Upgrading a Blackstar Voyager (Krenim Timeship theme)

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I want to say that what makes this thing a skill 5 is that its a serious Endurance Build. 27 detail fins, 9 stringers, 33 fin parts, 6 body tubes, 6 rings.....there's just a ton of pieces to prepare, fit, bond, and eventually apply a finish to.

As I mentioned yesterday in "What did you do today", I used TB Quick and Thick to add fillets to the detail pieces. 2 fillets per piece. 9 pieces per ring. 3 rings. 54 fillets.....The Q&T allowed it to be done in one sitting, but that was still a pretty long sitting. The cool thing about that glue is that it dries almost clear. Looking at it right now, I'm having a hard time even seeing some of them.

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Today came the moment of truth: Mating the fins.

Since they were already sanded, It went pretty smoothly. A Bead of TBII on the bonding edges and press into place along the lines. The detail pieces were really useful for lining things up. When each piece was mated, I'd let it sit for 15 minutes while I did something else (dinner, dishes, Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4....etc).
https://www.notdoppler.com/supercrazyguitarmaniacdeluxe4.php

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All in all, I think construction is 90% done. See Leviathan below for scale (vv)
Still left is:
-Noseweight system
-stringers on the forward tube
-Launch lugs(!)
-recovery (after painting....thats gonna be a chore)

I created a mock in OpenRocket and generated some flight speeds that this thing could see.
I used 150 ft/s as a design point for analysis. Running with an angle of attack parallel to a fin gave me CP results at ~27.47".
Once I get the noseweight sorted out, I'll get some engines and see where the CG tends to be. Based on a near complete weight with the clay in place loosely, the empty CG is just ahead of the forward ring of detail fins. That's a margin of ~11% of the rocket length empty, but I've still got more stuff to do on the front end plus recovery gear.

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And a side effect of the flow analysis means I got more Colors For Dollars to show off!

This run was with 150 ft/s air velocity (corresponding to a rocket flying 150 ft/s)

Here are some velocity contours. The surface represents all the points where air velocity is the same relative to the rocket. The colors are mapped by pressure (sorry, I set it up in a foot/pound/second system instead of inch/pound/second, so get lb/ft^2 instead of psi. Just divide by 144)

120 ft/s isosurface
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100 ft/s
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80 ft/s
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And something cool, A slight region of air moving faster than the nominal airspeed
155 ft/s isosurface
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Here are pressure regions. Notice the high pressure zones at the hollow front face of the rear fin half, and lower pressure regions contributing to the drag of the aft end.
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Here's a pressure plot. greeny-yellow is ambient conditions.
Just another cool visualization of the aerodynamics on this unique rocket. There's a diffierence of ~.2 psi between the front and back of those rear segments.
(I kind of like how these pictures almost fit together)

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And lastly some cool velocity cut plots. The wakes created by the odd geometry makes some pretty psychedelic patterns.

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Been awhile since updates.

I was convinced by old college friends to go snowboarding and had to make sure that a) work was in hand b) I survive snowboarding (taller you are, harder you fall) and c) I catch up on work when I got back.
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So rocketry took a back burner and I haven't had much substantive progress to post.

In little spaces of time, I've been trimming and sanding the forward ribs.
They start with a little 45 degree cut. I use a caliper to match the rib width, then scribe a line the same distance from the end. Since these sloped edges get sanded down, I eyeballed the slant cut with an xacto.
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Here's what some of them look like finished
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And here they are glued on
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Last piece I almost forgot:
These little asymmetric diamonds fit inside the fin elbows. These are probably the fiddliest pieces of the kit because they have to be beveled and set in place in line with the flight axis.
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While the elbows were drying, I added an extra layer of TB quick&thick to try and smooth out the fin/body joints. And I attached the Launch lugs (slightly important. They're 3/16, but I'm considering adding 1/4" on another side for bigger motors.
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This completes the external construction.
My efforts will now turn to priming, sorting out the weight adjustment system, and *shudder* painting......
 
