10" diameter JayHawk

[SMR]

The last sub-assembly on the upper body tube prior to final paint are the pylon attachment tee nuts. (In case they need to be cut flush, which would scratch the finish.) The fourth group of four went on today. They need to be tight against the inside of the tube so as to not interfere with the sleeve. Here is a better picture showing how I used the 5/16" nuts as thick washers to pull the tee nuts flush against the tube.

 

[bsexton]

You obviously have too much money and time on your hands!

Very impressive and well done!!!

 

[SMR]

You obviously have too much money and time on your hands!

Very impressive and well done!!!

Thanks. It's just an illusion... if I had an excess of either, she would be finished by now.

 

[SMR]

That thing orange yet?

Well, part of it is. I started today by rigging up a rotisserie. To get a good, deep gloss, you have to lay paint on relatively thick, and rolling the rocket while painting helps keep the paint from running. With lighter rockets, I just use a dowel, and with bigger ones, I put the rocket on a piece of conduit between two sawhorses. Since the avionics bay of the Jayhawk sits in the lower body, the motor tube doesn't go all the way through and that was not an option. I ended up cantilevering a pipe across a table, one end strapped to an anchor imbedded in the ground, the rocket impaled on the other end.

Painting was relatively uneventful, although as the days are way shorter now, I started running out of daylight much earlier than I would have liked. You can tell from the shadows in the pictures that the sun was quite low when I finished. I ended up moving it back inside to dry in the basement, to avoid condensation issues in the evening. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll try and get the upper body and the nose cone painted as well. Won't be many good painting days left this season.

T minus 12 days.

 

[dixontj93060]

Those big rockets are really tough to finish and keep a wet edge without any runs/sags--looks good though!

 

[chadrog]

Looks good Sather, I'm excited to see it up close. Though I've not built anything this size, I can see how the finishing challenges multiply quickly. And it seems the larger my projects get, the more my neighbors doubt my sanity...Anyone else have this problem?

 

[SMR]

it seems the larger my projects get, the more my neighbors doubt my sanity...Anyone else have this problem?

I've convinced my neighbors that my rockets are defensive in nature, and have no offensive capability. I think they sleep better knowing they are under the protective umbrella of my defensive perimeter. If only they would approve a small property tax levy to fund my continued research and testing...

 

[sylvie369]

Looks good Sather, I'm excited to see it up close. Though I've not built anything this size, I can see how the finishing challenges multiply quickly. And it seems the larger my projects get, the more my neighbors doubt my sanity...Anyone else have this problem?

What problem?

 

[SMR]

Meanwhile, subassemblies are starting to come together. Here are the finished antenna pylons. Finishing the GearCam pylons next.

 

[sylvie369]

Are those real antennas?

Man, you're going for detail here. I'm getting close to wanting you NOT to fly it.

If I find the time, I'm going to set up my netbook so that (assuming the telemetry works) we can have the altitude graphed out in Excel as the rocket flies. I did that for the first two times I flew the telemetry transmitter, and it worked perfectly. After that I built the receiver that shows the data on an LCD screen, and all of the rest of the flights used that instead. But the onscreen realtime graph would be cooler, I think.

 

[SMR]

Are those real antennas?

Man, you're going for detail here. I'm getting close to wanting you NOT to fly it.

If I find the time, I'm going to set up my netbook so that (assuming the telemetry works) we can have the altitude graphed out in Excel as the rocket flies. I did that for the first two times I flew the telemetry transmitter, and it worked perfectly. After that I built the receiver that shows the data on an LCD screen, and all of the rest of the flights used that instead. But the onscreen realtime graph would be cooler, I think.

Nope, they're fiberglass kite parts, but I take it as a compliment that they look half way decent. They actually won't be flying, they are for display only. They share the tee nuts the two GearCams will attach to for the flight.

Seeing the body in full daylight, I am a little disappointed in the paint job. I ended up with a few cloudy spots of differing gloss, possibly from the humidity change as it got cooler outside. Instructions on the can say to wait 7 days minimum before applying a second coat, so this is going to be a close one. It may fly semi-naked (in orange, but without the very fine stickers from StickerShock23), if I can't get a second coat on it before MidWest Power.

An on-screen real-time graph would be awesome, but I'm not going to be looking down until touchdown. Maybe we could tie into the synthetic voice generator and have it read altitude aloud, say every 1,000' going up and 500' coming down.

 

[sylvie369]

Nope, they're fiberglass kite parts, but I take it as a compliment that they look half way decent. They actually won't be flying, they are for display only. They share the tee nuts the two GearCams will attach to for the flight.

