Rocketgeek101's Estes Nike Smoke build.

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Made a dumb mistake when I built this rocket. It was my first mid-power rocket and I thought CA meant Carpenter's Adhesive, so I used wood glue to put the fins together. :facepalm:

It flew fine on an Estes G40, but when I put in and launched a CTI 3-grain H54 to go for my Level 1, two of the fins split apart and shredded off the rocket. According to my JollyLogic 2, it hit 854 mph before falling apart, so that's cool.

Maybe if I'd used the right glue it would have survived...

IMG_0438.jpg
 
Alright, It's time to stop procrastinating and get back to building!!!:grin:

Today I epoxied the motor mount into the body tube, and epoxied the fins in place.

I tell you, 15 min. epoxy has got to be the best cure time; not too fast & not too slow!

Next up will be external fin fillets & filleting around the aft centring ring.

Thanks for looking!

-S

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gdiscenza said:
Are the fin halves Styrene? I'm asking because I'm thinking of buying one of these, and I'd prefer to use Plastruct to weld the halves together rather than using CA (which hates me)....

G.D.
Click to expand...

they are 3 Plastruct glue

the Plastic Weld will glue Styrene > styrene , Styrene > ABS, ABS > ABS

the Bondene will glue Styrene > styrene , ABS > ABS, but not Styrene > ABS,

Weldene will glue only Styreme to Styrene
 
Applied an epoxy fillet to the aft CR. Also filled the spirals on the body tube.

Almost time to paint!:grin:

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Getting ready to post...



Sanded the filler on the Nike. It's pretty smooth. There are still a few spots I want to work on a bit more, but not tonight! My arm aches to much from all the sanding.

Hymmm... this is my 600th post. Cool!

'Tis all for today,

-S
 

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I can't seem to get my current work load out of the way fast enough to even start on my own build... yours is looking great, love it so far!
 
qquake2k said:
I just noticed your signature. 2013 is half over. Have you gotten your Level 1?
Click to expand...

Not yet. Life is getting in the way again. It will happen, but just not right at the moment.
At least I do have a rocket that can handle a mid-H impulse for some boom and sizzle (my Nike Smoke. Heavily modified and strengthened).
 
So I had to perform a little bit of rocket surgery today...:bang:

Just as I was getting ready to paint. I noticed something was missing... Rail buttons! DUH!

Anyway the CRs are only 1/8" thick, which is not enough to drill a hole for the rail button into. My only choice really was to cut out a little square from the airframe in order to get inside and install a flanged nut (or whatever it's called). Once the rail button was secured in place I patched up the holes in the airframe with card stock and wood glue and preceded to cover the whole patch with wood filler. As a plus though, I now know that the fins are secured to the motor mount with a sufficient amount of epoxy.

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rocketgeek101 said:
So I had to perform a little bit of rocket surgery today...:bang:

Just as I was getting ready to paint. I noticed something was missing... Rail buttons! DUH!

Anyway the CRs are only 1/8" thick, which is not enough to drill a hole for the rail button into.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna go against the grain here and say I disagree. If you were to just drill as close to the middle of the CR as possible, even if you split it or ended up right on top of it, once you get some epoxy in there it would bond to the CR and thus you could avoid all that retro fitting. That's my :2:
 
I did this and used a whack of epoxy thru the bolt and between the risers and BT. So far no issues.
The risers are made of some scrap Oak I had. Still fairly light, but very rigid and strong.

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kelltym88 said:
I'm gonna go against the grain here and say I disagree. If you were to just drill as close to the middle of the CR as possible, even if you split it or ended up right on top of it, once you get some epoxy in there it would bond to the CR and thus you could avoid all that retro fitting. That's my :2:
Click to expand...

You're probably right, but the way I did it just gives me piece of mind. The airframe has now been sanded, and you can't even tell where I cut the hole. Now the rocket is fully ready yo get it's first coat of paint... Possibly today if the weather holds!
 
rocketgeek101 said:
You're probably right, but the way I did it just gives me piece of mind. The airframe has now been sanded, and you can't even tell where I cut the hole. Now the rocket is fully ready yo get it's first coat of paint... Possibly today if the weather holds!
Click to expand...

What did you use for standoffs on the rail buttons?
 
Test fitted the motor case. It was a tight fit so I sanded the inside of the motor tube till the case could easily slide in and out.

Also took a picture of the rocket next to a Pro 29 3-Grain case to give you an idea of the size of this thing. It's a fantastic kit and I highly recommend to anyone wanting a scale MPR rocket. Well done Estes!

I'm now ready to Paint; just waiting for the weather to cooperate... Doesn't look too promising... Weather.png

I'll be in Montreal for about two weeks starting Friday, and then I'll be busy with a two week sailing camp so I don't know if I'll get around to painting 'till August.:(

'tis all for now...

-S
 

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I finally got a chance to start painting today!!!

I gave her 3 coats of white paint. Once the paint has cured fully (about a week) I'll mask the fins off, and paint 3 red and one yellow. (I'm sticking with the classic paint scheme).

Assuming the weather permits, the maiden flight will be in about a month. :)

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I've always liked the lines of the Nike Smoke. I'm glad you're sticking with the original paint scheme.
 
Today I applied the "united states" decal. This is the first time I've applied a water slide decal this big without tearing it or messing it up somehow!
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Also here is a pic of the prototype recovery system. I'm thinking I'll add a small Mylar streamer or parachute to aid in tracking it during decent, and a quick link so I can remove the parachute.
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rocketgeek101 said:
Today I applied the "united states" decal. This is the first time I've applied a water slide decal this big without tearing it or messing it up somehow!

Also here is a pic of the prototype recovery system. I'm thinking I'll add a small Mylar streamer or parachute to aid in tracking it during decent, and a quick link so I can remove the parachute.
Click to expand...

The decal looks good! Waterslide decals always make me nervous. What do you mean by "prototype" recovery system?
 
qquake2k said:
The decal looks good! Waterslide decals always make me nervous. What do you mean by "prototype" recovery system?
Click to expand...

Thanks! By prototype I just mean I haven't fully figured out the recovery system yet. I just put it together to get a sense of how It will look (if you can't tell I like to over think my recovery systems -- it's fun! :) )
 

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