Scale rocket to build based around 3.5" phenolic tubing

[havoc821]

I have about 4 or 5 36" long, 3.5" diameter phenolic tubes with full length phenolic couplers for each tube and no rocket in mind. I was wondering if there was any rocket that could be easily scaled to these tubes. I would have to custom make the CRs, bulkheads, and eveything else but it is something I don't mind doing. I know any rocket can be scaled, but I would prefer it be an easy scale. The rocket doesn't neccesarily have to be a real rocket, it could be a kit to (upscale or downscale). I am open to all suggestions. Thanks!

P.S. Sandman, if there aren't any commercially available 3.5" nosecones, I will probably sending you a PM about a custom cone. Any idea of a price range it would be? Thanks!

 

[DPatell]

1/2 scale AMRAAM!

 

[havoc821]

Got links to info about the rocket? Specs, etc? Thanks!!!

 

[DPatell]

https://www.rocketryforum.com/amraam/

Search around there. The actual missile is 7" in diameter.

 

[sandman]

Get more tubes (you'll need 8 total) and make a really big Saturn 1B!

3.5" is 1/20th scale!!! WOW!!!

Main body would have to be 13" in diameter and the Service module section would have to be 7.7" in diameter.

The escape motor would be a BT-55!!

This would be so cool!

sandman

 

[Johnnie]

Sounds to me like you have casting tubes and liners for 4" ex hardware...

 

[Ryan S.]

good call Johnnie, good call

 

[hokkyokusei]

There are literally hundreds if not thousands of rockets you could make a scale model of! Could you narrow it down a bit? What are you interested in?

 

[DumasBro2]

Those tubes are the perfect size for the aft sections of the ramjets on a 4" Bomarc.

Steve

 

[Elapid]

Originally posted by Johnnierkt
Sounds to me like you have casting tubes and liners for 4" ex hardware...

I love that idea...I'm definitely in the right neighborhood!

 

[havoc821]

Yeah, they are casting tubes and liners Chuck Andrus gave me while he was cleaning out his garage as well as a lot of 2.5" coupler tubes and many many more!

What I meant by easy scale was like the AMRAAM, it would be half scale. I wanted something that would come out even like a 1/10 scale, 1/11 scale, 1/12 scale, etc, not something like 1/14.6978 or something odd like that. I really like the AMRAAM rocket, it would be easy and cool. The nosecone would be the only difficult part (well that applies to any rocket that you have to have a custom NC for) but that is why people like Sandman are made.

I know there are tons of rockets that could be scaled but I need help picking one out. Feel free to make whatever suggestions you would like.

Sandman, I just might have 8, there is a lot of stuff out there. How big exactly would this end up being? Do you have dimentions for each component (booster, body, all the module things, etc.)?

Thanks everybody!

 

[havoc821]

Sandman,

I just checked and there are 7 Phenolic tubes and 1 or 2 Kraft tubes. I could have looked over one of the phenolics because I think there were some shorter sections that weren't full length further down in the box. This is starting to sound realy cool! Could it fly on 54mm with 38mm or 29mm cluster or are talking about something HUGE? Thanks!

 

[sandman]

havoc821,

I could work out all the dimensions for you but realize...a Saturn 1B in 1/20th scale would be 134.055" tall (11 feet 2" tall!)

My guess is a cluster! but a 54mm "L" should lift it.

It would be a fun project!

Here goes.

Tanks 3.5" in diam. 37.135" exposed length

Upper body is 13" in diameter and 38.18" long to the transition.

Transition is 18.59" long

Service module is 7.7" in diameter and 8.832" long

Capsule is 7.7" in diameter and 6.06" tall.

Tower is 6" tall exactly!

Escape motor is 1.3" in diameter (BT-55?) and 12.18" long without the nose cone.

That does look doable!

sandman

 

[havoc821]

I must have had my mind somewhere else when I was thinking about the 54mm and 29mm or 38mm cluster. It wasn't untill I was at the dinner table and I was like OH!, the Saturn 1B the one with all the tubes on the outside that form the booster. OH! That one! So I just figured out that the 3.5" tubes were for the tanks. Ok, Everything is starting to look better now that the 20' tall rocket (the 8 tubes stacked on each other ,silly me ) is looking more like a Saturn rocket. I am amazed by my own stupidity sometimes. I found the 8th phenolic tube so now there are 8 3.5" phenolic tubes, 6 of which have full length couplers to go along with it. This would be one AWESOME project, but financially, I'm not ready. I might save the tubes for a year or so and think about the project then but unless anybody wants to make a charitable donation of a couple hundred bucks to the "Chris Needs Rocket Money Fund", I don't see this thing coming together anytime soon. The 13" tube and the 7.7" tube can probably be made from Sono Tubes or Quick tubes or whatever. I know there is 12" diameter Quick tubes and maybe 7 or 8" diameter Quick tubes that would probably work. They would be slightly off scale. Well, now that I think about it, I might as well order from PML. I would have to fiberglass the Quick tubes to make them strong enough and by the time those were fiberglassed, I would have spent the same amount getting phenolic tubes from PML. I don't want to spend too much on one rocket (I'm a cheap person) but this would be awesome especially done by an almost 16 year old (16 or 17 by the time I build it)! I would need some serioud power to lift this in the end but by that time I would have built up enough experience for those size motors. In a few months I will be launching the SAND 1 (formerly ANDRUS 1) on a J540 or K550 (depends on final weight after fiberglassing). I hope by this time next year that I be getting ready to do a full L motor flight if all goes well and cash supply is constant (in other words, employed). Well, I have a lot of design stuff to do on this if I want it to ever get anywhere. This sure would be cool! I may be able to suggest at the next club meeting that we could attempt this as a club project (like that one club built the Honest John rocket in Extreme Rocketry) and that would save me a lot of money, but nah, I want it all to myself! Thanks for all the help everybody and I am still open to suggestions because I like to have fall back plans. Thanks again everyone. TRF rocks!