jetra2
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- Jan 25, 2009
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Hmm....I don't know how to start this thread, so I'll just go out and say it.
Many of you know "rocwizard" and "daveyfire" from here on TRF. I regularly chat with them on AIM. Well, one of those chats I was having with them, rocwizard, the instigator that he is, sent me pictures of some of the rockets that regularly fly out at BALLS, Tripoli's annual EX launch. Well, he then invited me to come out there! Dang you rocwizard! I told him that since BALLS was about 9 months away, I would do my absolute best to get out there. It's a very far trip for me - all the way from Florida to California. Long plane trip!
Anyways, I told him that I'd like to fly something out there, if I did go. At first I thought that I would go all out and build a gigantic rocket, since it is BALLS, ya know? I considered building a 12" diameter Big Daddy, which would be a 4x upscale of the Estes kit. Well, after looking at how much that would cost me, which would be somewhere around 500-700 smackers, I decided against it.
Along with building the 12" Big Daddy, I had considered building a 6" version also. Well, after eliminating the 12" BD, I still wanted to build something. I kept looking into the 6" version. It looked more and more enticing every time I looked at it! Then, the icing on the cake sealed the deal. I found that I could buy a 48" inch length of 6" phenolic tubing from PML for only 30 bucks. If I get that cut in two, I can build TWO 6" Big Daddies! That absolutely sealed the deal - I am going to enter HPR with a bang!
Considering that I'd have two rockets, I wanted them to be different somehow! I consulted with Carl Tulanko about this. He recommended to me that I build a "heavy" and a "light" version. I thought, "Whaddya mean, Carl?" He told me something like this, "Well, look at it this way. If you're going to be building two, but you want them different, here's the best way. Build one very light, with minimal additional weight. No glass, minimal epoxy, and 1/8" ply fins and CR's, and build it with a 38mm mount. You can then fly this rocket all day long on Pro38 G, H, and I motors!" I was like, "WOW...great idea!" He continued on with, " Then you can build the heavy version. This heavy version would be a rocket that you can push and push and push and it won't fall apart. So, this one you can slather on the epoxy and fiberglass, and not worry about it!" This was way cool, and I decided to go for it. So, now I am going to describe to you the two versions.
LIGHT version
HEAVY version
I believe that I will be able to do this over the summer, and the cost for BOTH of these rockets should be less than 400 dollars. I would think that they will be a definate challenge, and I hope that the kind folks here at TRF will help me!
Thanks for reading,
Jason
Many of you know "rocwizard" and "daveyfire" from here on TRF. I regularly chat with them on AIM. Well, one of those chats I was having with them, rocwizard, the instigator that he is, sent me pictures of some of the rockets that regularly fly out at BALLS, Tripoli's annual EX launch. Well, he then invited me to come out there! Dang you rocwizard! I told him that since BALLS was about 9 months away, I would do my absolute best to get out there. It's a very far trip for me - all the way from Florida to California. Long plane trip!
Anyways, I told him that I'd like to fly something out there, if I did go. At first I thought that I would go all out and build a gigantic rocket, since it is BALLS, ya know? I considered building a 12" diameter Big Daddy, which would be a 4x upscale of the Estes kit. Well, after looking at how much that would cost me, which would be somewhere around 500-700 smackers, I decided against it.
Along with building the 12" Big Daddy, I had considered building a 6" version also. Well, after eliminating the 12" BD, I still wanted to build something. I kept looking into the 6" version. It looked more and more enticing every time I looked at it! Then, the icing on the cake sealed the deal. I found that I could buy a 48" inch length of 6" phenolic tubing from PML for only 30 bucks. If I get that cut in two, I can build TWO 6" Big Daddies! That absolutely sealed the deal - I am going to enter HPR with a bang!
Considering that I'd have two rockets, I wanted them to be different somehow! I consulted with Carl Tulanko about this. He recommended to me that I build a "heavy" and a "light" version. I thought, "Whaddya mean, Carl?" He told me something like this, "Well, look at it this way. If you're going to be building two, but you want them different, here's the best way. Build one very light, with minimal additional weight. No glass, minimal epoxy, and 1/8" ply fins and CR's, and build it with a 38mm mount. You can then fly this rocket all day long on Pro38 G, H, and I motors!" I was like, "WOW...great idea!" He continued on with, " Then you can build the heavy version. This heavy version would be a rocket that you can push and push and push and it won't fall apart. So, this one you can slather on the epoxy and fiberglass, and not worry about it!" This was way cool, and I decided to go for it. So, now I am going to describe to you the two versions.
LIGHT version
- 6" by 18" foam and glass nosecone
- 24" PML phenolic body tube
- 1/8" ply fins
- 1/8" ply CR's
- 38mm and 2 29mm motor mounts
- Minimal epoxy, and little if no glass
- 5-8 pound projected weight
HEAVY version
- 6" by 18" foam and glass NC
- 24" PML phenolic body, reinforced with one Giant Leap Kevlar sock, then covered with a Giant Leap fiberglass sock
- 1/4" ply fins, made in a layered fashion, which would be glass-wood-Carbon Fiber-wood-glass
- 1/4" ply CR's, times three
- Fin can reinforced with expanding foam between the lower 2 CR's
- One 54mm motor mount and two 38mm mounts
- 15-20 pound projected weight
I believe that I will be able to do this over the summer, and the cost for BOTH of these rockets should be less than 400 dollars. I would think that they will be a definate challenge, and I hope that the kind folks here at TRF will help me!
Thanks for reading,
Jason