Low Power, Prang build

[Sooner Boomer]

For lack of a better name, it got called "Prang". It's built solid, and can take a "prang" or two; through-the-wall fins glued to each bulkhead, (real!) balsa nosecone, recovers on a 10' crepe paper streamer (no wimpy parachutes!). The fins are papered, and there's an ejection baffle to make flying easier and more fun.

First, the baffle. It's made from a coupler. The individual baffles are made from 1/16" ply. I love using it because I can cut the rough shape with a pair of scissors and sand to final shape. There's a strip down one side of the baffle. There's a bridle joint at the middle baffle. The recovery cord goes through the top baffle and loops through this strip. If this pulls loose, something *bad* has happened to the rest of the rocket! The bottom of the baffles got a coating of JB Weld.







The fins are balsa. I carefully cut them out, ganged them together with T-pins, and sanded them to shape. Next I papered them with typing paper, using yellow glue (all I had at the time). Papered fins were wrapped in cooking parchament and clamped between two pieces of wood for an hour each. The dots at the root of each fin are to tell them apart. Similar dots at the fin slots on the body.







Got it all glued together. Here it is with a plastic nosecone. (see, dots on the body tube...)

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Got it painted. The balsa nosecone had to have the grain filled, so I went old school. I painted it with several coats of clear butrate dope, sanding lightly between coats. This was followed by several coats of Duplicolor primer. Finally, a Duplicolor white and red. The red paint gave me fits. It blushed worse than any paint I've ever used. I may try to go back and polish the haze out after a few flights.



I have some stickers from the Oklahoma Tourism Bureau...
Hmmmm, that design looks familiar.



The sim called for a bit of nose weight, you'll see why in a bit. It's solid-core solder, superglued onto the nosecone.



Here's the streamer. It really helps the visibility when the rocket gets waaay up there!



This is why it needs the extra nose weight. When the rocket was still in primer, I flew it for the first time, about a month ago. I then tried CHAD staging a C6-0 to a B6-4. It took off with good speed off the rod, but when it staged, it left like a scalded cat! Two staging was part of the original design. I've also simmed it with a 24mm booster. I don't think I'll build that booster this year! (not without a tracker!)