Old School Doug
Unwilling participant in the idiocracy.
Finally got around to putting the decals on the Omega clone in between mounting the tubes on "Bits".
What did you do rocket wise today?
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Finally broke down and bought a kit that has been on my "want" list for some time... Now to see about getting the parts for an upscale!
Today, I sanded the primer on my scratch 3D printed Red Max with 29mm MMT, the primed again. Color tomorrow. Goblin Green with black nose cone
I have been printing my Betamax for my family for our first launch of the season this weekend.
I have also been mentoring a young man who is attempting his Jr Level 1 this weekend. I don't know who's more nervous/excited but its going to be exciting.
I have been printing my Betamax for my family for our first launch of the season this weekend.
I have also been mentoring a young man who is attempting his Jr Level 1 this weekend. I don't know who's more nervous/excited but its going to be exciting.
I have had tremendous trouble with Rustoleum, I won't buy it anymore. I have had some success with cleaning the nozzles. I soaked them in acetone then blew them out with air, later I found that wasn't enough. I had to dig the residue out of the vertical tube too and that helped. However I've also had cans where the valve in the can seemed to also clog. I need to figure out a way to put a small reservoir of acetone over the valve tube so all of that can soften.
Packed up for the MDRA launch tomorrow!
NTP2
Well-Known Member
Good luck to him!
My point was to remove and flush or blow it out immediately after using it, so nothing can start to harden and need cleaning out later.
lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
I'll try one more time. What type of Rustoleum? "Rust Stop"? "2X"? Or ?
Graffiti guys are very knowledgeable about caps, and there's a bunch of them out there.
https://spraycapdepot.com/nozzles/rusto-caps-adapters/
https://spraycapdepot.com/nozzles/rusto-caps-adapters/
Secured a flying field, 5 minutes from home. 1500'x1500'. SCORE!!!
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I set aside the Trifecta this week to build these with my daughter.
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Glued the fins and launch lugs on my Estes DRM.
Needs to stop raining so I can paint it. :sigh:
Needs to stop raining so I can paint it. :sigh:
NTP2
Well-Known Member
What is the finless one?
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It is the "flight probe" for the Tie Fighter. The front "wagon wheel" is removed, the black "finless" piece is installed. The Tie Fighter acts as the fins for the combined unit. Only way it would fly stable
What @les said.
Old School Doug
Unwilling participant in the idiocracy.
The finishing assembly line is heating up! Next one ready for clear coat is the 4" scratch built Hornet, pictured next to it's little D powered brother.
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Tonight, I tried the Estes Amazon ARF fins out in a Booster-55. They slot right in and are positively retained by the motor retaining cap, but the interfacing portions are thinner, so the fins just flop around in the slot. You could still use them together, but you would have to permanently glue the fins in, losing a lot of the advantages of the modular Booster-55 and Booster-60 utility rocket fin cans. If I was going to do that, I would use the JB Weld Plastic Bonder epoxy, as it actually bubbles and expands during cure to be super gap filling.
The Amazon fins appear to be the same as Chiller fins. Same basic shape, roughly the same airframe diameter, it would be weird if they weren't the same molded part. So the Booster-55 fin can could be an easy upgrade to D power for the Amazon if you don't mind it staying assembled. (The Amazon uses a quarter-turn locking system instead of threads, so the Booster-55 won't actually work as a booster.) The fin can swap wouldn't work for the Chiller without somehow acquiring a fourth fin. However, you can just use it as intended and make your Chiller a two-stager if you want.
I'm thinking about just slapping the Amazon together as designed (I never do that) or more likely with just one of the body tubes and flying it in the local park on B14s when they come out. Or I might glue the fins into a Booster-55 or Booster-60 and make something else D-powered, then put the unobtanium BT-56 in my tubing stash and add the PNC-56 to the pile.
The Amazon fins appear to be the same as Chiller fins. Same basic shape, roughly the same airframe diameter, it would be weird if they weren't the same molded part. So the Booster-55 fin can could be an easy upgrade to D power for the Amazon if you don't mind it staying assembled. (The Amazon uses a quarter-turn locking system instead of threads, so the Booster-55 won't actually work as a booster.) The fin can swap wouldn't work for the Chiller without somehow acquiring a fourth fin. However, you can just use it as intended and make your Chiller a two-stager if you want.
I'm thinking about just slapping the Amazon together as designed (I never do that) or more likely with just one of the body tubes and flying it in the local park on B14s when they come out. Or I might glue the fins into a Booster-55 or Booster-60 and make something else D-powered, then put the unobtanium BT-56 in my tubing stash and add the PNC-56 to the pile.
Broke out the Cricut to make some decals and painting stencils. Never tried stencil cutting before - used Cricut’s Smart Stencil material. “Smart” = no mat needed to cut.
