tnrocketman
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 12, 2002
- Messages
- 121
- Reaction score
- 0
Well, reading other posts about this rocket got me interested in this kit. The idea of making a nose cone from body tubing really intrigued me. So I bit the bullet and placed my order. Boxed kit arrived about 7 busines days later. No big surprise there, as I knew Jerry was based on the west coast and I am in TN.
The kit consists of four inch body tube sections, light plywood fins, centering rings, a bulkhead, a ventilated bulkhead, a mylar parachute (might be sufficient but I will likley use another nylon chute from my collection), 29mm MMT, two technique brochures, and printed instructions.
I had some ideas about how the nose cone would be fabricated, and I was pretty close to the concept as explained in the report. As others have done, I would caution the execution of the technique is much more challenging than it would seem. I tend to agree that the skill rating of the kit could stand to be elevated a notch. I don't think it would deter an experienced modeler from ordering. It certainly wouldn't have affected my purchasing decision. But I digress.
I followed the kit instructions generally as I typically do, having built well over fifty rockets of various size and scale over time. Where I have varied from the instructions it was more a matter of personal style than doubt of the method.
I have to this point attached the centering rings to the MMT, Airfoiled the fins, and test fitted them as described. I did notice the fins seemed to extend a bit further back than the line drawn on the MMT-- nothing a Dremel coudln't fix. I have been using Aileen's tacky glue to attach the CRs and fins first, then using Elmer's Carpenter glue for fillets afterwards. This is very effective and tacks up quickly!
I also began making the nose cone cuts. I really wished I had practiced the technique on some scrap tubing first, but I didn't have anything close in size or thickness to the tube I was using. It is VERY important to cut as close to your marks as possible! I didn't find masking tape alone as sufficient to keep my marks on the line. I did find if I took some cardboard out of the recycle bin I could tape it down and do halfway decent, but not until the 3rd triangle cut. So I don't have a perfectly formed cone. It is likely going to bother me a lot, as I can be somewhat anal about such things. I also found that to try and keep my sides evenly bent in to tape it up, it helped a great deal to center a regular plastic nose cone inside. Hopefully those tips will help others.
In the end, I didn't feel too confident in the strength of the resulting cone after gluing. So, even though it is probably overkill, I made a VCT paper template and cut a piece of 3 oz fiberglass cloth to reinforce it. After finishing Nose cone assembly, the result is a unique 3.3 oz nose cone!
I have some pictures too attach and I will try to put those up today or tomorrow. Enough typing for today.
The kit consists of four inch body tube sections, light plywood fins, centering rings, a bulkhead, a ventilated bulkhead, a mylar parachute (might be sufficient but I will likley use another nylon chute from my collection), 29mm MMT, two technique brochures, and printed instructions.
I had some ideas about how the nose cone would be fabricated, and I was pretty close to the concept as explained in the report. As others have done, I would caution the execution of the technique is much more challenging than it would seem. I tend to agree that the skill rating of the kit could stand to be elevated a notch. I don't think it would deter an experienced modeler from ordering. It certainly wouldn't have affected my purchasing decision. But I digress.
I followed the kit instructions generally as I typically do, having built well over fifty rockets of various size and scale over time. Where I have varied from the instructions it was more a matter of personal style than doubt of the method.
I have to this point attached the centering rings to the MMT, Airfoiled the fins, and test fitted them as described. I did notice the fins seemed to extend a bit further back than the line drawn on the MMT-- nothing a Dremel coudln't fix. I have been using Aileen's tacky glue to attach the CRs and fins first, then using Elmer's Carpenter glue for fillets afterwards. This is very effective and tacks up quickly!
I also began making the nose cone cuts. I really wished I had practiced the technique on some scrap tubing first, but I didn't have anything close in size or thickness to the tube I was using. It is VERY important to cut as close to your marks as possible! I didn't find masking tape alone as sufficient to keep my marks on the line. I did find if I took some cardboard out of the recycle bin I could tape it down and do halfway decent, but not until the 3rd triangle cut. So I don't have a perfectly formed cone. It is likely going to bother me a lot, as I can be somewhat anal about such things. I also found that to try and keep my sides evenly bent in to tape it up, it helped a great deal to center a regular plastic nose cone inside. Hopefully those tips will help others.
In the end, I didn't feel too confident in the strength of the resulting cone after gluing. So, even though it is probably overkill, I made a VCT paper template and cut a piece of 3 oz fiberglass cloth to reinforce it. After finishing Nose cone assembly, the result is a unique 3.3 oz nose cone!
I have some pictures too attach and I will try to put those up today or tomorrow. Enough typing for today.
