X-Wing Build

[wolsen]

Thanks! Need to add some weight to the nose cone and finish this guy off, but in the meantime here's a couple of shots taking it out to a local club launch to get some final critiques and motors (AT F67-4W). Looking to fly it in December.

 

[neil_w]

F67! How much does that thing weigh?

 

[jqavins]

I had the same thought. The construction looked pretty light, or lightish. Lots of drag though. Some of that drag comes from fiddly bits; high thrust up to high speed plus draggy fiddly bits might not end well. Here's hoping my worries are for naught.

 

[BABAR]

Thanks! Need to add some weight to the nose cone and finish this guy off, but in the meantime here's a couple of shots taking it out to a local club launch to get some final critiques and motors (AT F67-4W).

View attachment 396874 View attachment 396875

two appropriate Star Wars quote, one modified.

The modified one is :

"The Force is (too) strong in this one."

The unmodified one is:

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Those said, I wish you the best of luck!

 

[jadebox]

That's going to look great on the pad. Best of luck for the flight!

And, it appears to actually have enough room for the parachute. So, recovery is likely to be more reliable than it has been for my X-Wings.

 

[wolsen]

F67! How much does that thing weigh?

Well, it’s on the heavier side. 863g/30.5 oz. It’s definitely heavier than I wanted it to be. The motor was chosen after checking thrustcurve.org and consulting with members of the local club.

I’m aware that there’s all possibility of impending doom on the maiden flight, but I’m hoping the rocket gods will be kind on launch day.

 

[neil_w]

Well, it’s on the heavier side. 863g/30.5 oz.

!

Well my mental estimates were certainly way off. An F67 should be great. I actually wish I had a good rocket to fly the F67 in, because it is tremendous bang for the buck.

Good luck on the flight!

 

[wolsen]

!

Well my mental estimates were certainly way off. An F67 should be great. I actually wish I had a good rocket to fly the F67 in, because it is tremendous bang for the buck.

Good luck on the flight!

Thanks, I certainly appreciate the sanity check! It always helps to have folks double and triple checking our work and thought processes.

It started out with that heavy tube and then I think the real weight was added when I glassed the fins. I chose that route for strength, but it isn’t free. The details/fiddle bits don’t come free either sadly.

 

[jqavins]

I actually wish I had a good rocket to fly the F67 in...

So build one. Hold back your usual level of creativity and finishing care and knock together something big and heavy with a little creativity and pretty good finish.

Or adapt one of your catalog of cool ideas to the larger motor and make it a major project instead of another small build. I nominate this one:

"Ring Warrior 2": My fictional rocket company would probably kit this one, it's a nice straightforward skill level 2, doesn't really resemble anything on the market right now I don't think.

 

[healthfreak]

I found myself with some time off work this week and a heavy duty airframe from an unknown origin (56 mm OD, 51 mm ID) so I figured it’s time to move up from LPR to the world of MPR/HPR. Since my kids are just getting into Star Wars, I showed them Lakeroadster’s X-Wing build thread and they were super excited. I decided to go all out and make a bigger version of one. This one is slightly different because the kids wanted it to be Luke’s X-Wing.

I started out by filling the tube and cutting some rather sad-looking fin slots, but a bit of sanding and fillets will work wonders in the final model.

View attachment 392452

The tube was a bit rough still and sanding only made it fuzzy, so I made a mixture of wood glue and water (50/50), added a couple coats and sanded it down to get a fairly smooth result.

Next, cut some fins out of 1/8” birch plywood. They’ll still need some touch up and sanding still.

View attachment 392453

The nose cone is custom turned out of 4 layers of pink foam. Carved with some rough sandpaper to get the general shape, then refined with some 220 grit. The shoulder is a section of the body tube, cut down to an inside tube coupler and then epoxied in place.

View attachment 392455

While I was cutting out the foam, I went ahead and cut out a cockpit. Those front points get a bit flimsy so this was only as far as I was willing to take the sanding without anything else to strengthen it. I will just finish it with some filler and more sanding once it’s affixed to the body where it will have more support.

