'cigar' shaped rocket - how??

[sandman]

Really cool!

Now how does it eject the chute and how stable is it.

My "Commando Cody" rocket was only stable after I added about 5 oz. of lead to the nose and then I had to use an Aerotech D21-4 motor.

It did fly neat!

sandman

 

[stevem]

hey sandman,
how stable is it? good question - I don't know yet.
CG without MMT is about halfway point of the rocket. After I install MMT I will recheck CG and then add a baffle ahead of CG to help bring weight forward. I hope I don't have to add any nose weight but I'm guessing I will have to.
This rocket will be standard chute recovery on a 36" mylar chute.

I was thinking about moving up to 29mm for this one but my rocket budget has been given over to home improvements for the foreseeable future so I don't have the cash to do 29mm right now.

Instead I am going to try it on a cluster of 4 D12-3 engines.

All I have tied up in this thing so far is the cost of the styrofoam sheet. Had everything else on had. I was even able to use up the rest of the East Systems Epoxy I had laying around left over from the cedar strip canoe I built a couple years ago. The techniques I learned laying fiberglass/epoxy resin on my canoe sure helped when it came time to glass/epoxy this rocket.

 

[Larry]

Steve,
Very nice job. Its hard to tell how big it is by the pictures. It doesn't look big enough to hold a 36" chute.Heck if its under 2lbs it should fly good on a G-64 or a big single use 29mm motor. I've never tried fiberglassing, I guess I should learn
Larry

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Looks awesome so far! A few questions...

Is the foam laid up over a central tube? If so, what size tube? How did you make the tip of the nosecone?

 

[stevem]

Larry & Ray,
the thing is about 8" diameter at its widest point and about a yard long. There is a BT-80 tube running the entire length inside the foam.

I used a sheet of 2" white styrofoam (got a beat up sheet from the local lumberyard for half price) and cut into 16 10" squares. I then marked the center of each square and cut a hole using a hole saw that was just a little undersized for the BT-80.

I then used a rasp to remove just enough foam to get the squares to slide onto the BT-80. I did not glue the foam onto the tube.

I made a jig like the one shown on Vatsaas Brothers web site and carved the foam using a hot-wire cutter (pictures in previous post on this thread).

Once I had the foam carved to rough shape I numbered each square and removed them. Then I put them back on the tube, this time using wood glue to glue them to the BT.

Then I made a jig to turn the airframe with a drill so I could sand it smooth and round.

Once that was done I simply laid the fiberglass cloth on the tube, held the seams down with masking tape (picked that trick up from Ctulanko's photo essay of his big Tres Wild) and laid on the epoxy. I used the rotating jig to slowly turn the body while the epoxy set so it would be as smooth as possible.

I turned the balsa nose cone to a rough shape and then fitted it to the body. I then used a sanding block to blend the curvature of the body into the nose cone.
Pretty much all done by eyeball and looking at the cartoon picture of the ship.

24" is the biggest chute I have used - do you think it will be a problem getting a 36" chute into a BT-80?

 

[stevem]

I would like to take a brief moment to offer some thanks to the The Rocketry Forum and all its contributors.
For me, things like this project would be almost impossible without all the info and ideas I have gathered from this forum and all you people who contribute.
I am not sure this hobby would be nearly as enjoyable for me without this resource. THANKS GUYS!

 

[stevem]

Duck Dodger Rocket update
I haven't posted for some time - been busy keeping the Mrs. happy with some home improvements and yardwork. But I have managed to get some rocket building in between things.

Here is our Duck Dodgers rocket as it looks now. Still have some detail painting to do but it now looks like the DD spaceship I envisioned.

first pic...

 

[stevem]

second pic...

 

[wwattles]

How's THAT for a guarantee to get some turned heads at the next launch! Better have a medic on hand for all the whiplash from the double-takes!

WW

 

[rstaff3]

Awesome job stevem! Can't wait for the flight report, pics, movies, etc. Someday I have to make a hot wire cutter.

 

[wwattles]

Dick,

I bought mine at Michael's. It's with the floral foam stuff. Runs on D batteries.

WW

 

[rstaff3]

I need to clarify...I have one of the battery powered ones...I need a BIG one

 

[Manwithbeers]

Well done!
How are you going to top that?

 

[stevem]

"How are you going to top that?"

by flying it without killing anyone!!


I really enjoyed building this one, the whole hot-wire foam thing was new to me and I am happy with the results.
I want to do another foam ship and I just saw a post about the Pigs-in-space rocket...hmmmmmm....

 

[stevem]

It flew!

We flew the Duck Dodgers yesterday for the first time on an AT F50 SU, this was also the first 29mm motor we have ever flown.

It was a great flight, straight up to about 400', she got a little squirrelly near apogee, chute deployed well after apogee but rocket came in nice and easy on a 30" chute with no damage!

I put a lot of work into this rocket and it sure felt great to see it pay off!

More photos in the Events area under 10/04/04 launch

 

[hokkyokusei]

I just love rockets like this.