A Semi Scratch RAAM

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A

Austin

Well, I just finished the final touches on a rocket I designed from spare parts. Thanks to the demise of my first PML Amraam 2, I was left with a solid lower fin assembly and good nosecone, so I decide to purchase another length of 2.1" Quantum tubing and pieced together a rocket from the leftovers. I decided to call it a RAAM, since it has half the fins of the Amraam and is now officially a Radical All American Missle (RAAM)!

It stands 55" tall and splits in the center using the PML piston system for deployment. I plan on launching it on a H128W-Medium at our next launch in November. Here is a picture of the final result:

<img src="reviews/files/raamc.jpg">
 
Well, I added a coupler and another 36" section of Quantum tubing, which I cut in half and added a bulkhead to the upper section. The lower section was stripped of the old amraam paint, then it was primed with Krylon and "Painter's Touch" white primers. About 6 coats of primer were applied and final sanded with 600 grit. It didn't take much to prime; the lower fin section was already glassed, sanded and primed prior to building since it was a leftover. Since Quantum was used, the new sections primed like a dream and only 600 grit sandpaper was needed to smooth it out.

I painted the body tube from the blue seam forward in White Krylon Glossy. It was masked at the blue seam so the lower fin section was still primer only. Four coats of white were added, and the last coat was thicker then the rest.

Once finished, I let it dry overnite, then masked off the stripes and used Red Krylon Glossy to paint the irregular stripes, which covered in two coats. The nosecone was painted next with four coats of Krylon White Glossy.

I then removed the masking from the lower area, masked off the striped upper section and painted this fin area with four coats of Krylon Dark Blue. It left the joint where the blue and White meet seamless, which is what I was shooting for.

The upper section was next. I masked off the area from the top stripes down, then began working on the stars. I used Paintshop Pro to make the stars, then printed them out on paper. The stars were cut out in strips, 8 at a time and placed and scotch taped down over a 1" thick strip of masking tape which was layed on a cutting board. I used a exacto to cut out each star from the masking tape and placed them in the appropriate positions. 4 coats of Krylon Dark blue were painted over the upper section and nosecone and left to sit overnite. Then I removed the masking tape stars and finished the recovery system.

The beauty of it is I can eliminate the use of the upper bulkhead and place the nosecone on the lower body tube for a "shorter" LMR rocket!

...and there ya go!

Here's a pic of the "Shorty" LMR Version:


<img src="reviews/files/raamshrt.jpg">
 
Thanks for the details. Looks really good. If you ever get tired of working on your own rockets you can come to my house and paint a couple of mine :) (old car washing joke adapted for rocketry)
 
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