BEHOLD - the coming of THOR!!!

[Green Jello]

Once the taping was complete, I mixed up more West epoxy and fillers and used the back of a spoon to shape and smooth it. Did I mention that split fins are a pain!?!?

What fillers do you use from West to make your fillets?

 

[neond7]

What fillers do you use from West to make your fillets?

For each pump of the 105 resin, 206 hardener I add a heaping spoonful each of 404 High-Density Filler and 406 Colloidal Silica. It doesn't seem like there is enough epoxy in the mixing cup to wet it all out, but it does after about a minute of careful stirring. Once its all mixed in, the consistency is similar to peanut butter.

On some of my real early builds, I just used straight 30 minute epoxy.... I found out the hard way that epoxy by itself is fairly brittle. I can show you pictures of cracked fillets if you want - but once you add the fillers, they are tough as nails.

 

[neond7]

Bah, humbug, the paint grinch loves to ruin my life....

Sanded down the rocket, smoothed it with hours of wet sanding with 600 grit and wiped it down with denatured alcohol.

I found a different paint to use, since the krylon was betraying me so bad. The Rustoleum professional grade looked like it might do the trick.

The yellow fin section went well. I like this shade of yellow better than the Krylon. It covered better and didn't run.

The black section of tube - horror show!!! It crinkled worse than the Krylon!! One section of tube only had a small crinkle near the bottom, the other tube had about 50% crinkle. I'm tempted to throw them away.... Sooooo many hours wasted!!!

 

[neond7]

I guess I should get this thing ground tested before I get the final paint job completed. To do this, I needed to get the brass shims in the shoulder of the nose cone for the shear pins.

I measured out 1" square brass pieces and cut them with tin snips. I like to lop off the corners, it makes it easier to fit and I think it helps provide another angle to help bite into the material and secure it.

I custom fit each piece of brass into the nose cone, I made the outline and then used a Dremel to cut into the nose cone to the desired depth. I also used the Dremel to roughen up the back of the brass to give the epoxy something to bite into.

The first piece is now curing with the 30 minute epoxy applied.

 

[Serpico]

Bah, humbug, the paint grinch loves to ruin my life....

Sanded down the rocket, smoothed it with hours of wet sanding with 600 grit and wiped it down with denatured alcohol.

I found a different paint to use, since the krylon was betraying me so bad. The Rustoleum professional grade looked like it might do the trick.

The yellow fin section went well. I like this shade of yellow better than the Krylon. It covered better and didn't run.

The black section of tube - horror show!!! It crinkled worse than the Krylon!! One section of tube only had a small crinkle near the bottom, the other tube had about 50% crinkle. I'm tempted to throw them away.... Sooooo many hours wasted!!!

What you are seeing here is a (negative) chemical interaction between the different types of paints. A loooong time ago I was in autobody. You will probably have to wetsand down, prime, wetsand again (try not to break thru), then paint once more. The primer should create the barrier required to avoid the interaction.

 

[neond7]

So, all three brass shims installed - before I bother fixing the paint I'll do some ground testing this week.

Without recovery equipment installed, the stacked rocket weighs 8 lbs 11 ounces.

 

[CCollins]

I have been defeated by paint more times than I can imagine. On my recently built LOC Precision Shadowhawk, I had the same problem with the Krylon paint. I was using "True Blue" and the same "Sun Yellow". What Serpico mentions about the chemical interaction is exactly what I experienced. I eventually stripped it and removed all traces of paint from the payload tube. I then started over with layers of white primer followed by wet sanding with 400 grit. Once it was DRY (let it sit over a day), I then started over with thin coats of Krylon Sun Yellow, 1 minute apart as the instructions state. That brought success. Whew. We then taped off the "ringlets" and I shot several thin coats of True Blue. Paint took 2 weeks. It was painful.



