1/3 Scale X-15 Project Build Thread

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Bondo said:
Attached are a few photos from Saturday's build.
First photo is our "Bubba Lathe" we are using to turn our 6ft nose cone! And that's Todd with the suit on! NICE.......
Click to expand...

Hey now... That suit is "the" in outfit this season... It sure beats getting covered in fiberglass/foam dust!
 
Hey guys guess what just showed up? Thats right one big ace chute. The 35'er is here. Should I bring it to the launch this weekend so everyone can get an idea of the ammount of room we need to allot for packing it?
 
You gonna go out to Plaster City for the launch this weekend? by all means, bring that big bad boy! Maybe we can fly to El Centro with it!
 
Yea, borrowing the oldman's truck (aka the beast) I'll be out on sat w/ chute.
If the wind is kicking to bad I may try to use your trailer as cover.
 
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You guys are killing me, what got done on Sat????? Did you open the chute???:confused2:
 
Hey Scott-

Sorry to keep you waiting. Just didn't want to post anything until Mike got the pics up to the photobucket account.

Not a ton of fancy stuff done, but important stuff... We got a layer of glass on the nosecone. The motor mounts got fillets and glass mat.

We decided what to do with the fins... Mike is loading the CADD files into Solidworks and stress testing them. He is going to generate a pattern for lightening holes which will be cut out of the fins.

We decided to then put foam back into the holes and sandwich on a layer of luan on each side followed by 3 layers of glass. By Mike's initial calculations this should save us about 8 pounds on the rear of the rocket.

We did not open the parachute, deciding that it's best to just leave it packed for now as we didn't have a section of 12" sonotube at the build to test fit it into. It definitely looks like the 8" parachute mortar will be too small...

That's pretty much it. The next builds will be on 5/30 and then 6/20.
 
sounds like a plan for the fins. Sorry I couldn's be there, forgot I was doing that charity thing. See you on the 23rd.
 
Hey Todd & Sparky, does any one have photos from Sat's build? Sure got lots done, hope some one can post some pic's.
 
I'll post my pics tonight. Got busy cleaning out my garage yesterday and didn't get them posted.
 
Todd,
You going out to PC this weekend?
Oh, and where are those pictures?
 
D'Oh! I'm a slacker about getting the pics up!

The forecast for Plaster City looks rough! I was thinking I'd head out Friday afternoon, but with the "W" looking like 18-25 with gusts to 36....

It's supposed to lay down Saturday, but I'm gonna have to look at it on a day by day basis... I'd like to head out as I WANT that G-Heliroc attempt!
 
Looks like I might just head out for the day Sat leaving early AM. Call me if you wanna ride.
 
Very cool guys! You figure out what motor you're gonna fly it on?

I might have a deployment bag you can use for your chute. I'm taking it with me to RocStock this weekend and will see if we can fit the 35' chute we have in it. I'll let you know if you're interested.
 
Hey Todd and Mike,
Still waiting on Pics from the last two builds...:confused2::bangpan::neener:
 
Yeah Todd!! Thanx for the pic's! We still have a long way to go!

The June 20 build I have another commitment for the PM. I'm thinking I'll be avail 8am-1pm and you guys can work as late as you want. I've been working on the nose cone some and I'll get a few more hours in b4 6/20.

Plaster City was a bit windy last weekend but temp was perfect so we had a pretty decent launch. Val, Jim M & Jim D were there so we got to catch up on a lot of rocket talk. Jack was trying to talk us (me) into a road trip to Balls 2009. I'm game as long as the X15 project is far enough along...any interest out there??? ROAD TRIP!!!


SpartaChris,
I think the jury is still out on motor config for Plaster Blaster 2009 but we're building it stout enough to take a couple of "O's" in case we road trip it in 2010 to Balls or somewhere outta state. We're gonna make a 12" ejection cannister for the 35' chute so not sure we'll need the bag but we'll keep the offer in mind, thanx.
 
Small build team for the June 20 build but good amount of work done! Got the motor assembly mounted, tail cone all fiberglassed, skinned the wing panels and worked on the verticle stabilizers! Great work! Any body have any pictures to post?
Looks like we can schedule 2 builds for July.
July 5, Sunday 11-4
July 25 Sat 8-3
Let me know if you need particulars on how to join in the fun.
 
Bondo-man said:
Small build team for the June 20 build but good amount of work done! Got the motor assembly mounted, tail cone all fiberglassed, skinned the wing panels and worked on the verticle stabilizers! Great work! Any body have any pictures to post?
Looks like we can schedule 2 builds for July.
July 5, Sunday 11-4
July 25 Sat 8-3
Let me know if you need particulars on how to join in the fun.
Click to expand...

any update pictures of this monster yet?...:confused2:
 
Hey Rick and Jesse time to get them pics posted...Todd is off the hook this time since he couldn't be bothered to show up. :bangbang: looks like I'm going to be able to make it to the 25th afterall at least for a bit. Oh, if you need the username and login for the Photobucket account PM me and I'll send it to you.
 
Hey all-

Sorry to leave you hanging without phots for so long! New pics have been posted to the photobucket account... Here's the URL again:

https://photobucket.com/PunkrocketscienceX-15

The wings and fins have been skinned and glassed. The fin slots cut. The motor mount installed. The tubes joined. The tail cone formed and glassed. The upper and lower wedge fins filled with foam and hot wired.

And most importantly... The first dry fit completed! Funny... The X-15 is just as long as the Interceptor-M, but the extra tube thickness makes it look shorter...

Here's a teaser pic... Hopefully it's not too big!
kdk_0260.jpg
 
There you go!! I wonder how far you guys are on this.,,, X-15 is HUGE!!!:y:
 
Todd,
Thanx for the post on photobucket, sorry I missed the fun last time. See you all on Sunday. Bondo
 
Exceptionally productive day yesterday. It's really starting to come together!

Bondo has worked his magic on the nose cone once again. He says next year we are doing something without a canopy! But he does such nice work!

The fillets were put onto the tail fins and the reinforcement to the parachute bay was pretty much completed. The last of the foam was attached to the sides of the airframe and parachute bay lid. I was able to finally start to shape the foam and it added dramatically to the look! The PVC "ballast" tube holes were cored into the nose cone. We should be able to fit 20+ cans of "recovery coolant" into the nose to help the recovery team on their task...

Goals for the next build: attaching the top and bottom wedge fins, completing the internal support structure for the nosecone.
 
Here's a pic of about half the build team and a pretty good looking dry fit!

a_IMG_5082.jpg
 
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I just might be able to squeeze into an 18" tube, and I weight about 165lbs....
 
shrox said:
I just might be able to squeeze into an 18" tube, and I weight about 165lbs....
Click to expand...

I'm sure you would fit... I seem to remember being a bit bigger than you when we met back at the NARCON here in San Diego and I've got you by about 20 pounds... I have had to wiggle my way into the tube a couple times to put fillets in...
 
You need to have a link for the project added to the special projects page at the plaster blaster site.
 
PunkRocketScience said:
I'm sure you would fit... I seem to remember being a bit bigger than you when we met back at the NARCON here in San Diego and I've got you by about 20 pounds... I have had to wiggle my way into the tube a couple times to put fillets in...
Click to expand...

I could squeeze as far forward as I can so as not to mess up the CG...
 

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