BLUE BRUISER - SKY PIRATE V3.0

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I carefully applied the blue tape to the body tube and fin.
Then I mixed up 2 squirts each of West Systems epoxy/slow hardener and added two heaping spoons of high density filler and colloidal silica (wearing a mask to prevent breathing the dust).
I then use a plastic spoon to apply the epoxy and a long stroke along the fin root with the back of the spoon gives it the perfect shape.
I’ll keep an eye on it and when it’s close to setting up and still a little gooey, I’ll pull the tape.
It will leave a slightly raised edge when the tape was, easily fixed later with some bondo and sanding to make a smooth edge. That way, when I apply the tip-to-tip fiberglass on the fins, it won’t snag the glass. Learned that many builds ago!

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I had applied the epoxy fillet in the step above and came inside to play some Call of Duty Cold War and realized that it would be a mistake if I Ieft the blue tape on while the fin fillets cured.... like I said, I’m seriously out of practice! The epoxy mixed with that much filler has zero chance of running or sagging. It’s like peanut butter - and it WILL stick to the roof of your mouth! 😂
So I put some gloves back on and pulled the blue tape and used the spoon tip to tweak a few edges. I only need the basic radius shape anyway, any blemishes will be hidden under fiberglass when I get to that part.

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Really like this build.

have a sentimental soft spot for the Loc Brusier, will need to add one to the collection some day
Thanks - as you can tell, I’m also a fan of the Bruiser. It was my original L2 cert rocket. That one is still flyable, just a little shorter after it had a rough landing after a underpowered CTI ejection charge. A few inches of body tube trimmed off the front and it was back to flying!
 
Thanks - as you can tell, I’m also a fan of the Bruiser. It was my original L2 cert rocket. That one is still flyable, just a little shorter after it had a rough landing after a underpowered CTI ejection charge. A few inches of body tube trimmed off the front and it was back to flying!

very cool

the last two flights that i saw at my fist major High Power launch back in 1992 (also the two largest of the day) were a Bruiser on a K1100 and an Esoteric on an L750SS.

remember them like it was yesterday

been hooked ever since!
 
very cool

the last two flights that i saw at my fist major High Power launch back in 1992 (also the two largest of the day) were a Bruiser on a K1100 and an Esoteric on an L750SS.

remember them like it was yesterday

been hooked ever since!

I flew my original Sky Pirate Bruiser on a K456 Dark Matter once. It was a great flight, here is a link to the video. Enjoy! 😎

 
Who cut your fins? I want to build a Mini Magg with that method of fin attachment.
These are actual LOC Precision fins, purchased early 2018.
I’ve heard the company changed owners - not sure if they still do custom orders like that anymore.
If they don’t, I’ve had great luck with custom fin work from Mike at Binder Design. The fin design should be in an .ork file somewhere.
 
These are actual LOC Precision fins, purchased early 2018.
I’ve heard the company changed owners - not sure if they still do custom orders like that anymore.
If they don’t, I’ve had great luck with custom fin work from Mike at Binder Design. The fin design should be in an .ork file somewhere.
I wonder if ALways Ready Rocketry could do it. I asked LOC dosen't sound like they would do it.
 
This evening I applied the second set of epoxy fin fillets, I’ll do the third set on Thursday and hopefully apply the first set of tip to tip fiberglass on Saturday.

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Felt like Christmas when the mail lady arrived today!!
I’m very happy with the shipment speed for this order from Dog House Rocketry (owned by Binder Design). Here is the breakdown:
1. Dual altimeter wiring kit. If you have ever used one of these before, you know how much easier they make life.
2. Battery holders. I got these pre-wired, because I hate soldering and shrink wrapping.
3. Rotary switches. Also pre-wired. I’ve used these switches for years with zero failures.
4. Ejection charge wells. Six grams each of anodized beauty! I’ll use blue for one end of the avionics bay and violet for the other.

Tonight after work I’ll apply the last fin fillet and then start on glassing the fins over the weekend.

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Third fin fillet completed. I like it when these steps are nice and uneventful.

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I’ve been staring at the rockets on the other side of the garage..... soon I’ll have to make the unhappy decision about which ones I’ll be stealing the altimeters from. Sure wish I could find a pair of perfectflite Strattologger CF’s in stock somewhere.
 
Felt like Christmas when the mail lady arrived today!!
I’m very happy with the shipment speed for this order from Dog House Rocketry (owned by Binder Design). Here is the breakdown:
1. Dual altimeter wiring kit. If you have ever used one of these before, you know how much easier they make life.
2. Battery holders. I got these pre-wired, because I hate soldering and shrink wrapping.
3. Rotary switches. Also pre-wired. I’ve used these switches for years with zero failures.
4. Ejection charge wells. Six grams each of anodized beauty! I’ll use blue for one end of the avionics bay and violet for the other.

Tonight after work I’ll apply the last fin fillet and then start on glassing the fins over the weekend.