Curtis

 

[neond7]

I have been defeated by paint more times than I can imagine. On my recently built LOC Precision Shadowhawk, I had the same problem with the Krylon paint. I was using "True Blue" and the same "Sun Yellow". What Serpico mentions about the chemical interaction is exactly what I experienced. I eventually stripped it and removed all traces of paint from the payload tube. I then started over with layers of white primer followed by wet sanding with 400 grit. Once it was DRY (let it sit over a day), I then started over with thin coats of Krylon Sun Yellow, 1 minute apart as the instructions state. That brought success. Whew. We then taped off the "ringlets" and I shot several thin coats of True Blue. Paint took 2 weeks. It was painful.

View attachment 127531

Curtis

So when you say you "stripped it", did you mean you sanded it back down, or did you use a solvent to dissolve it off without using hours of arm muscles and sand paper? I would much prefer to use solvent to remove it, and then start over with Duplicolor high build primer.

I have painted many, many rockets without these problems (after I figured out a good system that worked for me). I think I may know what is going on - I was out of Duplicolor primer, and had one last can of Rustoleum primer on the shelf and used that as the initial base coat. Sanded it down, reshot several coats of Duplicolor high build over it with sanding between coats. But I did notice the Duplicolor seems to say softer than normal..... forgot the Rustoleum was under there. That was the only thing different I did with these tubes...... I'll probably want to strip it back down to just the epoxy to get away from that stuff.

Oh well, as I said, it will give me a good chance to ground test it without worrying about dorking up the paint.

 

[CCollins]

So when you say you "stripped it", did you mean you sanded it back down, or did you use a solvent to dissolve it off without using hours of arm muscles and sand paper? I would much prefer to use solvent to remove it, and then start over with Duplicolor high build primer.

I have painted many, many rockets without these problems (after I figured out a good system that worked for me). I think I may know what is going on - I was out of Duplicolor primer, and had one last can of Rustoleum primer on the shelf and used that as the initial base coat. Sanded it down, reshot several coats of Duplicolor high build over it with sanding between coats. But I did notice the Duplicolor seems to say softer than normal..... forgot the Rustoleum was under there. That was the only thing different I did with these tubes...... I'll probably want to strip it back down to just the epoxy to get away from that stuff.

Oh well, as I said, it will give me a good chance to ground test it without worrying about dorking up the paint.

Jeff - I thought about trying to sand it down but by then, the rocket tube had a coat of primer, several coats of failed paint, sanding, more primer, more failed paint and more coats of a darker paint in a vain attempt to just cover the whole bleepin' thing up. Sanding with 100 grit would have taken hours, if not days to get it down to the tube. So, I took a chance and used a citrus based paint stripper to remove all of that fail. It was not the harsher kind of paint stripper, I don't recall offhand what the brand was. I was afraid that the harsher kind would eat through the tube so I went with a Citrus based one. Even so, I didn't let it stay on very long - just the minimum 30 minutes stated on the directions. That citrus paint stripper did work well but it was a bit messy to use since it shot from the can with force rivaling wasp nest spray. I did have an hour or two worth of sanding and general "clean up" after I got the stipper off. Once that was done, I started over, took my time and it went well. That was a good thing because I peeled off the last tape masking the night before we left to go to the launch. Using that citrus paint stripper turned out to be a very good decision. Plus, the OCD side of me is happy that the tube is properly painted and not just a cover-up job with 10-12 coats of paint sludged underneath.

Curtis

 

[neond7]

The custom black and yellow 52" SkyAngle parachute arrived Saturday morning (Thank you Mark from LOC Precision!!), so I finally got to do some ground testing on Sunday. Definitely had some issues - I video taped it, but haven't posted it online yet. Basically, it was a double failure.