Huntsville weather decided its residents would enjoy a couple more days near/below freezing, so I'm holding off on priming.
Turning my attention to more wood filler on the fin constructions and repairing other rockets. I also weighed it, and I've got 1.1 oz of margin before I hit the card-weight and I still need recovery, primer, and paint.

Also, I'm seriously considering contacting StickerShock to see about recoloring the decal scheme. Otherwise I'll be condemning myself to an extended purgatory of masking and detailing. (This decal set will probably cost more than the rocket)

Scheme is forming thus:
Lighter flat-grey base coat.
Blue-purple for the Exposed BT-50s (power core effect), the tops of the forward ridges, and the white portions of the decals.
Black for the fiber finlets and sides of the ridges. Possibly a lattice pattern on the transition (I can mask that part by hand).
Darker gray for the orange part of the decals. (It'll match the retainer! Unexpected success!)
[Debating Silver metallic accents on the nose or other portions. I'll see whether the muse inspires me.]
Final clear-coat once all is said and done.

With the amount of effort that'll have in this thing at the end, I'm not even going to let it sit on the same Rack as a blackpowder E.....
 
That's amazing. Is it going to be a shelf Queen? I'm going to tackle my first level 5 kit this spring, building the new Estes Shuttle. Looks challenging.
 
That's amazing. Is it going to be a shelf Queen? I'm going to tackle my first level 5 kit this spring, building the new Estes Shuttle. Looks challenging.

Nope! This thing will fly! (but not on an Estes E.....):no:

I like to get a 10' shine on my rockets for the first launch, then subsequent marks serve as an informal flight log :cool:.

Mirror finishes aren't my thing. They require a time investment that is quite beyond my point of diminishing returns.
I prefer to play around with the colors and make the rocket my own in that way like I did with my L1 Patriot. (and get hissed at by "authentic purists"....You know who you are)

Which is the awesome about this hobby cuz as long as you're safe, there are a dozen different philosophies and ways to enjoy it.


That shuttle is a cool one! I haven't gotten the Buy-it bug for it yet though (and I'd probably do something weird like terracotta boosters and a white tank!)
The Blackstar hasn't been bad, just time consuming. I like working on fitting the pieces together. And I think I'd get frustrated way faster if it had shrouds or angled tube cuts like the Expedition(?) kit.
 
Placed an order from StickerShock.

I just shaved a bunch of masking, painting, drying, remasking time from my to do list at a quite reasonable price! If you haven't already, go check out his kit decal recolor options at stickershock23.com!

Here's his sample pallet for the decals. Any inkling of doing it myself quickly went away when I realized I could get them done so easily.
Mine will be Black and his deepest Royal blue.
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Are those printed or cut? Should look great, I'm really eager to see the finished product.

That's a better question for Mark, until I receive the sheet. If they're vinyl, pretty sure they're cut.

I'm looking forward to the final product too! (I don't know what it'll look like either lol)
Check back in a month?
 
Weather is warming up again, so I'm hurrying to finish smoothing the fin grain with wood filler. I've also created a set of nifty tools to get inside those long narrow (f)inside channels: The Sanding Fork! (available in 160, 220, and 400 grit!)
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I may need JumpJet to corroborate, but I think the Balsa used in the Blackstar is a little stiffer than whats used in other kits. It seams to be more durable than some I've used, less apt to being sliced by my fingernails.

One round of wood filler has done such a good job of smoothing most things out, that I've decided to go grab some Filler-Primer and see how that finishes the job.
 
Got my Filler-primer and some wood hardener (with a side trip to test out my repaired finless rocket: see OddRoc section)

This stuff is thick, and I feel like I used most of the can on all the details. Either way, this thing is on the way to being finished!
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Took a trip to Cabelas looking for Blackpowder and lead shot. Saw the fish.
I don't want to pay 20 bucks for 5 lbs of shot when I can wait for next months rocket budget and get 25lbs for 40$. No luck on the Goex.
Got some tiny snap swivels for Lo-power parachutes.
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For anyone interested in building the Voyager, this thing has dozens of wonderfully devious places to sand and paint as evidenced by the scale pic.
And it looks like I still had 1.35 oz to go prior to white primer before I hit the card weight.

