Sunward - The Screamer

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A few hours later, I peeled off the masking and the rocket was starting to look like the face card.

TSc-painted-1.jpg

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JAL3 said:
The Screamer is my first try at a kit from Sunward Aerospace. ....
Click to expand...

Nice build. You do have a lot of time.

JAL3 said:
Next up was a problem. The forward ring in my package was broken into 2 pieces.....
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This has occurred before and changes have been made. I changed the design slightly so it is a little stronger. I also now ship the two mounting rings in a small sealed bag so they don't move around. (same for the mounting kit sold individually) This should help with the breaking problem. It is a runnning change so it will take time to go through the retail channel.

Regardless, it is a delicate piece and must be handled accordingly.

JAL3 said:
The fins, contrary to what was indicated in the instructions, were loose and not in any way joined to the parent stock material. They were of good quality and cleanly cut.....
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The instructions are generic and the fins usually do not have tabs on them. I need to change the instructions on the next run.

Very nice and detailed build.
 
sunward said:
Nice build. You do have a lot of time.



This has occurred before and changes have been made. I changed the design slightly so it is a little stronger. I also now ship the two mounting rings in a small sealed bag so they don't move around. (same for the mounting kit sold individually) This should help with the breaking problem. It is a runnning change so it will take time to go through the retail channel.

Regardless, it is a delicate piece and must be handled accordingly.



The instructions are generic and the fins usually do not have tabs on them. I need to change the instructions on the next run.

Very nice and detailed build.
Click to expand...

Thanks

I hope to have this one done in the next day or so.
 
I actually got it finished tonight!

All that was left, so I thought, was to apply the decal. It was to be a simple matter; the decal consists just of the rocket name. It had been peeking at me through the bag since I started this project. Imagine then my surprise when I reached in to pull it out only to find there was no decal. Its a sticker.

It did apply fairly easily but I sure like waterslides better and, personally, I am willing to pay for them.

TSc-sticker-1.jpg

TSc-sticker-2.jpg
 
As it turns out, I was not done. I realized that, in accordance with my custom, I had again forgotten the launch lug. I scraped off a bit of paint and applied it with some white glue.

Now its ready to fly next Saturday!

TSc-lug.jpg
 
Your Screamer looks real nice, John, and I'd really like to see how it flies. I am interested in checking out Sunward's new line of kits, too, especially the Eruption (4-motor canted cluster!), the Sky Bender, the Solar Eclipse and the Rocket Glider. They have been getting generally good reviews on EMRR.

MarkII
 
MarkII said:
Your Screamer looks real nice, John, and I'd really like to see how it flies. I am interested in checking out Sunward's new line of kits, too, especially the Eruption (4-motor canted cluster!), the Sky Bender, the Solar Eclipse and the Rocket Glider. They have been getting generally good reviews on EMRR.

MarkII
Click to expand...

The expectation is that it will fly a week from tomorrow. I'll post the report.

I have the Eruption sitting in a bag but decided to do my first canted motor mount with a smaller version.
 
JAL3 said:
I actually got it finished tonight!.....
Click to expand...

Congrats on finishing it.

JAL3 said:
.... Imagine then my surprise when I reached in to pull it out only to find there was no decal. Its a sticker.....
Click to expand...

As for the decal/ sticker, a waterslide decal that size would be difficult for many to apply. As the kit is not a scale kit, I didn't go with waterslide. BTW, the decal was still silk screened.

JAL3 said:
.... I had again forgotten the launch lug....
Click to expand...

There is a joke there somewhere.
 
sunward said:
Congrats on finishing it.



As for the decal/ sticker, a waterslide decal that size would be difficult for many to apply. As the kit is not a scale kit, I didn't go with waterslide. BTW, the decal was still silk screened.



There is a joke there somewhere.
Click to expand...

There is no doubt, the quality of the sticker was good. It laid down well and generally behaved itself. My personal prefference is for waterslides but at least this was not like some stickers I have gotten which are completely useless.

THe only joke is me. I am notorious for forgetting launch lugs. Sometimes I get to the field without them. This time I noticed before embarassing myself too much.
 
Nice job John. As it turns out I'm building one too. I had the same problem with the forward motor mount breaking. I used a 5 minute epoxy to put it back together for the rest of the build. I've probably got another week to go before finishing since I usually wait 24 hours after each gluing operation.

I did some careful measurements of the motors after they were glued up and found that I have about a 0.5mm difference in alignment between the two. My prediction is that this will cause a rotation due to the slight difference in axial thrust. There's probably no way to prevent some amount of engine misalignment without alot more engineering work and significant improvements in building techniques.

