Falcon Commander 2.0" Upscale Build.

[Back_at_it]

With the build The Brighton done and some time on my hands (Girlfriend in out of town for a week) I've started working on something else.

This is a project I started planning and collecting parts for several months ago and managed to get everything cut for it a couple of months back but it has just kind of sat on the side until I got back to it. You’ve probably seen the parts pile in some of my other pics.

I’ve always been a fan of the spaceship / airplane style designs that Estes had in the 80’s and 90’s and while the Nasa Pegasus is my favorite, the Falcon Commander was always pretty high on the list. I found and build a Pegasus but the Falcon Commander has Eluded me since I returned to the hobby. When I stumbled across a stash of Trajector Nose Cones I knew it was time to do something about it.

Lets get started.

Below we have the parts needed to build a 2.0” Upscale. From left to right. The fins are cut from 3/16” Hobby Ply. Baffle plates cut from 1/8” hobby ply, 2.0”x29mm centering rings, Estes 29mm motor retainer, screw eye. 29mm heavy wall motor tubing, Estes 2.0”x4.0” coupler that will become the baffle, two sections of Estes 2.0” body tube, 12ft of 3/8” Elastic, 18” of 500# Kevlar and of course the Trajector Nose Cone.



Kicking this build off with the motor mount. The motor tube is 29mm. The tube length is 9.25".
The motor tube has had the outer layer removed for better adhesive penetration. The upper centering ring has been sanded and the location of the upper ring has been marked on the tube. This puts the upper ring at the top of the main fin slots.



The upper ring was installed with TBII and let dry. A healthy fillet of TBII was then applied to both the top and bottom of the ring. While I was there I smeared the excess glue on a thin but still strong section of the tube.



Due to the length of these fins I felt it might be easier to do the bulk of the finishing before installing them. In the pic below, I have already applied a single coat of DAP wood filler and sanded smooth with 400 and 600 grit. I then applied two coats of MinWax Sanding sealer. Note that the sealer stops about ¼” from the root edge of the fin as I left that bare for good adhesion to the body tube. The remaining areas will be addressed after final assembly.

Obviously some final sanding on the fin tab is in order for fitment. When I cut these I wasn't sure if I was going 24mm or 29mm so I cut them longer. Easier to remove than to add back on.




With the fins and motor mount drying I turned my attention to the baffle. The baffle is a 4 plate design built into an Estes 4" long coupler. The plates are cut from 1/8" ply. I did double up the upper plate where the screw eye attaches. The entire baffle was assembled with TBII.



That is as far as I got. Working from home today so I should be able to get the motor mount installed so we can pick this up with installing the fins tomorrow.

Thanks for following along.

 

[Back_at_it]

Made some pretty good progress yesterday. Managed to get away between work calls to get a little done.

Started with inserting the motor mount. No pics on that. Recessed the tube 1/4" into the body tube. Glued in forward mount using TBII. Inserted rear ring to center tube while it dried then removed the rear ring to allow for internal fillets.

Next it was time for the fins. I had to trim down the fin tabs as I cut them for a 24mm mount but later decided to go with a 29mm. Started with the tail fin. Sanded the tube where the fin sits and attached using TBII. Let dry then went back with a fillet before moving on. These fins are large so I wanted a little extra strength there before handing it too much. Probably over kill.



Continued on with the wings. Installed each, let dry then gave them a fillet with TBII.



Today will be working on the internal fillets so we can button up the back end.

 

[Back_at_it]

Made lots of progress yesterday. Had a slow work day and the weather was perfect so I took advantage.

Started with installing the rear ring. Beveled the edges and installed using TBII. Stood the rocket upright and let it dry for an hour.





Next it was onto the Coupler / Baffle. Marked the baffles center point. Sanded the outside of the baffle then applied a liberal amount of TBII to the inside of the tube and outside of one half of the coupler. Inserted it into the tube up to the mark. Wiped off excess glue with a damp towel. The rocket was stood on its nose and let dry.





Attached a section of #500 Kevlar to the screw eye and covered the first few inches with heat shrink to help protect it. With it being positioned so far from the opening of the baffle it's probably over kill but as always, I don't want to have to come back in there to fix it later.



Time to attach the forward tube. Liberal amount of TBII on the outside of the coupler and inside the tube and slide them together. Wipe off the excess with a damp towel.



Next up was installing the launch lugs. Used 1/4" Estes lugs. Lower lug is 3" while the upper is 2". Used an old rod to align them.

