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Last year, there were Halloween "spider web" bowls converted into Flying Saucers. Unfortunately Target did not have them this year, though Dollar Tree did, and so did a Goodwill store.
Anyway, I saw a Halloween Spider at Dollar Tree the other week and decided to try that as a "saucer". It is a plastic frame skeleton that has a lot of fuzzy "tinsel" like stuff attached to it.
Conversion was very simple, the spider itself required no cutting, only gluing. I balanced it on my finger, and it happened to balance right at an intersection of the frame. I used the theory that wherever it balanced laterally, would be roughly equal to the center of frontal area and center of lateral drag.
It met two key design engineering technical criteria. One being that it passed the T.L.A.R. test (That Looks About Right). Also, it was rated as 90% likely to work, by "GeorgeSim". I often use GeorgeSim for rockets that RockSim cries uncle in trying to figure out.
So, got to fly it at a launch Saturday. A number of people had some of the Halloween spider bowl saucers. So, got to take some neat pics.
And the spider, someone named it "Webster", It FLIES! Pretty well. The odd thing is it is almost dead perfect in the pitch axis. It veers to the right in the Yaw axis. I have not figured out exactly why, but suspect there may be a bit less of the tinsel-like stuff on the left side than the right so there may be a drag imbalance.
If anyone wants to make their own and can find it (Dollar Tree stores have moved in a lot of thanksgiving and Christmas stuff and not much Halloween stuff left), here's the basics.
Cut a 2.5" long 18mm tube for the engine month, and glue some sort of disk or plug to the front of it. Used 5 minute epoxy and slather a good bit of epoxy around the frame webbing so the epoxy will cure around them to lock in place. Also epoxy on the front end of the engine tube, on the plugged end. Pug in place dead-center of the cross frames where it balances, and hold it so it is 90 degrees to the bottom of the frame as it cures.
Once cured, get a centering ring, I used 18mm to BT-60 ring. Cut out a gap near the 18mm hold to give plenty of room for the launch lug. Mix up even more epoxy. Slather if into the frame, and also onto the centering ring, then slide the ring on and press it into place as the epoxy cures. but make sure the notch for the launch lug is oriented so that the rod will pass in between the frame webs. After curing, glue a lug to the 18mm tube, aligned for he rod to fit thru between the frame webs.
If you want to, paint the ring/mount/lug black (I cut a 3" hole into a sheet of paper to crudely mask off most of the spider)
DONE. Fly it on B6-0 or C6-0. Do not fly it with anything using a delay and ejection, in case it would land on the ground before ejection.
- George Gassaway
Anyway, I saw a Halloween Spider at Dollar Tree the other week and decided to try that as a "saucer". It is a plastic frame skeleton that has a lot of fuzzy "tinsel" like stuff attached to it.
Conversion was very simple, the spider itself required no cutting, only gluing. I balanced it on my finger, and it happened to balance right at an intersection of the frame. I used the theory that wherever it balanced laterally, would be roughly equal to the center of frontal area and center of lateral drag.
It met two key design engineering technical criteria. One being that it passed the T.L.A.R. test (That Looks About Right). Also, it was rated as 90% likely to work, by "GeorgeSim". I often use GeorgeSim for rockets that RockSim cries uncle in trying to figure out.
So, got to fly it at a launch Saturday. A number of people had some of the Halloween spider bowl saucers. So, got to take some neat pics.
And the spider, someone named it "Webster", It FLIES! Pretty well. The odd thing is it is almost dead perfect in the pitch axis. It veers to the right in the Yaw axis. I have not figured out exactly why, but suspect there may be a bit less of the tinsel-like stuff on the left side than the right so there may be a drag imbalance.
If anyone wants to make their own and can find it (Dollar Tree stores have moved in a lot of thanksgiving and Christmas stuff and not much Halloween stuff left), here's the basics.
Cut a 2.5" long 18mm tube for the engine month, and glue some sort of disk or plug to the front of it. Used 5 minute epoxy and slather a good bit of epoxy around the frame webbing so the epoxy will cure around them to lock in place. Also epoxy on the front end of the engine tube, on the plugged end. Pug in place dead-center of the cross frames where it balances, and hold it so it is 90 degrees to the bottom of the frame as it cures.
Once cured, get a centering ring, I used 18mm to BT-60 ring. Cut out a gap near the 18mm hold to give plenty of room for the launch lug. Mix up even more epoxy. Slather if into the frame, and also onto the centering ring, then slide the ring on and press it into place as the epoxy cures. but make sure the notch for the launch lug is oriented so that the rod will pass in between the frame webs. After curing, glue a lug to the 18mm tube, aligned for he rod to fit thru between the frame webs.
If you want to, paint the ring/mount/lug black (I cut a 3" hole into a sheet of paper to crudely mask off most of the spider)
DONE. Fly it on B6-0 or C6-0. Do not fly it with anything using a delay and ejection, in case it would land on the ground before ejection.
- George Gassaway
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