It looks like a fun rocket and am looking forward to flying it. I purchased it from Apogee after Tim had discussed it in one of his Peak of Flight newsletters. If it flies well I was also thinking of using a pair of the D21 engines. I wonder it anyone has tried that in the Screamer.

Keep us posted on your flights. I did also notice that there are no flight reviews of the Screamer on EMRR yet so perhaps you'll be the first.
 
jackman said:
Nice job John. As it turns out I'm building one too. I had the same problem with the forward motor mount breaking. I used a 5 minute epoxy to put it back together for the rest of the build. I've probably got another week to go before finishing since I usually wait 24 hours after each gluing operation.

I did some careful measurements of the motors after they were glued up and found that I have about a 0.5mm difference in alignment between the two. My prediction is that this will cause a rotation due to the slight difference in axial thrust. There's probably no way to prevent some amount of engine misalignment without alot more engineering work and significant improvements in building techniques.

It looks like a fun rocket and am looking forward to flying it. I purchased it from Apogee after Tim had discussed it in one of his Peak of Flight newsletters. If it flies well I was also thinking of using a pair of the D21 engines. I wonder it anyone has tried that in the Screamer.

Keep us posted on your flights. I did also notice that there are no flight reviews of the Screamer on EMRR yet so perhaps you'll be the first.
Click to expand...


Thanks.

Mine is flying this Saturday, weather permitting and I'm looking forward to it.

D21s? You sound like someone who likes exercise and walking!

I've started an EMRR review and am just waiting for the flight data.
 
Great review John, based on this build thread i have just purchased a screamer, and a quad canted motor mount +other stuff for a scratch build.
 
Gillard said:
Great review John, based on this build thread i have just purchased a screamer, and a quad canted motor mount +other stuff for a scratch build.
Click to expand...

Its that +other stuff that always messes me up.

Sunward makes a kit with the quad mount. I think its called the erruption.
 
toyed with the idea of getting an eruption. but i think i'm going to build a rocket with a changable mount so i can swap between 4 motor cluster and a standard single motor - mainly because of the cost of motors in the UK.
 
Gillard said:
toyed with the idea of getting an eruption. but i think i'm going to build a rocket with a changable mount so i can swap between 4 motor cluster and a standard single motor - mainly because of the cost of motors in the UK.
Click to expand...

changed my mind about a swappable motor mount, instead i'm building two identical rockets but with different mounts.
just build the quad mount - i've done a build thread on it.
 
Gillard said:
changed my mind about a swappable motor mount, instead i'm building two identical rockets but with different mounts.
just build the quad mount - i've done a build thread on it.
Click to expand...

I saw it and scanned it but haven't given it much attention yet. Things have been crazy in my schedule for the last week and a half. I'm barely getting to log in let alone build anything.:(
 
The day of the maiden flight came and I realized that I did not bring my box of chutes. I was not planning on using the plastic chute that came with a kit because I usually substitute nylon. The box, however, was left behind. I did have a bunch of 4" streamers from Hartle Engineering (Thanks, Evil Ed) and decided to use on of them.

I loaded a pair of B6-4s and set the Screamer on the pad. It took off flawlessly, going straight up. Ejection was perfect but it was soon apparent that the lengthened streamer cord got wrapped around a fin. It came in hard enough to tear away one of the fins where the cut is made for the canted motor. It will be repaired but was destined not to fly again this day.

A video of the maiden flight can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/3373738913/

tscr-f1a.jpg

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Today began the process of repairing The Screamer after its maiden flight. The big issue is the fin that tore loose from its mounting despite the use of glue rivets.

broken-fin-1.jpg

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The worst of the excess paper was trimmed away and then the fin was reseated with a double joint of yellow glue.

It still needs some work.

reglued-1.jpg

reglued-2.jpg
 
As I said, I trimmed away the worst of the paper and it seems strong but it still looks like the south end of a northbound mule.

ugly-1.jpg

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I mixed up some 5 minute epoxy and proceeded to apply some generous fillets to the afflicted fin. I used my nitrile glove encased finger, lubricated with ethanol, to smooth the fillets. The result was still ugly but I now had a fairly regular surface I could attempt to paint.

fillet.jpg
 
I masked the rocket exposing only the BT of the affected fin using a combination of Frog tape and aluminum foil. I decided to paint only the white, both because I am lazy and because I had used up the last of this particular yellow. Besides, it looked like all the really ugly stuff was in the white.

masked-1.jpg

masked-2.jpg
 
I sprayed the rocket white, waited a bit and then peeled the paint. Its not a perfect repair but it looks much better than it did before. Best of all, its ready to fly again.

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