WILDMAN/CRAZY JIM Flying circus launching 27ft "MEGA" DarkStar at LDRS....."O" my!

Photo teaser I found I'm my files...got a rush just looking at them, enjoy the past, it's a window into the future.
3 K-2045 V-max surrounding the O sparky......looks like an "O my" airstart. lol

blackjack2564 said:

View attachment 375187 View attachment 375188 View attachment 375189 View attachment 375190 View attachment 375191 View attachment 375192 View attachment 375193 Photo teaser I found I'm my files...got a rush just looking at them, enjoy the past, it's a window into the future.
3 K-2045 V-max surrounding the O sparky......looks like an "O my" airstart. lol

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That is so awesome, CJ!!! Burnout of the outboards before the end of the rail...WOW!!!

Looking forward to seeing the Mega DS again!!!

ECayemberg said:

That is so awesome, CJ!!! Burnout of the outboards before the end of the rail...WOW!!!

Looking forward to seeing the Mega DS again!!!

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That is a really cool photo sequence, I have never seen anything close to that before. I need to make my way westward for one of these launches.

Oh, 3 K-motors. I had assumed I was seeing the effects of a Crazy Jim "Really, really, really big-un" ignitor.

Wish I could Remember photographer's name, but his mark is in corner. He had a lens as long as a shotgun. I have many more shot throughout the flight to landing.

Cl(VII) said:

Oh, 3 K-motors. I had assumed I was seeing the effects of a Crazy Jim "Really, really, really big-un" ignitor.

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Kinda lol....3 K-Vmax lit with supplied igniter [match with CTI pixie dust slurry (?)]
O-motor lit with just 2 1gram "pixie" pellets [BKNO3]

All ground started, the O actually came up to full instantly,but the K's even 'mo instantly. lol Hence the sequence .

I can't wait to see a P air started.

blackjack2564 said:

Wish I could Remember photographer's name, but his mark is in corner. He had a lens as long as a shotgun. I have many more shot throughout the flight to landing.

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It was a father and son team I think his name was ray

Ray LaPense?

AS SEEN on TV.

We just got home from MWP-9. Literally that same evening.

Flipped on the TV (Science Channel if I remember correctly)

Well it’s time.
We have the start of team Mega
This thing is going to be awesome by anybody’s standards.
12” diameter 2 stage. O motor booster going to a P motor sustainer .
This monster is scheduled to fly at LDRS in Kansas (a big thank you to the Kloundbusters) .
I will post more details as they become available.

O my

Here is a list of people helping with the Mega so far.
Bob Brown
Steve Klausmeyer
David Reese W.M.W.
Eric Cayemberg
John Clifton
Preston Nobile T.F.R. Mega Recovery
Kevin Trojanowski, Class 3
I Want to Thank Bedale and Keith at Altrus Metrum for the World Class electronics for the flight.
The Kloudbusters for lets us do this and the aw sum Mega pad to fly it off of .

Sounds cool!

What a totally cool project!

Definitely motivation for LDRS. Watching a "P" motor airstart will be exciting.

Keep up the good work gentlemen!

Chuck C.

Can't wait to see a full stack pic with someone standing next to it.

Amazing project and work by all involved. Defo gotta fly across pond to see this

Double Trouble!



Got to get to work....

Eric: Where and when? I'd hate to miss that...

If there is anyone that can pull it off it's Jim!! Go man, go!

Eric di you get the av-bay I sent Tim for the booster? It's the doughnut version from the 3/4 scale Nike we flew last year. Made from a 8in coupler ...slides into airframe and can be bolted wherever needed.

Memories! Wow, I loved watching these threads.

Don't miss LDRS this year, it will be AWESOME!

Just went through all 202 posts, you guys are nuts, but in a good way.

blackjack2564 said:

Eric di you get the av-bay I sent Tim for the booster? It's the doughnut version from the 3/4 scale Nike we flew last year. Made from a 8in coupler ...slides into airframe and can be bolted wherever needed.

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Hi CJ! Not yet...that may be staying in Illinois. I'm *just* working on fin repairs at the moment. Update coming right up!

Wallace said:

Eric: Where and when? I'd hate to miss that...

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Hey Greg! LDRS in Argonia, this Labor Day weekend!

The Boss checked in. Time for an update and some progress!

The fins on both boosters are carbon skinned foam cores...a true composite structure. Lightweight and strong; perfect for large scale rocketry! The only downfall is the load on the fins upon landing; they handle the flight stresses with ease but the torque of landing can be problematic. So, after some flawless flights from the team, I was tagged to do some repair and reinforcement on the fins. Here's a brief update; I'll start with the booster section (all yellow fins).

One of the aft fins sustained the majority of the landing damage. It split at the root of the trailing edge.



Before repairing and/or replacing the carbon skins, we need to clean out and repair the cores. A relief cut was made just above the root to allow the skins to return to normal position, and clean out loose foam chunks and dirt where the foam core should be. I'm not concerned with voids at this point.



The bits and pieces of free floating debris are cleaned from the core.



Repairs to the core are done using Polyurethane glue. Used to use Elmer's Pro Bond PolyU, now use Gorilla Glue. Same thing, Gorilla did a better job marketing it. Anyhow, much like the 2 part urethane foams, the presence of a bit of water makes them expand...and foam sticks to foam. Enough Poly Glue is added to the voids, and all is clamped together to ensure alignment.



Mid cure, you can start to see the poly glue expanding to fill the voids.



Any remaining voids are filled with the expanding glue. Process is repeated for all remaining fins with compromised cores.



Next up: carbon skins!

Looking good Eric
The class 3 paperwork has been submitted.
Bob just returned the avbay for finale prep work
Next up is converting the booster for recovery

Tim- what motor is the O motor on the bottom? O25000?

I'll be at LDRS if you need help lifting stuff

djs said:

Tim- what motor is the O motor on the bottom? O25000?

I'll be at LDRS if you need help lifting stuff

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Nope, Clifton-Reese O research motor.

Going through some old photos, looking for photos of a specific friend. It got me reminiscing about a number of things, and pondering a very important question....

How many rolls of toilet paper does it take to wrap a Mega Darkstar?

Fortunately, I drive a small SUV, so space isn't an issue.

-Kevin

Oh crap....note to self...bring toilet paper for personal use.

Kevin's cleaning out all the Port-o-lets!