A Rocket That Launches Attached To A Horizontal Track That Transitions To Vertical

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The recovery chord I did a bit different. Ran it on the outside of the inner extended motor mount tube, ran some tape around the outside to secure it to the motor mount tube. The longer motor mount tube ensures everything aligns nice and straight.

Also did some sanding on the fin can components.

Remember... Embrace the spirals... It's like rifling on a bullet.
 

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Added the winglets to the rocket... kind of an homage to the Fireball XL5 and made some good progress on the sled today.
 

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1st coat of Rustoleum Sandable Filler Primer.

I sanded the primer today. I may need to add some EWF, but decided to wait a few days just to make sure the primer is cured.

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Day one of applying and sanding wood filler.... my least favorite part of model rocketry. Nonetheless it's a necessary evil.

The combination of Rustoleum Filler / Sandable Primer and Elmer's Wood Filler however makes it somewhat easier though.
 

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Day one of applying and sanding wood filler.... my least favorite part of model rocketry. Nonetheless it's a necessary evil.

The combination of Rustoleum Filler / Sandable Primer and Elmer's Wood Filler however makes it somewhat easier though.
Interesting. Many of my rockets go unpainted, so I am about as far from an expert as you can get. Still I thought traditionally the wood filler goes on BEFORE the primer. Part of that is my understanding (perhaps in error) that you can use CWF on wooden part BEFORE you glue them (as the glue permeates through CWF), so for example you can fill and sand fins before attaching them to the rocket. In general you can’t to this with primer or paint unless you mask or otherwise create “unprimed” surfaces for adhesion.

On the other hand, the proof is in the pudding, so it obviously works for you as your rockets look great.
 
Interesting. Many of my rockets go unpainted, so I am about as far from an expert as you can get. Still I thought traditionally the wood filler goes on BEFORE the primer. Part of that is my understanding (perhaps in error) that you can use CWF on wooden part BEFORE you glue them (as the glue permeates through CWF), so for example you can fill and sand fins before attaching them to the rocket. In general you can’t to this with primer or paint unless you mask or otherwise create “unprimed” surfaces for adhesion.

On the other hand, the proof is in the pudding, so it obviously works for you as your rockets look great.

Thanks for the comment BABAR.

I like to apply primer to get a uniform color, then sand. This makes low spots much more obvious and thus much easier to know what needs filler and what doesn't. Primer, being more porous than paint, still gives the wood filler a "texture" to bite into. Painters refer to that primer roughness as having a "tooth".

Everything you see here is purely cosmetic, nothing structural.

If it de-laminates after painting... I'll show it. Full Disclosure.
 
Your builds are original, clever, and among the most well documented on the forum. I really wasn’t thinking so much structural, I just didn’t know if CWF would “stick” over primer, even enough for paint adherence,

Someone else had documented that he did sanding sealer before CWF, if I remember right at least part of the reason was to prevent the possible warping that comes with CWF, since it is water based. Your primer may have the same advantage.
 
Although I would consider it unusual to do the first filler/primer coat on top of bare balsa (rather than on top of CWF or something), I don't have too much concern about the CWF sticking. Even after CWF+filler/primer, and additional round of CWF is sometimes necessary to fill in the odd grain or divot.

I would normally do CWF first just because I want to do one coat of filler/primer and then done. Even if I have very small post-filler/primer touch-ups to do, I'll go from there straight to paint. I don't think I've ever taken large areas of CWF direct to paint.

Lake, do you intend to do more filler primer over the CWF, or are you ready for paint now?
 
I also do a hybrid, when I take that much effort. And so far I've just used "regular" primer+paint, and I use a different filler, but the process is similar. I fill and sand first until there are no obvious problem spots. Then the first coat exposes things I hadn't seen before, so I fill and sand some more, then spray again. Even over Rusto 2X, the stuff I use for filler does OK. The biggest advantage of filling first for fins is that the smear-it-in-then-take-it-off-with-a-straight-edge technique leaves it pretty much flawless. Second rounds are damn near always only on the tubes.

And that's from someone who's not very good at finishes, but does well enough this way.
 
Lake, do you intend to do more filler primer over the CWF, or are you ready for paint now?

Thanks for the input fellas!

Neil, I'm planning to prime it with Rusto 2X once i'm done with the wood filler... then paint.

In my experience the areas that have filler will end up with a different "sheen" because the filler soaks up the next top coat differently than the other areas that have primer..

Interestingly, this rocket has all basswood for the fins and upper / lower fuselage fill pieces... but the canopy is made from homemade balsa plywood... (4) pieces of 1/8". The Rustoleum Filler Sandable covered the canopy just fine in it's raw condition, it didn't soak in like other primers and paint do. Perhaps it has something to do with it being plywood glued using Gorilla wood glue?

I'm a huge fan of Rustoleum Filler Sandable for the first coat... it seems to hide and cure a lot of issues. I first started using it on metal fabrication projects.. it's a pretty great product for a rattle can.
 
Your builds are original, clever, and among the most well documented on the forum. I really wasn’t thinking so much structural, I just didn’t know if CWF would “stick” over primer, even enough for paint adherence,

Someone else had documented that he did sanding sealer before CWF, if I remember right at least part of the reason was to prevent the possible warping that comes with CWF, since it is water based. Your primer may have the same advantage.

Thanks for the kind words.

I'll agree with the warpage if it's only applied to one side. I applied CWF on my X-Wing balsa fins before I attached them to the rocket. As I was applying it to one side of a fin it would warp, but once I applied it momentarily to the other side it straightened back up.
 

