Cherokee D Reborn

[flying_silverad]

I have to tell you, between Jim Z and the rest of you guys at the forum, I have all but finished my first scratch project. The Cherokee D meant alot to me because at the time I was building it, I was spending the summer with some friends of the family in Upper State New York (I think 1972). The man of the house was in fact Cherokee. For weeks he taught me how to fish, trap, and live off the land. At the end of the summer and my stay there, I built this rocket in his honor...and lost it the first time I launched it. So after almost thirty years...here's what we have. I will add to the thread as I do the test launch and the final decal touchs.

First Pic-Krylon Primer on Body, Nose cone finished in Krylon Red

 

[flying_silverad]

This is a 18mm motor I built for flights in smaller fields. A won't try it unless it's a strong "B" motor with short delay. It inserts just as a regular motor would.


Used big fillets here to make it look more retro.

 

[flying_silverad]

I took the new dressed up Cherokee D to the fields today and with the C6-5 in the 18mm adapter, it flew perfectly! Pictures are coming soon! I promise!

 

[jflis]

Love the Cherokee D... Only owned one and lost it in Schroon Lake NY after 3-4 flights.

It was my "introduction" to D motors (the D-kaboom-13, if I remember correctly... )

 

[Dean]

I like the 18mm adapter too! I have built something similar (actually several of them) for 13mm motors into 18mm minimum diameter rockets. It's great to have the flexibility of motor selection.

 

[sandman]

Man, do I love clones!

Anybody here suprised by that!

I love the Cherokee D but always worry about losing it with the D engine.

An 18mm adaptor is an easy solution.

I really want to see that.

I won't steal your thunder by posting pics of mine.

sandman

 

[flying_silverad]

Sandman, Check out the first few threads, it shows the adapter I made. The neat thing was that it sticks out a little further than the D engine does but is a nice compensation for the less weight that an 18mm motor provides, keeping the CG the same! On a C6-5 it flew awesome, even with the 5-10knot wind. I made the decals from some inkjet decal paper I got on Ebay and the decals came out almost as good as the originals. Pictures to follow tomorrow afternoon!

 

[mmkteaneck]

The discussion on 18mm adapters for 24mm mounts is interesting.
I thought I'd share my work...

The fields that we launch at (me and my kids - I'm a "BAR") are none too large. As a result, I tend to the low power (1/4A - C) motors, selecting the smallest engine possible.

I've made 24/18 adapters, and launch my "D" rockets with C6-3's. I've also made 18/13 adapters, to launch "regulars" (18mm MMT) with 1/2A6-2T's. Why? Well, the kids are a little nervous about having their pride-and-joy disappear on the first launch; 1/2-power allows a short (<100') flight first.

One night, when I was too tired to risk working on a real rocket, I came up with an idea. I took am expanded 13mm casing and an 18mm expended casing. (I have dozens; any ideas what they're good for?) I hacksawed a short ring off the 13mm, then reamed out the 18mm (removing the nozzle and enoght casing for 1 13mm i.d.). Glue the 13mm ring up into the 18mm casing, and you've got a (friction-fit) adapter. (I'd only use it in an overly-stable rocket, in case the CG shift is significant.

I've used it, and it works fine, giving short "first flights" on a 1/2A6-2T for small 18mm rockets.

 

[flying_silverad]

Lift Off!

 

[sandman]

Loverly!

sandman

 

[flying_silverad]

18mm engine adapter Pic

 

[flying_silverad]

I promise this will be the last one!

 

[eugenefl]

Flying_silverad,

Great looking rocket! You did a good job airfoiling (or rounding) the fins. Nice job!

Thanks for the pictures.

 

[gothique_97]

Originally posted by mmkteaneck

One night, when I was too tired to risk working on a real rocket, I came up with an idea. I took am expanded 13mm casing and an 18mm expended casing. (I have dozens; any ideas what they're good for?) I hacksawed a short ring off the 13mm, then reamed out the 18mm (removing the nozzle and enoght casing for 1 13mm i.d.). Glue the 13mm ring up into the 18mm casing, and you've got a (friction-fit) adapter. (I'd only use it in an overly-stable rocket, in case the CG shift is significant.

I've done this a bunch of times, myself. What I would do witha D12 casing, for instance, is carve out enough of the clay nozzle to allow plenty of ejection charge t go through, but to keep the motor from going forward through the rocket. It was handy as hell in 24mm Estes birds with a motor clip; all you had to do was friction fit the 18mm motor into the spent D casing. stability isn't really an issue when you do that because the weight is nearly the same so the CG won't shift much at all.

Never tried it for going from an 18mm mount to a 13mm motor...

 

[bmhiii]

flying_silverad,

Great looking rocket! Very cool!

I read that you used some inkjet decal paper. How was you experinece with that? I've been looking at that paper to do some flame decals on my Mean Machine.

bmhiii

 

[flying_silverad]

I thought that the decal paper was good. I cleaned my HP 682c printer before I did it. My printer has a habit of collecting dust and paper fibers then smearing after a short while. On the decals that I did if you look really close, the black ink tends to crack just a bit. From three feet you can't tell. Also, after I printed the decal (on the best setting your printer can muster!) I taped it to a sheet of card board and proceeded to spray 4 light coats of Krylon Clear. Let it sit overnight and then cut them out the next day. You should spray on a few coats of Clear Krylon the next day to seal the decals once their on the rocket, as of yet I have not.
As far as the Black ink cracking, I have heard that Lenox printers and some others don't seem to have the same problem.
Good Luck
Here is a link to some of the paper...
https://cgi.aol.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1771035734

 

[kgholloway]

Here's a couple of things I use expended motor casings for:

1. Glue an expended motor casing to a wooden dowel about 2 feet long. You can then use it for a handle when spray painting a rocket. Just insert the casing into the motor mount tube and brace the dowel so that it holds the rocket horizontal. One way is to place the dowel through the rungs on a 4' or 6' step ladder. Another is to insert the dowel through a section of pipe and then clamp the pipe to the edge of a table or work bench. Either way allows you to rotate the rocket while your spraying it. I've used it on casings from 13mm to 29mm and I'm looking for a couple of expended 38mm and 54mm motors to expand into HPR sized rockets.

2. Slice thin rings out of expended motor casings and use them for motor stops.

3. Use them for ejection charge cannisters:

For moveable cannisters plug the nozzle with epoxy thickened with chopped glass fibers or microballons then glue an e-match into the open end with the match head about 1/4" from the nozzle. Fill with Black Powder, pack some cellulose wadding into the case to keep the powder at the back end, then seal with a piece of masking tape.

For fixed cannisters drill a hole through the side of the casing the size of an e-match head just ahead of the nozzel. Plug the nozzle with epoxy, then epoxy the cannister to one of the bulkheads on the altimeter bay. To use insert an e-match through the hole in the side of the casing and tape it in place, fill with your black powder charge, pack with cellulose insulation, and seal with a piece of masking tape.

Ken Holloway, NAR #78336, L-1