LOC BIG NUKE 3E BUILD

[neond7]

I haven't been in a hurry with this build, which is good because I ran out of fiberglass and peel ply so more is on order. I had enough to complete two of the three T2T on the fins. Here are the gory details on the pics:

1. I made a template and then transferred it to the remaining piece of 6oz S-glass that I had. More is on order from aircraft spruce, they have fast shipping so I should be back in business early this week.

2. I had applied the 6oz S-glass and 3oz fiberglass (veil layer) to the first fin set. In this picture I had just removed the teflon peel ply, and have not yet trimmed the overhang. I had forgot to bevel the front of the fins before applying the fiberglass. I did it the next day, resulting in a good bevel with little trouble.

3. The overhang has been trimmed.

4. I'm getting ready to wet out the 2nd set of fiberglass. The numbers on the fiberglass let me know the order they were applied, it helps when I look at old pictures.

5. The Teflon is about to be removed so I can trim the overhang.

So far, the fiberglassing has been going GREAT. I'm very pleased with the results, I'll need to do very little work with the orbital sander to smooth out the transitions between applications. My 2 wire quick disconnect harnesses arrived Saturday morning, so I can begin wiring up the av-bay whenever I get around to cutting a bigger sled. The stiffy tube has been epoxied into the av-bay and the switch band has been epoxied on as well. I'll CA the outside of the av-bay and sand it smooth.

Once the fiberglassing of the fins is complete, I will give it a good all-over sanding in preparation for shooting the primer.

At this point, I have no idea on the color scheme or graphics. Open to suggestions....

 

[neond7]

My fiberglass arrived on Wednesday from AircraftSpruce (fast shipping!), so I was able to finish the last tip to tip last night. It turned out very nicely. And here are the pics:

1. After a few minutes with the orbital sander to clean up some spots, I started applying some Bondo spot putty. It didn't need much.

2. More Bondo spot putty. Mostly just to get a really smooth transition at the front and back of the fins.

3. A dab was needed around the rear rail button.

4. Time to start on the av-bay! I started by test fitting the bulkheads and sanding them a bit so they fit better.

5. I applied thin CA to the outside of the av-bay. After it dried, I sanded it smooth. This helps seal it.

 

[neond7]

And more progress on the av-bay:

1. It was time to start assigning parts - I marked the main and drogue bulkheads.

2. Stainless steel u-bolts replaced the bent wire eye-bolt it came with. Cheap, but effective upgrade.

3. Blast caps! Stylish and functional. This is my first dual-altimeter av-bay.

4. Getting the parts lined up for installation. Note the av-bay exterior is now a darker color after the CA treatment.

5. I was preparing to drill the holes for the u-bolts. I'll fill in the un-needed center hole with epoxy later.

 

[neond7]

More work on the av-bay:

1. The u-bolts have been attached, getting ready to install the blast caps.

2. Another shot of the parts. Sorry its a bit redundant.

3. I placed the blast caps where I wanted them and drew a circle around them before drilling the mounting hole.

4. Both main blast caps installed.

5. Both drogue blast caps installed.

 

[neond7]

And yet more pics:

1. The switch band is looking like it is missing something - oh, yeah, I need to drill holes!!

2. I test fit the av-bay into the payload tube. Good fit.

3. The back end of the av-bay with the blast caps labeled to make it easier to keep it straight when I start wiring it.

4. I used a fin template to line up and mark the required port holes (four).

5. Another shot of marking the spots......

 

[neond7]

And the last set of pictures for the evening:

1. Final mark for drilling.

2. First hole drilled. The "stiffy coupler" doesn't drill cleanly, I stopped and used a heavy coating of CA and let it dry before i finished drilling so the edges of the holes will be smooth.

3. Closeup of one of the vent holes.

4. I got ready to add the terminal blocks, but I called it quits there.

The Stratologger SL100 manual recommended four .286 size port holes. The problem is, there isn't a drill bit that size. Its either 9/32 or 19/64. I used a 9/32, I have heard that its better to have the holes a wee bit too small than too large. I can always drill the larger later. For now I'll probably go with the "twist the wires and tape them to the side" method since I don't have any rotary switches (yet). I'll order some soon, but I doubt I'll have them installed for the maiden flight.

Tomorrow if I have time I'll sand the Bondo on the body tubes and possibly start shooting the first coat of primer. Still up in the air on a paint scheme and vinyl.

