First time posting in the scratch built section. I've designed and built a large number of scratch builds, clones etc. but haven't really ever shared them. This one I think is interesting enough to share.
I've always had an interest in tube fin rockets. I like the look and I like the fact that they tend to be a bit draggy so I can use larger motors and they don't tend to fly that high as I generally have limited space to recover. For this build I'm going to have fins, tubs and rings incorporated into the same design.
Major Parts List.
- BT55 Main body tube. Main tube is 18 inches. Payload tube is 4 inches.
- Outer rings. Not sure the part number but they are 1.88 OD and purchased from ERockets.
- Tube fins. 3 of them, all BT20, 3.25 inches long.
- Main outer ring. 3.5 inch OD cut 1.75 inches wide.
- BT50 motor tube.
- BT50 Centering rings.
- Fins cut from 3/32 Balsa.
- Choice of nose cones. I have two shown as I haven't figured out which one I wan to use.
Starting with the motor mount. I marked the lower ring location at 3/8 of an inch from the end of the tube. Once assembled the motor tube will be exposed by 3/8 of an inch. The upper ring is 1/8 inch plywood, the lower ring is fiber. A motor block was also installed.
Here is the finished motor mount. I did notch out a small section of the upper ring for the Kevlar shock cord to pass through.
Once dry I attached a section of 300# Kevlar to the upper ring then gave it a small amount of added protection with some heat shrink wrap.
Using TBII wood glue, the motor mount was inserted into the main body tube until the lower centering ring was flush with the end of the tube.
I'm stopped here to let this dry over night. I'm going to be working on marking the main tube and installing the three main fins this evening.
More to come
I've always had an interest in tube fin rockets. I like the look and I like the fact that they tend to be a bit draggy so I can use larger motors and they don't tend to fly that high as I generally have limited space to recover. For this build I'm going to have fins, tubs and rings incorporated into the same design.
Major Parts List.
- BT55 Main body tube. Main tube is 18 inches. Payload tube is 4 inches.
- Outer rings. Not sure the part number but they are 1.88 OD and purchased from ERockets.
- Tube fins. 3 of them, all BT20, 3.25 inches long.
- Main outer ring. 3.5 inch OD cut 1.75 inches wide.
- BT50 motor tube.
- BT50 Centering rings.
- Fins cut from 3/32 Balsa.
- Choice of nose cones. I have two shown as I haven't figured out which one I wan to use.
Starting with the motor mount. I marked the lower ring location at 3/8 of an inch from the end of the tube. Once assembled the motor tube will be exposed by 3/8 of an inch. The upper ring is 1/8 inch plywood, the lower ring is fiber. A motor block was also installed.
Here is the finished motor mount. I did notch out a small section of the upper ring for the Kevlar shock cord to pass through.
Once dry I attached a section of 300# Kevlar to the upper ring then gave it a small amount of added protection with some heat shrink wrap.
Using TBII wood glue, the motor mount was inserted into the main body tube until the lower centering ring was flush with the end of the tube.
I'm stopped here to let this dry over night. I'm going to be working on marking the main tube and installing the three main fins this evening.
More to come