Inspired by CYGNUS, PoF #514 plan

[GlenP]

I see the really cool things you guys are doing in the other threads and that gives me inspiration to try something, a variation on the theme, a kit bash of another design. This one is based on the two fin spin stabilized Cygnus from Apogee Peak of Flight newsletter #514. Instead of a body tube, the body is one long transition down to the engine mount. The tip is a balsa nose cone made up from a few layers of fin sheet stock and sharpied. It took about half a stick of modeling clay from one of those Crayola packs to balance it with a C engine, but still comes out to 1.5 oz.

Very cool design, apologies to Kevin Cornwall for bashing his design here.

Cygnus or Cusinart? You decide!

 

[GlenP]

My first printing I had the fin colors backwards on one of the fins, so I decided to mount one of them forward swept. I changed the template so they can both be swept back in this version, like the original plan calls for. I wanted one side to have blue fins and the other side to have yellow fins, but this one is so light, you might not even see the green blur on the way up. Don't print the screen shot image, use the PDF.

 

[GlenP]

I mounted the fins like 1/8” from the end of the tube so I should be able to tape the engine in place to avoid ejecting the spent casing. I may go ahead and add a short Mylar streamer even if it is not needed, just to help find it.

 

[mbeels]

Cool! Hope to see some flight shots!

 

[GlenP]

Yeah, me too! Our club has not had a launch during the shutdown and now we are in the midst of a burn ban with smoke hovering around blown in from wildfires burning in the region and brown dry grass on my local school field. It may be a while before I have a chance to launch anything.

 

[GlenP]

The ugly backside with the seams. I nearly bent the tip when I was poking the clay in there, so I added some extra cardstock on the outside for strength. I should have coated the inside with glue before adding the clay.

The blue marker slipped a little when I was going over the white paper edges on the fins and I got a blue streak on the yellow side. I cut the lug ends at an angle, that just looks faster.

 

[GlenP]

PS-I thought I was out of plastic nose cones, so I thought I would make this tube/transition go down to a small point to avoid needing a nose cone, but I just found a small bag of 13mm cones, the short stubby ones from the Estes N.C.-5 pack, so maybe I will make a few models that use those next.

 

[GlenP]

Those fins almost look like a Klingon battle axe.