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Kira_Majeric

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I am wondering if any one has ever scratch-built a jet shaped rocket for their Level 1? My BF thinks that no one has, and I am over complicating things.

I am building a 3x upscale of the Estes Grey Hawk (a futuristic fighter jet). I plan to fly it on a 38mm I242T. It looks good on Rocsim 9.
 
I am wondering if any one has ever scratch-built a jet shaped rocket for their Level 1? My BF thinks that no one has, and I am over complicating things.

I am building a 3x upscale of the Estes Grey Hawk (a futuristic fighter jet). I plan to fly it on a 38mm I242T. It looks good on Rocsim 9.
Sounds like a really cool idea. Are you planning on using glide recovery with it? Go ahead and use the Grey Hawk for your Level 1 certification flight. If it fails, then it was too complicated. If it passes, then the design was fine. :D If you have designed and are building a 3x Grey Hawk, then your skill level is certainly above mine!

Mark K.
 
I don't know if anybody has ever built one for their L1, but it is completely possible. The only thing you have to be careful with is launching it in the wind. Rockets with wings usually have a horrible tendancy of weathercocking.
 
Sounds like a really cool idea. Are you planning on using glide recovery with it? Go ahead and use the Grey Hawk for your Level 1 certification flight. If it fails, then it was too complicated. If it passes, then the design was fine. :D If you have designed and are building a 3x Grey Hawk, then your skill level is certainly above mine!

Mark K.


I don't know about my skill level being better than yours, my BF is helping a lot! And he is working on his L# at the same time.

I will not be using glide recovery,sadly, it is too heavy and the original was not designed that way. I am working on Rocsim for a glide recovery High powered rocket. ^_^
 
Sounds like a really cool idea. Are you planning on using glide recovery with it? Go ahead and use the Grey Hawk for your Level 1 certification flight. If it fails, then it was too complicated. If it passes, then the design was fine. :D If you have designed and are building a 3x Grey Hawk, then your skill level is certainly above mine!

Mark K.

Thank you for the tip on the wind. All of my low powered rockets and all jets. I had one damaged after a prefect flight last year at Black Rock, the wind to it for a ride! ^_^ But, I will watch the wind at the launch time for this one.
 
It's a good thing you are planning a chute recovery. If you are planning on certifying with Tripoli, a parachute recovery is required for certifying flights.

Tripoli Certification Rules said:
Standard parachute recovery is required. Non-parachute recovery methods (e.g. tumble, helicopter, gliding, etc) are not permitted for certification flights.

Tripoli L1 Certification Rules

I'm not sure about the NAR rules, but I would suspect they are similar.

I agree with MarkII, go for it with the Gray Hawk, and the I motor. If it doesn't work, you can always try again. Not a big deal.

Good Luck
 
It is Tripoli. So, that is good to know. Even my BF did not know and he is working on his level 3. He also never thought of trying it. I just have to be different. :D I will post how the flight goes after XPRS.

Thank you for you advice.


It's a good thing you are planning a chute recovery. If you are planning on certifying with Tripoli, a parachute recovery is required for certifying flights.



Tripoli L1 Certification Rules

I'm not sure about the NAR rules, but I would suspect they are similar.

I agree with MarkII, go for it with the Gray Hawk, and the I motor. If it doesn't work, you can always try again. Not a big deal.

Good Luck
 
Moot point, but for reference the NAR does not have such a parachute restriction. However, they require "active recovery" as described here. Boost-gliders and most Rocket-Gliders fall within that definition.
 
I am wondering if any one has ever scratch-built a jet shaped rocket for their Level 1? My BF thinks that no one has, and I am over complicating things.

I am building a 3x upscale of the Estes Grey Hawk (a futuristic fighter jet). I plan to fly it on a 38mm I242T. It looks good on Rocsim 9.

Yep, it's more complicated than a conventional rocket.

But, more importantly....it sounds like this design will make you happy, and that's what's more important.

