I was looking for a rocket that would help get me prepared for building the bigger rockets. I was up in Dayton, OH so I stopped in at ERockets.Biz so I started looking around and found the NCR Lance Delta. I really love rockets that look like missles. It’s around 4 feet tall, with though the wall fins, and the instructions have you use epoxy for all of the bonding.
Up until this point I’ve used a minimal amount of epoxy on the rockets that I’ve build. Quite frankly the only epoxy that I’ve used was to attach the motor mounts to my MDRM and an Estes Partizon. For the remainder of the construction I’ve been using Elmer’s all-purpose white glue. I’ve been very successful with it so far. Nothing has come apart and when there have been recovery system issues, I’ve broken a fin or two but all the glue joints have survived. I suspect that because this kit is plywood and cardboard tubes that I could have continued using white glue and it would have been just fine however I’ve been looking at the larger rockets for my level 2 certification and wanted to get used to or at least have experience using epoxy to assemble the majority of the rocket. Besides I have a PML AGM-256 PitBull that’s all plastic that I really need to assemble and I want to get it right.
I started out by going through all the parts included in the kit and reading the instructions. Matt does a great job with the instructions, quite frankly they really make this build thread redundant as the instructions are very well done.
Everything is there that I’ll need with the exception of the motor retainer and parachute. I have several large parachutes from the recent and ongoing Estes sale (I’ll be building them later) as well and the PML rocket. For the motor retainer I’ll use an Estes 29 MM retainer. I expect that I’llnever launch this with anything more than a G80-7T so that should work.
Just looking at the parts all were there and look of great quality. The tubes seem noticeably heavier than Estes BT-80 tubing. Everything was cut very well. I started by making the line for the launch lugs on the main body tube. I know that Ishould be using buttons but I’ve build a really nice 1/4” rod launch pad. Later I can convert to buttons if I want or need to. While I was marking the line for the launch lugs I also put lines from the edges of the slots where the fins go. In the past when I’ve build rocketswith long fins they tend to warp a little. This will give me a point of reference for when I attach the fins so that I can make sure that they are straight and not slight warped. The edge of the fin doesn’t need to be on theline, the fin just has to have the same distance from the line all along the fin.
I’m also thinking that with the way the rocket is built you could make the upper section an electronics bay that could house an altimeter and/or tracker. The upper section of the is very open with the exception of the thought the wall parts of the upper fins. Below is the upper section of the rocket. I’m think that I’ll build the rocket as designed with a bulkhead at the end of the coupler and then attach the nosecone to rocket with four small screws so that I can open this area to place the altimeter/tracker. I welcome anyfeedback on this change.
There’s an Eggtimer TRS on the way to Conner for assembly. I don’t think that I’m going to try dual deploy with this rocket but I would like to at least track it and get the flight information.
I started with building the motor mount for the epoxy I used J. B. Weld 5 minute epoxy to assemble it. I mixed the epoxy on a thick coated paper plate, like a Chinet paper plate. I tried using a Popsicle stick, a disposable chop stick and a slightly larger dowel rod. Looking at the motor mount I got it everywhere, I really need practice using epoxy!
Once that was curing I started sanding the fins. They were well cut. I sanded the edges to a bevel as well as sanding the sides till somewhat smooth with 220 Grit paper.
The fins came out really nice. There were a couple of rough spots on the edge of the fin where the center of the plywood had a knot and when sanded left a small divot, in those places I used a little Elmers wood filler and filled the divots in. None of them were larger than 1/8 of an inch. The all have smooth edges now.
This is the part were I get fuzzy. I've almost always attached the fins to the rocket and then primed and sanded with Rustoleum sand able filling primer. However the instructions state:
It is a good idea to sand and seal the fins prior to bonding it on the airframe. Cover the fin tab area with a strip of ½” wide masking tape. The fins can best be sealed with finishing epoxy, balsa filler coat, or primer paint. Apply a coat of filler, sand smooth, and repeat the process until the wood grain is filled and the surfaces are smooth.
I did this with my last rocket, I taped the bottom 3/16 of an inch on the fins with tape, primed the fins then sanded them smooth then attached them. It worked great on the Estes Partizon, so I think that I'll do that here. The unfinished part of the fins will be covered by the fin's fillet anyway so it doesn't matter of it's not smooth, it's even better that it not, right?
Also for the attachment of the motor mount to the airframe I was going to use Bob Smith 30 minute slow cure to attach it and then use 5 minute epoxy to attach the fins. But I'm not sure what to use to make the fin fillets. I've always just use white glue and built it up by making three applications and smoothing with my finger. I was thinking of using JB Weld putty and a dowel to shape it.