 

[berlinetta]

Did you epoxy the altimeter bay ends? It looks like it. Make sure you use baby powder on the ends before each flight if you did.

 

[neond7]

Did you epoxy the altimeter bay ends? It looks like it. Make sure you use baby powder on the ends before each flight if you did.

Peter,
As much as I love epoxy, I used thin CA on the av-bay to seal it and then lightly sanded it. I'll CA the inside of the body tubes as well, probably today. It keeps the cardboard sealed and wears better.

I have to cut a new sled today, the one that came with it is itty-bitty. I'm not really set up for wood working in my garage, this should be interesting.......

 

[berlinetta]

I was looking at the coupler where it looked dark. I epoxied the entire altimeter bay on mine. That is why I asked. When is the first flight tentatively?

 

[neond7]

I was looking at the coupler where it looked dark. I epoxied the entire altimeter bay on mine. That is why I asked. When is the first flight tentatively?

Weather depending, I'll have launch opportunities on the 9th (Bunnell) and the 16th (Tampa). Today I shot primer, I'll still need to do some minor touch ups with Bondo spot putty. I got the av-bay sled cut and the sled guide rails installed. I'll post pics later. Now I just need to install the altimeters and wire it. I'll probably ground test it before I shoot the final paint so I don't mess it up during testing. With all that left to do, I would say I'm on track for the 16th...... It may fly in primer for its first flight - make it earn its paint.

So far without the recovery gear installed, its about 11 pounds.

 

[JP Morgan]

Looks Great! I've been watching your project here and one day I would like to build one, or the Magnum 3.
Nice work Jeff!
Thanks for taking the time to post your build.

JP

 

[berlinetta]

My Big Nuke 3E with recovery and no motor is 15 pounds. With the M1500, it is 28 pounds.

 

[neond7]

The final progress over the weekend was shooting the first coat of gray duplicolor high build primer and the epoxying on the sled guide rails.

Tonight it will get some sanding and i will start laying out the components on the sled.

 

[davdue]

Peter,
As much as I love epoxy, I used thin CA on the av-bay to seal it and then lightly sanded it. I'll CA the inside of the body tubes as well, probably today. It keeps the cardboard sealed and wears better.

I have to cut a new sled today, the one that came with it is itty-bitty. I'm not really set up for wood working in my garage, this should be interesting.......

Will the CA seal the plywood? I didn't do anything to my first AV-bay on my L2 rocket and after one flight they get coated with the BP soot and look ugly. I was thinking in the future I would either epoxy or paint them with some polyurethane.

 

[berlinetta]

I used the epoxy on the coupler itself, not the wood. I had swelling issues and everytime I sanded it, the layers of the cardboard would swell. The epoxy prevented that from happening even more. With all the epoxy on the alimeter bay itself, I use baby powder on the coupler to prevent the epoxy from bonding to either the main body or the payload tube on hot days.

 

[neond7]

Will the CA seal the plywood? I didn't do anything to my first AV-bay on my L2 rocket and after one flight they get coated with the BP soot and look ugly. I was thinking in the future I would either epoxy or paint them with some polyurethane.

You have a good question - how are most people protecting the wood from the ejection charge?? At the moment I have only used CA on the av-bay tubes, not the bulkheads. I was considering brushing some laminating epoxy on them once the wiring is done to help protect the wood from the ejection residue unless someone knows a better product to use. This is my first dual deployment rocket.... ok, I lied. Sort of. I've actually built a few DD rockets (Binder Design Excel, LOC Fantom XL, and a blue tube scratch build) but I haven't flown them yet. So it looks like this rocket will be my first dual deployment LAUNCH. My wife is out of town, so I'll get some time to play rocket scientist tonight. Plenty of primering, sanding, and painting ahead of me along with wiring the av-bay and installing shear pins. Once the wiring is done, I can start ground testing.

 

[berlinetta]

Dave, I misunderstood what you were asking and to whom.

 

[neond7]

I'm working on the final paint color/graphic design for this rocket. I came up with this (see attached picture).

Unfortunately, I don't feel the proportions of this rocket lend itself to this design as the nose is too long and it just doesn't look right.

I'm open to suggestions!!

 

[rocketgeek101]

I think you should go for it. Call it Copper Top.

 

[patelldp]

Do the paint job, then call Duracell and ask them to sponsor your batteries...