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Where did you get the pre wired item?
 
Looking good! What are you planning on flying it on?

Although I know it’s gonna scorch the living snot out of the aft end, I plan on using an Aerotech L900DM for the fun of it. Always a crowd pleaser.
The second launch would be on an M1500G. Flying on an M1500G was my original plan with the Sky Pirate ver. 2 for its second flight, but the swamp in Tampa ate that rocket.
I’m not glassing the body tubes on this one so it is pounds lighter than the original and should really get some altitude!
 
Happy to have a free Saturday to fiberglass some fins!

First off, I sanded the fillets smooth to prevent any jagged edges from snagging on the fiberglass. I also used a sander on the overlapping bondo filled spirals and then wiped everything down with denatured alcohol. Proper prep is time consuming, but the only way to get good results.

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Once that was done, I used some peel ply to make a fin template.

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I then used the template to make three outlines on some 6oz S-glass.

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After cutting out the first 6oz S-glass fin section, I layed it on the fins and trimmed it to fit better with minimal overlap, which would cause it to tug after the epoxy is applied.

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I then did the same for the 3oz fiberglass

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Finally, I mixed up 5 squirts of West Systems epoxy and slow hardener. I poured the mixed epoxy on a paper plate to spread it out and keep it from kicking too quickly due to heating. I carefully saturated the layup and applied the peel ply.

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After about four hours (seemed longer than normal) the peel ply was finally ready to be peeled off. Guess it was the lower temps in Florida today, sometimes the garage feels like an oven.
After peel ply removal, I inspected the layup and it had good coverage and no visible wrinkles.

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I used an xacto knife and trimmed the fiberglass overhang. At this point it was still green and flexible and the blade cut through it like butter. On my first fiberglass job back in 2012, I let it fully cure and it was a beast to cut!

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Next up tomorrow, I’ll bite the bullet and glass the side that has the rail button. Adds a while new level of difficulty......
 
Yesterday I completed the second tip to tip glassing.

First came the first layer of 6.5 s-glass. The rail button was a little bit of a pain to work around.

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Next was the 3 oz glass.... makes a nice veil layer since it’s a tight, smooth weave.

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Finally, added the Teflon peel ply to keep it all smooth and bleed off a little excess epoxy. Not shown was the epoxy wet out using five pumps of West Systems.

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At exactly four hours, it had cured enough the peel ply pulled off crisply.

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The overhang was easy to trim with the epoxy still a little green and pliable.

Finished result made me happy! I love the perfect radius the fiberglass creates over the fin fillet.

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Monday I completed glassing the final set of fins. Had some slight wrinkling on the glass on the body tube, nothing a little bondo and a sander can’t fix!

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Now comes the messy part.... bondo, sanding, priming, wet sanding, more bondo and sanding, more primer, more wet sanding, first coat of paint, wet sanding, second coat of paint.....
 
I gave up on trying to locate some Stratologger CF’s in stock. I also decided not to steal any from any of my current rockets.

Last night I logged into Wildman Rocketry ordered a pair of Missile Works RRC3’s along with the USB cable interface and the LED attachment. I’ll set one up as “primary” with the “backup” having a one second delay at apogee and a 100 ft lower main chute deployment as the primary. I always love the nice “pop” of the backup firing through the empty tube.

I also ordered an Aerotech 75/3840 complete motor to replace the one that was lost in Tampa. I’m now considering using an Aerotech L1150R motor for the first flight - I think the red flame would look great with the rocket color scheme. That was I can use the L900DM for my Horizon clone, which uses an SPC thrust plate and wouldn’t get so “scorched”.
 
cool deal with the RRC3s

know it is all personal preference as most all modern electrics are quire reliable, but i am a HUGE fan of the whole missle works platform. the things just plain work.
 
Honestly, glad to hear. I know Missile Works is a big name in the industry but I’ve been flying nothing but perfectflite since my first dual deploy rocket... Never had one let me down! Excited to try something new, though.
 
Today is what I like to call the “messy” part of the build - Bondo, sanding, and primer. With various repeats of the above and lots of wet sanding.

First I sanded the Bondo off the spiral fill.

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Next after more cleanup sanding, more Bondo. I use a lot to smooth out the transition between the glassed fin can and the body tube.

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After the Bondo dried, I sanded and sanded and sanded. And shot first coat of primer on the upper body tube.


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So far everything is coming together well, still on track for the May launch.
 
Messy time again. Sanded lots more Bondo and got it to about 85% of where I wanted it to be. After that, I gave it a good wipe down with denatured alcohol.
At this point it will be easier to see defects with primer so time to put on the paint respirator and start priming!

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I’m now out of primer and the shop up the road quit carrying it (duplicolor high build primer) so luckily I can get more from Amazon.

It came out pretty good, but I want it to look perfect at 5 foot, so still many cycles of bonus and sanding ahead. I know at some point I’ll have to say “good enough” but we are far from there at the moment. I’m picky like that.

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