What did you do rocket wise today?

[Andrew_ASC]

Sanding the burrs off my SAAB from that hotel repair session.

 

[jqavins]

After 6 layers of filling, sanding and priming, the X-AGM-76 Piercer is ready for color.

Matte grey is a good color. Just put some US Navy decals on it and you're done!

Really, though, nice smooth fillets, filling, and priming job.

 

[BDB]

Cut some plywood fins for the reincarnation of my Estes Magnum. It's still BT60-scale, but I'm trying to make it bulletproof.

 

[A-N-D-R-E-W]

My wife picked out the colors she wanted for "her" 2.6 darkstar. She didn't build it, but she was interested in the process and maybe one day she'll build one of her own, baby steps lol.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Got my H130W and a rms delay drill in the mail. Man not paying hazmat on a high power motor is nice.

 

[Reinhard]

Performed, using a Dremel, some gentle electronic rework on an EasyMega, that otherwise wouldn't fit in a tight ebay.

Spoiler

After some clean up, it looks boring again.


Tearing down the terminal blocks with the Dremel converted 2 challenging parts into 18 small bits that could easily be desoldered. Still felt quite wrong while doing it. ;-)

Reinhard

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Ordered more recovery stuff for X1.4. Because 24mm MD HPR.

 

[jlabrasca]

Ran some parts -- mostly to use up a piece of 3.5 mm plywood left on the CNC (rather than putting away another piece of odd-shaped scrap).



Made a coring hole drill out of a scrap of brass tubing, to open a vent in the booster for the Two-Stage Red Nova.

The original plan was just to leave off the rear centering ring, but the perforated centering ring that was supposed to go forward of the fin tabs, but aft of the vent in the motor tube broke when I pushed the motor mount in. Not enough open time on the glue to do anything but replace it with an Estes paper centering ring, so I had to cut a vent through the body tube and coupler.



I am absurdly and obnoxiously pleased with my own cleverness at fabricating an on-the-spot cork-borer <smile>

 

[Wayco]

Glued six 98mm Dark Matter grains into a 15360 liner, with a bit of help from my loving wife.

 

[jqavins]

I am absurdly and obnoxiously pleased with my own cleverness at fabricating an on-the-spot cork-borer <smile>

No, I'd say rightly proud. People like to find things that distinguish humans from the other animals, as in "Only humans think." But many other animals think, so other things are plugged into that sentence only, one by one, to fall as new animal behaviors are observed. (Yes, I'm getting to a point.) There are two I still believe might be true. It may be true that only humans make art, including music*. And it may be true that only humans use tools to make other tools. You whipped out a file to turn a bit of scrap into a tool that you needed for another job. So go ahead and be proud of being a human and therefore awesome!

* Birds don't sing. Birds use vocal calls that humans hear as music, but that's on us. They make these calls under all sorts of conditions because they're birds and that's what birds do. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Maya Angelou.

 

[snrkl]

After 6 layers of filling, sanding and priming, the X-AGM-76 Piercer is ready for color.

View attachment 359722

Nice looking fillets!

 

[MoeB]

Worked on the engine mount for my BT-80H Gyroc. Placed an order with eRockets for some goodies.

 

[Tobor]

...This morning I finished the basic assembly of my EggFinder LCD. Going to mod the case for switches and front mount buzzer.

Today I ordered parts for the mod from DigiKey.
Power switch: Bulgin MP0045/1E2AM012
Backlight switch: Bulgin H8350ABBB
LiPo Charge Enable switch: C&K V80214SS05Q
Charge Port: Switchcraft W7C82-6SG-300

I have a Mod/Smart 16mm Bulgin clone (Link) in my parts collection from my PC modding days that will be used for menu navigation.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Buying electronics. And sh*t got expensive.

 

[BDB]

Today I ordered parts for the mod from DigiKey.
Power switch: Bulgin MP0045/1E2AM012
Backlight switch: Bulgin H8350ABBB
LiPo Charge Enable switch: C&K V80214SS05Q
Charge Port: Switchcraft W7C82-6SG-300

I have a Mod/Smart 16mm Bulgin clone (Link) in my parts collection from my PC modding days that will be used for menu navigation.

Are you mod-ing your LCD so it can be charged without removing the handle? Please post an image of your set-up when it’s finished. I’d love to do something like this too.

 

[Tobor]

Are you mod-ing your LCD so it can be charged without removing the handle? Please post an image of your set-up when it’s finished. I’d love to do something like this too.

Yeppers, that is correct. But, my stock EggFinder LCD enclosure does not have handle. That aside, I will post pics of the mods.

 

[jlabrasca]

A test cut to see if I can mount the Foxeer Legend 2 as a horizon cam inside a 3 inch air frame. I can -- but I am not going to try it. I only have so many building days between now and the last launches of the season, and I have resolved to be guided by Neil_w's example and not futz around anymore with a finished rocket.

I think am going to make my L2 attempt without an on-board camera -- just like they did in the olden days.

edit: fixed one typo.

 

[Tobor]

Tested my EggFinder Tx & Rx LCD along with MapSphere. They actually work! It has been a long long time since I've built an electronics kit or scratch built anything. I had forgotten the thrill of completing a gizmo and seeing it work.

