What did you do rocket wise today?

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Clueless was the word I meant to use. Period.
More like, the manufacturers design their rockets the way they like them and with their choices of materials, if you like them you buy them, then its your respondsibility to adapt to the flying conditions. If a product is defective then its on the manufacturer, if you break it because you didn't put enough chute to recover the rocket intact thats totally on you...hard surface means a slower descent rate, soft surfaces you can get away with smaller chutes generally and higher landing velocities.
 
More like, the manufacturers design their rockets the way they like them and with their choices of materials, if you like them you buy them, then its your respondsibility to adapt to the flying conditions. If a product is defective then its on the manufacturer, if you break it because you didn't put enough chute to recover the rocket intact thats totally on you...hard surface means a slower descent rate, soft surfaces you can get away with smaller chutes generally and higher landing velocities.
Again. Clueless was the word I meant, period. I said it is up to ME to figure out what is best. Too bad that most don't send samples to different places. But 90% are mom and pop shops that won't be around in a few years after they open. I get that. The can't afford to send me a free kit to see if it survives the playa with the supplied chute and build. TRF'ers seems to love to troll me. Happy to oblige. Clueless was the correct word.
 
Clueless was the word I meant to use. Period.
A very clued-in response, I’d say.

Have you considered scratch building? Or even becoming a kit manufacturer? I’m sure the head of the purely-for-argument’s-sake Gortatowsky Rocketry would love your commentary on how clueless he is, seeing as he handles failure and criticism (i.e. learning and growth opportunities) so graciously.
 
It'll probably end up wearing something like one of these patterns:
View attachment 539305
I like the one in the middle for the splash of green, but the one on the left is more "realisticish".

When I (one of these years :( ) finish mine, I'm planning to completely outlandish with like this:
1664282651652.png
Drawing is quick and dirty, not to scale. Yes, that's a tailcone I added at the bottom. The switch band and tailcone are metalics, gold and silver respectively. I figure I won't have any problem with visibility. 😁
 
Wrapping up some repairs following my last outing.

My original Photon Disruptor II. Built when I was a kid somewhere back in the mid 80's. This rocket served me well over the years with countless flights. It has been repaired a number of times and it is finally time to give it an overhaul. During my post flight inspection I noticed small cracks in the glue where the fins attach. Over the years the glue has become brittle so it's time.

Since the fins on the rear are a bit more complex I felt it was easier to make patterns and cut new rather than try to save the old. I built an entirely new rear section. The lower tube from the original rocket was removed with just a little wiggling to break the old glue loose. I was able to save the upper section. Currently sealing all that balsa.

PDII 1.jpgPDii 2.jpg

Next up is my upscale Luna Bug. While I love the design, I've had an issue with the landing pads breaking literally every flight. It's flown 6 times and I have 6 entries for broken pads. Decided to do something different. Using the blanks from BT20 and BT50 centering rings I build new pads. These are bonded together and attached to the fins using thin LOC Epoxy.

Hopefully this is the last time I need to replace them.

LB 1.jpgLB 2.jpg
 
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I like the pad fix. How did you arrange the grain directions on the six pieces? (Well, nine pieces, from the look of it.)

Since these are ply wood, I didn't get too crazy with grain direction. The lower pad runs 90 degrees to the fin.

I didn't pay attention to the grain on the upper pad. These were bonded with epoxy and let dry before being coated with epoxy and attached to the fins. They are about as strong as I can figure out how to make them without glassing them.
 
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I like the one in the middle for the splash of green, but the one on the left is more "realisticish".

I have about the same sentiment.

There's a childhood memory I'm trying to capture a bit of with this scheme. It's mostly a feeling with fleeting images that I retrieve when thinking about driving through the rocket garden at Cape Canaveral with my best friend/rocket buddy when we were about 8 yrs old. No pics to document it, just the dusty memory.

Though it takes me away from the original intention, I like the splash of color, too. Indecisiveness prevails for now.



When I (one of these years :( ) finish mine, I'm planning to completely outlandish with like this:

I think I passed out while trying to visualize that in 3D, but I like it! Never once thought about a tail cone on an EZI, cool!
 
