Building a Bigger Big Daddy Akavish

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Feet

We bought 10 "uncoated foam balls" to use as feet. These are similar to the balls we used as feet on the previous Big Daddy Akavish. But, at 8" in diameter, they are bigger and they are made of a different kind of foam.

I used the drill press to carefully cut a hole in each ball.




We finally made the big decision and cut 9" off of each leg. This will bring the overall height of the rocket to about 6 feet.

After cutting the legs, we sanded the end to help the glue adhere. Then we glued a ball to the end of each leg. Bracha then filled the gaps at the tops of the holes with glue and left-over foam pieces.




We now have nine legs (eight and a spare) ready for paint and fur!




-- Roger
 
Holey Akavish, Batman!

Although Bracha keeps reminding me that real spiders don't have big Muppet eyes, all of our Akavishes have them. And, this one is no different.




Then we glued two half foam balls into the newly formed eye sockets.




Finally, we covered most of the rocket with black paint.

And ...




It's still taller than me!

-- Roger
 
<Sad I live too far away to see it fly when it's ready>

Ari.
 
We ordered a couple of yards of faux fur from an online source to use to cover the new Big Daddy Akavish.

We were happy that we found the same black fur with silver tinsel that we had used for the first original (as opposed to the second original) Big Daddy Akavish. The new, bigger Big Daddy Akavish is actually the third Big Daddy Akavish (I think). Anyway ... below is a photo of the first Big Daddy Akavish showing the black fur with the silver strands.


2008-02-17+10-05-05_2.jpg

The First Original Big Daddy Akavish and Family
​

The silver strands look cool in the sun and reflect the flame from the motor at launch:


2007-08-11-09-47-36_4.jpg

​
 
Fur and Away ... or ... A Bridge Too Fur ... no? ... The Hunger Games: Catching Fur?

Anyway ... here's an update on our progress building the Big Daddy Akavish Mark II.

Bracha and I spent some time in fabric stores and looking online to find the perfect faux fur to cover the new Big Daddy Akavish. We were happy to find some black fur with silver tinsel that looked like the fake fur we had originally used on the first Big Daddy Akavish. We really liked it because it sparkled in the sun and glowed red as it reflected the flame from the rocket motor.

We ordered two yards of the fake fur and, once it arrived, our dog, Oscar Pendragon, examined it.
​

With Oscar's approval, Bracha began to cover the Akavish's head with the fake fur. She came up with a cool idea for fitting the flat fabric to the curved surface of the Akavish. She turned the fake fur over, fabric side up, and layed it over the sphere of the Akavish's head. She pinched the fabric into pleats so that it fit the curves. She pinned the pleats together and removed the fur. She sewed the fabric along the pleats then turned the fur inside out. It then fit the Akavish's head just right!

We used spray adhesive to attach the fur to the head and ... with the addition of a couple of giant googly eyes ... we have an Akavish head!

​


-- Roger
 
Rail Buttons II

The top rail button screws in after the square dowel "rail button holder" is inserted into the rocket. It needs a stand-off to line up with the other rail buttons. I created the stand-off using a nut and a few washers.




​


With the top rail button in place, I tested the alignment using a 1515 rail.


​


The fit is perfect. The rail slides smoothly up and down on the rail buttons.
 
He's Got Legs ... (8)

Bracha finished covering the legs with fur.


​


Bracha sewed the fur into tubes - inside-out to hide the seam. We turned the tubes right-side out then slid them onto the legs. We used multiple tubes per leg because it's almost impossible to turn one right-side out if it's length is longer than about 24".

The fit of each tube on the leg is tight enough that no adhesive is needed.
 
Counting Down ....

We're getting close to the first launch. With Bunnell Blast 2013 less than two weeks away, we assembled the rocket for the first time since covering it with fur.


​


Bracha's doing some work on the parachute and shock cords. I'm going to do a quick test of the altimeter. And, this weekend, we plan to do a ground test to check out how well the recovery system deploys.

After that, it's off to Bunnell and ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ....
 
Looking good, and just in time for Halloween!

Ari.
 
