What did you do rocket wise today?

jqavins said:

Add fiddly bits. Maybe a cockpit canopy or something like that. Maybe windows. Maybe guns. Other random bits here and there.

The paddle-like bridge section on the front of a long boom is inevitably evocative of a Klingon battle cruiser. Even if you're trying not to copy that, it wouldn't hurt to look there for ideas.

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I absolutely drew inspiration from The Klingon Fleet. It makes me smile that you saw the similarities. One of these days I will do a fully detailed scale Klingon ship. I am not sure if I would do a Battle Cruiser or a Bird of Prey. The Romulan Warbird is also in the back of my mind.... There are others but those are the ones I have on my close range radar...

mbeels said:

But how much would the paint weight?

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Plus the motor, why are you trying to stay under 1 lb?

Hooked On Rockets said:

Played with the OR file for one of the HoJos I got at black friday,
I'm putting a 29mm MTube in it, I got the printed fins from Ebay.
Still in progress (OR file, haven't started the build yet) but looking good so far on OR.
I added a drogue and have the main (24") set up to deploy lower with JLCR.....though I haven't added the weight of the
JLCR yet.
I added a "chute perch" bulkhead right at CG to keep the laundry forward of that. Added 2oz of nose weight.
OR showed 3400+' and landing 350' away, looks like it might work...

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FYI the CP on the Estes Honest John is 20" from the front if that helps.

John Taylor said:

Plus the motor, why are you trying to stay under 1 lb?

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Plus the *4 motors* it will definitely not be under 1 lb loaded, but it was a numerically pleasant surprise to plop the physically complete build on the scale and it to read 1 lb exact.

Applied decals to a Baby Bertha

John Taylor said:

FYI the CP on the Estes Honest John is 20" from the front if that helps.

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HMMMM....
Is that bad?
Is the CG/CP backward?
Am I missing something?
Stability in OR looked pretty good.
"if that helps"...???
Helps what???
Please explain Sir.

SS

Hooked On Rockets said:

HMMMM....
Is that bad?
Is the CG/CP backward?
Am I missing something?
Stability in OR looked pretty good.
"if that helps"...???
Helps what???
Please explain Sir.

SS

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I didn't know if you had that information. I always modify my builds which usually adds aft weight. So I try to learn the CP location so I know if I have to add nose weight to bring the CG forward. My understanding is the CG needs to be at least one diameter caliper forward of the CP to be stable. I don't have access to any simulation programs so if I can find out the CP I can insure the model will be stable.

Yesterday I reworked the pyro connectors on my EggTimer Proton. The vertical ones I originally installed easily fit my 4" Pike, but not so in my 2.6" Miss Riley. The new right angle connectors correct this oversight. I still need to order 460mAh 2S LiPo packs so I can work on dressing in all the wiring.

I also cleaned up the patch job I did on my LOC Goblin last Wednesday evening. (It wound up with a very small zipper on it's maiden flight last summer). Next step is to fill with bondo and sand smooth. Then I can finally finish the paint job I started on it last year.

Making motor holders to keep them from falling over when pouring epoxy.

You pour epoxy into motors? Tell me more.

kuririn said:

William, Joe was making a joke referencing the old "The Shadow" radio program.
Not really asking how it was powered (I don't think).

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Ha! Still feeling like a newbie...I guess I’m still taking things literally [emoji23]

Getting a better feel of the group and the joy of that fellowship...I’m enjoying the learning curve [emoji1360]

Finished a nose cone plug for a friends project. Its a 4" diameter.

I received my Hornet...I’m kind of excited as I see scaling this both up and down!

I think I would like to try and paper the fins on this...I’ve been reading so much about it, I would like to give it a try.

More to follow [emoji573]

rharshberger said:

Finished a nose cone plug for a friends project. Its a 4" diameter.View attachment 405838

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Very nice, is that Poplar? How do you make your molds?

I have some fins/wings in my curing over right now.

ThreeJsDad said:

Very nice, is that Poplar? How do you make your molds?

I have some fins/wings in my curing over right now.

