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wunkus

wunkus

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Hey everyone, I'm new here. It has come to my attention that there is much more material, info, and members involved in Rocket Gliders (a major passion of mine) here than in RCGroups.

During a build log on RCG of an Estes Astro Blaster I just completed yesterday, one of the members there (crawf56) gave me some rocket motor advice and a link to this forum. I've read through a bunch of the builds here and it's right up my ally. Hopefully I can share my passion with those of you who also love RC rocket gliders and get some ideas for my next build.

-Will
 

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You came to the right place.
I go to RC Groups for electric and fuel/nitro RC, ...….but this is the place for rocket power.
 
Hey Welcome to the the family ! I will be your personal guide to the forum , if you need to ask any questions regarding rocketry i may and will answer them almost 24/7 - 12 hours a day!

If you need anything in specific i can help , aswell as other older forum masters , please make yourself at home!
 
Your Astro Blaster looks gorgeous. Years ago I built the Astro Blaster and got several good flights with help from a local R/C airplane flyer. I got several good flights and some bad flights on my own. I covered my Astro Blaster in monokote. Did you cover your Astro Blaster in monokote?
 
I remember when I built this model my local R/C airplane guy did not like the connection to the elevon torque rods, because the elevons responded the opposite to the natural direction of using the transmitter control levers. So, I had to cut a hatch in back top fuselage and with some difficulty detach and exchange the torque rod connections. After some effort I was able to do this and the transmitter control levers were considerably more user friendly. You know my experience was about 20 years ago with a very simple Futuba transmitter. It might be possible now with a programmable transmitter to just reverse the setup.
 
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Just sent it on its maiden launch today. It flew great! It is so fast! The first launch was on an Estes E12. Second and third launches were on an Aerotech RMS-RC 24/40-40. Had a frightening moment when the glider slowed down on that launch and seemed to stall non stop all the way to the ground (not shown in the posted videos). Turns out the CG was wrong. While the Aerotech empty casing is about the same weight as an empty Estes E, it is shorter and requires a spacer. This put all the weight further aft and the CG on this glider is touchy (as warned in the build manual). Luckily there was no damage and the issue was easily fixed on the next launch by pushing the casing all the way forward without a spacer and taping it in place. It flew better than the Estes like this! I'm very happy with this newest edition to my rocket glider fleet.

-Will

 
Your AstroBlaster flights look terrific! I remember that it took me a very long time to build it before I crashed it for good. (After one bad crash with a broken wing, I used a carbon fiber arrow shaft to repair the model. Of course, each time there is a repair the model probably gets heavier.) There were some flights that I had my friend fly with a gas engine pusher prop. It took a few hand toss attempts before we got it up, but it did fly with a pusher prop. Your flights look very long. That shows what can be done when someone knows what they are doing.
 
Nice flights. I think you got 1:28 on the E12 and 2:07 on the RMS-RC 24/40-40.
May not win a thermal duration contest but it sure looked like fun.
 
wunkus said:
Just sent it on its maiden launch today. It flew great! It is so fast! The first launch was on an Estes E12. Second and third launches were on an Aerotech RMS-RC 24/40-40. Had a frightening moment when the glider slowed down on that launch and seemed to stall non stop all the way to the ground (not shown in the posted videos). Turns out the CG was wrong. While the Aerotech empty casing is about the same weight as an empty Estes E, it is shorter and requires a spacer. This put all the weight further aft and the CG on this glider is touchy (as warned in the build manual). Luckily there was no damage and the issue was easily fixed on the next launch by pushing the casing all the way forward without a spacer and taping it in place. It flew better than the Estes like this! I'm very happy with this newest edition to my rocket glider fleet.

-Will

Click to expand...

Welcome aboard! Beautiful build and awesome flights. I'm headed toward RC, just need to get some piloting experience on some trainers. I can probably learn a lot by following your exploits.
 
You should pick up an RC simulator for your computer, best way to practice flying without crashing a real plane!
 
wunkus said:
You should pick up an RC simulator for your computer, best way to practice flying without crashing a real plane!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reminder. Been meaning to do that since I've been too busy to get to any decent-sized park for quite a while now.
 

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