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Papa Elf
I finally got around to start working on my Secret Santa Present . Thanks to the Conspirators, they sent me a LOC 7.6" Patriot for Secret Santa 2021 and then for Christmas in July the Conspirators ordered me the fiberglass, kelvar, resin, and some tools I needed to build this bird the way I want to. Next year will the 10th anniversary of having my Nar L3 Certification, and the last time I flew anything bigger than a J motor was my L3 flight, I figure I want to fly this rocket next year to celebrate. Most likely with a M1350 since a M1939 won't fit no matter how hard I push.
I think the decision of glassing this rocket is a good idea. These body tubes are Huge, and the walls are thin. Without the glass, I don't think these tubes won't hold up for long. In preparation for glassing, I removed the Glassine layer form body tubes. I then epoxy the kevlar anti-zipper band onto the forward end of the booster section and payload section.
The booster tube is finished by attaching the shorter tube the slotted tube. This is where I had my first mishap. Since I was gluing paper to paper, and since the future fiberglass with be what will hold the tubes together, I decided to use wood glue to attach the two tubes together. This proved to be a mistake. I was not able to get the two tubes together before the glue bonded, and the tubes were not straight. So I cut the tubes apart, and removed the tube coupler. Since I ordered the e-bay option for this rocket, I knew I had an extra tube couple, so I decided to use the looser fitting tube coupler that was intended to attach the payload section as the new tube couple. This time I used epoxy and had no issues attaching the two tubes.
The motor mount mount and fin can assemble started by firing up Adobe Illustrator and making a templet to cut slots into the centering rings to accept slots that I am going cut into the fins. I tacked the aft and middle center rings together and used the templet to mark where I needed to cut. Using a ruler, I marked on the fins where I needed to cute some tabs. Then I had a date with my scroll saw and cut out of the fin slots and tabs.
After all the cutting, I got out my belt sander and went to town sanding the leading edges of the fins. I don't claim to be an expert at doing this, but I don't think I did to bad a job.
Now I am waiting for my AeroPack 75mm retainer to arrive to assemble the fincan. I could go ahead and glass the airframe tubes. However, I wonder if I should wait until I have the fincan built and installed before glassing the booster section? Opinions?
I think the decision of glassing this rocket is a good idea. These body tubes are Huge, and the walls are thin. Without the glass, I don't think these tubes won't hold up for long. In preparation for glassing, I removed the Glassine layer form body tubes. I then epoxy the kevlar anti-zipper band onto the forward end of the booster section and payload section.
The booster tube is finished by attaching the shorter tube the slotted tube. This is where I had my first mishap. Since I was gluing paper to paper, and since the future fiberglass with be what will hold the tubes together, I decided to use wood glue to attach the two tubes together. This proved to be a mistake. I was not able to get the two tubes together before the glue bonded, and the tubes were not straight. So I cut the tubes apart, and removed the tube coupler. Since I ordered the e-bay option for this rocket, I knew I had an extra tube couple, so I decided to use the looser fitting tube coupler that was intended to attach the payload section as the new tube couple. This time I used epoxy and had no issues attaching the two tubes.
The motor mount mount and fin can assemble started by firing up Adobe Illustrator and making a templet to cut slots into the centering rings to accept slots that I am going cut into the fins. I tacked the aft and middle center rings together and used the templet to mark where I needed to cut. Using a ruler, I marked on the fins where I needed to cute some tabs. Then I had a date with my scroll saw and cut out of the fin slots and tabs.
After all the cutting, I got out my belt sander and went to town sanding the leading edges of the fins. I don't claim to be an expert at doing this, but I don't think I did to bad a job.
Now I am waiting for my AeroPack 75mm retainer to arrive to assemble the fincan. I could go ahead and glass the airframe tubes. However, I wonder if I should wait until I have the fincan built and installed before glassing the booster section? Opinions?