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It is Poplar, this one is going to a guy in CA for vacu forming. Poplar while not the prettiest of woods due to the coloring, however it machines really well and is less costly than Basswood. This nosecone is to fit BT101 airframe for a lightweight project of a ffriend.I have not yet made molds for myself however I have a couple of projects that I need to make one or two special nosecones. John Coker has an excellent video on making fiberglass molds for nosecones and laying up the finished nose cone.

John Taylor said:

I didn't know if you had that information. I always modify my builds which usually adds aft weight. So I try to learn the CP location so I know if I have to add nose weight to bring the CG forward. My understanding is the CG needs to be at least one diameter caliper forward of the CP to be stable. I don't have access to any simulation programs so if I can find out the CP I can insure the model will be stable.

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Ahh, got it.
You had me worried that I was calculating something wrong!
Do you have a computer? If so you have access to Open Rocket. Its free and it tells you CP & CG (provided that your parts/weight/etc input is accurate), they're shown on the OR snapshot I posted along with the stability caliber.
Try it if you can, it's fun and can give you a start when building kits which way to go.
Plus you can find hundreds if not thousands of OR files on the net.

Thanks
SS

The parts I ordered from Apogee showed up today. I'm building an Arapahoe, downsized to a BT-55 tube. The Squirrel Works didn't have one in stock. I have our annual Rocket Boy Weekend ( I and about 15 friends get together once a year in the winter & launch off a frozen lake. ) coming up & I wanted to fly it then. I got the body tube to length, converted a nosecone to a tailcone, and built the motor mount and glue the mount assembly into the body tube. I'm following this build.

https://modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com/search/label/T Arapahoe C

Start at the bottom & work you way up.

Decal work on my 1/5 Terrier Malemute.
Outside done. Unless I add the faux ablative strip to the fin leading edges. Nearing flight ready.
I took a few liberties with some of the text.

Terrier booster

Fin detail

Info label

Malemute motor

Other side

Despin module, borrowed from a Tomahawk.

Stacked

Other side

Rocket prep! I hope to get to MDRA in time to watch Bat-mite's O-motor launch and bringing some to launch. T-Rex, Bare Metal on an F-39, Skunk'd on a F67 airstarting 2x E22SS (hopefully), Plasma Dart on a G79SS, "Unfinished Business" on a D12 -> B6 -> B4, and 1-sigma on an I-175.

I bought a Vapor and a Goblin at Hobby Lobby today.

Just finished attaching fins to the newest member of my fleet...

Cute little bug.

Assembled an Estes Green Eggs (with Spam).

This is what I did today (or at least finished today.) 520 grams without parachute; should fly well on an E-18 or better. It's been sitting in my build pile for years, but I finally decided to build it for a school presentation that Zia Spacemodelers is doing at the end of this month.

Finished TARC Team emblem...

Hooked On Rockets said:

Ahh, got it.
You had me worried that I was calculating something wrong!
Do you have a computer? If so you have access to Open Rocket. Its free and it tells you CP & CG (provided that your parts/weight/etc input is accurate), they're shown on the OR snapshot I posted along with the stability caliber.
Try it if you can, it's fun and can give you a start when building kits which way to go.
Plus you can find hundreds if not thousands of OR files on the net.

Thanks
SS

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I accidently purchased a new laptop with a Google Chrome operating system. It is not compatible with OR or Rocksim. Also my phone has an Android operating system which also can not operate OP. I am in process of obtaining a new laptop with Windows.

Fabricated the nose cone for my scratch build Hammerhead Shark.. ... more details in the link below.

Finally flew an Estes Epic II on a C6-0 staging to a C6-7.
Flew absolutely straight as an arrow.
Booster recovered about 75 yards from pad.
Sustainer was never seen again after everybody lost sight of tracking smoke.
RIP

John Taylor said:

I accidently purchased a new laptop with a Google Chrome operating system. It is not compatible with OR or Rocksim. Also my phone has an Android operating system which also can not operate OP. I am in process of obtaining a new laptop with Windows.

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If it's a Chromebook, you can install a Linux shell and run OR in there.

jqavins said:

You pour epoxy into motors? Tell me more.

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I'd assume he's making single-use motors. The forward closure is epoxy around a delay grain; nozzle is epoxied in place.

The red chair returns to use