Stars & Stripes-A Patriotic Playing Dart Build

[sed6]

After seeing the Magic Dart build thread by GaryB I decided I must build my own (thanks for the inspiration, imitation is after all the best form of flattery). I however have no real desire to custom turn any balsa parts so I decided to build it with off the shelf parts. This of course means anyone can easily copy my design.

Some quick Googlefoo revealed some nice flag designs and I ordered myself a set of darts to serve as inspiration and from which to take measurements. Eventually I my upscale it to fly on a 38mm motor (just 60" long) but for now I've stuck with a 40" design powered by D-E motors and a 20" design powered by 1/2A-A motors.

I was able to order everything I needed from Balsa Machining Service to build both rockets, including body tubes, transitions, fin stock, recovery gear, etc. The only thing I'll need to source locally is the wood dowels for the points, and they are available everywhere. The parts are on the way so no build photos yet, but I've included JPEG's and .ORK's to get the ball rolling.

First up the darts I ordered. I should have bought a dart board as well because the walls in my hobby room are starting to look like a pin cushion.








Up next are some JPEG's of the large and small versions complete with some motor and sim data for those without OR or RS on their device or work PC.





Last up are the .ORK files for the large and small versions. Feel free to copy, mod and/or critique!

View attachment Large Dart.ork

View attachment Small Dart.ork

Hope you like!


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[Gary Byrum]

SUBSCRIBED!! And thanks.

 

[sed6]

Thanks, you bet!

I'm open to suggestions on getting the flag look on the fins. I'm thinking I can order some large vinyl flag stickers and laminate the fins with them. Four big stickers will be costly though and possibly heavy. I'll need to weigh some scrap viny I have lying around to get a feel for the weight.

I suppose I could also create a paint mask out file folders and simply spray the colors on. I wonder if spray paint will work well on printer paper laminated fins?

Anyone have other suggestions?

 

[Gary Byrum]

Thanks, you bet!

I'm open to suggestions on getting the flag look on the fins.

Here's what I'd do. Paint the entire fins white. Mask off the top halves and paint the bottoms blue. Use red vinyl for the red stripes and if you can find one of those star punches in the scrapbook section of Hobby Lobby, you could punch those with some white vinyl. I think those punches come in different sizes.

 

[neil_w]

Subscribed! And I look forward to the drag race.

 

[sed6]

Subscribed! And I look forward to the drag race.

Indeed! The selection, prices and shipping at BMS are so good anyone could throw one of these together. Once done (if she flies right) I'll show it off to my club and perhaps put together a bulk buy so we can do just that!

 

[TopRamen]

Indeed! The selection, prices and shipping at BMS are so good anyone could throw one of these together. Once done (if she flies right) I'll show it off to my club and perhaps put together a bulk buy so we can do just that!

BMS is AWESOME!!!

 

[sed6]

Seems BMS also ships quickly! Got everything I ordered and had a chance to start mocking it up. The front transition was easy to trim to length and thanks to the predrilled hole and a length of included dowel, I was able to chuck it up in my drill and shape with some emery boards. The BT5 won't be used for the point but is just there for illustrative purposes, I'm sure it'll need the weight of a solid pine, or perhaps oak dowel to help balance out. Think I'll start the fins in the next day or two.

 

[Steve Shannon]

If this rocket fails to deploy and then strikes someone dowel-first it will probably cause a much more serious injury due to the sectional density of the dowel.
You've done a very nice job of building and design. I just wanted to note the safety aspect.


[emoji1010] Steve Shannon [emoji1010]

 

[BABAR]

If this rocket fails to deploy and then strikes someone dowel-first it will probably cause a much more serious injury due to the sectional density of the dowel.
You've done a very nice job of building and design. I just wanted to note the safety aspect.


[emoji1010] Steve Shannon [emoji1010]

I wonder if a nerf dart would work as a tip?

 

[sed6]

If this rocket fails to deploy and then strikes someone dowel-first it will probably cause a much more serious injury due to the sectional density of the dowel.
You've done a very nice job of building and design. I just wanted to note the safety aspect.


[emoji1010] Steve Shannon [emoji1010]

That's a fair concern and I've already given it some thought. Is hardwood more dangerous than balsa or plastic, probably. Is it more dangerous than a steel tipped carbon fiber nose that we see more and more now days, no way. Any rocket has the potential to injure or kill and the only way to 100% mitigate that risk is to not launch. Careful design and construction plus following the safety rules all topped off with some common sense will mitigate 99.9% of the risk and that's good enough for me. Good enough in fact for anyone that's ever launched a rocket.

 

[K'Tesh]

I think this build is right on target to look... FLETCHING!!! :wink:

Yes, properly primed papered fins will take spray paint quite well. So, I think you can hit your mark by careful masking and painting of the fins. Though I'd make a point of masking the stars using vinyl (they'd be consistent).