Here is a tip. Tape the rod to the tube first then slide the lugs onto the rod and position them. The rod will have enough tension to hold the lugs in place. A single drop of instant cure on each lug bonds them in place. Remove the rod then go back with your adhesive of choice. I did the fillets with TBII.



First pic of the assembled project. Need to do some fillets and a little wood filler on the seams but this one is almost ready for primer.



This one came together a whole lot quicker than expected. While it took a few days to get everything cut, the actual assembly went quickly.

The project is going to stall here for a few days as I'm going out of town. I pushed hard to get to this point as I plan to take this with me. There is a chance that I can stop at Bong to fly on my way back into town on Friday. Then I plan to attend Midwest power on Saturday as a spectator only sadly

 

[Back_at_it]

Back with an update. Had to do some travel for work but I was able to head back into town on Saturday and was able to time it such that I got to Bong in time to get a few flights in. Planning ahead I took a few rockets with me including this one.

I wanted to get stability flight in before painting, vinyl etc. If we were going to have an issue I'd rather have it now.

I built a SIM of this in OR and the SIM showed stable with no nose weight which I kind of found odd as I knew that the original Estes kit required it. I Added 1oz of nose weight before leaving on this trip and took my epoxy with me just incase.

The first flight was on an Estes F15. Lift off was great with plenty of thrust but the flight was somewhat unstable. It's didn't do anything crazy but it wasn't a smooth straight flight. I added added 1 more ounce of nose weight and let Epoxy cure.

The second flight was on an E30-4. Perfect flight. Nice speed off the pad and about 750ft of altitude. The ejection was a touch early but no damage done.



After getting home I cleaned up the rocket with some rubbing alcohol and let it dry for a couple hours. This morning the weather was warm enough to get some primer sprayed.

One thing about the nose cone. Note that it's not pictured. The nose cone was wet sanded to give it some surface. It was then washed and wiped with Alcohol. I first sprayed it with SEM high build and it immediately bubbled. I let that cure and sanded it all down, cleaned and tried again with Krylon primer. Same thing happened. Currently letting the primer cure before sanding and trying something else. I'm going to use Duplicolor primer on it this time and see if that works.

 

[Back_at_it]

Quick update. Finally found something that worked on that nosecone. Duplicolor primer doesn't react with whatever Estes used on the cone. A couple of quick coat of primer then some sanding with 400 grit and it was time for paint.

Three coats of Krylon Gloss white were shot on over a 30 minute period. Going to let this cure for a couple days while I cut the vinyl.

 

[gerbs4me]

Back with an update. Had to do some travel for work but I was able to head back into town on Saturday and was able to time it such that I got to Bong in time to get a few flights in. Planning ahead I took a few rockets with me including this one.

I wanted to get stability flight in before painting, vinyl etc. If we were going to have an issue I'd rather have it now.

I built a SIM of this in OR and the SIM showed stable with no nose weight which I kind of found odd as I knew that the original Estes kit required it. I Added 1oz of nose weight before leaving on this trip and took my epoxy with me just incase.

The first flight was on an Estes F15. Lift off was great with plenty of thrust but the flight was somewhat unstable. It's didn't do anything crazy but it wasn't a smooth straight flight. I added added 1 more ounce of nose weight and let Epoxy cure.

The second flight was on an E30-4. Perfect flight. Nice speed off the pad and about 750ft of altitude. The ejection was a touch early but no damage done.

View attachment 488122View attachment 488123View attachment 488124View attachment 488125

After getting home I cleaned up the rocket with some rubbing alcohol and let it dry for a couple hours. This morning the weather was warm enough to get some primer sprayed.

One thing about the nose cone. Note that it's not pictured. The nose cone was wet sanded to give it some surface. It was then washed and wiped with Alcohol. I first sprayed it with SEM high build and it immediately bubbled. I let that cure and sanded it all down, cleaned and tried again with Krylon primer. Same thing happened. Currently letting the primer cure before sanding and trying something else. I'm going to use Duplicolor primer on it this time and see if that works.

View attachment 488126View attachment 488127

Nice flight pic, the E30 looks like a good motor choice for this rocket.

 

[Back_at_it]

Calling this one completed.

Over the weekend I had a chance to get the vinyl applied. This on is moving to the Done pile

The vinyl on the trailing edges of the wings is present in this pic. It's interesting that the silver is completely washed out.