I got a Vagabond for Christmas. As usual, I opened the package, laid out the parts, and began contemplating modifications. Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Mid-body separation. The directions show the short tube at the bottom and the long tube on top, but I was thinking of putting the long tube on bottom and making the short tube into a payload bay. I've been wanting to experiment with electronic deployment, but I don't want to crash a big, expensive rocket if it fails.
2. I put rail guides on everything BT-60 and up.
3. Kevlar/elastic shock cord with swivel. Again, my standard practice on all rockets this size.
4. Omit the engine block and install an engine hook that does not penetrate the engine mount tube. I built my first Big Daddy before the E9's were available. I built another one so I could fly it on D's or E's. Now I build all my motor mounts to maximize flexibility in engine choices.
5. Parachute. I generally replace Estes' plastic chutes with nylon. In my experience, 18" is about the largest chute that can be reliably deployed from a BT-60. Estes tends to oversize their chutes, but this rocket has some long swept-back fins hanging out behind, which might be prone to breakage. If you've built a Vagabond, what size chute was the best trade-off between drift, reliability, and breakage?
6. Fins. Here's where I'm most undecided. Estes used some good quality balsa here. I removed the fins from the balsa sheet and examined them. The three sections of each fin fit together very well, and the tab remnants should sand off very easily. Laser cutting is a definite improvement over die-crunched. However, the triangular pieces that go on the trailing edges broke almost immediately after removing them from the sheet, and I've already lost one of the leading edge pieces, so I'd need to cut some replacement pieces.
My usual practice is to slot the tube and mount the fins through the wall, even if it means cutting new fins with tabs. But I've never tried through the wall mounting with built-up fins, and it looks a little tricky to get a good fit. I saw a photo here of a Vagabond with the fins reversed (swept forward) to prevent breakage. It looked cool, and the builder claimed 1.08 caliber stability. I don't recall whether he used the leading and trailing edge pieces.
Thoughts?
1. Mid-body separation. The directions show the short tube at the bottom and the long tube on top, but I was thinking of putting the long tube on bottom and making the short tube into a payload bay. I've been wanting to experiment with electronic deployment, but I don't want to crash a big, expensive rocket if it fails.
2. I put rail guides on everything BT-60 and up.
3. Kevlar/elastic shock cord with swivel. Again, my standard practice on all rockets this size.
4. Omit the engine block and install an engine hook that does not penetrate the engine mount tube. I built my first Big Daddy before the E9's were available. I built another one so I could fly it on D's or E's. Now I build all my motor mounts to maximize flexibility in engine choices.
5. Parachute. I generally replace Estes' plastic chutes with nylon. In my experience, 18" is about the largest chute that can be reliably deployed from a BT-60. Estes tends to oversize their chutes, but this rocket has some long swept-back fins hanging out behind, which might be prone to breakage. If you've built a Vagabond, what size chute was the best trade-off between drift, reliability, and breakage?
6. Fins. Here's where I'm most undecided. Estes used some good quality balsa here. I removed the fins from the balsa sheet and examined them. The three sections of each fin fit together very well, and the tab remnants should sand off very easily. Laser cutting is a definite improvement over die-crunched. However, the triangular pieces that go on the trailing edges broke almost immediately after removing them from the sheet, and I've already lost one of the leading edge pieces, so I'd need to cut some replacement pieces.
My usual practice is to slot the tube and mount the fins through the wall, even if it means cutting new fins with tabs. But I've never tried through the wall mounting with built-up fins, and it looks a little tricky to get a good fit. I saw a photo here of a Vagabond with the fins reversed (swept forward) to prevent breakage. It looked cool, and the builder claimed 1.08 caliber stability. I don't recall whether he used the leading and trailing edge pieces.
Thoughts?
