Clear payload solution for BT-56 / #13

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455 Buick

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Following our household rule that any spare parts need to turn into a whole something from which they belong, here is a rocket that came from the remaining -56 / 13 tubing we had left over after repairing my son's Sky Twister.

This is a long thin rocket I will call Flame, with a namesake paint job soon. I always dreamed of building and flying a D engined rocket when I was a kid, but never got to do it. And I always wanted an Icarus with the clear payload section, but alas that never happened either. So here is my first on both fronts. Here it is in primer for now.
I searched the internet for ideas on what I could use as a clear payload section. I didn't find anyone who had done so before (if they did, my search turned up nothing anyway). So I had just given myself up to just cutting 3 windows in the payload bay cardboard tube and gluing clear plastic on the inside to the frame section.

I was in the garage this weekend cleaning up the workbench from this winter's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby build. I spied the clear tube that the Pinewood Derby wheels come in when they are sold separately from the car kits. The tubing looked close and I thought "no way", but sure enough they are a decent fit. The nose cone fits nicely with a tad bit of sanding; The cardboard coupler fit tightly but just fine.

I hope this discovery helps someone else in the future.

This thing weighs 79 grams in primer...I think I better use a D to ABC reducer until I can make a club launch with a big field. The rocket also has 2 separate chutes, as upon ejection, the lower body separates completely from the upper body and they are going to come down separately.

wheels.JPG

flame.JPG
 
Last edited:
Following our household rule that any spare parts need to turn into a whole something from which they belong, here is a rocket that came from the remaining -56 / 13 tubing we had left over after repairing my son's Sky Twister.

This is a long thin rocket I will call Flame, with a namesake paint job soon. I always dreamed of building and flying a D engined rocket when I was a kid, but never got to do it. And I always wanted an Icarus with the clear payload section, but alas that never happened either. So here is my first on both fronts. Here it is in primer for now.
I searched the internet for ideas on what I could use as a clear payload section. I didn't find anyone who had done so before (if they did, my search turned up nothing anyway). So I had just given myself up to just cutting 3 windows in the payload bay cardboard tube and gluing clear plastic on the inside to the frame section.

I was in the garage this weekend cleaning up the workbench from this winter's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby build. I spied the clear tube that the Pinewood Derby wheels come in when they are sold separately from the car kits. The tubing looked close and I thought "no way", but sure enough they are a decent fit. The nose cone fits nicely with a tad bit of sanding; The cardboard coupler fit tightly but just fine.

I hope this discovery helps someone else in the future.

This thing weighs 79 grams in primer...I think I better use a D to ABC reducer until I can make a club launch with a big field. The rocket also has 2 separate chutes, as upon ejection, the lower body separates completely from the upper body and they are going to come down separately.

Neat! Thanks for sharing!

OL JR :)
 

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