Zeroignite
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I figured out a workflow that sensibly lets me post camera images from my work computer, so here we go.
Lot of time without support calls, especially weekends...
Ingredients: One 4ft 54mm piece of Blue Tube, one plastic 54mm nosecone, plywood, 38mm MMT, assorted other hardware.
This rocket will probably be flyable on a wide range of motors -- if Ari's original builds are an indication, she may do ok from Mach+ on a baby J all the way to around a E depending on actual build weight. I also like the idea of using this rocket for my L1. Posting in midpower because I can afford to fly those more often and I'm trying to keep weight down
Cut the Blue Tube on a chop saw, first to length and then with a 30 degree miter. I wasn't being careful about measurements, focusing more on repeatability. There exists an aborted first attempt at this where I learned tube fins need to be cut to exactly the same length, and are easy to misalign.
To get the first fin aligned in parallel with the body tube, I placed the fin and the BT flat on a piece of plate glass. Mk1 Eyeball apparently isn't good enough for me, and a crooked first fin makes the entire assembly spiraled around the BT.
Yes, I'm using white glue.
Looks quite good withe the nosecone dry fit on top.
Bondo'd. Some of the spirals may still show after the first coat of primer -- well, that step includes the instruction "iterate" for a reason.
For this one I'd like to try my hand at a baffle. The body tube is 22 inches long and I don't want all of my laundry sliding backwards. Having access to a lasercutter is pretty excellent, though this plywood cuts slowly and has massive charring. Probably the wood density, or the glue... 1/8th birch ply seems harder to cut than 1/4 inch hardwood. Foil tape should protect from the ejection charge, right?
(you can't see it in the image, but some scrap balsa is holding the correct spacing/orientation for insertion.)
Straigtforward 38mm motor mount, eight-ish inches long. I'll epoxy those 4-40 screws in to both the motor mount and body tube. They'll provide a stable hardpoint for retention since there's isn't a lot of room for a threaded anchor in the centering ring. I'll probably reealuate for my next bird, but in any case the MMT is already epoxied in.
Lot of time without support calls, especially weekends...
Ingredients: One 4ft 54mm piece of Blue Tube, one plastic 54mm nosecone, plywood, 38mm MMT, assorted other hardware.
This rocket will probably be flyable on a wide range of motors -- if Ari's original builds are an indication, she may do ok from Mach+ on a baby J all the way to around a E depending on actual build weight. I also like the idea of using this rocket for my L1. Posting in midpower because I can afford to fly those more often and I'm trying to keep weight down
Cut the Blue Tube on a chop saw, first to length and then with a 30 degree miter. I wasn't being careful about measurements, focusing more on repeatability. There exists an aborted first attempt at this where I learned tube fins need to be cut to exactly the same length, and are easy to misalign.
To get the first fin aligned in parallel with the body tube, I placed the fin and the BT flat on a piece of plate glass. Mk1 Eyeball apparently isn't good enough for me, and a crooked first fin makes the entire assembly spiraled around the BT.
Yes, I'm using white glue.
Looks quite good withe the nosecone dry fit on top.
Bondo'd. Some of the spirals may still show after the first coat of primer -- well, that step includes the instruction "iterate" for a reason.
For this one I'd like to try my hand at a baffle. The body tube is 22 inches long and I don't want all of my laundry sliding backwards. Having access to a lasercutter is pretty excellent, though this plywood cuts slowly and has massive charring. Probably the wood density, or the glue... 1/8th birch ply seems harder to cut than 1/4 inch hardwood. Foil tape should protect from the ejection charge, right?
(you can't see it in the image, but some scrap balsa is holding the correct spacing/orientation for insertion.)
Straigtforward 38mm motor mount, eight-ish inches long. I'll epoxy those 4-40 screws in to both the motor mount and body tube. They'll provide a stable hardpoint for retention since there's isn't a lot of room for a threaded anchor in the centering ring. I'll probably reealuate for my next bird, but in any case the MMT is already epoxied in.
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