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Lake, do you intend to do more filler primer over the CWF, or are you ready for paint now?
Neil, I'm planning to prime it with Rusto 2X once i'm done with the wood filler... then paint.

In my experience the areas that have filler will end up with a different "sheen" because the filler soaks up the next top coat differently than the other areas that have primer..

Neil,

I shot the Rusto 2X on the hammerhead this afternoon. Here's the "sheen" difference I referred to previously.

See how the filler absorbs the primer... with any luck the next coat will be more uniform....

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Shot the final primer coat on the rocket sled rocket and painted the booster orange, for visibility.

Also spent some time coming up with a paint scheme... kind of a "tip of the hat" to the Fireball XL5.. but not a carbon copy. Just seemed to make sense since it too is a sled launched rocket.
 

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I was just watching a Star Trek: enterprise “first flightl episode. Your launch track looks remarkably similar to that from which they launched the NX Alpha
 

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I was just watching a Star Trek: enterprise “first flightl episode. Your launch track looks remarkably similar to that from which they launched the NX Alpha

Interesting. Found a video clip. STAR TREK - Federation Starship NX Alpha Class + Warp Speed
The folding wings are cool... reminds me of a Corsair.

I need to head down the hill and pick up some lumber for the track.

And that Alpha looks similar to the Phoenix in warp mode. Warp One vs Warp Two

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Swing Testing.

This was kind of educational. I did about 8 swing tests. I ended up with (3) that I thought were worthy of viewing here.

This is a 2 stage configuration. The first three video show both stages in the flight ready configuration, a D12-0, a D12.5 and parachutes.

Test One was with zero nose ballast, which Open Rocket states is a 0.641 cal stability.. swing test shows unstable.
Test Two was with 0.4 ounces of ballast, which Open Rocket states is a 0.878 cal stability.. swing test shows marginally stable.
Test Three was with 0.8 ounces of ballast, which Open Rocket states is a 1.09 cal stability.. swing test shows this as stable.

I intentionally try to start them going backwards... to see if they recover... and how they recover..





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And then this ... aargh

 
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I can't see the video above, but I'd bet it's "when worlds collide"
That scene is memorable from the lack of G-forces as the rocket transitions to vertical.
everyone would splat I bet.
You can actually bend 80/20, if you slice it like that. then you can run a few beads to hold it in shape.
You'd have to machine the channel smooth again, but it would likely work.
 
During the July 25th swing test crash debacle, see post #203, the upper section of the starboard fin vertical stabilizer broke off and I couldn't find it. Bummer

Fast forward 2 months and we're in the midst of putting down porcelain tile in our Hallway. While making a trip out to the wood shed I found the lost piece of vertical stabilizer! It's a little worse for wear but still usable.

QUESTION:

I'm trying to determine the best way to repair the spiral fracture on the body tube?​
When the rocket crashed into the rocks the forward body tube came apart at the spirals. It's made from a piece of carboard tubing that comes in the center of Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil. It's a wood fiber based product.​
The issue is I have to apply torque to the body tube in order to get the fracture to close tightly. So perhaps Super Glue is the best approach? I can apply the CA and then quickly torque the tube to close the gap.... then wait.​
This is a "tube in a tube" design. so I can pour in some thinned wood glue between the 2 tubes to reinforce the joint... after I've repaired the outer tube.​

Thoughts? :computer:

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Depending on diameter of the Reynolds wrap tube, I would replace it with something from the rocket hobby, those core tubes from wraps are very weak. Use 29mm Motor mount tube. It is slightly bigger in OD (Based on measuring your rocket from the photos and making a ratio of BT60-your upper tube.) Guessing your upper tube is a little over an inch. (I calculated about 1 1/16") The motor mount tube is probably about 10 times stronger than that Reynold wrap tube. and since it it heavier, the added weight can only help with stability anyways. The slightly larger diameter wont detract much in the overall look of the model, since it is not a scale model, it won't really matter much. You would then have to make a new nose cone....
 
Finally getting around to repairing the body tube on this. A C-55 coupler has a tight slip fit over the damaged Reynolds Wrap body tube.

The paint / primer was sanded down to the body tube at the ends of the tube and I then put wood glue on all the through wall splits at the spirals. Then the C-55 was quickly and forcefully installed over the full length of the damaged tube.

I left the C-55 about 3/16" from the nose cone end of the tube. I'll make a glue transition at that point.

Open Rocket shows the rocket is still plenty stable... and I updated the simulation to the 2022 revision of the software, thus allowing me to add the (2) vertical wingtips. I'm loving the Open Rocket 22 Beta release.

This rocket will see some strange loading, once I get the track built... zipping down the track horizontally, then transitioning to vertical and releasing from the trolley.... so maybe the God's of Thrust and G Force's are steering me towards the triple wall construction to result in a hell-for-stout configuration?

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Interesting, but the translation from horizontal to vertical is still acceleration, and acceleration burns off energy. However... if, for some reason, your engine was building thrust slowly but you needed to get that energy converted to momentum no matter the slow velocity, then turn vertical as the thrust really builds, maybe keep the vertical height of your rail down... I dunno, though, if it were worthwhile I think we might have seen some examples.. Any reason in particular that you had in mind?

The Me-163 video was interesting, looks like it has some radio control capability - and also, it looks like it was launched with a match-lit fuse (I may be wrong there, and not to say I haven't done it...)
In Germany and most East euro countries where Klima model rocket engines are sold. They come with fuse igniters. But if so desired you can use electrical ignition.

I'd love to be able to fuse ignite a motor with a punk.
 
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