29mm Estes Outlander

Well, I've been working feverishly on modding this sucker to 29mm. Will post pics later. Coming along nicely. was thinking of adding nose weight to the lower lip of the command module and then foaming it. Anyway stay tuned...

Sound interesting! Can hardly wait for the pictures!

Pictures. Yay!! The first one, is well obvious...

I made my own centering rings. After attaching them to the motor mount tube, then I drilled them. I thought this would be easier and better because when I tried to drill them before, it snapped. Drilling after worked out quite well.
Oh yeah, you'll notice the 29mm casing next to a C6-5. Yeah, no way is that little C6-5 gonna lift this rocket. What were they thinking?

I also decided that I would paint all the pieces first. This required masking everything off first. Some assembly of parts was needed as well, like the foot pads, all the tanks, the main leg assemblies. The next couple pics show how some of the parts were assembled, masked and painted. Actually it's just the legs, but you get the idea.

The same thing was done for the body. Here it is primered. I used 1/8" detail tape for where the tanks will attach to the body.

Hey, I broke 2,000 posts. Anyway, more pics to come. Working on motor retention, adding nose weight, making a new tail cone. Stay tuned...

nice start.

i've got an Outlander in my build pile - i might be copying you.

This project is cool!

More work done. Figured out how much ballast I think I need and picked up an eye bolt and a couple nuts and washers. Then I epoxied all that all together. Also, picked up a 29mm motor retention kit from Madcow Rocketry (ordered on Fri, delivered on Monday. Awesome service!!). Well, I figured I could copy that design. So I bought some 1/16" Aluminum, traced it, cut it out, drilled the holes and viola!! I made the hole to accommodate a 24mm RMS casing. Here's a couple pics...

After reading several reviews on various Outlanders, I wanted to make the lower fin assembly removable to access the leg compartment if any repairs are ever needed. I like TRF's stevem's design best, so I copied that. For 6-32 bolts and screws. The next few pics show the layout, the drilling, and then the final result.

Here is the completed motor mount, with shock attached, screws attached, etc. The only thing I need to add are the insert nuts for motor retention, but I have to add those after I assemble it, not enough wood to keep the centering ring from breaking.

That's it for now. It is slowly coming together.

I've actually already launched it, but I'll finish the build thread first. OK got the motor mount and body done. Drilled the holes for the screws to remove the body. Next, to glue in the leg retention plastic nozzle thing. Had to bore it out to pretty much just a plastic ring. Attempted to glue it in and this happened:

Dang it!! What to do. Here's what I came up with, not pretty, but it works:

Basically a piece of aluminum drilled out and I cut some staples that we use to shoot particle board together with and snipped of some length to fit. Epoxied in place, and with the screws it helps keep the tension on the legs. The next few pics show the rest ...

I had to drill holes in the bigger body tubes so I could access the screws, 'cause I mounted them too high. The peel 'n' stick decals covered the holes up perfectly. I also wanted to make a nozzle. This is what I came up with:

I was itchin' to launch it. It was basically ready, just not all decaled out completely. I just wanted to see if it worked. Here it is ready to launch:

You can read about what happened here:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=47062

That link is a little vague. Basically, the flight was awesome! The F52 shot the OUtlander up pretty fast. Perfectly straight. I was very happy. Then it arced over, waiting, waiting,....... crunch!



After inspecting, the ejection charge never went off. The link to the above thread discusses all the possibilities. I admit, I'm bummed. A lot of work went into that thing. But at the same time, I am happy because all the calculations for a stable flight were a success.

Because of all the modifications needed to make this 29mm, I don't recommend doing this. Making it 24mm and using a 24/40 casing should be about the best mod. I do have another one, hmmm........

[soft whisper from nowhere] 38mm 38mm 38mm [/soft whisper from nowhere]