Mega Tapeworm Fun

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Daddyisabar

Oddroc scum. Mindsimmer.
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Son of Tapeworm? Hermaphrodite of Tapeworm? Upscale Tapeworm? Maybe some German would sound better; Grosse Tapeworm, Dicke Tapeworm? Whatever you call these parasitic abominations one thing is for sure, the new one has a dedicated recovery system every RSO will love. No more dead cat bounce recovery like the first one. Three tightly packed Este’s plastic chutes, along with the twelve foot streamer tail, will bring it down nice and soft. Once these cuties get their hooks into you it is a lifetime commitment as they suck the life out of your motor budget. Three 29mm Estes F15-4 tractor motors will power the Sixteen foot long rocket to new heights of depravity. Fun parasitic worm flying for the entire family. After a successful test flight the tail is ready to be extended even further.

This one is built from scrap ¼ inch thick balsa for the hook fins up front, reject 2.6 tube and couplers from the “free stuff at Apogee trash bin,” Apogee 29 mm nose cones and motor tube, a Hobby Lobby Styrofoam ball, old nylon string and card stock for the protoglotids. The body required drinking two big plastic bottles of Coke, delicious! This worm will have to answer to the Coca Cola Company as it seeks to suck our precious bodily fluids.

Wood glue may be for wussies. Slow vacuum cure, high temp, high strength, high tech epoxy may be for Weinies. But this one uses gobs of real man glue: 100% silicone adhesive sealant for s super strong and flexible bond between foam and paper. And if any is left over it works great sealing up the tub and counter top.

Fly high and be free Sky Scolex. Happy tails through the sky.

Mega Tapeworm 1.jpgMega Tapeworm 2.jpgMega Tapeworm 3.jpgMega tapeworm 4.jpgMega Tapeworm 5.jpg
 
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Brings a whole new meaning to 'recovery'......maybe a molecular chain of Biltricide should be launched afterwards???
 
Just wow. Now we need to see a flight video! And the Open Rocket sim file, of course ;)
 
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Brings a whole new meaning to 'recovery'......maybe a molecular chain of Biltricide should be launched afterwards???

No drug will be able to kill this monster. Just three tiny plastic chutes on underwear elastic that have to avoid tangling on the other shock cords or getting caught up silly hook fins. Hopefully enough drag will be created to slow the heavy scolex down a bit for a horizontal landing. Otherwise it might get ugly.
 
1499433_178602169000407_1737756071_n.jpg
 
Too late. Dang, I wanna see this fly!

Do you think I can convince the local RSO with bad liberal arts math? 3X60=120 grams of awesome black powder propellant? No, it looks like the top men at NARAM will have to be the gracious hosts for this nasty worm. It is all going to come down to if three of the new Estes STARTERS can get the job done. Otherwise the hopesim is a bloody mess!
 
Just wow. Now we need to see a flight video! And the Open Rocket sim file, of course ;)

The CG is just a bit back from the first one in that the motors are back a bit to make room for some sort of recovery system, while still looking good. The mindsim ls looking good if the tractor motors do their job. Computer simulation is way beyond my skill level so I have to rely on offerings to the rocket gods.
 
:sad:

The Mega Tapeworm isn't going to be sucking anything out of anyone's intestines again.

One of the igniters (the new Estes ones, I should note. Stupid hide glue!) was a little reluctant to set its F15 alight. The rocket angled its way off the launch rod, flew sideways a bit, and then landed rather hard.
...and then it caught the grass on fire.

The fire was quickly extinguished by the intrepid crew of Small-Island-In-The-Mediterranean rocket club. (What, you thought it launched at CRASH? Of course not! Why would our favorite Safety-Code-fearing Daddy ever launch anything like the Mega Tapeworm at CRASH?!) Nevertheless, the Sky Skolex had taken a critical hit.

I think that Daddy might not be entirely willing to accept the loss of his Mega Tapeworm, just yet. We're all going through the stages of grief. Including me. I lent Daddy my AltimeterTwo to detect the Tapeworm's altitude, and it was melted in the fire.

I did manage to capture a rather nice video, complete with the late-motor-ignition. I hope it makes up for the disappointment that we're all experiencing right now.

[video=youtube_share;6yh2ILv1q-A]https://youtu.be/6yh2ILv1q-A[/video]
 
Thanks to the well equipped crew from the small island paradise that kept everything under control and the burn area no bigger than the rocket itself . That third motor was just too late and once it was sideways there was not enough altitude to keep the ejection off the ground. Good thing it was at the remote test sight and not in front of the top men at NARAM. The first one has always flown so well, but if the motors all don't light right off it is trouble. Well, so much for silly odd rocs, at least until the first snow of winter or a full blown fire department is on hand. Yep, it is my fault because I was flying the darn thing.
 
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(Best Jim Backus voice) "Ah, TB-you done it again!" Well, Dad-looks like it's back to the laboratory test tubes for you. Exciting, fun and different. The world needs another parasite besides the politicians.
 
In the high stakes, big risk, big reward world of parasitic worm flying only a few 10ths of a second separate the thrill of victory from the agony of defeat. Seems like the good old days of confidently lighting off Quest igniters has been replaced by hoping for the best with Shoe Goop. Maybe a longer, thicker rod; maybe only launching it East of Topeka or in the Great Northwest.
 
In the high stakes, big risk, big reward world of parasitic worm flying only a few 10ths of a second separate the thrill of victory from the agony of defeat. Seems like the good old days of confidently lighting off Quest igniters has been replaced by hoping for the best with Shoe Goop. Maybe a longer, thicker rod; maybe only launching it East of Topeka or in the Great Northwest.
I for one would blame it on: A) the crappy Estes ignitors and B) the Coriolis Effect.
Possibly you could construct a 'windbreak" (no jokes here please) to represent a port-a-potty without the roof to shield the 8' rod and try again? Of course-music would be required: dump-tadump-ta diddlededump-POP goes the Tapeworm. It's all about presentation.......
 
I for one would blame it on: A) the crappy Estes ignitors and B) the Coriolis Effect.
Possibly you could construct a 'windbreak" (no jokes here please) to represent a port-a-potty without the roof to shield the 8' rod and try again? Of course-music would be required: dump-tadump-ta diddlededump-POP goes the Tapeworm. It's all about presentation.......

Your right! It must have been those darn STARTERS, it couldn't be me because I am like Marry Poppins; "Practically Perfect in Every Way!" Thanks fyrwrxz! I feel so much better now, ego is back in tact. I like the potty idea. Shield the motor STARTING sequence from the crowd. Squirrelly Tapeworms flying out the top are meant to be part of the show!:wink:
 
Your right! It must have been those darn STARTERS, it couldn't be me because I am like Marry Poppins; "Practically Perfect in Every Way!" Thanks fyrwrxz! I feel so much better now, ego is back in tact. I like the potty idea. Shield the motor STARTING sequence from the crowd. Squirrelly Tapeworms flying out the top are meant to be part of the show!:wink:
There must be some kind of disturbing connection between us. We live on a mesa and when the wind is right, you can hear announcements from the Little League baseball park down in the valley up here. When the announcer said "It's a high pop fly!" I immediately thought of you; "hmm-now that's something Daddyisabar could do..translucent fins...nose cone with faceted eyes"...and then I stopped myself. I think I have an oddrock infection. I'll have to sterilize the monitor and keyboard again....
 
I was going to mention good luck getting the recovery to work, those big blackpowder motors have an insanely powerful ejection charge for anything other than a full size rocket, but appears to be moot. Sick rocket though!
 
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