Enerjet 2650

[jhill9693]

I'm a sucker for all rockets made before I was born (1985), but none more so than Enerjet. Man, I wish Aerotech would produce accurate reproductions of all the old Enerjet kits. Anyway, Rocketarium as you know produces a clone of the Enerjet 2650 Sounding Rocket called the Trident, which comes in 29mm, 24mm, 18mm, and 13mm flavors.

Despite this, I couldn't find a decent OpenRocket file for ANY of these—neither the original Enerjet 2650, nor the Rocketarium Trident clones. That is, except for this obscure RockSim file, which I only found after some rather diligent searching and almost missed since it has neither "Enerjet" nor "Trident" in the name. Also, it's not totally accurate.

So, I made one. It's pretty spot on with the plans. I even made the wrap!



Notes for builders:

• There is no shock cord shown in the original plans. Rather, separate 24" and 36" silk parachutes were used to recover the payload bay and airframe, respectively. It's amazing how much weight this saves.
• The nose cone and fins are balsa, which also saves a significant amount of weight and really helps ensure this thing is stable with the 3x29mm cluster in the rear.
• Instead of filling the airframe gaps with putty, I added a 1/8" ply centering ring, similar to the Rocketarium Trident clones.
• The payload section is sealed with a 1/4" ply bulkhead.

Notes for flyers:

• Despite relying primarily on F and G motors, this is a HIGH power rocket, and the relevant rules apply to flying it.
• This design takes a 1/2" launch rod, not a rail.
• It will get at least 3/4 mile on 3x G80s, and will top a mile on 3x H70s or H125s...and that is with a 10oz payload!!
• Speaking of which, this thing wants a payload. It will fly better with one, both in terms of stability and altitude. That's counter intuitive, but remember this thing is light as a feather if build according to the original plans.

Improvements wanted:

• Clarify the exact shade of orange used. I went with "competition orange."
• Use a vector format Enerjet logo. I went with the highest resolution bitmap that I could find online.

If anyone can help me with these, or if you find that I have made a mistake somewhere, please let me know and I will revise accordingly.

Enjoy!

 

[AeroTech]

My original (with the gold bands and checkerboard pattern that is in the plans), shown during NARAM-16 in Manassas, VA in 1974:

I believe the paint was fluorescent orange.

My 2X "pseudo-scale" version flown 48 years later as my L3 attempt during LDRS-40 at Lucerne Dry Lake, CA.

We will have some news about additional Enerjet Classic products during the NARCON Manufacturers' Forum on 1/27.

 

[jhill9693]

My original (with the gold bands and checkerboard pattern that is in the plans), shown during NARAM-16 in Manassas, VA in 1974:
View attachment 554593
I believe the paint was fluorescent orange.

My 2X "pseudo-scale" version flown 48 years later as my L3 attempt during LDRS-40 at Lucerne Dry Lake, CA.
View attachment 554596
We will have some news about additional Enerjet Classic products during the NARCON Manufacturers' Forum on 1/27.

Awesome! Thanks for the photos to reference

 

[green dragon]

Gary,
Didn't you draw the plans for Composite Dynamics ?

I still have original copies stamped AAA Model Aviation.

 

[jhill9693]

Updated version, after some feedback.

• Corrected color to International Orange
• Improved accuracy of tube weight
• Corrected coupler to balsa
• Removed the 24" payload parachute
• Added a shock cord, which is shown in some versions of the original plans
• Updated the wrap graphic with transparent areas to allow the paint color to show through

 

[J Blatz]

I have an ARC (pre Rocketarium) clone and it runs 1/8" ply and plastic NC. Flies low and slow on F15's, hard and fast on G-80's.

A true HPR classic!!

 

[Initiator001]

I'm a sucker for all rockets made before I was born (1985), but none more so than Enerjet.

If you go over to Ye Olde Rocket Forum (YORF) there are many threads about Enerjet and building clones of the kits:

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Ye Olde Rocket Forum is for the discussion of old model rockets.

forums.rocketshoppe.com

 

[J Blatz]

Gary,
Didn't you draw the plans for Composite Dynamics ?

I still have original copies stamped AAA Model Aviation.

Al you are correct about this.

 

[jhill9693]

Gary,
Didn't you draw the plans for Composite Dynamics ?

I still have original copies stamped AAA Model Aviation.

Is it possible to get reproductions or high quality scans of these anywhere?