1. Main parachute test: Stuffing a 52" parachute into a 4" airframe is possible, but its very tight. I used 1.5g 4F, all three shear pins sheared, the nose cone popped out about 5 feet, but the parachute didn't make it all the way out of the tube. This is why we ground test!!!! For my next test of the main, I'll bump it up to 2g, maybe 2.1g - blow it up or blow it out! I'll also do a better job of packing the chute and pressing out the air to make it as small as possible. If the second test of the main fails, I may break down and install a redundant altimeter to ensure that chute gets out. I had hoped to avoid that since I hate wiring and its already tight enough in that av-bay without doubling the wiring. *sigh* Not to mention the cost issue, this has already become one of my more expensive projects.

2. Drogue test: I used 1.25g 4F, and at first the test looked successful, if a tad weak with only about 3ft of separation of the tubes. I had added 2 shear pins, they separated cleanly. Unfortunately, the 6" single wall zipperless coupler failed, I found it jammed a few inches into the fin section. The four nylon rivets had ripped through the wall of the coupler in spite of the fiberglass reinforcement. Its now junk. To fix this, I ordered a new 8" LOC coupler and a stiffy tube. I'll epoxy the stiffy tube into the coupler, and then use nylon rivets to hold it into the fin section. The 8" coupler should also have less "slop" than the old 6" coupler and improve handling of any side loading. I've used nylon rivets in these reinforced couplers before (in the form of av-bays) so I know this combo will work. I always was a big sketchy on that single walled coupler......

I'll post pics and video later. One of these days I'll get time to sand off the bubbled black paint and repaint it. I had hoped to launch it Saturday the 11th up in Bunnell, but I don't think there will be enough time for the parts to arrive and get them installed and tested before then. I'm not going to give in to "launch fever" and launch it before its tested and ready..... I've got a big box of motors arriving today, and I've got plenty of other rockets ready to launch. If the weather is good, I'll go for a personal altitude record and put my LOC Big Nuke up on a K700W.

 

[patelldp]

The custom black and yellow 52" SkyAngle parachute arrived Saturday morning (Thank you Mark from LOC Precision!!), so I finally got to do some ground testing on Sunday. Definitely had some issues - I video taped it, but haven't posted it online yet. Basically, it was a double failure.

1. Main parachute test: Stuffing a 52" parachute into a 4" airframe is possible, but its very tight. I used 1.5g 4F, all three shear pins sheared, the nose cone popped out about 5 feet, but the parachute didn't make it all the way out of the tube. This is why we ground test!!!! For my next test of the main, I'll bump it up to 2g, maybe 2.1g - blow it up or blow it out! I'll also do a better job of packing the chute and pressing out the air to make it as small as possible. If the second test of the main fails, I may break down and install a redundant altimeter to ensure that chute gets out. I had hoped to avoid that since I hate wiring and its already tight enough in that av-bay without doubling the wiring. *sigh* Not to mention the cost issue, this has already become one of my more expensive projects.

2. Drogue test: I used 1.25g 4F, and at first the test looked successful, if a tad weak with only about 3ft of separation of the tubes. I had added 2 shear pins, they separated cleanly. Unfortunately, the 6" single wall zipperless coupler failed, I found it jammed a few inches into the fin section. The four nylon rivets had ripped through the wall of the coupler in spite of the fiberglass reinforcement. Its now junk. To fix this, I ordered a new 8" LOC coupler and a stiffy tube. I'll epoxy the stiffy tube into the coupler, and then use nylon rivets to hold it into the fin section. The 8" coupler should also have less "slop" than the old 6" coupler and improve handling of any side loading. I've used nylon rivets in these reinforced couplers before (in the form of av-bays) so I know this combo will work. I always was a big sketchy on that single walled coupler......

I'll post pics and video later. One of these days I'll get time to sand off the bubbled black paint and repaint it. I had hoped to launch it Saturday the 11th up in Bunnell, but I don't think there will be enough time for the parts to arrive and get them installed and tested before then. I'm not going to give in to "launch fever" and launch it before its tested and ready..... I've got a big box of motors arriving today, and I've got plenty of other rockets ready to launch. If the weather is good, I'll go for a personal altitude record and put my LOC Big Nuke up on a K700W.