I'll continue the build of the rocket later this week.
Thanks
Joe Kipp
Up until this point I’ve used a minimal amount of epoxy on the rockets that I’ve build. Quite frankly the only epoxy that I’ve used was to attach the motor mounts to my MDRM and an Estes Partizon. For the remainder of the construction I’ve been using Elmer’s all-purpose white glue. I’ve been very successful with it so far. Nothing has come apart and when there have been recovery system issues, I’ve broken a fin or two but all the glue joints have survived. I suspect that because this kit is plywood and cardboard tubes that I could have continued using white glue and it would have been just fine however I’ve been looking at the larger rockets for my level 2 certification and wanted to get used to or at least have experience using epoxy to assemble the majority of the rocket. Besides I have a PML AGM-256 PitBull that’s all plastic that I really need to assemble and I want to get it right.
I started out by going through all the parts included in the kit and reading the instructions. Matt does a great job with the instructions, quite frankly they really make this build thread redundant as the instructions are very well done.
Everything is there that I’ll need with the exception of the motor retainer and parachute. I have several large parachutes from the recent and ongoing Estes sale (I’ll be building them later) as well and the PML rocket. For the motor retainer I’ll use an Estes 29 MM retainer. I expect that I’llnever launch this with anything more than a G80-7T so that should work.
Just looking at the parts all were there and look of great quality. The tubes seem noticeably heavier than Estes BT-80 tubing. Everything was cut very well. I started by making the line for the launch lugs on the main body tube. I know that Ishould be using buttons but I’ve build a really nice 1/4” rod launch pad. Later I can convert to buttons if I want or need to. While I was marking the line for the launch lugs I also put lines from the edges of the slots where the fins go. In the past when I’ve build rocketswith long fins they tend to warp a little. This will give me a point of reference for when I attach the fins so that I can make sure that they are straight and not slight warped. The edge of the fin doesn’t need to be on theline, the fin just has to have the same distance from the line all along the fin.
I’m also thinking that with the way the rocket is built you could make the upper section an electronics bay that could house an altimeter and/or tracker. The upper section of the is very open with the exception of the thought the wall parts of the upper fins. Below is the upper section of the rocket. I’m think that I’ll build the rocket as designed with a bulkhead at the end of the coupler and then attach the nosecone to rocket with four small screws so that I can open this area to place the altimeter/tracker. I welcome anyfeedback on this change.
There’s an Eggtimer TRS on the way to Conner for assembly. I don’t think that I’m going to try dual deploy with this rocket but I would like to at least track it and get the flight information.
I started with building the motor mount for the epoxy I used J. B. Weld 5 minute epoxy to assemble it. I mixed the epoxy on a thick coated paper plate, like a Chinet paper plate. I tried using a Popsicle stick, a disposable chop stick and a slightly larger dowel rod. Looking at the motor mount I got it everywhere, I really need practice using epoxy!
Once that was curing I started sanding the fins. They were well cut. I sanded the edges to a bevel as well as sanding the sides till somewhat smooth with 220 Grit paper.
The fins came out really nice. There were a couple of rough spots on the edge of the fin where the center of the plywood had a knot and when sanded left a small divot, in those places I used a little Elmers wood filler and filled the divots in. None of them were larger than 1/8 of an inch. The all have smooth edges now.
This is the part were I get fuzzy. I've almost always attached the fins to the rocket and then primed and sanded with Rustoleum sand able filling primer. However the instructions state:
It is a good idea to sand and seal the fins prior to bonding it on the airframe. Cover the fin tab area with a strip of ½” wide masking tape. The fins can best be sealed with finishing epoxy, balsa filler coat, or primer paint. Apply a coat of filler, sand smooth, and repeat the process until the wood grain is filled and the surfaces are smooth.
I did this with my last rocket, I taped the bottom 3/16 of an inch on the fins with tape, primed the fins then sanded them smooth then attached them. It worked great on the Estes Partizon, so I think that I'll do that here. The unfinished part of the fins will be covered by the fin's fillet anyway so it doesn't matter of it's not smooth, it's even better that it not, right?
Also for the attachment of the motor mount to the airframe I was going to use Bob Smith 30 minute slow cure to attach it and then use 5 minute epoxy to attach the fins. But I'm not sure what to use to make the fin fillets. I've always just use white glue and built it up by making three applications and smoothing with my finger. I was thinking of using JB Weld putty and a dowel to shape it.
I'll continue the build of the rocket later this week.
Thanks
Joe Kipp
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