Thanks to nraymondb for offering the EggFinder Tx in the Yard Sale and to Mr. Erving for creating quality products in the DIY vein.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Rearranged fin configuration on X1.4.

 

[jlabrasca]

Worked on the engine mount for my BT-80H Gyroc. Placed an order with eRockets for some goodies.

Funny, Ijust pulled up the plans for a BT70H Gyroc. It shredded off the pad, and I just disassembled the remains.

Another flier turned a custom nosecone for me, for the Mark II. Trying to decide if I can get it assembled in time for a launch on September 15.

Are you doing a straight up-scale, or did you tweak the dimensions to account for the square-cube penalty?

 

[markkoelsch]

Performed, using a Dremel, some gentle electronic rework on an EasyMega, that otherwise wouldn't fit in a tight ebay.

View attachment 359758

Spoiler

After some clean up, it looks boring again.
View attachment 359761

Tearing down the terminal blocks with the Dremel converted 2 challenging parts into 18 small bits that could easily be desoldered. Still felt quite wrong while doing it. ;-)

Reinhard

Reinhard, are you going to solder directly to the board? If so, why didn’t you remove the terminals by soldering iron and wick?

 

[snrkl]

Don’t you love it when a 7yo kid tells you at 8pm on Sunday night they need a book week costume for assembly at 9am Monday morning?

So I dug deep and leveraged my elite rocketry skills to whip up a frisket mask to spray paint a tshirt, and some corflute to whip up a sword...

I give you a 90min speed build of Percy Jackson Costume:

 

[BDB]

Wrapped a BT60 in CF because I could....I’m trying to build an indestructible version of my all time favorite—the Estes Magnum.

 

[Andrew_ASC]

Nice.

 

[Estesbasher]

.I’m trying to build an indestructible version of my all time favorite—the Estes Magnum.

And it will be.

 

[BDB]

And it will be.

Don’t jinx it! This rocket is my all time favorite, but it seems cursed lately. I’m pretty sure I’ll find a way to destroy it.

 

[jd2cylman]

Assembled and glued a AT N3300R for Airfest. My first time gluing a motor this big. Went great , except for the fact that I forgot to dry fit the entire assembly (including grain spacers). So, when I got it all assembled, there was not enough room for the forward seal disc... So, lifted the liner up, and luckily the grains slid down and I was able to pull out a couple of spacer o-rings and slide the liner back down over the grains. I used Elmer's Glue All Max, and luckily, the set time was slow enough to save my bacon. I'm a let er cure a bit longer then slide the case over the whole bugger. Then I just gotta get a LONNNNGG stick for the starter... I did make sure the motor fit the rocket before assembling. After all, I have a 48" booster and a coupler that goes into the airframe 7" and the motor is 42" long... Ever seen a 16" long doughnut AV bay? Well, we will at Airfest...

 

[TeslaPenguin1]

Started painting my rocket "Banana"

Also started working on a rocket that I'm calling "Penguin"

 

[Wayco]

Assembled and glued a AT N3300R for Airfest. My first time gluing a motor this big. Went great , except for the fact that I forgot to dry fit the entire assembly (including grain spacers). So, when I got it all assembled, there was not enough room for the forward seal disc... So, lifted the liner up, and luckily the grains slid down and I was able to pull out a couple of spacer o-rings and slide the liner back down over the grains. I used Elmer's Glue All Max, and luckily, the set time was slow enough to save my bacon. I'm a let er cure a bit longer then slide the case over the whole bugger. Then I just gotta get a LONNNNGG stick for the starter... I did make sure the motor fit the rocket before assembling. After all, I have a 48" booster and a coupler that goes into the airframe 7" and the motor is 42" long... Ever seen a 16" long doughnut AV bay? Well, we will at Airfest...

Just did this with my N2220 Dark Matter. Used Gorilla glue, which isn't so forgiving, but everything went together smoothly, with Sharon's help. Not quite so smooth with Sharon's M1101. All the grains fit, but when we greased up the liner, it got stuck in the casing about 3/4's of the way in. Smacked it back out with an AT seal disk and sanded it down a good bit, went back in smoothly. First time we had one of those nice black CTI liners do that.
Don't know if you have Hobby Lobby up there Adrian, but they sell 1/8" x 36" wooden dowels pretty cheap, I'm using those to hold ignitors in on all my big motors.

So, do you ever think about all the money we spend for that 4.4 second burn?

 

[jlabrasca]

Crept a little further along in the very slow speed build of the two-stage Red Nova.

Two coats of high-build automotive primer and a two coats of Duplicolor Anodized-look base coat. Going to let it cure for a while, since I've gotten some exciting orange-peel effects putting Rustoleum automotive metallics over the Duplicator base coat before it was done out-gassing.

Think I'll do the catalog paint scheme, with the bare silver base coat for white and metallic red for red.

I left off the strakes, mostly because I want to be done with the build so I can get on to something else.

Maybe call it "Nova of Theseus" since its mostly parts that didn't come with the kit. Only the nose cone, the paper centering rings (one in each stage) the engine block, and the motor tube are stock -- everything else was either fabricated on my bench, or picked out of left overs from previous builds.