I HIGHLY recommend that you look into the Skyangle medium sized deployment bag to go with your 52" chute. I have now flown my 60" Skyangle/Medium Bag tandem four times: 3x in my 4" Broken Arrow, 1x in my 5.5" Nike Smoke. I rigged it up exactly as described in their instructions, and it has worked incredibly well all four times. I can honestly say that this is now my preferred set up for a rocket.

 

[neond7]

The Thor is now successfully ground tested and ready to fly!

I'm taking it up to Bunnell tomorrow and putting it up on a 54/1280 J540R. Openrocket shows it reaching 4400ft.

The black paint is still crinkled, I'll strip it down soon and repaint it. And I'll paint the nose too, its still in primer.

I'm flying it with 2 shear pins in the lower section on the zipperless coupler and three on the main.

 

[DRAGON64]

I was never a big fan of the Thor, but that is one beautiful rocket you have there... excellent work neond7

 

[dlb]

Decals are not correct,but close, kinda.
She still looks great!:headbang:
Can't wait to hear the flight report.

 

[soxfan121]

Hope you got video! cannot wait to see this baby fly and hear the flight details!

 

[Golfpro62]

Beautiful job on that rocket. I have always thought the Thor was a cool looking rocket and to build it from scratch - well I think yours will be be tougher than the original. Where is the Video of that bad boy flying?

 

[neond7]

Here quick pick of her sitting on the pad. Due to it being windier than anticipated I scaled the motor back to a CTI 6XL J453W. It flew AWESOME!! It whistled the whole way up... Much better than I expected.

Video to come....

 

[neond7]

Here is the video I promised - turn up those speakers and enjoy that THOR whistle!!!

[video=youtube_share;fLJzEZlJzYc]https://youtu.be/fLJzEZlJzYc[/video]

 

[qquake2k]

Love that whistle!

 

[MasonH]

That whistle is shaweet man!!!

 

[accpool]

and a short walk, good job.

 

[Pantherjon]

Awesome lookin Thor! Awesomer sounding whistle! Love it! Way to go Jeff!:clap:

 

[CarVac]

Nice flight and nice whistle.

There should be a whistling-rocket drag race sometime. LDRS? It certainly would be safer than non-whistling rockets.

 

[Getmore]

Nice jeff. I can't wait to here that whistle in person. That is sweet.

 

[csoechtig]

Very cool flight - - way to go Jeff.

 

[Serpico]

Sweet!

 

[DRAGON64]

Those split fins love to sing... excellent video, thanks much for sharing.

 

[cobra1336]

one of my fav. rockets have a Thor 4, punched in a K550 (not glassed) got 6345n ft. nervious....yes drove 2 miles to pick it up.

 

[neond7]

one of my fav. rockets have a Thor 4, punched in a K550 (not glassed) got 6345n ft. nervious....yes drove 2 miles to pick it up.

Was it dual deploy?? That was a long walk! I'm flying a TAGG pet tracker in any of my "J" and up flights, I feel much better that way.

I'm going to use a 3 grain CTI J760W in the Thor next, then an Aerotech 54/1280 J540R. Assuming both those flights go ok, I'll consider a K550W. I built it to fly high and hard..... But I do want to work up to it and enjoy a few flights before I get a bit more risky with it.

I'm counting down the days until I fly it again.

 

[neond7]

Had a successful second flight of my THOR yesterday in Plant City, Tampa with the TTRA group. Great bunch of people to launch with.

This is the first time I had attached my keychain cam to a dual deploy rocket. Very chaotic free fall until the main deploys at 700 ft. Also my first use of a 54mm CTI motor and it won't be my last! The J760W is a sweet little motor. Not as much smoke at the Aerotech white motors, but I think it has more punch off the launch pad which helps this long thin rocket from weathercocking off the pad.

[video=youtube_share;yGcXMOApmoU]https://youtu.be/yGcXMOApmoU[/video]