Move that up a bit, put the tape on a BEFORE the launch.After the first launch, just cover up the scorched areas on the fins with some Al dryer duct tape for the next launch?
Okay, regarding high heat paint, I think your plan is right on. People talk about using high heat paint to “protect” a surface. I’m not sure it really does that. I think high heat paint protects ITSELF, regular paint would burn or flake off.Took both of your advice, now just need to get a can of high heat black and this shuttle should be ready to fly.
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Are the decals on the SRBs one large piece? if so you are a master at putting them on. I have lots of trouble putting on large sheets that wrap around the tubes.Paint and decals done. Just need to add fins to the boom, finish parachutes and wait for a warm spring day.
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I split the decals into many pieces a single wrap was definitely outside of my capabilityAre the decals on the SRBs one large piece? if so you are a master at putting them on. I have lots of trouble putting on large sheets that wrap around the tubes.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis suffered an inflight anomally during yesterdays launch. Thankfully all those on board the Orbiter Vehicle were able to glide return safely to the landing runway, and SRBs were recovered in tact down range. The External Tank was destroyed on impact, however, and will require rebuilding.
According to the JL Altimeter2 on board, the vehicle achieved about 60ft of altitude. The only difference between this flight and the previous were use of C6-0s in the SRBs instead of B6-0s. The added off center thrust and resulting velocity induced drag of the orbiter vehicle forced the whole shuttle to pitch over quite a bit more than the maiden flight. I plan to salvage what I can of the ET. If this does fly again, I will need to add some pitch correction to the tail boom fins.
Ready for flight:
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Clean ignition and liftoff:
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The pitch over (second picture is zoomed in):
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Impact and Landing Site (ET smoldering to the left, Shuttle safe on the runway to the Right):
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ET Puzzle Pieces:
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I've been considering spring or elastic tensioned elevator control for my upscale Centuri Hummingbird. I have it in my head that I should be able to attach a rubber band to that back elevator so that the deflection decreases with the force it's exerting. So that as the airspeed goes up, the elevator deflect goes down, and I get a constant corrective force. It looks like you could use something similar.
Of course, with my luck, I'm thinking about it backwards, and with increasing airspeed I want MORE deflection to offset the lift from the wings.
Canting the motors in the SRBs would be a solution, however given the motor size relative to the SRB body tubes and my desire for scale appearance led me down the curved trajectory path.alternately, there might be away to offset the thrust vector to compensate for the off-center weight (and drag) distribution,
but I cant think of anything.
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