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Went over to my uncle's and borrowed the drill again after flying at the Sod farm Sunday. Installed two 2-56 screws in the nose shoulder, and two rivets in the forward transition shoulder.
This'll allow me to remove the nose and adjust noseweight, and access the shockcord tie down in case I ever need to replace it.
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Sorry for the wonky photos, the garage wasn't the best photo booth.
 
Lookin' good. One day I will convince someone else to try out my twist-lock nose cone retainer, but I guess today is not that day. :)

Not gonna lie, I was seriously tempted in drawing one up and sourcing a print shop, but my laziness won out. It is a legit idea.
Either that or a "wagon-wheel" piece glued in the tube with 10-32 threaded hole in the center. That way I could epoxy the threaded rod in the nose, and screw it into place. With the wheel further down, I could add washers or nuts for weight as needed.

In the end, my aversion to shipping won: "Meh, I do have a lot of these tiny screws.....and I know where I can borrow a drill"
 
Not gonna lie, I was seriously tempted in drawing one up and sourcing a print shop, but my laziness won out. It is a legit idea.
Either that or a "wagon-wheel" piece glued in the tube with 10-32 threaded hole in the center. That way I could epoxy the threaded rod in the nose, and screw it into place. With the wheel further down, I could add washers or nuts for weight as needed.

In the end, my aversion to shipping won: "Meh, I do have a lot of these tiny screws.....and I know where I can borrow a drill"
Sorry, I didn't mean to derail the thread with this. In any case, if you're trying to preserve access to the interior of the nose cone to adjust clay, then my locks wouldn't work because they cover the base of the nose cone. Your wagon-wheel idea sounds pretty cool as well.

Is that rust color primer or a final flat coat? It was grey in the previous pictures...
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to derail the thread with this. In any case, if you're trying to preserve access to the interior of the nose cone to adjust clay, then my locks wouldn't work because they cover the base of the nose cone. Your wagon-wheel idea sounds pretty cool as well.

Is that rust color primer or a final flat coat? It was grey in the previous pictures...

If the question still involves rockets or rocket accessories, the thread hasn't been derailed! :cool: (or rocket physics)
Also, I have the tendency to ask semi-tangent questions in threads, so I can't really complain :facepalm:.

My goal isn't to remove clay. Its more focused on providing an accessible space for additional weight if required.
Thinking along your lines, with a hollow nose cone, I'm envisioning a printed piece that slips inside the nose with holes that would allow something like shot or BBs to be poured in or out (Salt shaker style?). But the bottom piece would be solid, so they don't fall down the tube when locked in place. This requires more fleshing out...

I really need to find a local 3d printer with decent rates. This is Rocket City so it shouldn't be too hard.

That color is actually a combination of the twilight sun, and my uncle's garage door light. It is currently primer-white with spot putty patches. If sufficiently motivated, I'll be sanding that down this evening.
 
Busy week, forgot to upload this:

Accent stickers arrived from Stickershock!
I'm looking forward to putting these on, but I'l have to sand down the primer, evaluate, and then put on the flat grey basecoat.

I really need to take a little tme to learn how to apply graphics in Solidworks
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Now, if my info is correct, I'll need an initial spray of gloss clear before the vinyls will adhere properly right?
 
So apparently the grey can I bought as satin finish instead of matte. Thats what I get for grabbing based on the color/texture of the cap and not reading.

Oh well, maybe it'll be a smoother surface for the decals.
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Me too, Fortunately, I was aided by the Sanding Fork!
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What I didn't predict was how annoying painting the inside of the fin structures was going to be. I ended up with some paint buildup on the edges and outside that will require careful wetsanding away.
 
Officially started the descent into masking madness.

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I'm taking a trip back to TX to visit my girlfriend, so this will get PLENty of cure time before I mask over the sides and spray black over the tops of the ribs.

A re spray of the base gray on the fin/core section prevents any further development on that one.

I think those should be called "sanding birds" if you know what I mean.

I admit no knowledge of avian involvement in this process. Flipped, Flappy, or otherwise.
 
Progress on the Blackstar Timeship has been delayed by unexpected circumstances.

More on this as it develops:
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