Is there a TRF Themed Rocket Plan?

[Sandy H.]

I did a quick search and saw nothing obvious, so I figured I'd ask those who frequent the forum more often than I do. So: Is there a rocket that was designed by forum members to be a 'TRF' themed rocket?

The reason I ask is that I have a good amount of balsa and some parts that I bought in an attempt to start a small rocket side business. After going through the process on 3 different rockets (design, test, kit), I don't see a valid way to proceed, so I want to get rid of the materials I'm not likely to use myself at some point in the near future. Instead of just trying to sell the materials at firesale prices and then have to deal with shipping, I figured if there is an interesting/fun way to get rid of it, at least the lost money would be of some benefit.

I thought of doing a weekly/monthly contest for members to send in fin shapes and then send fins to the winner (I came up with a method for trying to do something that would be interesting to the community, but it sounded to be pretty involved and likely wouldn't be as interesting as I initially envisioned. . .), but then wondered if there was a better way to proceed.

So, if there is a TRF themed rocket that already exists and someone else would be interested in handling logistics of delivering laser cut fins (and possibly other parts that I would be getting rid of) to people, I'm interested in talking about it. To be clear, I will be giving the material away for free, laser cutting to shape for free and have no desire to either 'kit' things for free or to ship for free. If someone else wants to kit stuff and handle shipping to individuals, that works for me.

Just curious if there is interest in the concept and is someone else willing to step up and manage things or if I should just diespose of the material at my local club (once COVID calms down so it makes logistical sense).

Thoughts on other 'fun' options for getting the material in peoples hands with minimal work on my end would be appreciated as well.

Sandy.

 

[tim cubbedge]

Pemberton technologies offer a card stock TRF kit.
https://www.pembertontechnologies.com/trf-logo-rocket/

 

[Sandy H.]

I was thinking more of a rocket that was designed by the forum members, not specifically the logo rocket, but I see where that wasn't clear.

Neat to see that Pemberton Technologies did something like that. I'm not at all interested in stepping on what they did.

Sandy.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

There's the "Traveling Rocket"...

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/traveling-rocket-thread.163279/
If that's not what you have in mind, please start the design! You have to put specific limitations in place when you ask for group help, though. For example, keeping it low power only so everyone can fly.

 

[Sandy H.]

I assumed/thought that the 'Traveling Rocket' is a single rocket getting shipped around and flown by people, kind of like the effort years ago to fly the Flis Deuce in every state (or every club, don't recall - it was a while back.).

I am attempting to get rid of (80+) 6" x 36" x 1/8" sheets of balsa I bought to try to make rocket kits, but have since decided that is not something that fits with my real business. Instead of trying to sell the box of balsa, I figured it would be interesting to provide at least a little 'value added' to the material by making it into something and giving it away.

I am offering the fin material and laser cutting for free, if someone else decides to manage distribution of a TRF member-designed rocket. That way, the material will get used by many and hopefully be fun, but I won't be responsible for instructions, kitting, individual shipping etc. My thought is that whoever wants to spearhead the effort figures out a design (since it seems there isn't already one) and once they say 'yes - run production' I run the parts (for free), box them up in one box (for free), ship them to that single person (for free) and that person handles the rest of the details, which could include managing a group buy for other parts and kitting or just shipping the fins to other individuals.

Sandy.

 

[neil_w]

Bottom line: there is currently no rocket design that fits your description.

There are plenty of designs out there (I have a pile myself), but none that I would categorize as a "TRF design", and none that I know for sure would be wanted by a large group of people. I doubt you'll be able to burn that much balsa on any one non-commercial design.

 

[teepot]

If you want to get rid of the balsa you might call Bill at Balsa Machining and ask if he wants it.

 

[teepot]

Do you have body tubes and nose cones?

 

[Sandy H.]

Do you have body tubes and nose cones?

Somewhat yes. I have 13mm, 24mm and BT-60's, but they don't seems good for minimum diameter. Back in the day, I rarely/never had burn through on 24mm minimum diameter tubes, but the tubes I have on hand show blistering after just 1 or 2 flights and burn through after 3 or 4. I don't think that's acceptable to anyone and could only recommend those tubes to be used as real body tubes, not motor mounts or minimum diameter tubes. I don't know if the issue is with the tubes or the 'hot' ejection charges we see nowadays, but they didn't meet my expectations for the use I intended them for.

The 13mm tubes might have been better, but I honestly don't recall. The BT-60's were never really tested much, as I didn't have a good nosecone source and therefore didn't fly those tubes much.

As far as nosecones go, I have some 13mm 2-piece blue nosecones (from Apogee, I think). I'd have to look to see if I have any 24mm or not, as those 2 rocket designs had custom nosecones, not standard. I don't have any BT-60. I feel like I have some red 2-piece 24mm nosecones, but not sure if there is much quantity or not.

I assume the tubes and nosecones would just get donated to the local club, as there is no real 'value added' I could provide on those, as either cutting to length or adding fin slots is somewhat time consuming/labor intensive and I'm not thinking of doing that much work for free.

Sandy.

 

[dr wogz]

@Angie
this might be a marketing opportunity:
Either sell kits and the profit goes towards TRF.. Or that 'lifetime supporters' get a kit, not just a sticker..

 

[Sparky]

Let me talk to the "powers that be" in the background. In the meantime if Sandy wants to sell the stock, the Yard Sale is available.

But, I'll contact Sandy to see if the concept can be explained a little better to me.