Ground Tests

Bracha crafted a beautiful parachute deployment bag out of a Top Flight Parachute protector and some tubular nylon.


​

The bag is tubular in shape because it wraps around the motor tube inside the body tube. We tested it by stuffing the parachute in carefully. Then Bracha held onto the parachute's shroud lines while I gently tugged on the cord attached to the deployment bag. The bag pulled easily away from the parachute. The parachute ended up laying on the ground perfectly. I was really pleased to see how well it worked.


​

We attached the deployment bag's cord to the screw eye in the top of the Akavish. A 30" Top Flight parachute is also attached via a short shock cord. We made the shock cords from 9/16" tubular nylon. I actually sewed some of the loops on the ends, but, of course, Bracha reviewed my work.

I loaded three grams of powder into an ejection charge holder. I ran the wire under the electronics bay bulkhead and out a screw hole on the bottom of the Akavish's head. I spliced another length of shooters wire on the end. Then I loaded the deployment bag (with the parachute in it) on top of the ejection charge. I laid the shroud lines and the smaller drogue 'chute on top. Then I put the top of the Akavish's head in place. Stepping back, I counted down from three and touched the ends of the wires to a 9V battery's terminals.

[video=youtube;cacZb0dQ9ko]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cacZb0dQ9ko[/video]
​

The ejection seemed a bit anemic, so we tried again with 4.5 grams of powder. We also added a parachute protector on top of the ejection charge to keep the soot off Bracha's beautiful parachute bag. I forgot to start the video, but this time the top went a little higher and the small parachute came out.

BTW, it's not a good idea to carry a 9V battery in a pocket along with a bunch of quarters. "Hey, is that a battery and a bunch of quarters in your pocket or are you just ON FIRE!"

-- Roger
 
Last edited:
We've already started loading our minivan for the trip to Bunnell next weekend. I didn't want to wait until Friday to discover that we couldn't fit everything in the van. But, I had forgotten that we can remove seats from the van. After removing one of the rear seats, the Akavish's legs fit in the back just fine and there's plenty of room left for his head and the other stuff we need to bring.
 
It looks...less shaggy? than the one in your profile picture. But otherwise very cool!
 
CarVac said:
It looks...less shaggy? than the one in your profile picture. But otherwise very cool!
Click to expand...

We launched the new, bigger, badder Big Daddy Akavish today. It's a complete rebuild of the one in the my avatar. The new Big Daddy's about 50% taller and more than 100% heavier. It's also much better designed.

There's actually about twice as much fur on it as on the last one, just because it's so much larger.

And, it worked! :)

-- Roger
 
jadebox said:
We launched the new, bigger, badder Big Daddy Akavish today. It's a complete rebuild of the one in the my avatar. The new Big Daddy's about 50% taller and more than 100% heavier. It's also much better designed.

There's actually about twice as much fur on it as on the last one, just because it's so much larger.

And, it worked! :)

-- Roger
Click to expand...

What I meant was the fur length is a lot shorter, proportionally, than the one in your avatar.
 
iter said:
Well done! Is there video coming?
Click to expand...

I think so. As you can see in the photo, I had a couple of cameras attached to the rocket. Plus, we had some cameras on the ground. I haven't had a chance to really check the video yet.

- Roger
 
CarVac said:
What I meant was the fur length is a lot shorter, proportionally, than the one in your avatar.
Click to expand...

I understood. The fur we have on the new Akavish is very similar to the original fur on the original Big Daddy Akavish. But, it looks shorter just because the rocket's bigger. It still looks pretty cool in person, though. This morning there was a slight breeze as we displayed the rocket for the first time. It caused the fur to ruffle while the tinsel strands reflected the sun.

After the launch, we had a number of people ask to pose with the rocket for photos! :)

-- Roger
 
Launched rockets! Sore from all the walking I did at ROCSTOCK but very happy with the flights. Two PERFECT and I mean PERFECT days of launching. When was the last time your heard of a desert launch with full racks still being launched at sundown?? Virtually no wind and clear for 48 hrs of Peace Love and Rockets. Launch report to come after I unpack, cleanup, and rest for a spell.
 
gdjsky01 said:
Ooopsss wrong thread. Sorry!!!
Click to expand...

