A Sci-Fi Scratch Build - IHSF "Kessel Runner"

[cwbullet]

That is a very nice and unique design.

 

[lakeroadster]

Wings Day 01

I cut the wings and stack sanded them, then started gluing them in place.​

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Also worth noting: I did a swing test of the fuselage before adding the wings. I was curious if due to the wedge shape if it would be stable. No nose weight, no motor weight, just the fuselage. It failed miserably.​

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[BABAR]

Also worth noting: I did a swing test of the fuselage before adding the wings. I was curious if due to the wedge shape if it would be stable. No nose weight, no motor weight, just the fuselage. It failed miserably.​

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View attachment 629739 View attachment 629740​

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Since it is all wood of same thickness, the mass is distributed proportionately. A wedge shape is therefore expected to be tail heavy.

 

[lakeroadster]

Since it is all wood of same thickness, the mass is distributed proportionately. A wedge shape is therefore expected to be tail heavy.

Swing test is done by supporting the rocket by it's cg, which I did. ​

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I was curious due to the wedge shape.​

 

[lakeroadster]

Wings Day 02

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[Gus]

John,

Wonderful spaceship to model. Really beautiful. I had not seen it before. And your work, as always, is wonderful.

As a completely pointless aside, your tolerance of all the Star Wars discussion in this thread is truly commendable. I really wanted to ask what they think is Han Solo's favorite glue, but I'm worried I might exacerbate some health problems.

 

[NTP2]

Hans Solo's favorite glue,

I’d put him as a JB weld man.

Ps or duck tape…

PPs what health problems I’m fine!

 

[Antares JS]

John,

Wonderful spaceship to model. Really beautiful. I had not seen it before. And your work, as always, is wonderful.

As a completely pointless aside, your tolerance of all the Star Wars discussion in this thread is truly commendable. I really wanted to ask what they think is Hans Solo's favorite glue, but I'm worried I might exacerbate some health problems.

Wookiee Glue.

Like Gorilla Glue, but in Star Wars.

 

[Rschub]

I propose for a sister ship upscale the IHSF "Gravity Well" for obvious reasons.

 

[techrat]

Wookiee Glue.

Wookie Glue is so strong that using it, you *can't* pull the ears off a Gundark.

 

[lakeroadster]

Wookie Glue..... perfect. Kind of like Old School Horse Glue, except this is made from ground up Wookie's, "retiree's" from the dangerous spice mines of the planet Kessel.

I took another look at the design to try to add some additional stability.

Isaac Hannaford had a lower "snorkle" in his sketch. I'll be adding this and incorporating the launch lug into it. A sandwiched construction such that the launch lug is between to pieces of basswood, with a balsa wood filler. That'll be about 1/2" wide.

 

[jqavins]

Come to think of it, if this is a Star Wars vessel, why is it in English at all? And what is it doing so far from its home galaxy?

Because the whole universe speaks English better than Chekov.

 

[Rschub]

I like the scoop. It would be awesome if it had windows and was the actual control cabin. Like a warp drive hang glider.

 

[Azamiryou]

Because the whole universe speaks English better than Chekov.

In Star Wars, they speak English* — but they write aurebesh.

*which is called "Galactic Basic Standard"

 

[BABAR]

Swing test is done by supporting the rocket by it's cg, which I did. ​

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I was curious due to the wedge shape.​

Hmmm…. By MindSim I would expect a wedge shape built of uniform thickness material of uniform density is highly likely to have a CG behind CP. base drag can only do so much.

there IS a pyramid rocket out there that is obviously wedge shaped, but I think it had a recessed motor so CG was not solely dependent on material thickness. I think it was also more of a saucer.

Options for this bird that I can think of

LOTS of nose weight, which creates a vicious cycle of, “now I need a bigger motor, which means I need more nose weight…..”

Recessed Motor: this lets you use motor for nose weight and given shape, can probably get away with a decent degree of recession without inciting Uncle Krushnic. Problem here is where do you put the chute, and this puppy is gonna need a lot of chute, it’s gonna be heavy.

Tractor motors: you’ve played this card well on priors, not sure it is cosmetically compatible with design…..

Extra Fins: if wood or paper (these seem to be your materials of choice) they are a cosmetic problem. You seem kind of an organic builder, so I think you aren’t going to go the Lexan root.

There is always the flying base. I kind of feel this is “cheatin’”, as using this you can make a true brick fly, but it does double as a display stand and worked well for the Mandalorian. Biggest downside I see for this model is that it displays best (like the picture) horizontal rather than vertical.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/hiding-your-fins-in-plain-sight-240-calories-of-fun.47954/

 

[Antares JS]

there IS a pyramid rocket out there that is obviously wedge shaped, but I think it had a recessed motor so CG was not solely dependent on material thickness. I think it was also more of a saucer.

Correct. The Art Applewhite pyramid has the motor recessed a good bit towards the nose, and yes, it basically behaves like a saucer.