 

[Ez2cDave]

I did a quick search and saw nothing obvious, so I figured I'd ask those who frequent the forum more often than I do. So: Is there a rocket that was designed by forum members to be a 'TRF' themed rocket?

Sandy.

Sandy,

Obviously some of these were "designed by committee" . . . LOL !

Dave F.

 

[Sandy H.]

EZ2cDave (phenomenal screen name, by the way), I take your point - group design really is a bad idea. . . Other forums I belong to with completely different stuff have managed to make group designs and group buys seem trivial, but the costs and cost/benefit of doing them are way higher (i.e. $1500 to buy the parts on your own from 10 different vendors can become $500 when someone runs a group buy). This concept wouldn't see anywhere near that cost advantage, as the most expensive part will be shipping. . .

I've received a few PM's with some suggestions as well as the feedback in this thread, but nothing stands out as a great solution yet. I'll throw out 2 more ideas and if either of those get some traction over the next few days, maybe something will work out, otherwise I'll look for a different way to move the material to someone who can benefit, even if it isn't fun. . .

Shipping thought: Again, I don't want to get paid, but I don't want to spend money to ship either. What about individuals who want the parts use paypal to create their own USPS shipping label and send me a pdf of the label. I'd assume whatever the design is it would fit in one of the flat rate boxes, so it would be a known/fixed price and I'm obviously not trying to steal money, as you spending money to create a shipping label that gets emailed to me doesn't give me any chance to cheat you, other than just not shipping stuff and that's just a really dumb scam. . .

Design thought #1: Instead of trying to group design a project, maybe people just post RKT or ORK files for people to look at. After a week or two of that, run a poll and whatever design (maybe 2 or 3) wins, become the choice and if you want those fins, you post that, I run the parts, post pictures and I ask for shipping labels.

Design thought #2: Someone (not me) comes up with a bunch of 'greebles' that would fit on the material. I imagine some forum interaction could work there, as some people might contribute 'greebles' that they thought were interesting and others might get a cool idea to use them. Anyway, similar to above there could be a poll, the top however many could be chosen. I'd run the batch, post the pictures and you'd send a shipping label. This particular one could actually work for MPR and HPR guys too, as gluing balsa details on an HPR rocket is fine and doesn't require any special strength.

Anyway, those are my last ideas. I'll give it a few days and if there is no interest to move forward, I'll post that here and ask the thread be closed.

Thanks,

Sandy.

 

[Cape Byron]

You have no idea how much I want this on the farm. #ultimatechickencoop

 

[Ez2cDave]

EZ2cDave (phenomenal screen name, by the way), I take your point - group design really is a bad idea. . .

Sandy.

Sandy,

Group design is not a "bad idea", per se. BUT, trying to get the various "personalities" of the forum to work collaboratively on a "group project might present quite a challenge.

What I propose is a "design contest", where rocketeers submit designs and forum members vote on which one they like best . . . You would post up a list of the available components, which would constitute what modelers have to work with in their designs.

The design with the most votes wins and that is what you would, ultimately, produce !

Thoughts ?

BTW - I have been "Ez2cDave" since AOL 3.0 . . . LOL !

Dave F.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

You have no idea how much I want this on the farm. #ultimatechickencoop

Looks pretty straightforward. I think I'd make a few mods. Less authentic, but easier to build and would be sturdier and last longer. One mod would be the legs. Don't know if they're functional (supporting the lander), but I would build it so they would only be decorative. It looks like all the weight is supported by these four legs, which puts a lot of load in the center, where most of the weight it. I think I'd build a central column and have two "decks" coming off of it. The return capsule would sit on top of the column. Bonus points if you could make it out of pallet wood!

 

[Pem Tech]

Pemberton technologies offer a card stock TRF kit.
https://www.pembertontechnologies.com/trf-logo-rocket/

Thanks for the mention!

 

[Ez2cDave]

You have no idea how much I want this on the farm. #ultimatechickencoop

This is the search I used to find that "LEM" . . .

https://www.google.com/search?q=%22lunar+module%22+%22backyard%22&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjmypfQ-vPuAhUSneAKHVTnBHMQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=%22lunar+module%22+%22backyard%22&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1CfmwNY5rMDYIbJA2gAcAB4AIABrwmIAfM6kgEHNS0yLjIuNJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1nwAEB&sclient=img&ei=vqMuYObzD5K6ggfUzpOYBw&bih=942&biw=1899

If you build one, with any wood in contact with the ground, be sure to treat the ground with a termiticide like "Termidor" ( Fipronyl ). Otherwise, even if you use pressure-treated lumber ( the "PT"chemicals will leach out over time ), you may have a problem with Subterranean Termites.

Dave F.

 

[Cape Byron]

This is the search I used to find that "LEM" . . .

It's so cool.

Big fan of Termidor. Sub-tropical NSW is termite heaven...

Edit: My partner says, "Go for it."

 

[Sandy H.]

Seems like the interest is minimal from the posts in the thread. If anybody does think a design contest as proposed in post #13 and #15 seems worth trying, please reply in the affirmative. I'll check back Sunday to see what the interest level really is.

Sandy.

 

[Sandy H.]

I'd say that's a clear answer. I'll donate the materials locally whenever I return to a launch.

Sandy.

 

[neil_w]

It was a very nice gesture to make the offer, it's just hard to pull such a thing together. I'm sure whoever you donate the stuff to will be grateful for it, especially with balsa being hard to come by these days.