make this a 'sport scale' and divide that by half, making it 26.25"x18.75". Even then, it will probably need a high-end-of-mid-power engine to get it off the ground. However, a good bit of news about this size scale is that the center of the soccer field scales to 3" in diameter, which is perfect for sticking in a 3" tube!

The body tube will be 'like a soccer trophy' (I'm not so sure what type; maybe the World Cup?) protruding up from the center of the field, with a parachute stored in the 'bell'; I'm sure that this thing could ease on down with drag recovery just fine, but I don't want the soccer players to land on their heads. The parachute will be colored like a soccer ball.

So here's a picture of the beast... A bit like the NewWay rockets in principle. All of that drag behind the 'trophy nose' will act to lower the CP, making the rocket probably go in a vaguely upward direction.

Do you think it will work?!
 

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Well, I've acquired all of the equipment needed: The 'soccer field' portion will be made out of a big piece of foam core, with some dowels glued on for support, and the central 3" body tube will have a 29mm MMT inside of it.

I think that this rocket could be considered a 'sport scale'... LOL
...And now that I think about it, that would be a great way to win the Best Midwest Qualified at NARAM! I'm suddenly more motivated to get this built, which is probably a bad thing.

More tomorrow!
 
Well.

I'm pretty much done with the build.

Here's some modifications to the 'master plan'...
I'm sticking with the foam core as the base of the soccer field. The foam core has dowels extending to each edge of the field. In addition, the top has been covered in green duct tape, which will hopefully make the rocket stronger. LEGO minifigures have been hot glued to the top of the field.

The real major deviation is that instead of a soccer trophy in the center, I'm now going with a soccer ball due to the fact that I already had a 12" Styrofoam sphere to use. The black patches have been rendered with duct tape.

So here I am at the end of Day 1. The center tube is built but was still drying, because I put obscene amounts of wood glue on it. After it dries, it can be placed in the center of this insane rocket, no problem.

I'm planning on at least bringing it to the launch site tomorrow, whether or not the RSO has enough brains to send it straight into the DO NOT LAUNCH bin. I'll probably try it out on a G40-4 to start.

Oh, and here's a picture of progress so far...
Soccer Field Rocket Partway Built.jpg
 
Sigh.

The RSO didn't let me launch the rocket, due to this obscure thing called 'safety.' He will, however, let me fly this crazy doodad just as soon as there's a thick blanket of snow on the ground, as long as I use a small motor and tilt the rod WAY WAY WAY away from the spectators.

Anyway, here's a picture of the completed design...
Completed Soccer Field.jpg
 
The Pad Fuhrers can be harsh on the odd roc flying crowd. Looks alone can kill. When the snow arrives I will show up with the foamy horror show known as the Estes Space Ship One E. With carbon fiber tube reinforcement and an F12 motor I will try to get it unbanned yet again. So stick with what is traditional and safe; a nice big 4FNC on an Aerotech SU H 135. . . oh wait a minute on that one too . . .
 
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The Pad Fuehrers can be harsh on the odd roc flying crowd. Looks alone can kill. When the snow arrives I will show up with the foamy horror show known as the Estes Space Ship One E. With carbon fiber tube reinforcement and an F12 motor I will try to get it unbanned yet again. So stick with what is traditional and safe; a nice big 4FNC on an Aerotech SU H 135. . . oh wait a minute on that one too . . .
On one occasion I presented my Monolith to the RSO at a public display launch. He's known to be a bit strict. He took one look at the thing and said "You're just doing this to wind me up!" However, I'd previously flown the thing at a club meeting and had a photo of it in the air, which was enough to prove it safe enough. I got to launch it. It flew safely. :)

Is there anywhere else you can test fly the Soccer Field with a different RSO? If you can get evidence that it flies properly - well, as properly as a mutation of the basic saucer concept can fly - then perhaps you'll get to fly it there as well. Or you could point out that due to its design, it isn't going very far no matter what happens, so it's probably at least as safe as a conventional rocket whose recovery system might fail.
 
If you attach a rocket motor big enough, anything can fly. The key here is to fly 'well', and in the case of my personal launches, recovery has always been 'optional'. Your soccer board is not symmetric on 4 sides, you know that right? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to discourage you from flying it- you SHOULD fly it. It would be a travesty not to take video though, which you could post on here, and we could all learn something from the flight. Personally, I want to see the entire launch; I have 3 different theories as to how it will play out. But for the range moron guy to say 'no' to a foam board rocket on an F motor??? How small is your range? Don't you have a remote area you can launch it from?
 
Sorry I haven't posted on this thread for a while!

I eventually coaxed a different RSO (Tim van Milligan!!) into launching the soccer field. The caveat? The biggest motor he recommended was a E30 (decent) but I didn't have one, so I tried to launch it on a D12-0 (pathetic).
The rocket was loaded on the pad, 'Heads Up' was called at least five times by various members of the range, and...
The rocket lifted up about two inches, and then settled back down onto the launch pad, much to the relief of everyone present.

So, I'm debating whether I should pack up this rocket despite its flawless safety record, or whether I should try to get it to clear the pad, for the sake of Science.

Comments?

By the way, pictures coming later, although there's not a lot to see of this flight.
 
GLORY and VICTORY!

...it worked.

With a G76 Mojave Green.

And it flew straight.

