Squirrel Works Stinger

[JAL3]

I never did a build thread on my Squirrel Works Stinger and its been hiding in a dark box for a very long time. Yesterday, I took pity on it and brought it out for some air at a very "unofficial" launch in my church's parking lot as I was waiting for a prospective bride and groom to arrive.

I loaded up a 1/2A6-2 and let it take to the air for the first time in over a year. A video of the flight can be seen here: https://flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/3204063899/in/set-72157612636136327/

 

[JAL3]

After I recovered the rocket, I took a closer look at it and saw the results of one of my earliest repair jobs. It had bounced off a car and popped twofins. THe joint was very ugly.

 

[JAL3]

The joint looked strong enough so I just used some white glue to fill in the divots. When dry, I painted over the seam with black acrylic. On the yellow fin, I just extended the margins of the black a little bit so that the affected area would be covered.

The result looks MUCH better.

 

[JAL3]

Anyone interested in seeing photos or videos of this project, construction, flight or repair, may investigate the collections here: https://flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/collections/72157607454209835/

 

[jorpet]

I built my Stinger about a month ago. I was going to build the Tuber, but wanted to paper the fins of the Tuber and had never done that. So I built the Stinger as a practice project.

Just some quick pictures from the build:

• The requisite unopened bag picture
• The parts laid out (everything there, nice parts all around)
• The fins all papered
• The fins with the CA added around the edges and the motor mount showing the addition of the Kevlar cord. Those two items are the only deviations from the instructions.
• The nose cone after priming. I CA'd the nose cone, sanded it, filled it with wood filler, sanded and then CA'd it again. This seems to give a good finish and sounds like it is plastic when it is tapped.

 

[JAL3]

I built my Stinger about a month ago. I was going to build the Tuber, but wanted to paper the fins of the Tuber and had never done that. So I built the Stinger as a practice project.

Just some quick pictures from the build:

• The requisite unopened bag picture
• The parts laid out (everything there, nice parts all around)
• The fins all papered
• The fins with the CA added around the edges and the motor mount showing the addition of the Kevlar cord. Those two items are the only deviations from the instructions.
• The nose cone after priming. I CA'd the nose cone, sanded it, filled it with wood filler, sanded and then CA'd it again. This seems to give a good finish and sounds like it is plastic when it is tapped.

Mine was one of my earlier efforts.

The first rocket I ever built that I was proud of in terms of appearance was a Squirrel Works Callisto. I eventually lost it when it decided to become a hood ornament for a truck heading east on US87. The second one I took pride in was the Stinger. I think it was the first on which I tried to do the fins with Elmer's FnF. Mine was a learning experience too.

 

[jorpet]

Final two pics after finishing.

I am happy with the finish I got for the amount of time spent on this one. I still need to add one more coat of Future to cover and protect the decals and then she's ready to fly.

 

[JAL3]

Final two pics after finishing.

I am happy with the finish I got for the amount of time spent on this one. I still need to add one more coat of Future to cover and protect the decals and then she's ready to fly.

Looks nice.