-Kevin
 
It should work great as an L1 rocket with a 3" or 4" airframe. Just resist the urge to overbuild.

You can download the original Estes plans here. https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/est2068.htm and download a great .tiff reader here. https://www.alternatiff.com/

Bob

We found the plans before I started working it out on Rocsim. We had no idea that you could download a program to read the pages. Thank you!

I just did my plans the hard way. My boyfriend still have and flys the model, so I measured everything and did the math. I did go with a 4" airframe. I'll take some pictures so you can see.
 
This is Jeremy's Greyhawk.

picture.php




This is where i am at. I just started to epoxy the spacers onto the smaller tubes.

picture.php
 
Looks like a great build, will be interesting to follow the progress :)
Did you order the parts to be made or make them?
 
Looks like a great build, will be interesting to follow the progress :)
Did you order the parts to be made or make them?

With help from my boyfriend I designed the rocket on Rocsim 9 (which is am amazing program ^_^), printed the fin outline. We then made templates. I cut, sanded and knifed the edge. I was very proud of myself, I never used a jigsaw or a belt sander before. (I normally stick to hand tools, and he said that would be ridiculous...) They are cut from 1/4" birch plywood.
 
Very interesting design :)

I've always been a fan of doing what you want for a cert. Yes, you could just get a simple, 3fnc rocket and do an easy cert, but where's the fun in that?
 
Very interesting design :)

I've always been a fan of doing what you want for a cert. Yes, you could just get a simple, 3fnc rocket and do an easy cert, but where's the fun in that?

That is what I thought. ^_^
 
Moot point, but for reference the NAR does not have such a parachute restriction. However, they require "active recovery" as described here. Boost-gliders and most Rocket-Gliders fall within that definition.

Which is exactly what I will probably do when I decide to get back into HPR gliders after a 12+ yr absence......:blush:

Too bad my original fleet of these (9 in all) were finished off by the three hurricanes to come through here back in '04...:mad:

Perhaps a 6" gliding Bomarc for starters.
 
Which is exactly what I will probably do when I decide to get back into HPR gliders after a 12+ yr absence......:blush:

Too bad my original fleet of these (9 in all) were finished off by the three hurricanes to come through here back in '04...:mad:

Perhaps a 6" gliding Bomarc for starters.


I'm sorry to hear that. I think I am going to work on a high powered glider after I complete this one and the one I just finished in Rocsim 9. Unfortunately Rocsim 9 will not simulate glide recovery....

I completed two model gliders that I am going to fly when the wind stops.... One is a two stage glider. ^_^ Edmund's Cici.
 
The only thing you have to be careful with is launching it in the wind. Rockets with wings usually have a horrible tendancy of weathercocking.

Or Landshark!:y: Still bugged by my Jayhawk weathercocking right into the spectator line at Red Glare 7. My wife will be Certing L1 at RG8 this month. She wanted to do an upscale Jayhawk. My advise to her was for a Cert flight, Keep It Simplle is the key. 3FNC. She is now building a LOC Phantom 438. My 2cents.
 
Or Landshark!:y: Still bugged by my Jayhawk weathercocking right into the spectator line at Red Glare 7. My wife will be Certing L1 at RG8 this month. She wanted to do an upscale Jayhawk. My advise to her was for a Cert flight, Keep It Simplle is the key. 3FNC. She is now building a LOC Phantom 438. My 2cents.

Thank you for your 2cents. ^_^ That is really what I am looking for.

When I first looked for a kit for my L1, it was a normal looking rocket; Polecat Raven. I was just never satisfied. I'm the type of person that has to be different. ^_^ At lease that is what I'm told. I think that if my boyfriend was not watching over my shoulder and answering all of my questions (he is working on his L3), I would have stuck with the Raven. None of my model rockets have been normal. I'm just strange that way.

Good luck to your wife on her L1. ^_^
 
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