L3 Project- 1/2 scale Sea Killer

[Hobie1dog]

Since I have to finger peck every letter out due to having all the nerves in my hands destroyed, I'm posting some pictures and submittal data of the rocket I first saw back in 1987. Out of all the old HPR magazines I have, I've never found anyone who has done one of these. I've had the goal for the past 36 years to build this, as it's simply the coolest rocket I've ever seen.. Time and money are my 2 biggest obstacles. Several members have done the initial drawings and OR work for me. Chuck @cwbullet got me hooked up with 2 of the Legendary TAP members. Tom Binford, @Rocketjunkie, who was setting off "O" motors back in the Desert in 1992, and Alan Whitmore, Chairman of TRA Motor Testing fame will ensure success for me, as they've about done it all. So here's something to read and look over, Note: the forward fins were reduced about 25%

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[Hobie1dog]

 

[cwbullet]

Subscribed. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Raythain]

Love the idea of a scale project for an L3! That’s gonna be a nice looking bird.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Love the idea of a scale project for an L3! That’s gonna be a nice looking bird.

It turned out that making it half size ended up having the bottom air frame being 6 inches, and the upper air frame 4 in

 

[mtnmanak]

Awesome looking project, Marty - good luck - will be looking forward to seeing this build progress!

 

[Wrightme43]

Very cool! I slept next to a UGM-48 Harpoon untill I got to hot bunk.
The sea skimmer hunter killer missiles are cool looking.

That one has got the Italian cool factor in its design. Our Harpoon was sorta ugly. The UGM version looked the best in my opinion, but the nose was just ugly.

I look forward to learning and watching.

Steve

 

[Hobie1dog]

Awesome looking project, Marty - good luck - will be looking forward to seeing this build progress!

after trying to build a comparable rocket to your Apogee Components, Level two rocket, I'm just glad you didn't already build one of these.

 

[Tim51]

Very interesting project. Will be following. Good luck with the build and your L3 cert.

 

[Glasspack]

Best of Luck Very Cool Project !!!


1971 Prototype Photo

 

[tsmith1315]

Cool, Marty!

 

[Hobie1dog]

I guess I'll start at the tip of the NC. This is a Mad Cow plastic 4" NC with a 2:1 Ogive. Ken at Performance Hobbies is going to make a mold and spit out a fiberglass version for me.

Once I get that then I'll likely get one of the new 3D NC inserts but have it modified for a 1/2" or 5/8" thread (instead of the stock 1/4" thread),so that I can get a 12" long all-thread bolt that I can put cylindrical weights on it up against the inside tip. Then a female eyebolt can be up against the face of the screw cap to attach a shock cord.

 

[cwbullet]

Interesting. Cylindrical weights made with lead or another low melting medal would probably be the easiest to make. As long as you don't lick them, you don't need to worry about lead poisoning.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Interesting. Cylindrical weights made with lead or another low melting medal would probably be the easiest to make. As long as you don't lick them, you don't need to worry about lead poisoning.

My best friend has a machinist friend right down the street from his business in KY and is making some wheel adapters for my one power chair. He has some steel rods that he is going to cut so that they are 1 pound each and have a 1/2" hole drilled in them. There is a metal weight calculator online for all sizes of steel/metals. I think 1/2" will be ok for my all thread and eyebolts. The weak link will be the 3D printed parts/ fiberglass joints/epoxy.

 

[cwbullet]

My best friend has a machinist friend right down the street from his business in KY and is making some wheel adapters for my one power chair. He has some steel rods that he is going to cut so that they are 1 pound each and have a 1/2" hole drilled in them. There is a metal weight calculator online for all sizes of steel/metals. I think 1/2" will be ok for my all thread and eyebolts. The weak link will be the 3D printed parts/ fiberglass joints/epoxy.

One thought: I have used a mould in the past with epoxy and lead or Tungsten Powder. There are many ways to do it.

 

[Hobie1dog]

One thought: I have used a mould in the past with epoxy and lead or Tungsten Powder. There are many ways to do it.

Having 1 pound cylindrical weights that can be easily slid on, and/or quickly removed or added to a length of all-thread is the way to go with nose weights.

 

[cwbullet]

Having 1 pound cylindrical weights that can be easily slid on, and/or quickly removed or added to a length of all-thread is the way to go with nose weights.

I might be missing something. Are you referring to 1 pound weight for weight lifting?

 

[Hobie1dog]

I might be missing something. Are you referring to 1 pound weight for weight lifting?

Nope, as these would be about 2"-3" in diameter and of proper length to achieve the weight. I would have about 8" of all-thread to slide the weights over. The 3.94" diameter weights you referenced and having a 1" diameter hole wouldn't fit inside my NC
A 2.5" diameter round steel bar cut to 1.5" long is 2.07 pounds. The website Onlinemetal.com has a weight calculator for many shapes of material and many different metals.
https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/weight-calculator

 

[cwbullet]

Nope, as these would be about 2"-3" in diameter and of proper length to achieve the weight. I would have about 8" of all-thread to slide the weights over. The 3.94" diameter weights you referenced and having a 1" diameter hole wouldn't fit inside my NC
A 2.5" diameter round steel bar cut to 1.5" long is 2.07 pounds. The website Onlinemetal.com has a weight calculator for many shapes of material and many different metals.
https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/weight-calculator

Please post photos of the design.