 

[neond7]

Do the paint job, then call Duracell and ask them to sponsor your batteries...

Lol... not a bad idea. Those 9v batteries add up when you are flying 2x at a time!!

 

[csoechtig]

You have a good question - how are most people protecting the wood from the ejection charge?? At the moment I have only used CA on the av-bay tubes, not the bulkheads. I was considering brushing some laminating epoxy on them once the wiring is done to help protect the wood from the ejection residue unless someone knows a better product to use.

Hey Jeff,

You really don't need to do anything to 'protect' the bulkheads from the ejection charge. Other than some BP residue, the plywood will hold up just fine.

 

[dixontj93060]

You really don't need to do anything to 'protect' the bulkheads from the ejection charge. Other than some BP residue, the plywood will hold up just fine.

I typically brush mine with epoxy to make clean up easier.

 

[neond7]

First coat of paint is on the rocket! I'm loving the Duracell theme, it really fits.

I used Krylon gloss black for the booster. It will get a wet sanding in a few days and a second coat. For the payload section, I found a copper VHT High Temp Engine Enamel paint. First I tested it on an old rocket and then shot some Rustoleum clear on it and it didn't do anything funny. At this point I'm not planning on clear coating it, but I wanted to keep the option open and figured it was best to test it. I haven't clear coated the past few rockets, and honestly, I haven't missed it. Clear coating has always seemed to cause me more problems than anything else!

I did manage to get two big fingerprints in the middle of the payload section, or I would have considered it finished. Unfortunately, this paint requires 7 days between coats if you don't get them all applied within an hour. I'll wet sand it in 7 days and then shoot the nose cone and the second and (hopefully) final coat on the payload section. Its pretty expensive at $8 + a can, but I love the copper color.

I'm planning on painting the switch band black, and then add a silver band to the bottom of the payload tube, this should help "balance" the two sections visually since with the nose cone it makes the copper section much longer than a normally Duracell battery looks. I'm just picky that way...

Progress will be slow for the next week while I wait for the copper paint to cure, in the meantime I'll be finishing up the av-bay wiring. So far, its on schedule for a maiden launch in March up in Bunnell on a K550W.

 

[dixontj93060]

Nice looking copper!

 

[gldknght]

You have a good question - how are most people protecting the wood from the ejection charge?? At the moment I have only used CA on the av-bay tubes, not the bulkheads. I was considering brushing some laminating epoxy on them once the wiring is done to help protect the wood from the ejection residue unless someone knows a better product to use. This is my first dual deployment rocket.... ok, I lied. Sort of. I've actually built a few DD rockets (Binder Design Excel, LOC Fantom XL, and a blue tube scratch build) but I haven't flown them yet. So it looks like this rocket will be my first dual deployment LAUNCH. My wife is out of town, so I'll get some time to play rocket scientist tonight. Plenty of primering, sanding, and painting ahead of me along with wiring the av-bay and installing shear pins. Once the wiring is done, I can start ground testing.

I think I'm going to laminate at least the deployment charge side of my avbay plywood bulkheads with fiberglass, then sanded smooth. I may do both sides of each. My first dual deploy rocket used Pml's CPR system, the second one was made of G10. This will be my first dual deploy with ply bulkheads.

 

[jus_rockets]

Beautiful job! I love the colors.

 

[berlinetta]

I love the paint job.

 

[neond7]

I was pretty disappointed in the quality of the first coat of paint, I ended up doing some major wet sanding of both the booster and payload sections; first with 400 and then 600 grit. It was obvious the payload section had some really bad flaws, so I ended up touching up a few spots with Bondo and then respraying it with a thick coat of Duplicolor high build primer.

Here are some pics:

1. Booster after second (and final) coat of Krylon gloss black. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

2. Redundant shot of painted booster.

3. I'm being blinded by the reflection on that deep, black, smooth paint. Probably my best rattle can paint job yet. Is it perfect? No.... but not too shabby.

4. I added three brass shims to the nose cone shoulder to help the shear pins to cut cleanly.

5. I was about to add the 30 minute epoxy to seal in the brass shim.

 

[neond7]

I installed the push pin rivets, I'm now all set for ground testing.

I'll paint the nose cone once testing is done so I don't mess it up before its first flight.

I'm ordering the vinyl this week - starting to look good!!

Dry weight so far without motor casing and recovery equipment is 12.2 pounds.