Lakeroadster's F-79 Lone Wolf

[lakeroadster]

Here's another canted cluster rocket. It features dual 24mm motors and dual parachutes that deploy out the rear of the rocket, via the side pods.

 

[BABAR]

Cool!

Why 79?

 

[boatgeek]

I gotta say, you need to fly this on F79s (24mm 3-grain smokey from CTI). Just to match everything up, of course.

 

[BABAR]

I gotta say, you need to fly this on F79s (24mm 3-grain smokey from CTI). Just to match everything up, of course.

Of course, then it would be the F-158.....

 

[BBowmaster]

Holy tubes Batman! That’s great looking. And the break away drawing shows how complex it is (just a tad bit intimidating).

I’d love to see that one fly.

 

[lakeroadster]

Cool!

Why 79?

High School Class of '79.. I've always been a huge fan of the F-16, had a scale model of this one..

 

[lakeroadster]

BMS parts arrived today. Construction parts for the F-79 Lone Wolf, motors and chutes for The Lifting Rocket, The Hammerhead, The Rocket Sled and X-Wing Alpha.

And now there's a burn ban here... meaning no rocket launches.

No worries. Each rocket has made it to over 8,000 feet above sea level already

 

[kuririn]

You've gone about 6500 ft. higher than me without doing a darn thing!

 

[lakeroadster]

I'd planned to hold off and build the F79 Lone Wolf after I painted some of the other rockets in the fleet... but Mother Nature isn't cooperating.

Since we're on lock down, burn ban and I can't paint I started building the dual 24mm canted motor mount. I used 1/8" thick basswood for the centering rings, cut on our scroll saw. The motor tubes are BT-50H.

I bought some new X-Acto knife blades and that made cutting the tubes a piece of cake. After cutting I sanded the cut edges on our belt sander. Thus far everything is fitting up as planned.

 

[lakeroadster]

I've become a fan of using full length couplers to stiffen the main body tube. It also helps when cutting the body tube, just slide the coupler into the body tube and it keeps it nice a round.

First I cut the body tube for the canted cluster, then glued the coupler inside the body tube using Elmers School glue. It isn't as "grabby" as Gorilla wood glue and gives you a smidgen of time to get the coupler into place before the glue locks everything into place.



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I gave it a couple hours to dry and then cut the coupler for the canted cluster using the previously cut out body tube as the guide. This allows you to hold the X-Acto knife at the correct angle to simulate the canted motor tube angles. This keeps you from having to do a bunch of sanding to get the components to fit correctly.



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The motor mount slid into the body tube, nice tight fit, with zero trimming needed. I used some rubber bands and scrap balsa pieces to hold everything in place until the glue dries.



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All in a days work

 

[mbeels]

I love it! The rear eject is a good idea for this one. And the canted motors should look cool during boost. Are those body tubes > 18", or is that just the camera angle that makes them look so long?

 

[lakeroadster]

I love it! The rear eject is a good idea for this one. And the canted motors should look cool during boost. Are those body tubes > 18", or is that just the camera angle that makes them look so long?

Thanks.

Body on this one is a 12" long BT-60. No doubt, camera angles can be deceiving.

 

[Daddyisabar]

Such gorgeous technique! I just dollop three tubes together with CA drops in front and at the rear centring ring. Hack in the motor mount and set with CA, plenty of surface area for strong bond. Fill gaps with thick CA or tacky glue and call it good.

 

[lakeroadster]

Such gorgeous technique! I just dollop three tubes together with CA drops in front and at the rear centring ring. Hack in the motor mount and set with CA, plenty of surface area for strong bond. Fill gaps with thick CA or tacky glue and call it good.

Thanks.

I like the challenge of the OR design, then making the drawing package and using it, and templates made therefrom, trying to build as closely to the drawing as possible. Like a prototype shop.

 

[lakeroadster]

Making pretty good progress.

After some input from some folks here on TRF I revised the design by adding (2) more pressure ports and placing a divider in the main body. Hopefully this will split the pressure wave from the ejection charge and increase the odds of both pods ejecting the chutes.

I also deleted the elliptical tubes through the pressure ports. Just seemed like complexity that wasn't needed. Instead I sealed the main body tube to the pods using 3/16" dia. dowels, glued in place.

 

[lakeroadster]

Also at the suggestion of some TRF members I coated the inside of the Main Body and Side Pods with thinned down Gorilla Glue. Hoping to minimize and damage due to ejection gasses and hot bits related thereto.

Made same progress on the wings also.

 

[KenECoyote]

WOW!!!

 

[lakeroadster]

Started attaching the wings and the tail today.

 

[lakeroadster]

Made some progress today attaching the lower fairings and the ventral fins.

Also, thanks to a suggestion by Daddyisabar, I took a look at making this a quad cluster by installing plugged booster motors in the ends of the pods. This allows launch with (4) black powder motors instead of (2) composite motors.

 

[Nytrunner]

The boosters act as plugs in the parachute bay? May want to temporarily tape or glue the parachute line to them so they don't get spit out into unknown dry brush

 

[lakeroadster]

The boosters act as plugs in the parachute bay? May want to temporarily tape or glue the parachute line to them so they don't get spit out into unknown dry brush

Sound advice.

I was thinking a screw eye in the epoxy plug would ensure motor recovery.... and then unscrew the screw eye for use at the next launch? Also thought about a streamer for just the motors, thus keeping the weight down for the main chutes?

Keep in mind Open Rocket shows an Apogee of only 614 feet with (4) D-12's... With all the fairings, thick wings, side pods, bits & bobs this rocket isn't a light weight.

 

[Nytrunner]

Screw eye in the top sounds perfect

 

[lakeroadster]

Finished attaching the upper fairing parts today and glued the leading and trailing edges of the fins.

1/16" basswood sure is great to work with. You can still cut it with an X-Acto knife, but it is so much more durable than balsa..... good stuff!

 

[lakeroadster]

Dropping this Apogee Peak of Flight Newsletter here regarding Venting Ejection Charges..... for future reference .

 

[BBowmaster]

614 feet on four D engines? Wow, that is going to be an impressive flight. I love to keep flights around 500ft so my 55yo eyes can see the whole flight.

 

[Funkworks]

The view from the back reminds me of some destroyer-type star ship from the 1977 to 2019 era.

 

[neil_w]

614 feet on four D engines? Wow, that is going to be an impressive flight. I love to keep flights around 500ft so my 55yo eyes can see the whole flight.

Likely less; the OR model is not factoring in a number of really serious drag elements there...

 

[lakeroadster]

Likely less; the OR model is not factoring in a number of really serious drag elements there...

And less is good too. It's an exhibition, not a competition.

Other than the thick wings (aka fins) that OR flags, what "really serious drag elements" are you referring to Neil?

 

[neil_w]

It's just a guess, I can't really give specifics without seeing the file to know how you did everything. But that is a very high drag design: the side tubes, the thick wings, and the canted motor tubes all add up.

It's not a bad thing, just an observation.

 

[lakeroadster]

It's just a guess, I can't really give specifics without seeing the file to know how you did everything. But that is a very high drag design: the side tubes, the thick wings, and the canted motor tubes all add up.

It's not a bad thing, just an observation.

It's a pig... I agree, but that's ok. It will either blow, or go, either way, it will be a spectacular flying pig.