 

[jqavins]

Hmmm…. By MindSim I would expect a wedge shape built of uniform thickness material of uniform density is highly likely to have a CG behind CP. base drag can only do so much.

there IS a pyramid rocket out there that is obviously wedge shaped, but I think it had a recessed motor so CG was not solely dependent on material thickness. I think it was also more of a saucer.

Options for this bird that I can think of

LOTS of nose weight, which creates a vicious cycle of, “now I need a bigger motor, which means I need more nose weight…..”

Recessed Motor: this lets you use motor for nose weight and given shape, can probably get away with a decent degree of recession without inciting Uncle Krushnic. Problem here is where do you put the chute, and this puppy is gonna need a lot of chute, it’s gonna be heavy.

Tractor motors: you’ve played this card well on priors, not sure it is cosmetically compatible with design…..

Extra Fins: if wood or paper (these seem to be your materials of choice) they are a cosmetic problem. You seem kind of an organic builder, so I think you aren’t going to go the Lexan root.

There is always the flying base. I kind of feel this is “cheatin’”, as using this you can make a true brick fly, but it does double as a display stand and worked well for the Mandalorian. Biggest downside I see for this model is that it displays best (like the picture) horizontal rather than vertical.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/hiding-your-fins-in-plain-sight-240-calories-of-fun.47954/

I wouldn't worry. And keep in mind, that's me, the forum's leading borrower of trouble, not worrying. Look at the OR screen grab in post #71. Just under 1 caliber static margin in a rather short rocket (L to W is about 5:1). I'm less comfortable relying on the base drag hack than John, but he certainly has a good track record where using it is concerned. The G80 shown in the screen shot looks like plenty of motor; if more motor needed to lift more nose weight? It's already a 29 mm MMT, so worse come to worst it'll need an L1 cert* and there are plenty of options. The G80 weighs 123 g, and a G125 weighs only 2 g more; an H169 weighs 202 g.

It'll be fine.

* Are certified, John? I doubt you'll need to be for this one, but if you keep building the way you do, you may well need a high thrust H motor sooner or later.

 

[techrat]

* Are certified, John?

@lakeroadster should be L1 at least because what feels like a year ago, he built a rocket specifically for L1, called "Level 1", which had a Gemeni/Mercury spacecraft feel to it that he finished with a distressed look with an undercoat and then sanded a bit to make it look like light corrosion. Assuming this rocket flew and deployed properly, He's L1.

 

[lakeroadster]

* Are certified, John? I doubt you'll need to be for this one, but if you keep building the way you do, you may well need a high thrust H motor sooner or later.

Certified.... Well, I've got the rocket, as previously discussed by @techrat. I'm just waiting for a design that needs it, to justify the certification.​

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And kudos to you Sir for checking out the OpenRocket simulation for the IHSF Kessel Runner. It is slated to have approximately 6 ounces of nose weight and I'll do a swing test once the build gets to that point.​

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Level One My L1 bird in waiting...

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Here's the current "As-Built" simulation for the IHSF Kessel Runner.

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[lakeroadster]

Snorkel Build Day 01 and Nose Weight

The snorkel build is pretty straight forward. I used (2) BT-3's.​

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For nose weight I went ahead and added a hex nut to the 3/4-10 threaded rod and then attached the screw eye to the side of it. Then pushed it down into the fuselage, and glued it into place. This will take a while to dry. Learned that on my Razorback.​

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I had planned on 6 ounces of nose weight. The extra 1.6 ounces is good insurance, and only changes the apogee by a small amount.​

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Razorback

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[lakeroadster]

Snorkel Build Day 02

Cut the snorkel out of the laminated construction, sanded it to shape and began gluing it to the fuselage.​

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Looks like the barrel of a double shot Deringer...... pew ... pew ...​

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[jqavins]

Why the two holes?

 

[lakeroadster]

Why the two holes?

In the conceptual artwork this is some sort of inlet or perhaps some sort of port. If you look you'll see it's an obround opening.​

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There was room for two... so I choose two.​

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[Rschub]

Why the two holes?

One is for oxygen, the other for hydrogen. Skim the upper atmosphere and fill the tanks.

 

[Daddyisabar]

One is for oxygen, the other for hydrogen. Skim the upper atmosphere and fill the tanks.

Like a RAM AIR intake on a P- 51D or your favorite HEMI motor in your ROD. High speed slicing through that cold, thin, high altitude air, that's the ticket!

 

[lakeroadster]

OpenRocket Photo Studio

 

[Rschub]

 

[NTP2]

OpenRocket Photo Studio

View attachment 630751

How did you do that! It looks more like blender than open rocket!

 

[jqavins]

OpenRocket Photo Studio

View attachment 630751

The nozzle is underexpanded.

 

[lakeroadster]

Preliminary Swing Test

I took the rocket out and did a preliminary swing test. No motor or recovery items, just the raw wooden rocket with nose weight. Rock solid stability... which gives me the confidence to keep on building.

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