And it came back down safely.

...

Champagne time!

Here is a picture of it launching...

Soccer Field Launch.jpg

...and descending...

Soccer Field Descending.jpg

The parachute didn't open, but the entire rocket is built like a parachute, so the landing was fairly gentle.

Thanks to Daddyisabar for the great motor and for the support he has given this project.
 
Congratulations on a near perfect first flight of the Soccer Field model rocket. Champagne time? Sounds good to me. Does a Jr. Level One allow that? I was thinking more Juice Box and snack time with the Pad Fuhrer and Commissar present. The G76 cut down to a tiny delay was the minimum motor for this model rocket that employs Needlessly Excessive Rocket Drag (NERD.) Such a Drag Oppressed Rocket Kit (DORK) could even take an H motor for twice the height, giving the chute a bit more time to deploy and to make it look a bit more like a true rocket flight. All it asks for is a long rod, no wind and all the POWER the motor can give. No delay is needed. And only two Lego guys popped off on landing!
 
Congratulations.
I hope that when you finally launched it that you did so on your own time, as the Folks that told you it was'nt safe or whatever don't deserve to see it Fly.
I could never launch around a bunch of critical People. I'm glad I have never belonged to a Club, and never will. RSOs be Damned.

That said, I'll likely have to go to a Club Launch someday somehow eventually if I ever want to fly anything that needs a Waiver or get my Certifications.:(:mad:
 
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In this case being at various clubs actually helped UpsilonAerospace. With input and help from everyone the flight was a success and carried out in the safest conditions possible. A rushed, back lot launch on the wrong motor could have lead to another oddroc disaster.
 
Hey there!

I'm resurrecting this thread and blowing off the cobwebs and softball-sized dust bunnies, to say that this most Odd Rocket has flown again!

Following Daddyisabar's advice, I chose to fly this thing on a full-blown H135 Pro-SU motor. I plugged the delay charge, because who the heck needs delay charges when the entire rocket is a parachute?

The mood was tense in the crowd as people hid behind other people or behind posts, warily watching this "rocket" thing and muttering their last wills and testaments underneath their breaths. The entire club's fire-fighting equipment was dragged out, from the paddles to the extinguishers, despite the fact that there was several inches of snow on the ground. The RSO was gritting his teeth and trying not to pass out. In short, everything was pretty normal.

And then, the countdown was uttered. Three... Two... One...

The "rocket" burst upwards on a pillar of White-Lightning flame! It climbed beautifully, with very little spin initially and a straight boost. At a little over fifty feet in the air, the wind caught it as the motor was winding down, and the soccer field pitched to about a thirty-degree angle and began spinning madly. It topped out at a breathtaking 100 feet, give or take. Keep in mind, this thing was flying on an H and weighed just a fraction over two pounds. The drag was immense.

...and then, it drifted back down to Earth like a leaf, twisting and turning as it fell. Only then did the RSO call "Heads Up," which will probably be the high point in my rocketry career. It landed upright, and nary a LEGO figure fell off! Some people even applauded after the rocket had settled safely down.

I joyously retrieved the rocket and everyone breathed a sigh of relief and removed the trash-can lids and scraps of sheet-metal from their heads. While some attributed it to mere luck (including the RSO... it's still banned), I think that it's pure Physics!

...oh, and here are some pictures:

pO1c6PY.jpg


AZVyygL.jpg


pStwe87.jpg


-Upsilon
 
It went 50 feet up on a G and landed about 15 feet from the pad. It went up 100 feet on an H and landed about 30 feet from the pad. That is going to take me awhile to do the math. It would be awesome if you could talk the Tripoli guys into letting you use big sparky motor in the Spring. I see in the photo the top plug did pop out. I must not have noticed due to the sheer terror I was experiencing during the flight. Terrified beyond rational thought I could only stand there frozen, my life flashing in front of my eyes. That was just the beginning as they were about to launch an undead Pict warrior thing, a Spaceship One E on an E9-6 and one of those paper cup things on a CATO prone Estes BP motor. In the end the high power soccer field was maybe the fourth scariest odd roc flown yesterday. It would be cool if you would make a football Hades on the underside. All nice and red with a magic circle in the center and little devils for players. Then we could bet how many little devils will be knocked off. Yep, I think you have made a new odd roc friend with base drag.
 
"Chewy, I have a bad feeling about this." -- Hans Solo, Star Wars

"Reduce the magnification." "I'm already backed out to magnifiction level 10"-- H. Sulu, Star Trek

"How do you feel about Toledo..." -- Unnamed cameraman, "Toosie"
 
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Flying rockets like this will just get comments like Needlessly Excessive Rocket Drag (NERD) or Drag Oppressed Rocket Kit (DORK). Whereas with a 4FNC, Level 3 powered, carbon fibered beauty with airbrushed skeletons smoking and playing poker, all you have to do is sit back and wait for the chicks. Rocket Science is all about efficiency and high altitude awesomeness. Wasting expensive big motor power on drag can only lead to the Dark Side. Save yourself while there is still time!:)
 
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I witnessed and recorded an odd event and was unaware that there was other documented evidence of the strange phenomenon that I was fearful noone would believe even if presented unedited video evidence. This occurred on Jan 8th, 2016.
[YOUTUBE]lrl_p7XOWls[/YOUTUBE]
 
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