Neil
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- May 10, 2011
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Well, I got a call from my mom the second morning of LDRS, saying that my rocket had come. I of course forgot all about that within 20 minutes as I decided that I should heed the saying "A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for", and started prepping my 38MM minimum diameter Mach Buster 1 with an H148.... But, as we were driving home, listenting to the "harry potter and the prizoner of azkaban" tapes, I rememberd the rocket that was sitting in my basement... I suddenly got impatient to get home...
When I finally DID get home (12 hours after we set off....), Shannon (my dog. As most of you know, I am a dog person ) was very exited to see me... And then she needed a walk... So after a half hour of getting the dog to calm down, I got down to the basement, got out my knife and cut open the box... Inside was the pre-glassed tube, fiberglass nose cone, pre-shaped fins, and and 54MM motor mount tube of the 5.5" Nike Smoke. Of course, as soon as I opened it, the gears started turning...
The "how can I improve this kit" thought that chronically occurs whenever I get a new rocket came almost instantly.
There is no payload bay in this kit, if you build it stock... Thats the first thing I am going to change.
There is no motor retention to speak of in this kit. Thats the second thing I am going to change...
And all the other small misc stuff I am going to change because I feel like it. A pair of quarter-inch all-thread rods, going from the middle CR to the aft CR, with a nuts n bolts motor retention sytem on the aft end of the rods. This will just give it some extra strenth, cause I like extra strenth. I can afford a slightly heavier rocket much more easily than I can handle a motor casing falling out. Before you start telling me that its pointless and that I dont need two all-thread rods going through a 5" rocket, realize that I already know I would proabably be fine with no rods at all, and I am putting all-thread rods in there because I want all-thread rods in there.
Besides, I want my rocket to be able to survive the biggest, baddest motor I can cram into the backside of this thing. I wont go as far as tip to tip glassing, but I will be giving it some healthy-sized fillets outside, and expanding foam on the inside.
That reminds me.... Can I use the same plastic spoons for the fillets on this sucker as I did on my 4" rockets? Or do I need something bigger?
OK... Now to the electronics bay... I cant very well have anything in the nose, so I think I will put it about 12" above the fin slots. (thats still between the middle CR and the forward CR, BTW.). I have a rectangle marked out on the tube for it already, and I think I can cut it out with my Dremmel tool, once I am sure its a good idea. I also cut out a half-centering ring (I didnt want to bother with a whole one, cause I dont have the proper drill bits in to cut the inside out... ) to use to make sure the electronics cant slide out backwards. I am (or plan to) going to glue the whole thing together on the motor mount, then put the motor mount inside the tube, then put the fins on.
So, is this a good idea, or am I just being silly again?
No, I havent got any pics yet. Just look at KK's thread, its the same thing... hes got pictures of the parts.
When I finally DID get home (12 hours after we set off....), Shannon (my dog. As most of you know, I am a dog person ) was very exited to see me... And then she needed a walk... So after a half hour of getting the dog to calm down, I got down to the basement, got out my knife and cut open the box... Inside was the pre-glassed tube, fiberglass nose cone, pre-shaped fins, and and 54MM motor mount tube of the 5.5" Nike Smoke. Of course, as soon as I opened it, the gears started turning...
The "how can I improve this kit" thought that chronically occurs whenever I get a new rocket came almost instantly.
There is no payload bay in this kit, if you build it stock... Thats the first thing I am going to change.
There is no motor retention to speak of in this kit. Thats the second thing I am going to change...
And all the other small misc stuff I am going to change because I feel like it. A pair of quarter-inch all-thread rods, going from the middle CR to the aft CR, with a nuts n bolts motor retention sytem on the aft end of the rods. This will just give it some extra strenth, cause I like extra strenth. I can afford a slightly heavier rocket much more easily than I can handle a motor casing falling out. Before you start telling me that its pointless and that I dont need two all-thread rods going through a 5" rocket, realize that I already know I would proabably be fine with no rods at all, and I am putting all-thread rods in there because I want all-thread rods in there.
Besides, I want my rocket to be able to survive the biggest, baddest motor I can cram into the backside of this thing. I wont go as far as tip to tip glassing, but I will be giving it some healthy-sized fillets outside, and expanding foam on the inside.
That reminds me.... Can I use the same plastic spoons for the fillets on this sucker as I did on my 4" rockets? Or do I need something bigger?
OK... Now to the electronics bay... I cant very well have anything in the nose, so I think I will put it about 12" above the fin slots. (thats still between the middle CR and the forward CR, BTW.). I have a rectangle marked out on the tube for it already, and I think I can cut it out with my Dremmel tool, once I am sure its a good idea. I also cut out a half-centering ring (I didnt want to bother with a whole one, cause I dont have the proper drill bits in to cut the inside out... ) to use to make sure the electronics cant slide out backwards. I am (or plan to) going to glue the whole thing together on the motor mount, then put the motor mount inside the tube, then put the fins on.
So, is this a good idea, or am I just being silly again?
No, I havent got any pics yet. Just look at KK's thread, its the same thing... hes got pictures of the parts.