View attachment 392456

And last thing I’ve done this week is work on the winged-motors and mounts. These are only for show on this bird as it’s intended to fly on a single 29 mm motor.

I took two TP rolls and cut them in half to form the large fronts of the engines. Heavy duty card stock was used to create the support structure, and plain card stock was then added as a half circle to fill in the rest of the length of the support structure. Right now, it’s just tacked together with some CA, but white glue or wood glue will be used to bond it all together. An Estes BT-5 tube will serve to attach a BT-20 tube section (not pictured) as the aft part of the engine.

View attachment 392457
View attachment 392458

This bird will fly out at my local club launch site, which is in the desert with a rock hard ground. As such, I’ve elected not to extend the motors aft of the fin/wing as it will just break off on landing.

I’m ordering some custom cut centering rings from the local rocket shop (I suck at cutting circles) and a motor mount tube. So once those get in, I can begin some real assembly. In the meantime, gonna look for some good material for an R2 unit.

Some fun dry fit photos of the pieces coming together.

View attachment 392459
View attachment 392460
View attachment 392461

You have done a fine job. Keep it up.

 

[wolsen]

Was hoping to get this one launched today, but no dice. Busy setting up and getting pre-flight checks done for L1 cert. Ran out of time and the winds started picking up to levels I was uncomfortable with for this bird. I will get to launch this one some day!

 

[mbeels]

Good luck, did you get your L1 cert flight in?

 

[Bat-mite]

Was hoping to get this one launched today, but no dice. Busy setting up and getting pre-flight checks done for L1 cert. Ran out of time and the winds started picking up to levels I was uncomfortable with for this bird. I will get to launch this one some day!

We're going to hold you to it ... or hold you to the flames! bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-cough-cough

 

[wolsen]

Good luck, did you get your L1 cert flight in?

Sure did! I'm pleased to say it was successful - up and down with a soft landing in a hard field.

We're going to hold you to it ... or hold you to the flames! bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-cough-cough

I'll hold myself to it as well!!

 

[mbeels]

Sure did! I'm pleased to say it was successful - up and down with a soft landing in a hard field.

Hey, congrats! That's gratifying.

 

[BABAR]

Sure did! I'm pleased to say it was successful - up and down with a soft landing in a hard field.



I'll hold myself to it as well!!

Congrats!

 

[wolsen]

Finally got to launch this one today. I’ll have to wait for some flight footage from a friend who joined. Successful flight and smooth recovery. No damage at all. Makes me happy

 

[wolsen]

So the flight today was a success, but it was not without excitement. Last year, after consulting with various members of the local club, I added some nose weight to bring the CG a bit more forward. I went a little higher than I intended to, ending up at 947g (I failed to account for the weight of the epoxy, bulkhead, and hardware). Running the info through thrustcurve.org, it looked like the F67-4Ws I had purchased would still be okay, but this thing is going to have tons of drag, so I wasn't entirely sure.

I named it Red Five since it flies with R2D2 and was decorated with 5 stripes denoting Luke's X-Wing in the Death Star Trench Run - but as you'll see in the video, I had a moment where I thought I should have named it Red Three. Overall, successful flight, successful landing. Next time it flies, it will be with more motor (maybe an AT G54W - any recommendations out there?).

 

[BABAR]

two appropriate Star Wars quote, one modified.

The modified one is :

"The Force is (too) strong in this one."

The unmodified one is:

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Those said, I wish you the best of luck!

Another (of many) cases where I am glad to be wrong!

Congrats on a great flight on a really neat rocket!

 

[wolsen]

Another (of many) cases where I am glad to be wrong!

Congrats on a great flight on a really neat rocket!

Thanks! I wouldn't consider you to be wrong here, I think you were right given the parameters you had. I always value input and feedback from others, if nothing else - it serves as a sanity check. And believe me... I need my sanity checked from time to time :-D

 

[Crawf56]

Impressive. Most impressive.

The Empire has taken notice of your actions...……..rebel scum.