Commanche-3 BT60 upscale

Another project to work on while the wraps on drying on my Saturn V.

I've ordered a few parts from our own Flying_Silverado, and when the arrive (probably tomorrow), I'll get to work.

I worked on a RockSim file, and simmed it to just under 2100 feet on a D12/D12/E9-6 combo.

The fins on this thing will be huge, but should be well worth the effort. If all goes well, I should have it ready to go by the TRF Meeting at Whitakers on 23 April.

I've attached the Rocksim file, and if anyone should notice something missing, please let me know! Thanks!

The additional parts I needed arrived yesterday (Thanks John!) So I started cutting tubes. I left one 34" BT60 intact, while the other was cut down to 18". These two will be coupled together for the sustainer. I used the remainder to cut two 4-5/8" sections for the boosters.

Then I cut an 18" BT50 tube into one 3½" section for the 'E' engine tube in the sustainer. I cut two 4-5/8" sections for the booster engine mounts. I glued in the engine blocks last night.

Here's the parts layout..... excuse the mess in the corners.

I used a single hole-punch to vent the booster engine tubes.

I dunno why I did it like this. I guess it just looks cool. I'll only punch two in the booster body tubes.

After venting the booster engine tubes, I glued some centering rings on the engine tubes. I did my best to keep them out of the way of the venting. The lue is still drying, so this is where I'm at now.

Originally posted by TheRadiator
The additional parts I needed arrived yesterday (Thanks John!) So I started cutting tubes. I left one 34" BT60 intact, while the other was cut down to 18". These two will be coupled together for the sustainer. I used the remainder to cut two 4-5/8" sections for the boosters.

Then I cut an 18" BT50 tube into one 3½" section for the 'E' engine tube in the sustainer. I cut two 4-5/8" sections for the booster engine mounts. I glued in the engine blocks last night.

Here's the parts layout..... excuse the mess in the corners.

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HOLY CRAP!! Got enought rockets there? Yeesh, how I envy. Anyways, thats a neat sounding project. I like the abundance of pics... I hope to see it at Whitakers at the end of April.
Reed

PS: I got a new avatar. It is of my AT Cheetah launching of an AT 29mm F40W reload.

Originally posted by Reed Goodwin
Got enought rockets there?

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Yeah---that's a lot of nekkid rockets there, man. Winter build up or do you fly that way? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)



MetMan

Originally posted by MetMan
Yeah---that's a lot of nekkid rockets there, man. Winter build up or do you fly that way? (Not that there's anything wrong with that...)



MetMan

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Nope! Never fly nekkid!

My pile of nekkid rockets has built up over a period of two years or so. I'm not really sure, because I can't possibly keep up with the building pace. I'm in need of a garage to store 'em all! The main reason is that I live in an apartment, and if I have neighbors outside, I won't paint out of consideration. No one wants to smell paint fumes on a regular basis. When I move into a house, I will catch up on painting.

Reed,

Oh yeah, this thing will be at Whitakers this month! I'll probably take a little heat for NOT using AP! But I like to fly low & slow anyway.

Well, I've installed the 'E' sustainer mount with Gorilla Glue, so that'll be dry by the time I get back home from work. I'll probably do a little more work on it this morning, so I'll post some more photos this evening.

I like your vented MMTs. I never thought of using a hole punch, that's a great idea. I'm always trying to clean up holes that were shredded by drill bits.

The only photo for now are of the engine tubes drying in the booster sections. I installed them with Gorilla glue. So they should be FIRMLY secure.

Though not related to the Commanche-3, here's a photo of a 2.6" upscale Astron Mark. I'm a gloss coat away from having this one done! I built it December 2003. 15 months awaiting a paint job is almost pathetic!

And here's a size comparo with a regular Estes Big Bertha.

Originally posted by cls
I like your vented MMTs. I never thought of using a hole punch, that's a great idea. I'm always trying to clean up holes that were shredded by drill bits.

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Learned that little trick from Flying _Silverado, while building the Double-Up. I totally botched making a vent hole by drilling the BT with a hobby knife. One turned out nice, the other one..... well, it's certainly functional, but it ain't much to look at!

Had some time and a cool morning to cut out my fins.

I printed the templates onto cardstock (works much better than paper) and cut those out. Traced onto a 3/16" balsa sheet, and started to wear out a hobby knife blade!

Here's the templates and my buddy who followed me out to the patio.

These fins sure used up a lot of balsa!

Here are all the fins.

Cutting out the Commanche-3 fins yielded 3 near-identical fins for some other project. I was thinking of putting them on a 'Cheapskate' (Model rocket made from a paper towel roll)

Originally posted by TheRadiator
(snip.) Here's the templates and my buddy who followed me out to the patio.

Click to expand...

I thought your buddy was in the pic as a scale reference!

Nice looking upscale! I want to build the kit first...

So far I've resisted the temptaion of flying D12/C6/C6-7 in the kit. But this one is going to get the D12/D12/E9-6 right off the bat!

Nice thing about upscale, is that it'll be easier to see than a regular Commanche-3.

I glued and filleted the fins and she pretty much looks like a Commanche-3. However, I noticed one fin is a little out of alignment. Nothing that would cause horrible instability, but I may try to reseat it later today. Here's a picture of it put together.

I attached kevlar to the body tube, a la Quest. I have it breaking in the middle for recovery. And elastic shock cord is tied to the nose cone. The NC is cemented into the BT. I've also tied a loop in the elastic shock cord for chute attachment. I think an 18" chute or a 24" with a spill hole should do just fine. It is fairly light, and I don't like chasing rockets across a cow pasture!

As far as size goes, here's the big Commanche-3 lined up with the original Estes kit.

Incredible job on that upscale. Multi stage models are some of the hardest to up/down scale as you are confined to what you can do with the given selection of motors. You've done yourself proud there, boy

If I do another staged upscale, I'll get the booster sections laser-cut first. My hand-cut sections little ugly and uneven, but it will certainly be functional.

I have noticed a problem with the booster sections going crooked. It can be corrected, but I need to do a little more work so they seat evenly, and correction won't be necessary.

The photos came across a bit washed out. Attached is a quick retouch to bring out some more detail.

I definately want to see some pics of this baby in action! .... Uh, got a really big telephoto lens?

Nope, no telephoto lens! But, I'll get as many photos as I can. Maybe I can recruit someone with a better camera to take a shot or two.

Yeah, I brightened it up a bit too much. My screen is in desperate need of replacement. With all my settings turned way up, dark screens are near impossible to see.

Finally painted the base color on the Commanche-3. Decided on grabber green from Dupli-Color. I want to paint the NC a different color but have not decided on that yet. My wife wanted purple on it, but I don't think it will work well with the green. I'm thinking chrome or brass. Also, I think I'll add a checkboard to the BT as well.

Also, while painting I discovered the engine tubes were cut just a *tad* too long and cause the rocket to tilt at the stages a bit. I was thinking of cutting the engine tubes down ever so slightly and joining them with coupler. Would gap staging be affected if I reduced the ID of the area where the ignition particles are travelling?