Started prepping rockets for a launch... theme?

Black Powder Staging

Flis Corona - C6/B6-4
Scratch built Darkside-X (a farside-x like rocket) - B14/B6/A8 - If NAR gives permission
Estes Air Commander - D12/C11-5
Estes Savage - C6-0/B6-4
Estes Elliptical - A3-0T/A3-4T - If NAR gives permission
Scratch Duecy 3.0 - D12/C11-5
MPC Zenith Payloader - B6/B4-6

And if time - Duces Wild 2x C6-5
 
Ran the Space week launch Launched over 100 kids.

Mike
How big a motor to launch a kid?


Cleaning up and doing some repairs from my last outing. While going through the spare parts box I came up with parts and threw this together this weekend.

Alpha 3 fin can, remains of some smashed bt50 tubes, misc. 4 inch payload section and an old maverick nose cone.

I’m calling it junk parts.



View attachment 539236
I have a rocket made from left over tubes. I call it Bits and Pieces.
 
I got all the shroud lines stacked properly for each size parachute, in a fairly big stack so that my wife can tie all of the loops in the end of the shroud lines on the parachutes. It will be something productive for her to do instead of staring into a tablet, playing jigsaw puzzles.😒
 
Never once thought about a tail cone on an EZI, cool!
The tail cone is intended for 75 mm motors. The 54 mm AeroPack retainer fits up inside it and is hidden there. I don't know what, if anything, that will do to the exhaust plume as it exits its small recess and joins the converging air stream from the tail cone, but I doubt it will be noticeable. The recess is way too shallow to even begin to be concerned about Krushnic.


Scratch built Darkside-X (a farside-x like rocket) - B14/B6/A8 - If NAR gives permission
😲 Where did you get B14-0s?


I have a rocket made from left over tubes. I call it Bits and Pieces.
I call mine Dispensable.
 
I put multiple coats of lightweight body filler on a body tube, and those eight GD balsa nose cones for the delta two rocket. Mark this down, never, ever, will I possibly even think about touching a piece of balsa again. Grain comparatively the same as the Grand Canyon. :mad: 🤬🥵
 
Bought a can of Rustoleum Primer at the local ACE Hardware... it was almost $10. But it's a 10 minute drive from our home. Poor planning on my part.

If I had been willing to wait and consolidated it into the trip next week, with some other errands, I could have saved $3. But that's a 1-1/2 hour round trip to Walmart.

Moutain Life. When ya put on whares, ya need to fill the wagon.
 
last night i primed a bunch of tubes and stuff in the dark before the 'cane hit us. i make note of this because, thanks to one of you big brains, i bought and tried a can of rusto auto primer, and the difference between the normal rusto and the auto stuff is like night and day. the auto stuff sprays on much finer, dries faster, and doesn't run, so i didn't need good lighting. if i put on as much normal stuff as i can with the auto, the roc would look like a melting candle. thanks to everyone that has pimped this stuff. i finally listened.
 
... the Ace Hardware brand for $5 or so. Have you used it before?

i have. not my favorite. slow dry time, lots of run (admittedly, in relatively poor painting conditions). also, my local Ace, which i favor over HD for personal reasons, seems to have their products on the shelf a longer time. i've purchased caulk and sealant there which was too old to use. not to rattle an empty can (*rimshot) but that rusto auto filling primer (6 bucks on amazon) is the bomb diggity. do they still say 'bomb diggity?'
 
sorry to spam the thread, but i'm looking at @teepot 's pic, and i guess i spend so much time building little low power rocs that whenever i see someone holding a big rocket my first thought is, "wow, what a cool tiny little person."
 
I finished off my LOC-1 Big Nuke. Which will fly with it's really big brother on Saturday. It'll fly on a B motor, while big brother will fly on a J.
 

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sorry to spam the thread, but i'm looking at @teepot 's pic, and i guess i spend so much time building little low power rocs that whenever i see someone holding a big rocket my first thought is, "wow, what a cool tiny little person."
That's the funniest thing I have heard in a long time. Truly LOL.
 
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