Sunward King Tut tips and tricks....

[Sinister Mr. S]

I need some tips and tricksfor the build of this bad boy. Anybody have a good way to get the paper flat onto the balsa, and to get the paper to square up on all four sides?? I've tried fitting these things together a bunch of times, and I find that the paper shroud is too big for the balsa sides... Any help with this or any "gotchas" somewhere else down the line to be aware of would be great!! Thanks everyone!!!

 

[Donaldsrockets]

You might have to trim one or possibly more of the interior balsa panels for a proper fit. I had to trim the final one for a good fit.

Also, ditch the rubber shock cord, plastic chute and streamer. I use a 15 inch thin mill nylon chute for the pyramid itself and a 9 inch parachute for the MMT as well as a heavy duty shock cord salvaged from an old AT kit.

Takes a whole lotta stuffin' to get everything to fit but it does eventually.

And last but not least, if you have a 29/40-120 motor, fly it on the reloads to save a considerable amount of $$$ per flight instead of the suggested motors on the package as there are all single use (SU) motors and are more expensive.

The G64-4W, G71-4R and G76-4G are all excellent motors for this kit. Be sure to use all of the provided clay nose weight as well.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sinister Mr. S]

Thanks!! That DOES help!! I agree with you on the shock cord. Just wait for that stock thing to get old and brittle.

 

[Donaldsrockets]

Thanks!! That DOES help!! I agree with you on the shock cord. Just wait for that stock thing to get old and brittle.

Glad I could be of help.

I don't think the stock rubber shock cord would have time to get old and brittle. I'm like 99.5% sure the cord would snap on the first flight as this kit is HEAVY with all the clay in the top.

Heck, I've had rubber cords snap with Estes D motors in kits that weigh about half of what this one does.

 

[amm]

My King Tut's Pyramid flew its maiden launch on Saturday, on an Aerotech G38-4FJ. The black smoky exhaust plume was a real crowd-pleaser! Despite a few small fit problems (used a but of FIXIT brand epoxy clay to fill), the pyramid flew straight and true.

I painted the pyramid with a stone-textured spray paint: it's a cool finish for the rocket.

For recovery, I used some woven Kevlar nominal 1500 pound test: gross overkill) for the main shock cord, and woven Kevlar nominal 200 pound test to attach the motor mount to the parachute (no streamer). The parachute's a 24" nylon chute, which fit in the MMT space just fine.

Instead of using single-use recovery wadding, as the instructions recommend, I epoxied a small piece of Nomex blanket over the forward bulkhead (which itself is also coated with epoxy).

Definitely a fun rocket!