We can just change a few details because we also had two great days of rocketry and I am beat from so much walking.

We launched the Akavish on Saturday. When we flew, it was a little overcast, but most of the day was clear with light winds. The Akavish with motor weighs around 30 pounds, so it is not outrageously heavy. But, its hard to carry. So, the trek to the launch pad and the walk back from recovering it were efforts.

Sunday's weather featured dark, threatening clouds and a little more wind. The forecasts for Saturday and Sunday were backwards. I launched my Upscale Omega. The J motor punched through the wind, and it flew straight up until after burnout when it arced into the wind. The parachute deployed and it drifted the other way almost to the far corner of the field. So, I had a bit of walk to retrieve it

-- Roger
 
:lol:

I happy to hear my break-in was not a complete waste! :)
I am publishing the keepers to Flickr now. Looking forward to your photo album on RocketryReviews.com when you get a chance!

Jeff
 
I just added the flight to my Flight Log at RocketReviews.com. Looking at my flight stats, in 2011 I flew a total of about 8000Ns - the most for me in a single year. I haven't flown much this year, but the Akavish flight by itself gets me to almost half of that total!

https://www.rocketreviews.com/roger-smith-page.html

-- Roger
 
Still working on a video of the flight ....

In the mean time, here is a collection of some random trivia about the rocket and the flight ....

I predicted that the Big Daddy Akavish would fly to about 1000 feet in altitude. I used a very precise method of estimating the altitude. I guessed and rounded my guess off to the nearest 1000 feet. The actual altitude as reported by the altimeter was 990 feet.

When I test-fitted a rail on the rocket at home, it fit fine. But, I didn't consider that there would be brackets connecting two rails together when I got to the launch pad. The rocket didn't fit over the connector. We had to remove the connectors and use just one rail for the launch. It was shorter than I desired, but based on past experience, I knew that the Akavish didn't need a long rail. And, I assumed that the L motor would kick it off the pad quickly. I am going to either mod the rocket to fit over the brackets or buy a longer rail of my own for the next flight.

I accidentally listed the wrong motor on the flight card. I wrote that I was using the CTI L1115 which is a four-grain motor. I flew the rocket using a three-grain case. The motor was actually an L800.

I mounted two cameras on the rocket using a sophisticated method - electrical tape. I didn't think about how well the cameras, wrapped in white electrical tape, would show up in photos against the black fur of the Akavish. Next time, I'll use black electrical tape!

The rocket appeared to be on fire after the parachute deployed. I was nervous for a few seconds (which felt like minutes) until I realized that it was just the motor's tracking smoke.

A last-minute update to the rocket was the addition of a piece of metal to protect the board that holds the lower rail buttons. It hangs down right next to the nozzle-end of the motor. So, I added the metal to protect it from the motor's heat and flame. After the flight, I noted that the paint on the metal isn't marred and there's no soot on it at all. There's also not a bit of singed fur on the rocket.

There was no significant damage to the rocket. The plastic covering one of the eyes came loose. That's an easy thing to fix. Two of the feet fell off at ejection and there are some minor tears in the others from dragging on the ground when the rocket landed. We may make "socks" for the Akavish to prevent both of these problems in the future.

Before the flight, we put the Akavish on display and just a few people walked up to see it or take a photo. After the flight, people waited in line for a photo with the rocket!

-- Roger
 
[video=youtube_share;_mhCF39BDTE]https://youtu.be/_mhCF39BDTE[/video]​
 
WOW! That's the best 9 minutes and 11 seconds I've seen so far today!
Great flight, great video.

"It's "Vish" not Vosh!
 
hcmbanjo said:
WOW! That's the best 9 minutes and 11 seconds I've seen so far today!
Great flight, great video.
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound immodest, but I've been told that it's the best nine-minute film ever about a six-foot tall furry flying arachnid.

-- Roger
 
Will Avakish be at ROCK on Dec 7th? I'm thinking about making the drive over there that weekend.
 

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