Cosmodrome Nike Apache

[JAL3]

The climb up was a good one. It was straight, did not wobble at all and looked quite impressive.

 

[JAL3]

The motor selection seemed to have been a good one. When the pop of ejection came, the rocket could just barely be seen. We all saw the laundry come out and then we all saw that there was a problem.

 

[JAL3]

The chute was out but never really opened. I was "treated" to a terrible sight. The Apache portion of the rocket was doing its best imitation of a lawn dart; it was struggling to aerodynamically make its way back to earth as quickly as possible. It was constrained in this endeavor by three things: 1) I'm sure the unopened chute contributed a small but real amount of drag; 2) the Nike booster was acting like a streamer in its own right and trying to impede its own impending doom; and 3) I'm am sure that the sound waves from my plaintive cries from the ground slowed it a little bit as well. All of this was to no avail as it plunged downward.

A video of this sad event can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/3965190746/

 

[JAL3]

An examination of the rocket, when I stopped crying, showed that the damage was not as bad as I had feared. The fins of the Nike booster need to be reset and filleted but the entire booster is in pretty good shape. Even the Apache came out better than expected. The nose cone snapped but it is something that is easily replaced. A member of my club offered to turn a cone out of PVC for me and I accepted in the hope that it will be a bit more durable.

 

[cosmodrome]

What happened? Why didn't the chute open? If you would like a new nose cone just let me know and I'll send one out.

 

[JAL3]

What happened? Why didn't the chute open? If you would like a new nose cone just let me know and I'll send one out.

It was just one of those things and its likely partly my fault. I tend to be sloppy with the packing. When I looked at the corpse, the chute was twisted up tight and 3 of the shrouds were kinked near the canopy. Partly me, partly luck.

Don't worry about the cone. I have a friend making me a new one. He did ask me what kind of tubing the Apache section is made from. He's assuming its LOC but hasn't started yet because I have not given him the dimensions yet. If I can get those it would be helpful.

 

[cosmodrome]

It was just one of those things and its likely partly my fault. I tend to be sloppy with the packing. When I looked at the corpse, the chute was twisted up tight and 3 of the shrouds were kinked near the canopy. Partly me, partly luck.

Don't worry about the cone. I have a friend making me a new one. He did ask me what kind of tubing the Apache section is made from. He's assuming its LOC but hasn't started yet because I have not given him the dimensions yet. If I can get those it would be helpful.

Custom tube. ID = 0.95" (same as LOC), OD = 1.04". It's a thicker tube so that the scale is just right. Don't forget about the thickness of the wrap (should be about 1.08" with the wrap).

 

[JAL3]

Custom tube. ID = 0.95" (same as LOC), OD = 1.04". It's a thicker tube so that the scale is just right. Don't forget about the thickness of the wrap (should be about 1.08" with the wrap).

That should help.

Thanks.

 

[JAL3]

I got to work on repairing my Nike Apache today after its maiden flight fiasco.

I have a friend making me a new nose cone out of PVC in exchange for a few BT56 body tubes. It seemed like a good deal to me and I figured the new cone would need a place to sit so I dug out the Apache and took a look. Yep, it was still busted.

 

[JAL3]

The first thing I did was to saw off the balsa cone fairly close to the BT. The second thing I did was to curse the repair shop that has had my good camera for 6 weeks now.

 

[JAL3]

I then drilled out the base of the cone with a 1/2" bit.

 

[JAL3]

A sanding drum on a Dremel tool was then used to expand the hole. I did not take it all the way because I wanted to wait until I had the replacement cone in my hands to make sure I get things right.

 

[JAL3]

While working on the cone I took a look at the rail lug mounting. I had covered it with epoxy to keep it from snagging but, running my finger over it, I found that the screw protruded a bit still. This may have abetted in the deployment failure.

 

[JAL3]

To address this issue, I rolled out some epoxy clay and faired over the mount.

 

[KerryQuinn]

Hi John-
Sorry to hear about your most recent flight of the Nike Apache.
Looks like you are well on the road to recovery.

I've got 4 great flights in on mine. Only two issues - on the third flight I found my lower launch lug was gone (!) epoxy took off just a bit of the block under the tube. I walked back to the launch pad - and there was my launch lug - on the ground about 3' from the pad.

Also, the 0.1" of tip on my NC broke off on the first flight - flies great without it.

-Kerry

 

[JAL3]

Hi John-
Sorry to hear about your most recent flight of the Nike Apache.
Looks like you are well on the road to recovery.

I've got 4 great flights in on mine. Only two issues - on the third flight I found my lower launch lug was gone (!) epoxy took off just a bit of the block under the tube. I walked back to the launch pad - and there was my launch lug - on the ground about 3' from the pad.

Also, the 0.1" of tip on my NC broke off on the first flight - flies great without it.

-Kerry

Thanks for the commiseration. I really liked this project. I've like all I've seen from Cosmodrome and have several sitting around intimidating me. I figured that this would be the easiest to start with. It was not as hard as I feared but I'm glad I waited for a little more experience before starting.

 

[JAL3]

One of the fins was also in need of some work as it had been broken loose on landing. I pulled it out and trimmed off some paint and epoxy.

 

[JAL3]

A fresh pot of 5 minute epoxy was mixed and poured into the fin slot. The fin was then replaced and some tape was applied to keep it straight as it set.

 

[JAL3]

At this point I tried an idea I had heard of but had never used myself. I decided to try and use some epoxy clay to fillet the repaired in and all the other fins as well. I started off by using too much on the originally damaged fin but got better about applying it on the others. Clay "snakes" were rolled and pressed into the joint between the fins and the BT. My finger soaked in alcohol was used to smooth things out and feather the epoxy.

 

[JAL3]

The clay had been messy to work with but after 2 days I masked off the decal with foil so I could apply some paint and cover up the mess.

 

[JAL3]

I was fortunate in that I still had plenty of the red paint that I had originally used so I took it to the booth and started spraying.

 

[JAL3]

Ken Kryszak turned a new nose cone for me out of solid PVC. While heavier than the balsa original, it should be a bit more durable as well. I picked it up from him this last weekend after church.

 

[JAL3]

It took me a while to find where I had stashed the rocket for the paint to dry. When I did, I peeled back the masking and the new red had blended just fine with the old.

 

[JAL3]

When test fitting the new cone into the BT, I found that I had to clean out the hole a bit more but that had been expected. For depth, though, the shoulder on the new cone was longer than the old and the lead weight was blocking it.

 

[JAL3]

I took a belt sander to the base of the cone to remove some material until it fit nicely into the prepared hole. A few drops of epoxy were mixed and the cone was set in its new home.

 

[JAL3]

The replaced cone was then shot with a coat of primer.

 

[StoneCold]

Some epoxy was then mixed and brushed onto the back of the lug and poked into the screwholes. The lug was then set in place and the screws driven in.

Beautiful Rocket! I can't wait to get one!
BTW where did you find the rail guides you are using?
Are they custom you made?

 

[JAL3]

Beautiful Rocket! I can't wait to get one!
BTW where did you find the rail guides you are using?
Are the custom that you made?

They are made by Public Missiles. I really like them.

Their page is here: https://blastzone.com/pml/

go to the hardware section near the bottom.

 

[StoneCold]

Thanks for the info.
Good luck on youre next flight!
Im sure you don't need it, but I'll give it anyway!

Thanks again,
Steve

 

[Breeze1913]

Nice looking rocket. You did some great work on the repairs!!

Thanks for the tidbit on the launch lug rails. I can't believe I've never see it before!!

Congratulations on the repairs, and good luck on the second flight.