Spool baffle

[Sooner Boomer]

I like flying spools. I've had the with all size motor mounts. They're not fussy flyers, and they seldom go far from the pad. I'd like to make them a bit easier to fly by adding an ejection baffle. How does one build a minimum length (not diameter) baffle? Most I've built (either from scratch or from found pieces) have just enough room to squish wadding, the chute, and the recovery harness inside the tube.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

While building my latest spool, an 18mm version, I think I've found my answer; rear ejection - a spool within a spool. When I build a scratcher spool (as opposed to using a "found" spool), I make two end disks, figure out what diameter and length cylinder to connect the two, and start cutting and gluing. I usually cut a hole in the bottom disk big enough to hold the motor mount tube, and a hole in the top disk big enough to pass the top of the connecting cylinder. The motor mount gets a centering ring to locate it inside the connecting cylinder. Everything gets glued up, and I make a coupler to go inside the conn. cylinder at the top disk, and a cap to close the coupler.





For a quick-flight spool, what I will do is to not cut the hole in the top disk, but rather glue the coupler to the center, and when set, glue the conn cylinder to the top disk. A longer piece (than shown here) of kevlar cord will attach the motor mount/lower disk and the upper disk/cylinder. A recovery device will be attached to the motor mount, and wrapped around it for flight. I could probably get away with just tumble recovery, but I like having at least a streamer. It makes for better tracking and easier recovery in ground cover.



Two things left to do; wrap the edges of the disks with Kraft paper to cover the corrugations, and spray it black (all my spools get black paint).