The Porsche DX3

[Nathan]

I just finished this Super DX3 . . .

• 4 coats filler primer
• 3 coats black enamel
• Stickershock vinyl decals
• 4 coats clear enamel
• wetsanded, polished, and waxed

Oooooo, shiny!

Single deploy only, I didn't get the optional altimeter bay.

Yes, I finished the coupler too. Not easy to do, that's a rough piece of cardboard.

Aft end view

I tried to get a shot of the fin edge bevels but it's a little out of focus

Nose cone tip close-up

Mirror finish on the nose cone

Mirror finish on the fins

One of these Porsches can go 0-500 mph in one second. The other one is a little slower.

 

[Wiley]

DUDE! Now THAT is a finish! Absolutely spectacular work! And I'm so happy to see someone finally paint the coupler; it really adds a lot. Are you going to fly it?

 

[CCotner]

Ahahahahahaha this is excellent. I wholeheartedly approve. It's going to suck if the paint is ruined after one flight though; don't fly it at a lakebed. =p

 

[Getmore]

With that nice paint job the rail button looks dull can you polish that up too.lol

 

[legranddudu]

Woaaa....absolutely tremendous finish... I could learn a lot about finish from you obviously... the funny part is that I am at Porsche HQ in Zuffenhausen next week, one of my customers. I will show them your beautifull rocket...they have eventually an ambiguous relationship with rocketry, as 14.000 V1 were build at VW factories in WWII under the management of F.Porsche, but the today's Porsche managers I know are peacefull speed-junkies, and this fits well with our hobby )

Please post your first flights!

 

[dixontj93060]

Simply in awe.

 

[dgreger]

And you'e holding it in the last picture without White Gloves on? lol Man, All that fresh dirt at the Sod Farm is just Waitin for that thing!
Fantastic Job Nathan! Cant wait to see it fly in a couple weeks!

 

[Devontmp]

Dude,awesome :clap::headbang:

 

[GregGleason]

Even Ferdinand would be proud!

Greg

 

[jlnel]

Wow

 

[Nathan]

And you'e holding it in the last picture without White Gloves on? lol Man, All that fresh dirt at the Sod Farm is just Waitin for that thing!
Fantastic Job Nathan! Cant wait to see it fly in a couple weeks!

Thanks Dave, I hope we get good weather for MDRA this month. Lately I've been doing lots of building but not much flying, I now have 2 high power rockets that have never been flown. I need to get my L1 cert this month so I can actually fly these things!

 

[dward]

That looks great. Did you do all the wet sanding after the clear coat? Can you briefly describe your procedure?

 

[Nathan]

Woaaa....absolutely tremendous finish... I could learn a lot about finish from you obviously... the funny part is that I am at Porsche HQ in Zuffenhausen next week, one of my customers. I will show them your beautifull rocket...they have eventually an ambiguous relationship with rocketry, as 14.000 V1 were build at VW factories in WWII under the management of F.Porsche, but the today's Porsche managers I know are peacefull speed-junkies, and this fits well with our hobby )

Please post your first flights!

The local PCA chapter is having a new member party next week and I'll probably take this with me. I'll also be posting some of these pics on Rennlist, where I am user "_Nathan".

 

[rocketgeek101]

That looks great. Did you do all the wet sanding after the clear coat? Can you briefly describe your procedure?

He's already done that: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...-The-Magg-(or-How-I-Spent-My-Summer-Vacation)

BTW Nathan, That is a freakin' BEAUTIFUL rocket! I sure wish I was as good (and patient) at finishing as you...

 

[qquake2k]

Good Lord, man! That finish could be on a Ferrari! (Or a Porsche!)

 

[Nathan]

He's already done that: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...-The-Magg-(or-How-I-Spent-My-Summer-Vacation)

BTW Nathan, That is a freakin' BEAUTIFUL rocket! I sure wish I was as good (and patient) at finishing as you...

This one was a little different than the Minie-Magg because this one has clear coat. I only used clear on this one because it has decals. I wetsanded and polished both the black enamel and the clear coat. I don't know if that was really necessary but it didn't hurt. Other than that the procedure was about the same as I used on the Minie-Magg. Even without clear coat I think the Minie-Magg looks just as shiny as the DX3. Polished and waxed enamel is very shiny, even without clear coat.

 

[hpreric]

Just beautiful. Too beautiful to launch?

 

[dgreger]

He's got 2 Highly Polished choices for his L1, he better fly one of them! lol
Just yankin your chain Nathan! Should get a nice reflection from the sun (If its out) for tracking it!

 

[dward]

This one was a little different than the Minie-Magg because this one has clear coat. I only used clear on this one because it has decals. I wetsanded and polished both the black enamel and the clear coat. I don't know if that was really necessary but it didn't hurt. Other than that the procedure was about the same as I used on the Minie-Magg. Even without clear coat I think the Minie-Magg looks just as shiny as the DX3. Polished and waxed enamel is very shiny, even without clear coat.

The step I was missing after wetsanding is using the polishes. I'll give that a try. Thanks

 

[lvgdgts]

That's dead sexy..


[youtube]?v=LHSpERtI[/youtube]

 

[Nathan]

Just beautiful. Too beautiful to launch?

I'll launch it at MDRA in November if the weather is okay. I get one weekend a month to fly rockets; if the weather is good I fly lots of rockets. If the weather is crappy I don't fly any. This month the weather was crappy.

I just weighed the DX3 loaded with everything except motor so now I can run accurate simulations. Total launch weight without motor is 66.9 oz. It looks like I'll probably use a H143 Smoky Sam with 8 sec delay for the initial flight. Should go 1288 ft.

 

[marcusSRG]

Yeah dude, WOW. This bird does your TRF signature justice!!!

 

[ksm2001]

Wow,I can see my own reflection in those fins.


Gorgeous finish Nathan!

 

[TopRamen]

That's Awesome!!!:clap:

 

[Onebadhawk]

Absolutely incredible finish Nathan,,,,,,,,,
You have surly outdone yourself,,,,,,,,
Again,,,,,,,,,,
Each one gets nicer and sweeter,,,,,,,
I thought the Minie Magg was insane.......

The best of luck with your Level 1 flight Nathan,,,,,,,,
If your attention to detail is any indication,,,,,,,,,,,
I'm certain it'll go perfectly..........

Teddy

 

[Nathan]

Absolutely incredible finish Nathan,,,,,,,,,
You have surly outdone yourself,,,,,,,,
Again,,,,,,,,,,
Each one gets nicer and sweeter,,,,,,,
I thought the Minie Magg was insane.......

The best of luck with your Level 1 flight Nathan,,,,,,,,
If your attention to detail is any indication,,,,,,,,,,,
I'm certain it'll go perfectly..........

Teddy

Thanks Teddy, when I fly the DX3 I'll be using that nice 25 ft Kevlar shock cord that you sent me. If you come down to Red Glare this fall, look me up. I'll be the one with all the shiny rockets.

 

[Onebadhawk]

That cord will be perfect for that rocket,,,,,,,,
Without a doubt I'll see if I can find you,,,,,,,,,
I'd love to shake the hand of a rocket finishin man,,,,,,,,lol,,,,

Teddy

 

[r12ski]

Same color. Same badge. And they both have the motor in the back!

 

[Onebadhawk]

Same color. Same badge. And they both have the motor in the back!

Hey,,,,,,
That's pretty cool.........
That's right............

Teddy

 

[AfterBurners]

Outstanding work Nathan!!!