Wildman Dink Build Thread

[danielhv]

This will be my first attempt at a build thread... Haven't found much on the Dink so thought it'd be a good candidate to try and tackle a thread on. This kit was given to me second hand and I ended up having to order fins for it as the originals were missing. Looks like a pretty straight forward kit - so I'm sure I can over-complicate this one pretty easily. I like that it comes with aluminum bulk plates for the electronics bay... My plan for this rocket is to not worry about weight as this will be my short fat low and slow style rocket.

 

[danielhv]

So I started by squaring up the ends of the fiberglass body tube and coupler. I've seen a few methods for this, but my go to is a 3D printed sleeve that matches the OD of the tube, and a sanding disc stuck to the floor. I basically put the tube into the sleeve, stand on the flanges to keep it flat, and twist the tube back and forth. I sometimes mark the edge with a sharpie to make sure it's flat before moving on to the other end.







Looks flat to me!!

 

[danielhv]

Little sanding today... the fin slots were pretty tight so I sanded them smooth, and dry fit the fins. Went ahead and 3D printed the alignment jig I've always used. If able I use two of them, one in front of the fins and one behind... but due to the design of the Dink fins, I won't be able to get a jig onto the BT at the rear. Shouldn't be an issue though. Everything seems to fit well together. Went ahead and ordered a thrust plate only because I like they way they look. I've come to realize my build style tends to sacrifice performance for appearance. Yea, I'm that guy that spends a ton of time making a rocket look really nice before ever launching it.

 

[rfjustin]

So I started by squaring up the ends of the fiberglass body tube and coupler. I've seen a few methods for this, but my go to is a 3D printed sleeve that matches the OD of the tube, and a sanding disc stuck to the floor. I basically put the tube into the sleeve, stand on the flanges to keep it flat, and twist the tube back and forth. I sometimes mark the edge with a sharpie to make sure it's flat before moving on to the other end.

View attachment 640897

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Looks flat to me!!

That's slick, I like it!

 

[Dave S.]

Were the ends of your tubes very far off from square, or were you making sure they were just exactly perfect?

 

[danielhv]

Were the ends of your tubes very far off from square, or were you making sure they were just exactly perfect?

Both in this case. I’m a stickler for tube joints looking uniform.

 

[danielhv]

Parts came in so more dry fitting today. Got the forward centering ring positioned and slid the MMT in place



Then I put the rear CR on, but there is quite a gap between the CR and the end of the BT, which doesn't work well with the thrust plate. So I put a ply CR in there and it's going to work out well. It will leave me a 1.7mm gap between the rear fiberglass CR and the ply CR, so room for a fillet for sure.









Not shown, but I tried doing a little beveling on the rear of the BT to get it to blend into that thrust ring so it looks much better. I need to make a jig to mount the 4" BT into my wood lathe because it makes life so much easier. And yea yea yea, I know there is some sort of gunk on my aft closure. Can't seem to get it off. Got these cases 2nd hand, and I've tried simple green, but no bueno. I can scratch it off with a razor blade but don't want to do any damage to the anodizing.

Anyway, I need to get some hardware: Screws for the thrust plate and plate nuts and a recovery harness anchor so I can get started on the epoxy side of things. I'm going to re-use the nylon harness from my Apogee Zephyr build since it's pretty easy to get to things in this short BT, so changing it out in the future if needed should be pretty easy.