Halfway decent? They look perfect.

An on-screen real-time graph would be awesome, but I'm not going to be looking down until touchdown. Maybe we could tie into the synthetic voice generator and have it read altitude aloud, say every 1,000' going up and 500' coming down.

Oh, I assume I'm the only one who won't actually be looking at the rocket as it flies. Of course if it does wind up out of range I'll see most of the flight. If it works, you won't need a voice generator, because I'll be shouting out the altitude as it goes.

 

[dixontj93060]

Seeing the body in full daylight, I am a little disappointed in the paint job. I ended up with a few cloudy spots of differing gloss, possibly from the humidity change as it got cooler outside. Instructions on the can say to wait 7 days minimum before applying a second coat, so this is going to be a close one. It may fly semi-naked (in orange, but without the very fine stickers from StickerShock23), if I can't get a second coat on it before MidWest Power.

Sather, I never worry about getting the paint just right. Instead wet sand the whole thing with 400 grit. Apply the decals. Then airbrush or foam brush Future finish. No wait time like a high solvent clear coat and it'll be dry in a couple of hours. Go this route and you'll be done by MWP8 for sure.

 

[stickershock23]

Sather, I never worry about getting the paint just right. Instead wet sand the whole thing with 400 grit. Apply the decals. Then airbrush or foam brush Future finish. No wait time like a high solvent clear coat and it'll be dry in a couple of hours. Go this route and you'll be done by MWP8 for sure.

Yeah, what he said, I'd hate to see it half naked.. :y: LOL

I actually really hope to see it fly!

 

[DANLK66]

You are almost there. Keep up the pace so you don't get down to the wire like we did on the DS. The Jhawk is looking great as all your rockets do. It is looking more and more like I can make it down to MWP so if you need anthing let me know. I hope you finished the rocket mount for the back of my truck so I can bring it down for you on top of hte truck :clap:

Dan

 

[DAllen]

Yeah, what he said, I'd hate to see it half naked..

It's...topless...

:blush:

 

[sylvie369]

You might ask your wife if those "few cloudy spots" are something anyone other than you would ever notice. If not, put the decals on and be done with it.

 

[SMR]

You might ask your wife if those "few cloudy spots" are something anyone other than you would ever notice. If not, put the decals on and be done with it.

She got a good laugh out of that. When I first mentioned the paint this morning, those were her exact words... "Only you would notice." So, okay, I'll use Tim's recommendation of 400 grit sandpaper and Future Finish. And, hey, it'll be at the "away" cell anyway.

 

[stickershock23]

She got a good laugh out of that. When I first mentioned the paint this morning, those were her exact words... "Only you would notice." So, okay, I'll use Tim's recommendation of 400 grit sandpaper and Future Finish. And, hey, it'll be at the "away" cell anyway.

My wife always tells me "It'll Look GREAT on the pad"

 

[SMR]

Finishing up a few details on the upper body tube, getting ready to paint it and the nose cone. The yellow band around the top of the body tube is a kevlar strap, intended to help prevent zippers. I originally had tried a nylon flex handcuff there, but I was unhappy with how far it stuck out (about 1/4"). Luckily, the CA didn't hold it very well, anyway, so it peeled off relatively easily and I only had to sand off the fillet I had added around it.

Of the 16 tee-nuts added for the accessory pylon attachment points, I managed to get a little epoxy inside one of them. I ground that one out and replaced it this morning. As soon as it gets above 60° outside, I will be painting.

 

[dixontj93060]

Of the 16 tee-nuts added for the accessory pylon attachment points, I managed to get a little epoxy inside one of them. I ground that one out and replaced it this morning. As soon as it gets above 60° outside, I will be painting.

Hate that. Best thing I have found is to coat the threads of the T-nut with Vaseline (just blob it in) before applying epoxy.

 

[SMR]

For some reason, I was thinking "Painting Day" was a holiday in Canada. ('cause it's only warm enough to paint one day per year?) But as I googled it, I realized it is actually "Boxing Day", even though you can probably box year round pretty much everywhere.

Anyway, it finally got above 60° and I got productive. Upper tube is now finished, and nose cone tip blackened. I did the tip first as I feel it is easier to mask off the top of a cone vs the bottom, as masking tape doesn't really have much give to follow the curve, and the black will dry faster than the orange, so I'll be able to tackle the other half sooner.

 

[stickershock23]

Are you getting excited yet? it's getting closer. It's starting to look like a rocket!

 

[dixontj93060]

Are you getting excited yet? it's getting closer. It's starting to look like a rocket!

