2 Stage Executioner

[stevem]

A while back I picked up 2 Estes Executioner kits during a Hobby Lobby 50% off sale.

I had been wanting to try my hand at a gap staged rocket so I decided to make one rocket out of 2 kits.

Booster is clustered with 1 central 24mm mmt and 3 18mm around it. Upper stage is almost stock except for moving the aft centering ring forward enough to allow the booster coupler room to fit.

 

[Larry]

Steve,
Looks real nice Ya got a big empty bean field to launch it in yet?? Best of luck I hope all goes well with it.
Larry

 

[stevem]

Hey Larry, I imagine you're about ready to go out and clear some fields down there yourself.

Still got crops in the fields here, but soon, very soon, the land will belong to the rockets again. Maybe I'll even find my 24mm RMS case that blew out the rear end of my OT over the bean field.

 

[rocketsonly]

Wow! Nice paint job! Be sure to get some launch photos! Looks like one heck of a rocket!

 

[gerbs4me]

cool Executioner
don't forget to take launch pics

 

[KarlD]

I like it! Any chance of some plan posting on your conversion?

 

[stevem]

Karl, I'll see if I can write up what I did on this rocket.

gerbs, check out launch pics of the executioner in the events section under thread "10/04/04 Launch"https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11854&highlight=10%2F04%2F04+launch

 

[KarlD]

Thanks.

Looks like a good low-cost system to get some exp in altimiters and dual-deploy...using the BP charge to deploy the drogue chute.


"cross-fingers"

 

[stevem]

Karl, here's some of what I did, using 2 Executioner kits

The upper stage is pretty much a stock Executioner. I added a baffle, moved the aft centering ring forward to accomadate the lower stage coupler and then slotted the TTW fin tabs to fit over the relocated aft centering ring.

For the lower stage I used the lower 10" of the other Executioner kit. The MMT runs the full lenght of the lower stage. I also added 3 18mm MMTs spaced evenly around the central 24mm. The 18mm engines eject themselves from the booster to lighten it for recovery.

I read about the need for vent holes near the top of the lower stage to allow some time for the upper engine to ignite before separation. I put a couple 1/4" holes in the 24mm MMT tube near the top of the booster but not through the side of the rocket. Instead I drilled a couple 1/4" holes in the aft centering ring to vent.

heres a pic of the lower stage top

 

[stevem]

lower stage bottom

 

[stevem]

aft end of upper stage


I coated the insides of the lower stage MMT with epoxy and also the inner area of where the stages couple.

Rocket has 4 flights on it. First three were flawless!
4th flight the upper engine did not light and I now have to replace about 12" of BT on the upper stage.

Just part of the fun!

 

[KarlD]

Great Stuff Steve.

Now to hunt down 2 kits...

 

[stevem]

Flew the 2 stage Executioner today.

I managed to get this liftoff shot

 

[jj94]

Cool!!! Love the launch pic!

 

[DAllen]

SO?! [Biting fingernails nerviously] Was it a successful flight?

That is a sah-weet project.

-DAllen

 

[kelltym88]

That is a sweet shot!!

 

[stevem]

yeah it was a succesful flight but it was a nail-biter in itself.

I used a D12-7 in the sustainer and that delay was way too long.

I am not good at estimating altitude but my best guess is apogee at 600'

She arced over and kept coming down, and down, and down and I said to my son 'this is not going to be pretty'

The rocket must have been only a couple hundred feet off the ground when the ejection charge finally went off.

We recovered the booster and sustainer with no damage in a field about 1/4 mile away.

this is still one of my favorite rockets. I think this bird has about the 6 or 7 flights so far.

I just love it when the booster drops away and the sustainer lights. This thing is big enough so you can plainly see the separation and ignition of the upper stage.

Gap staging is just so cool!

if you want ot see more pics of this rocket visit this thread

 

[Larry]

Hey Steve,
Nice pictures Staging is always cool when you can see it. Sure glad someone in Iowa is getting some rockets launched

Larry

 

[TeenRocketNerd]

very cool. Has a certain military style apperance..

 

[stevem]

thanks guys

hey Larry, haven't seen you around TRF lately but then I have been away for awhile too.
Life has a way of getting busy doesn't it.
Hope you are well.

You won't beleive what happened to me today - met a fellow rocketeer who is light years ahead of anything I have even thought about.

check out my Small World post over in coffee shop...