AlnessW
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2013
- Messages
- 1,221
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I got my L2 this past year. As the 2013 season came to a close I knew I wanted to try a fiberglass build this winter. I figured this would be a great opportunity to go for 75mm as well, which led me to believe that this would be an ever better opportunity for an L3 project.
Did a bit of shopping around for kits and Performance Rocketry or Wildman seemed like a great choice. I almost went for the Intimidator 4, but opted for a Competitor 4 as I liked the look of the fins a bit better.
I didnt have the think twice about who I was going to ask to be TAPs. Fred Azinger and David Holloway were both OregonRocketry members and had known me for a long time. After their initial approval of the project, I had Mike at Bay Area Rocketry order the kit from Wildman and he had it shipped directly to me. Thanks Mike!
When I opened the big box I was a bit surprised to discover that the kit came in black fiberglass. Mike explained to me that the color of the FG can simply very to kit to kit, so I wasnt too concerned. Another thing that came as a bit of surprise was that the kit didnt come with instructions. Luckily though, after I made my first few sketches, I was relieved to discover that I did in fact know what the heck I was doing.
After reviewing my first sketch, Fred pointed out that with the stock kit design, my parachute bays would be quite small. The booster section was 44 long and the main section was 22 long. A 22 main bay minus about 12 from the couplers would leave me with 10 of compartment space for the main chute and harness? Yikes. Being the excellent coach that he is, Fred suggested a different design. This would make the rocket about 1.5 longer, and also zipperless. The plan was to cut the 44 booster section down to 28, glue in an extra coupler/bulkhead, and use the 22 main section for the drogue. Then get a new 36 piece of fiberglass tube for the main section. Perfect.
Fiberglass parts clean and freshly washed:
Yesterday I went over to West Marine and got the epoxy I needed to start the build:
I mixed a test batch of epoxy last night and was impressed this morning at how strong it cured! No doubt this stuff is rated for fiberglass. Going to glue the first joints later today!
Did a bit of shopping around for kits and Performance Rocketry or Wildman seemed like a great choice. I almost went for the Intimidator 4, but opted for a Competitor 4 as I liked the look of the fins a bit better.
I didnt have the think twice about who I was going to ask to be TAPs. Fred Azinger and David Holloway were both OregonRocketry members and had known me for a long time. After their initial approval of the project, I had Mike at Bay Area Rocketry order the kit from Wildman and he had it shipped directly to me. Thanks Mike!
When I opened the big box I was a bit surprised to discover that the kit came in black fiberglass. Mike explained to me that the color of the FG can simply very to kit to kit, so I wasnt too concerned. Another thing that came as a bit of surprise was that the kit didnt come with instructions. Luckily though, after I made my first few sketches, I was relieved to discover that I did in fact know what the heck I was doing.
After reviewing my first sketch, Fred pointed out that with the stock kit design, my parachute bays would be quite small. The booster section was 44 long and the main section was 22 long. A 22 main bay minus about 12 from the couplers would leave me with 10 of compartment space for the main chute and harness? Yikes. Being the excellent coach that he is, Fred suggested a different design. This would make the rocket about 1.5 longer, and also zipperless. The plan was to cut the 44 booster section down to 28, glue in an extra coupler/bulkhead, and use the 22 main section for the drogue. Then get a new 36 piece of fiberglass tube for the main section. Perfect.
Fiberglass parts clean and freshly washed:
Yesterday I went over to West Marine and got the epoxy I needed to start the build:
I mixed a test batch of epoxy last night and was impressed this morning at how strong it cured! No doubt this stuff is rated for fiberglass. Going to glue the first joints later today!