Apogee Rocketober Photo Challenge

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Would you like to join the Apogee Rocketober Photo Challenge?


  • Total voters
    12
Possibly my favorite rocketry tool, and non-rocketry tool.

Ode to an X-acto:

Oh, how I love thee,
look below and see
the finely textured grip,
so my fingers don't slip
to finely control the tip.
it cuts straight and smooth
or curvy if I choose.
My favorite tool
within arms reach as a rule.
You may now ridicule
this awful poem.
I won't ridicule it, but I will state my disappointment that it didn't end with the knife rolling off the table and impaling itself in your leg. :)
 
I am so far behind in this thread that I need to cover many bases with one photo:

That's me on the right in my favorite rocketry shirt with this year's TARC team, AKA the school rocketry club. The team flying the blue rocket took 3rd place at TARC nationals in 2015. The 3" HPR in front is made from a hand rolled carbon tube by the team a few years ago, and it hands down my favorite paint job on a rocket I've been involved with. The students did most of the work, but they needed my name and L2 for the flight card.

IMG_2393 (2).JPG

The liftoff picture is one of my favorite flames pictures, and I'll add that before long.
 
This BAR's fav tool, bar none :rolleyes:
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The Dremel 380-5
Dremel_4000.jpg
And it's younger sibling the Dremel 4000

I have owned and used the 380 since 78' although it is currently in need of repair. The 4000 I purchased in January of this year. These Dremel Moto-Tools have been used on many projects from car audio installs to home remodeling. They have helped with every MPR and HPR build I have done to date. They have sanded, shaped, drilled, cut, polished, burnished, ground, deburred and milled all sorts of materials.

Edit: I missed the Oct. 14th posting and it felt out of place doing a belated post of it. But, since I had something for today's listing......

I give you my build pile.
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LPR pile.
Wildman_Ultimate - Large Parts-Small.jpg
Wildman_Ultimate - Small Parts-Small.jpg
Future L3 (Won in a Woosh raffle).
 
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I won't ridicule it, but I will state my disappointment that it didn't end with the knife rolling off the table and impaling itself in your leg.

Funny, I've never had a knife roll off my workbench, I must be one of the only ones. Probably because of all the clutter. I'm not messy, it is a safety feature!
 
Oct. 23
23rd - Rocket Art - Is there a painting or sculpture that inspires you in your rocketry habit? Share with us why it has a special place in your heart.
 
Made a Titan IIIE with Dyna Soar clone a few years ago. Then I found an image online, thought it would look good printed on glossy poster paper on the wall behind the clone. Haven't printed it yet.
447px-Dyna-Soar_on_Titan_booster.jpg
Although the original design was with a single Titan with fins, and my clone has two side boosters.
 
That is one cool rocket portrait. Do you know where is came from originally? Was that ever a "real" project?
The artists' name is Frederick E Fahdt.
The Dyna Soar was an Air Force project that was years ahead of its time. The space vehicles of the day were all capsules that came back ballistically. This vehicle came down and landed on skids on a runway. Decades ahead of the shuttle.
Project was cancelled due to cost and undefined objectives. No prototypes were made, only mock ups.
Launch facilities were built and never used.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_X-20_Dyna-Soar
 
I won't ridicule it, but I will state my disappointment that it didn't end with the knife rolling off the table and impaling itself in your leg. :)

Late to the party, as usual.

I use these sleeves on my knives. Designed for holding a pen with arthritic hands, they also stop the knives rolling off the table and impaling themselves in your legs.
 

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Oct. 24
24th - Rocket Food - What do you eat when you’re building rockets? Yes, we all nibble when we’re working on rockets. Snap a quick picture of it. Or maybe it was a rocket cake that someone made for you on your birthday. Rocket food is the topic, so you can get creative.
 
Our Morkie named Lexi poses with two of my fav build session treats, Veggie Sticks (also straws or chips) and Tea Biscuits.
Rocket Snacks.jpg

Not pictured but also among my go-to consumables include peanut butter on saltines (Or just the saltines), Corn Chex straight out of the box and last but not least Earl Grey tea.
 
For when I get the late night munchies building model rockets:
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Don't know why they call it a breakfast sandwich. It's more like a cookie.
 
Oct. 25
25th - Custom Parts - What component did you make for a rocket that wasn’t in the kit package. Maybe it was part of the decor or a modification that you had to do to make the part fit correctly in the rocket. If you’ve ever 3D printed a part, this is where you can show it off too.
 
Minimum diameter motor mounts, made on the lathe and mill.
4" version
ReadyForTapping.JPG

3" version. Interestingly I did finite element analysis on this design using an Excel spreadsheet :)
MM2.JPG

Very light fins, made with G10 isogrid cores and CF skins bonded on. Flew successfully to M2.14 on the Nike Apache. The isogrid pattern gives isotropic mechanical properties with minimal mass.
FourCores.JPG
FourFins.JPG

Base plate for the Nike Smoke. 4" motor, 8.25" diameter. Fabricated from aluminium plate and bar.
ArtsEnd.JPG

Vertical Trajectory System created with 3D printed parts (servo mount frame, fins and bulkhead)
RollPattern.JPG
DSC07035resize.JPG
 
Well dang! that'll be a hard act to follow.
Yeesh, seriously. Those motor mounts should just retire the category.

But I shall wade in nonetheless, with a couple of my silly 3D-printed doodads.

First, my nose cone twist-lock, which I have now used successfully on 3 different rockets (1 BT-60, 2 BT-50).
upload_2019-10-25_8-37-54.png

Video (note high production values):


And the rod-catcher for the APRO Lander 2, which worked out great:
upload_2019-10-25_8-40-54.png

Another Hollywood-class video:
 
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