- Joined
- Nov 8, 2015
- Messages
- 1,401
- Reaction score
- 78
Last month I was at a club event when I saw the Mega Der Red Max in person. Wow. What a rocket. I came home, hit amazon, and had it here in a few days. Sitting back I looked at it and knew this one I wanted to Stickershock. I reached out to Mark for the first time, and everything I've ever heard is true. He is awesome to work with and very fast! I had him do up a special one for this rocket which I'll show when I get there, and then also do one up for my daughter's first mid-power rocket, The Momba. We'll get to that one soon.
Anyway, love the fin design. It sure seems pretty tough with the balsa covered plywood. I'm deviating from the instructions in that I'm not gluing in the aft CR until I can ensure the fin tabs are secured inside. I'm also not using the shock cord and am reaching out to Teddy to get some Kevlar which will attach to an eyebolt. Finally I'm not going to use the plastic motor retainer, but an Aeropack 29mm retainer. I'm also going to use rail buttons vs the launch lugs supplied.
That said, I started off gluing the balsa strips together, making 6 large balsa sheets. I also tacked the center and rear CRs in place; and then let both balsa and CRs dry overnight.
This morning I drew the Plywood outline on the balsa sheets and then carefully cut them out. With glue smeared all over the plywood I laid each balsa covering in place, set on top of some wax paper, and then put some heavy books on top. At one point I picked a book back up and found the fin covering had slid off center. So glad I LOOKED!! Anyway, after a few hours, I pulled the books and they looked pretty good.
Once the fins were dry I sanded all the edges flush and then test fit. The fins sat up a little higher than I wanted, so I sanded the base until it allowed the fins to sit flush.
I have to stop here because I don't want to glue in the CR until after I get the Kevlar setup and I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow, so It's not like I'm in a real rush anyway. This is a really cool looking rocket! So glad I saw it back at the club launch. It's going to be a fun one to finish and launch myself.
Anyway, love the fin design. It sure seems pretty tough with the balsa covered plywood. I'm deviating from the instructions in that I'm not gluing in the aft CR until I can ensure the fin tabs are secured inside. I'm also not using the shock cord and am reaching out to Teddy to get some Kevlar which will attach to an eyebolt. Finally I'm not going to use the plastic motor retainer, but an Aeropack 29mm retainer. I'm also going to use rail buttons vs the launch lugs supplied.
That said, I started off gluing the balsa strips together, making 6 large balsa sheets. I also tacked the center and rear CRs in place; and then let both balsa and CRs dry overnight.
This morning I drew the Plywood outline on the balsa sheets and then carefully cut them out. With glue smeared all over the plywood I laid each balsa covering in place, set on top of some wax paper, and then put some heavy books on top. At one point I picked a book back up and found the fin covering had slid off center. So glad I LOOKED!! Anyway, after a few hours, I pulled the books and they looked pretty good.
Once the fins were dry I sanded all the edges flush and then test fit. The fins sat up a little higher than I wanted, so I sanded the base until it allowed the fins to sit flush.
I have to stop here because I don't want to glue in the CR until after I get the Kevlar setup and I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow, so It's not like I'm in a real rush anyway. This is a really cool looking rocket! So glad I saw it back at the club launch. It's going to be a fun one to finish and launch myself.
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