Apogee SledgeHammer

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deangelo54

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In the April 2022 Apogee Components Peak of Flight NewsLetter 572 https://www.apogeerockets.com/education/downloads/Newsletter572.pdf there are plans for a kit called the SledgeHammer. I recently completed the build and flew it today for the first time on a Quest D22-4W. It flew very nicely. About 356 feet according to Open Rocket. I was wondering if anyone has built it or plans to?
 

Attachments

  • SledgeHammer 5.JPG
    SledgeHammer 5.JPG
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I cheated, those are not decals. Those are printouts from the Apogee news letter. The top tube is an Estes brown BT80 wrapped in printer paper. I then taped the "decals" to that. I more or less did the same to the bottom BT70 tube that comes from Balsa Machining Service. I cut out the fin slots myself. I had some 1/8 plywood hanging around and asked a friend to cut out the fins with a band saw. The NC is an Estes style BT80 that is 8" long. The Apogee NC is 9" but the CP stays the same.

If you purchase all the parts from Apogee, the kit is going to cost a lot of money. I had some parts left over from previous scratch build projects. I bought the BT70-BT80 transition, the conformal rail guides, the MMT kit and chute from Apogee. I appreciate all the videos and news letters that Tim puts out for free so I think it's only fair to send some business his way.

Since I live in MA, I will have to wait for some good painting weather. I think it is a great kit that will look really nice when it is painted and decaled. I hope someone else builds it. Feel free to ask any questions. I have the Open Rocket file that I attached.
 

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  • Sledge-Hammer R1 JP.ork
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Attached is a video file of the launch of the SledgeHammer on a Quest D22-4. That seems to be a perfect engine for this rocket. Especially for the smaller tree lined fields in MA.
 
Whoops. Here your go.
 

Attachments

  • Frank's Sledgehammer on a D22 - Made with Clipchamp.mp4
    17.3 MB
  • Frank's Sledgehammer on a D22 - Made with Clipchamp.mp4
    17.3 MB
I cheated, those are not decals. Those are printouts from the Apogee news letter.
If you have an inkjet printer at home, all you really need is to buy some waterslide decal paper made specifically for that type of printer. Since you have the Apogee newsletter plans, the decals can be printed directly from there (pages 15 & 16 specifically). The printer does not need to be anything extravagant or expensive. I've had good results with my HP that's probably close to 7 years old and was under $100 new.

I've had the plans for the Sledgehammer sitting in my "future build" folder for a while and may get built at some point.
 
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