I was having a "remembering" day when I was very young and tried to convert a Jetco Thermic 18 glider to a jet glider with an Estes rocket motor. If one looks up a Thermic 18 glider, there was an indentation in the aft airframe that would allow for a rocket engine to be placed. I carved a forward bulkhead on a piece of balsa to fit into the back end of the glider to "glue" into a motor tube that would fit under the glider.
I figured to use a motor with an ejection charge to blow the motor casing out of the rocket glider (screw the rules) and allow glider recovery.
Well, I built the Jetco Thermic 18 and sanded the wings well. I epoxied the motor tube on the aft end and balanced the boost glider as best I could. I got up on the roof of my house. My parents didn't like that but there was a radio tower next to a shed so we had access to the roof by climbing up it. Was solidly planted by my paternal grandfather who could do anything with metal or concrete.
When I tossed the rocket glider off the roof of my family home, I'll never forget that flight. The thing had a light dusting of yellow spray paint.
Must've been an act of God because it glided around tree branches and kept going and going down the street. Flew past everyone's front yards and I had to walk three blocks to recover it. That was unbelievable.
Yeah, I got it back.
When I tried to fly it with a simple, low powered BP rocket engine, it went crazy, crashed and was demolished.
Well, I tried and it didn't work out. At least I had fun with it as a regular glider. As much as I thought it would would work as a rocket glider, I was wrong. Nobody was hurt and that's the way it is.
Kurt Savegnago
I figured to use a motor with an ejection charge to blow the motor casing out of the rocket glider (screw the rules) and allow glider recovery.
Well, I built the Jetco Thermic 18 and sanded the wings well. I epoxied the motor tube on the aft end and balanced the boost glider as best I could. I got up on the roof of my house. My parents didn't like that but there was a radio tower next to a shed so we had access to the roof by climbing up it. Was solidly planted by my paternal grandfather who could do anything with metal or concrete.
When I tossed the rocket glider off the roof of my family home, I'll never forget that flight. The thing had a light dusting of yellow spray paint.
Must've been an act of God because it glided around tree branches and kept going and going down the street. Flew past everyone's front yards and I had to walk three blocks to recover it. That was unbelievable.
Yeah, I got it back.
When I tried to fly it with a simple, low powered BP rocket engine, it went crazy, crashed and was demolished.
Well, I tried and it didn't work out. At least I had fun with it as a regular glider. As much as I thought it would would work as a rocket glider, I was wrong. Nobody was hurt and that's the way it is.
Kurt Savegnago
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