My latest creation is the product of madness and desperation.

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Senior Space Cadet

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The fire marshal has cut me off at the knees. Don't know if or when I'll be able to launch again.
One of the main reasons I took up this hobby was to keep my mind active so I don't get dementia. Probably too late anyway.
But I have lots of rocket parts, so might as well keep building and hope things get better.
What do you call this? Siamese triplets rocket? Trident three warhead missile?
If I had the building skills, of some of you, I'd probably use one large nosecone and make a hole in a transition that fit perfectly over the three tubes.
I kind of confused Open Rocket, so I'm going to either have to work out the CP and CG the old-fashioned way, or get creative with Open Rocket.
Siamese triplets rocket one.jpg
 
Build, swing test, modify. OR is awesome but some designs are too odd to sim no matter how you try.

Oh and give yourself extra space away from buildings and people with this approach

Cool rocket altogether, is it one engine or three?
 
Could a single booster stage ignite three upper stages? Imagine boosting this thing up to 500 feet, and then watch the three rockets take off separately. 😃
 
Build, swing test, modify. OR is awesome but some designs are too odd to sim no matter how you try.

Oh and give yourself extra space away from buildings and people with this approach

Cool rocket altogether, is it one engine or three?
Three engines. Probably Estes C6-5.
 
I was wondering about the possibility of a side by side two stage. I have no idea how I'd make the second stage ignite, and the flight would probably have a curved trajectory, if measures weren't taken, but it would be an interesting concept.
I've definitely been thinking about a two stage. Haven't made one yet. Maybe it's about time.
 
Bit like the Estes Sidekick kit, except with three tubes instead of two.
Three tubes seemed like an obvious move. With the "standard" three fins, use the groove between tubes for extra surface contact and for keeping the fins dead straight. Three tubes is just a stronger, more balanced structure. Three engines going off at once (hopefully) would be more impressive.
 
Three tubes seemed like an obvious move. With the "standard" three fins, use the groove between tubes for extra surface contact and for keeping the fins dead straight. Three tubes is just a stronger, more balanced structure. Three engines going off at once (hopefully) would be more impressive.
For fun you could use three different delay lengths. Snap, crackle, pop!
 
There are issues with gluing the tubes together with no spacer. You either have to leave the nose cones unpainted or sand off the paint where the nosecones would touch and I'm currently trying to sand the knurls off the screw on motor retainers since they are larger in diameter than the the tubes. Clips would be a better choice, but the only clips I have are Apogee, which I don't like.
 
Is the photo of your creation?
Yes, I built that rocket in the photo, based on the plans in the link I posted for the MIRV Gryphon, but I changed the cluster of 13mm motors for the booster for a single 18mm motor and added some additional fin area and the boat tail. Not totally original, a “kit bash” or modified from a kit design.
 
Got the caps for the screw on retainers sanded down. I'm a little worried that I've weakened them to the point that they might break when the ejection charge goes off, but probably OK.
Got a good start on painting. I ended up painting the nosecones white, so I need to sand off a spot where they meet. Painted the body red and I'm planning on painting the fins blue, which I'll probably do today. Another red, white and blue rocket. It's going to be purty.
 
Yes, I built that rocket in the photo, based on the plans in the link I posted for the MIRV Gryphon, but I changed the cluster of 13mm motors for the booster for a single 18mm motor and added some additional fin area and the boat tail. Not totally original, a “kit bash” or modified from a kit design.
I need to look up the MIRV Gryphon. Every time I come up with an idea, somebody points out that it's been done before. I am coming up with all these ideas on my own, and it's probably nearly impossible to come up with a totally new idea, but I could probably do a better job of researching previous designs.
 
I need to look up the MIRV Gryphon. Every time I come up with an idea, somebody points out that it's been done before. I am coming up with all these ideas on my own, and it's probably nearly impossible to come up with a totally new idea, but I could probably do a better job of researching previous designs.

Originality is not a yes or no question. Maybe you should see it as a scale from 1 to 10, with 0 being identical to previous design, and 10 new in every possible way. Anything on the scale can be just as interesting. And it's normal to have plenty of silly ideas before a good one pops up.
 
I need to look up the MIRV Gryphon. Every time I come up with an idea, somebody points out that it's been done before. I am coming up with all these ideas on my own, and it's probably nearly impossible to come up with a totally new idea, but I could probably do a better job of researching previous designs.

Conversely, I draw from my childhood wish list of rockets that I could not afford on my paper route salary at the time, and peruse the old Centuri and Estes catalogs and published plans from yesteryear for inspiration for ripping off, umm, pilfering, er using for inspiration for kit bashing or modding a known proven design with small changes that are just a little bit different, but somehow new. It's all in good fun. Sometimes it is just a spare part that will somehow turn into a new rocket, or another variation on the theme. I can't walk by the recycling bin too much, or I may find some rocket parts hiding in there waiting to be formed into something old, something new. Kind of like music in a way, there are lots of new songs, but they all use the same notes.
 
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