What did you do rocket wise today?

ewomack said:

Hoping that I know how to paint a single silver line on a large rocket...

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I find a strip of vinyl wrap of the right color works a treat for that situation, unless it is a really weird color you are needing. You can get the people who do vinyl decals to cut you strips to the required width. This means you get nice clean lines without paint bleeding under the tape.

Electrical tape can also be used at a pinch. Make sure you don't stretch it as you apply it, or it will un-peel from the exposed end.

Mask with tape and use the tape sealing method of base color or clear coat. Once dry, brush the stripe on. That way just one piece of tape either side of the stripe is all you need.

Or better yet, use a paint pen.

SteveNeill said:

Filling, sanding, filling, sanding, primer, primer, nose cone paint and now waiting.

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Looking GOOD!!!!

Doug Holverson said:

I finished up AutoCAD Archive Slog II today. I knocked loose this forgotten curio. I must have been really inspired- or really bored- some afternoon back around 1998.....

View attachment 392054

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Everyone needs a Zoomie.

Thanks, Doug, for everything you gave us.

You're welcome. I even flew a Zoomie tonight at a launch that was slightly on the breezy side. It's the first time I've flown one in years. It did transition properly and had that steep sink rate. Otherwise, I flew smaller rockets on smaller motors. Another guy a got really respectable flight in on a RC upscaled Jet-Freak.

Finished up a ASP IQSY Tomahawk build in the LPR section. All it needs is test flight, paint, and decals. Debating whether to start the V2 build.

The Zoomie was on my flight list for yesterday but work got in the way. Again.

Zephyr rocket build done paint dry decals on!!

Worked out in the backyard with my daughter on a few LPR. We did a swing test on the 2 MD Estes C powered rockets, Top-flight (golfy) and Power Tower a 2 stage project. They both flew nice and flat.

Golfy is a single use pop and drop. Altitude 1500'.

Power tower is a single use booster tumble recovery, then rear end motor eject with a cord glued to the rocket motor and bulkhead. Under the purple masking tape is a payload section to hold a micro peak altimeter, if I find the sustainer.... altitude 2500'.

~John

OverTheTop said:

I find a strip of vinyl wrap of the right color works a treat for that situation, unless it is a really weird color you are needing. You can get the people who do vinyl decals to cut you strips to the required width. This means you get nice clean lines without paint bleeding under the tape.

Electrical tape can also be used at a pinch. Make sure you don't stretch it as you apply it, or it will un-peel from the exposed end.

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Excellent. If the paint continues to splash and drip under the tape, I'll look into this other approach (and the paint pen mentioned in the post after).

The tape worked excellently on flat fins, but the round tube must conceal extra challenges.

ewomack said:

The tape worked excellently on flat fins, but the round tube must conceal extra challenges.

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Single curvature is no problem at all. Compound curves are problematic.

Lost a rocket on a A3-4T...

Andrew_ASC said:

Lost a rocket on a A3-4T...

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That's a neat trick. Tiny rocket? Too much wind? Eaten by a tree?

Thankfully, the silver line turned out okay - now the less than perfect jagged line from the previous paint job is obscured and the new silver line distracts a little from the coupling seam. So all of that bagging and taping nonsense yesterday was not in vain.

It also rained quite a bit after applying the first coat, but the insane wrapping and the spray tent kept the rocket completely dry. That could have made for a very bad day. But no.

ewomack said:

Thankfully, the silver line turned out okay - now the less than perfect jagged line from the previous paint job is obscured and the new silver line distracts a little from the coupling seam. So all of that bagging and taping nonsense yesterday was not in vain.

It also rained quite a bit after applying the first coat, but the insane wrapping and the spray tent kept the rocket completely dry. That could have made for a very bad day. But no.

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Nice job !!

Marvin leaving the pad at LDRS38

Photo by: Kevin Trojanowski

Took the rocket stand scheme in a different direction and made a paint rack

Changed my avatar from photos given to me by John Sicker of my 3x Orbital Transport from LDRS XXXI (Potter, NY 2012).
Thank you SO much, John!

Cleaning up all my rocket gear after returning home from LDRS 38.

Jay Draper said:

Marvin leaving the pad at LDRS38

Photo by: Kevin Trojanowski

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That is beyond awesome!! How large is that rocket? And I'm guessing that was completely a custom build? How did the full flight go?

4ft wide I believe.

Therea a small build thread around here somewhere

jqavins said:

That's a neat trick. Tiny rocket? Too much wind? Eaten by a tree?

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Chose a golf course about a minute from the apartments by walking as a “launch site” early this morning, it was empty of people. Winds were calm at ground level. Had visual on streamer deploy at apogee. It was a minimum diameter 13mm IQSY. I saw the wind push the streamer at altitude and it drifted out of line of sight into a neighborhood. Estimate 800–1000 ft easily.

As I walked into the neighborhood I noticed there was an adjacent golf course much larger in area. Hindsight being a b*tch always. I underestimated how high a lightweight basswood MD A3-4T rocket could go. I want to go do my L2 and fly some more L1 HPR but was trying to get some small scale flights in this weekend till I get my HPR supplies to continue those builds. Plus any decent HPR site will be a 6 hour commute one way.

So long story short I bought some 13mm A class rockets to build/fly. And I underestimated a A class motor by a lot in flying the field attitude.

Standard rules apply: start with a smaller engine. You have 1/2A motors available.

I did a rocket adjacent thing by checking out Omahawks Labor Day airshow.

Then later in the afternoon, the tubby torbie somehow managed to get a streamer with a bit of tap stuck to the end stuck on her tail. I was cruel enough to stand there and giggle watching her go in circles until she shook it off.

New Tripoli card!

just got home from LDRS. Got lots to do before BALLS.

prfesser said:

just got home from LDRS. Got lots to do before BALLS.

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It was great to see you Terry. I’m still crawling home. I’m at the second of four airports boarding a plane for the second of three legs. I’ll be home at midnight. But I will be home!

PS: While I was at the air show, I saw a guy in an Allis-Chalmers t-shirt. I complimented him on it. Of course, I had to tell him about Grandpa Skow....

Been lurking here for a long time. Decided to get back into rocketry and went to LDRS. Did range duty and helped with teardown at LDRS today. Yesterday I re-certed level 1. Named the rocket The Paint's Not Dry. Bought it there, built it there and certed with it there.

Today I fninshed the Booster section of my adventurer 2. Everything turned out well. It's was also my first time using rocketpoxy.
I still need to drill shear pins holes and make the av bay.