What did you do rocket wise today?

Strange adapter tricks.

kuririn said:

Dry fitted the parts for an Estes 1/100 Saturn 1B clone, using readily available tubes instead of those dang @#$$&%$#@ specialty tubes that came with the original kit.

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When you duplicate the original design of a kit, that's a clone. But the kit is the Saturn 1B design, and you're not using the Estes parts, so in what way is is a clone? Isn't it just your own 1/100th scale Saturn 1B?

jqavins said:

When you duplicate the original design of a kit, that's a clone. But the kit is the Saturn 1B design, and you're not using the Estes parts, so in what way is is a clone? Isn't it just your own 1/100th scale Saturn 1B?

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Used the original plans/instructions, and substituted parts due to unavailability of the specialty sizes. When someone duplicates a design and the plastic parts are unavailable and he substitutes balsa, as in a nose cone, don't we still call it a clone? But if you prefer, you can call it a clone(ish).

BTW I was smug and ecstatic about my ingenious "solution" to the problem. Then I found a NINE YEAR OLD thread at YORF where someone had done essentially the same thing. Brought me down to earth.

Finally finished rebuilding my super batray that pranged due to a weak ejection/nose fit swelling in the sunlight (now renamed to super tuxray). Rebuilt it with a 5:1 nose that was given to me, and added a e-bay with a raspberry pi in it. It currently is just setup for video/audio recording, but I'll add sensors to it later to function as a backup altimeter to a yet to be chosen commercial DD altimeter (leaning toward the TRS).

jqavins said:

Gee, I feel for you bro.

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OOpss...I guess I missed a "t", didn't I.

Oh well, Pain, Paint...can be one in the same amIright?

Joined Tripoli today, to go along with my NAR membership. Happy to support both national organizations.

Flyfalcons said:

Joined Tripoli today, to go along with my NAR membership. Happy to support both national organizations.

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Welcome to the club!

I was given the opportunity to present to a student rocket club/TARC team today.

Called it "Life after G" and went over the certifications and levels of HPR, classes of rockets (model, high power, amateur), and types of rocket motors/engines used by professionals in Orbital rockets and missiles. Brought my motor cases and IREC M-nozzle for hands-on examples and worked in portions of my own school->industry experience.

Professor asked if I held an L-1. Said yes. Then he volunteers me to fly the university’s multistage rocket this weekend. LOL going to Florida.

Placed a large motor preorder with BMS. Looks like I’ll be flying my first L motor soon!

Today, I started building a Darkstar Mini and Darkstar Jr bought during the 2017 Black Friday sale. I know, slow builder here. The first steps were drilling and tapping each nose cone for a bulkhead from Labrat Rocketry to allow for payload in the nose cones.

Andrew_ASC said:

Professor asked if I held an L-1. Said yes. Then he volunteers me to fly the university’s multistage rocket this weekend. LOL going to Florida.

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So unpack your grains and bring your X1.4. It’s a two day event and 15k ceiling.

Worked on the website, added some chemicals to it, synced items to eBay, and getting ready for a conference call

Read some posts on TRF while my BlackFly sits naked on the worktable after being stripped of all paint over the past several days.

"I promise you BlackFly, I will get around to finishing you soon. Same to you DarkStar Jr., and you QCC Explorer, and you...... etc."

Got my first R/C rocket glider to the point that it is ready for a test flight. Not enough flow time to paint before our club launch on Saturday and have the paint good and dry. So will paint after flight or two assuming it survives.

X1.4 prepped for a Tampa Test flight with G-145. Assembled a H-130W for RB-05A incase the weather is windy. So pumped.

Finished prepping for TCC's October Skies. I'll load the car tomorrow. Added more candy to drop. Almost 5 pounds...

Tobor said:

"I promise you BlackFly, I will get around to finishing you soon. Same to you DarkStar Jr., and you QCC Explorer, and you...... etc."

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I'm probably the worst one when it comes to finishing a rocket. The one in the primer I've had sitting around for years, At least it's got one flite under its belt.

Used the hardware store vouchers from my birthday to acquire and construct a larger workbench.(well, I put the bits together)




Enabled by the additional space acquired through a persistent listing and sale of large old things that were taking up space in the garage.

It’s exciting - for the first time ever I have a workshop space and actually have the room for a few real power tools I’ve always wanted, like a drill press, a belt/disc sander, and when funds improve, hopefully a home CNC machine.

Estesbasher said:

I'm probably the worst one when it comes to finishing a rocket. The one in the primer I've had sitting around for years, At least it's got one flite under its belt.

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Just be careful - that primer still might not be dry!! You might need to let it cure for a few more years before it will be safe to apply the base coat... [emoji12]

Andrew_ASC said:

X1.4 prepped for a Tampa Test flight with G-145.

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How about a little competition Andrew? Winner gets to talk all the smack they want. Ha! your not chicken are you!

Estesbasher said:

How about a little competition Andrew? Winner gets to talk all the smack they want. Ha! your not chicken are you!

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Battle of the G’s. I like it. More afraid of losing X1.4 than losing ego. Lol.

Packed the car for Tampa.

BEC said:

Got my first R/C rocket glider to the point...

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Are you saying the battle cruiser is an RC glider? I see the added vertical tail and what look like control surfaces on the trailing edge of the body. If that's what you've done then you are a candidate for Coolest Person Alive.

jqavins said:

Are you saying the battle cruiser is an RC glider? I see the added vertical tail and what look like control surfaces on the trailing edge of the body. If that's what you've done then you are a candidate for Coolest Person Alive.

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I believe it is a Franke Burke Dynasoar Rocketry glider kit iirc, but Bernard IS a pretty cool guy! [emoji41]

Rich is right. The Battlecruiser being one of Frank’s kits.

I’m going to see if I can get a maiden flight in today. Hopefully the fog will lift by the time I get to Sixty Acres and get set up. That way I won’t be trying all this untested stuff in front of a crowd at the club launch tomorrow.

Received a lipo I ordered

Amazon ShipBot did it's usual algorithm magic

Finished entering all the scale data in CAD in order to print a Nike-Nike Smoke 2 Stage with a 3D printer.

Put three flights on the dynasoarrocketry.com Klingon Battle Cruiser (post 19847 above) this afternoon and I think I have it pretty well trimmed out. So it will be ready for public debut at the club launch tomorrow. Also flew my first C and D impulse Q-Jets in a Nova Payloader. Very nice.

A B4-4 from a new batch still had too much ejection charge, though....

Now I gotta clean clips and other little club GSE details as well as print and cut out some more flight cards for tomorrow.

Looked at AC Supply to see if the Estes Little Joe 1 was available yet. Not from them...yet.