Big Daddy to Fat Albert

After looking thru the ROTW book,
I've been thinking of doing a kitbash of the big Daddy into the Aries" Fat Albert"
The nosecone is correct the tube is useable and the finstock is plenty..It's a perfect candidate!..

The Aries is a fairly short rocket with short fins so the CP/CG ratio has been tricky...I originally wanted to do a 4 motor cluster
with 24mm motors ..but the noseweight is pretty high and alltitude is low..this would be a more realistic flight tho

Now I'm playing with a single 29mm..It provides way more options..I also haven't determined how to do the transition area yet ...I'm looking for suggestions on this build ...

heres a mock-up with the 29mm motor mount

heres a rocsim file

any ideas on this build are greatly appreciated

Looks great! The True Modeler's kit flies of 4 x 24mm and is 4" in diameter, so the cluster should be fine. Still, I personally would go for the 29mm mount

No real tips other than the standard ones. TTW fins, etc. The transition could be paper, or you could get sandman to build a balsa transition and eliminate the need for CRs. Heavier but unique. Would make the TTW fins tougher, but doable.

And remember to let me have the rsim file when you're done :nag mode off:

YES! Have sandman make you a balsa transition!!! Also, I wouldn't try putting the TTW fins thru the transition, I would just have them go to the motor mount on the largest section. Maybe you could have a single 29mm and dual 24mm.....that would be neat! If you did that, go with lite ply fins, not bass or balsa.

Jason

Good ideas ,,sounds very do-able ,Sandman are you there?


heres the basic idea for the transition

Since with a G you can afford extra weight, I was actually thinking of the whole back portion being balsa, from the front shoulder to the back of the rocket. Hence no CR required. Notch the back inch or so for to-the-motormount tabs. Probably just another crazy idea from the king of craziness

Will be cool either way. As a heads-up, sandman will require exact dimensions of the tubes. If he has the type tube around he'll prolly work from those. He does great work, and fast too!

thats not crazy ..I like the idea of the solid rear end...and It would make the job easy..and motor retention would be simpler

Sandman could get the main thru hole dead on center while its in the lathe and I could use the drill press to add some additional cluster hole configuration If I wanted to..

this would be a simple build If anyone has a Big Daddy sitting around.all thats needed is the transition .and it's to exact scale with that nosecone! the only tricky part is slotting some grooves for the fins
It's going to look great on the pad!

Man, I already have too many projects! QUIT TEMPTING ME!!!

I have a Big Daddy nosecone that I need to do something with. Does anyone know what tube size will fit that nose, other than the Estes tube?

Thanks,
Jason

I love dem stubby rockets Glad you liked my idea of the solid rear end. Kinda like a balsa boat tail, but fancier.

Jetra,
When Aerotech shipped me a missing motor tube ..they sent it in a tube that fit the Big Daddy nosecone perfectly..
mabey you could Email them about one

or just call estes they " might "give you one if your really nice..the first time I called them to order some parts ,they said the first time was complimentary !
and that was both cones for the discontinued 2.6 V2 !

Estes has great a customer service person with Christene !

Jetra
dissregard the Aerotech tube ,I was looking at the wrong tube
I'm not sure where I got the 3* tube I'm talking about,, it's some type of shipping tube

If that's a standard Big Daddy tube then I can do that...I have extra tube.

But...we are talking a really BIG chunk of balsa here! Like 4" in diameter to start.

The biggest I have in stock is 3" x 3". The price goes up exponentially for 4" x 4" balsa.

https://www.balsamachining.com/CATALOG.htm

It jumps from $6.50 for 3"x 3" to $30.00 for 4" x 4"!!!

sandman

Could you not glue four bits of 2 x 2" togethor to make a 4 x 4" block, it would only cost $12 then.

Sandman,

Would it be easier/cheaper to use fiberglassed foam for this thing?

Jason

I have and do glue "hardwood" together before turning.

Wood shrinks as it drys.

Look at the end of a piece of firewood after about 2 month of drying. I really don't want that big radial crack in a big nose cone.

Now balsa being so soft and much less dense than hardwood won't do that.

Besides, the "X" from the four pieces of wood glued together just look bad to me.

sandman

Foam would be good but not "easier".

sandman

Mark told me that HIS cost on the Aries nose cones they use is almost $30, because of the size. They use a nice cardstock shroud for their kit, and have 8 balsa spacer trips to senter the 4" base in the 3" upper tube.

BTW, the TMRK kit is very nice. The only mod I made was NOT putting on the aft centering ring until later in construction. That allowed me to fill the area behind the paper shroud with PML two-part foam. Makes the shroud rock solid. It's a nice kit, with decals and the works. Nose cone is very heavy, and come pre-weighted with the kit.

Here's a pic.

You guys are a wealth of information, thanks!

I was not looking for another project, but since my wife lawn darted my Big Daddy from a great D12 launch, I was debating replacing the body tube or just salvaging what I could. I think I'll look for the Michaels 40% off coupon and get a new BD, that way I have a cone for this cool idea

Thanks again everyone,

a couple of people have asked for more dimensions on the Aries/big daddy kit bash so heres a little better drawing

I built this is to actual scale from ROTW
the 3" o.d. tube transitions to a 3.58 o.d. tube

after I started mine I saw the TMRK plans and they transition from a 3" tube to a 4" tube ...not to scale but ,might be easier to build

the scale plans require making 2 special dia tubes
the 3,58 transition tube and
a 2" long 3" dia tube add on to go the length of the sustainer
it was not very hard to make them from bt-101

I haven't installed the MMT yet..I'm waiting on some 29mm aerotech engine clips

than I will install it as a tulanko tail on the back end

A Tulanko Tail??? lol Carl - you've made the big time!!! lol What exactly would the Tulanko Tail entail?

Loopy

The "Tulanko Tail" is a method (Carl's method) of building your motor mount such that the lower ring of the mount is flush with the bottom of the body tube that it is installed in.

This has the effect of providing protection from dents and dings for the bottom of the body tube. Looks cool too (it was first coined here in TRF (I beleive I coined it) then I used it in the FlisKits ACME Spitfire)

I think Carl's still beside himself over that... LOL

(yer welcome Carl! )

I have 2 AT Initiator's whose body tubes were inside a larger tube for shipping protection. This may be the norm for AT kits, I don't know since I only have the Initiator so far. This larger tube will hold a Big Daddy NC, after sanding the NC just a bit. I'm fixing to get another Big Daddy and stretch it by adding this extra tube, maybe call it a "Big Granddaddy", fitted with a 29mm MMT.

slim

I finally got some painting done
I have the base white and the black trim done
hopefully this weekend I can do the orange fins and red nosecone tip. than all the decals...final coat . and alot of waiting between colors.

and it still needs the nose weight and recovery figured out

oh.... the pic ......

It's looking great, good job!

Looks Fantastic!!! Makes me want to build mine.....

Cutt~

wow that looks great!

I was finally able to get some painting done.
My Aries is now complete except for decals
I made some Bel decals with my inkjet printer and sprayed 3 med layers of Krylon clear
I first printed the decals on paper , cut them out and checked for fit. made some size adjustments in Photo Shop 3
I will pick up the fin numbers on the way to work(I pass right in front of Hobby Lobby.lol)
Once they are on, more krylon
now it's time to get the recovery in and sim it out for nose weight..stay tuned

awsome job man....those decals look awsome!!


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