Yeah, Sather, we're rooting for you... Finish line is right there...!!! (Hey, is that you in the blue shirt and sunglasses?!?)

[YOUTUBE]Y6UZb63kfsU[/YOUTUBE]

WAIT, maybe that's a female???!!???

Seriously though, great job--looking forward to the finale!

 

[SMR]

The problem with building a complex project with the plan being in your head is doing things in the wrong order... I got a little ahead of myself with the last few days of good painting weather, and forgot to drill holes through the body tubes to access the avionics switches. Ooooops. Normally, in thick cardboard tubes like these, that would pull an ugly edge around the hole which would need to be sanded off, ruining the otherwise acceptable paint. I masked off the sides and measured down to where the switch should be, then inserted the removable upper avionics bay into the upper tube and drilled through both simultaneously. Thankfully, the 2 layers of fiberglass over the body tube kept the holes relatively smooth. (On the outside, anyway. The inside still needed a little sanding.) But another step completed. Will still need to do the same procedure to the fixed avionics bay in the lower tube.

 

[SMR]

Today I drilled holes in the main avionics bay to access the POPO switches on the altimeter sleds. Here are some photos of the sleds, the av bay showing how the sleds fit offset slightly from each other, and the holes in the lower body tube to access the switches. Next to go... CA the holes, and finish the nose altimeter / transmitter sled. Will build the motor tomorrow, load the recovery gear, and check the Cg.

 

[SMR]

I will start building the N3180-P Red Lightning motor over the weekend, using it in position to do a final check of Cg for stability. I am assembling it using Rouse-Tech RMS hardware, for which it is also certified. This motor* uses the larger XL-style nozzle, with a longer shoulder. In RMS hardware, this requires a different rear closure, specifically made by Cesaroni. (using the very imaginative part no. CTI-98-RMS-RET) In the second picture, the two closures sit side by side. The CTI closure, on the left, is shorter, eliminating the shoulder of the RMS closure, on the right. The thread lengths are the same, so it should be as strong when it comes up to pressure.


(* as does the M4770, N2850, N2900, N3400, N3800, N4100, N5800, and N10000.)

 

[SMR]

Are you getting excited yet? it's getting closer. It's starting to look like a rocket!

I am getting excited. A lot of little details are coming together here near the end. The Aero Pack motor retainer is on, and the rail buttons are on (1500 on one side, unistrut on the other). In the first picture, the Chevy engine orange looks a little more red under interior lighting. A Valspar orange rocket is parked next to her for color comparison. And now that the nose cone has been painted, it is indeed starting to look like a rocket. I'll even have time to put those awesome vinyl stickers on her!

 

[SMR]

I finished the transmitting altimeter sled for the forward avionics bay. (A second sled will house the battery rack for this sled and an external piezoelectric locator siren.) The transmitting altimeter sled includes a PerfectFlite MAWD altimeter and a proprietary board designed by Sylvie369 and documented here...

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=11166

Basically, it uses the MAWD's ability to send data out the serial port to an XBee radio, which transmits the data to a ground station during flight for display on an LCD screen. The flight test objectives for this electronics package include (1) evaluating the range of the XBee transmitter and it's ability to transmit real-time altitude data, (2) comparing the data postflight between the transmitting altimeter in the forward bay with the working altimeters in the main avionics bay, to possibly separate their functions.

As mentioned previously, the forward avionics bay / piston / plug thing is intended primarily to reduce the volume to be pressurized to separate the nose cone at apogee. This requires wires from the main avionics bay to BP charges above the piston, through the main parachute bay. If the altimeter in the piston reports altitudes aligned with the working altimeters in the main bay, these wires can be eliminated. The forward altimeters would then be used to fire the apogee charges, and the main bay altimeters would fire the Tether charges for main deployment.

 

[SMR]

Sticker Day started by cutting out the large vinyl stickers from even larger sheets, and laying them roughly in position. Mark at https://stickershock23.com sent along some very easy to follow instructions, giving me the option of applying them wet or dry. I had used the wet application method on the upscale Death Star, which had one giant rectangle sticker (18" x 29 3/8"). The wet method allows you to reposition the decal, or move it around after applying it, to get it perfect. I chose to use the dry method for these decals, as there are a lot of individual, small letters that could get misaligned using the wet method. The application is fairly straightforward... make sure the decal is in the right position and straight, tape it down to keep it that way, peel off the backing paper (in smaller sections for the larger decals), press down firmly, and peel off the application tape (front paper).

T minus seven days