As easy as cutting vinyl. The backing is quite thick, but the stencil material is extremely thin and can tear during weeding if you’re a Neanderthal about it.
Weeding is very easy with the thin material.
Normal carrier material used as if applying vinyl. Tamiya paints as ever. Two light coats is plenty (not the three I used when stupidly painting white over black…).
So… if there’s a Cricut in the family try the stencil material. A more ‘genuine’ appearance than vinyl and less drama than water slides. I’ll try multicoloured designs next time I play.
I call that project over - time for something new.
As easy as cutting vinyl. The backing is quite thick, but the stencil material is extremely thin and can tear during weeding if you’re a Neanderthal about it.
Weeding is very easy with the thin material.
Normal carrier material used as if applying vinyl. Tamiya paints as ever. Two light coats is plenty (not the three I used when stupidly painting white over black…).
So… if there’s a Cricut in the family try the stencil material. A more ‘genuine’ appearance than vinyl and less drama than water slides. I’ll try multicoloured designs next time I play.
I call that project over - time for something new.
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Received my Cherokee Mini from Wildman. I've built FG rockets before, but this is my first kit- I'm excited!
Washed all the parts and took measurements/weights of all fiberglass components to make an OR file, primarily to help visualize some color combinations.
Note the AL tip wasn't treated as a separate component. I'll do that later. The nose cone was weighed with the tip in place, and the mass & CG was manually entered for the NC assembly. In natural kit colors:
Parachute, kevlar shock cord and printed rail guides are not included in this file.
Because of a recent comment by @Pinetree at the time this kit was ordered, I'm considering yellow/silver as the colors for this one...
Washed all the parts and took measurements/weights of all fiberglass components to make an OR file, primarily to help visualize some color combinations.
Note the AL tip wasn't treated as a separate component. I'll do that later. The nose cone was weighed with the tip in place, and the mass & CG was manually entered for the NC assembly. In natural kit colors:
Parachute, kevlar shock cord and printed rail guides are not included in this file.
Because of a recent comment by @Pinetree at the time this kit was ordered, I'm considering yellow/silver as the colors for this one...
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To avoid a few low points, I filled the gaps on my home made PVC Pipe/Pipe Coupler 75mm mandrel and then sanded them down. Finished OD is 74.58mm, so it'll be good for making a 75mm MMT with a few wraps of baking sheet.
Then took the BBQ rotisserie off my main rotisserie jig and screwed it onto the end of one of the mandrel rollers. With a few Mac-Shims it aligned OK.
In other news ... the temp was only 28degrees C and 58% humidity at 08:00 this morning, so before it got worse, I quickly shot a good coat of Gloss Cherry Red onto the mini Tin-Tin Rocket. Seemed OK.
Then took the BBQ rotisserie off my main rotisserie jig and screwed it onto the end of one of the mandrel rollers. With a few Mac-Shims it aligned OK.
In other news ... the temp was only 28degrees C and 58% humidity at 08:00 this morning, so before it got worse, I quickly shot a good coat of Gloss Cherry Red onto the mini Tin-Tin Rocket. Seemed OK.
brentius
Well-Known Member
I lasercut the fins for my L1 out of 6 mil ply.
Just prepped 8 LPRs and 2 MPRs to fly with my sons tomorrow at MDRA. My 2.5-year-old daughter, who isn't up for that long day yet, inserted motors and nose cones and did anything involving screwing (retainers, undoing hobbyline closures, etc) and was a great little helper. I'm hoping her enthusiasm sticks around for when she's old enough to build and launch one herself in a couple years!
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lakeroadster
When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
Old School Doug
Unwilling participant in the idiocracy.
Bits-n-Pieces II moved from the "almost done" category into the finished pile. 3" Tube fin scratch upscale based on a smaller version I built some time ago. This is one of those that doesn't photograph well and really needs to be seen in natural sunlight. The finish coat is Rusto color shift that ranges from very deep green to deep blue depending on the angle of view. Two more in the final stages of detailing and parts ordered for the last of what turned out to be 9 winter builds.
Downloaded the wildman wild child, then changed part sizes an locations an turned it into a Cherokee mini on rock Sim. Added the rail buttons. Glued the two centering rings, motor mount, and one end of the shock cord. Next the engine retainer went on. Got one fin epoxied on good stopping point.
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Bought nose cones from Randy that were discontinued with low single digit quantities on hand.
RocketTree
Well-Known Member
Finally flew the upscale SpaceJet (scratch build based on the Estes Jetliner kit) with a CTI G88-8 on a dreary whiteout day.
Great flight with a nice whistle, and recovered close by. Used a 28" Loc chute with spill hole.
Also launched some others:
Black Brant II-50 - C6-5
Mini Minnie Magg - 2xC6-5
Nike Smoke - E12-6
Estes Goblin - E12-6
and my kids launched the Estes Skywriters on C6-5's with onboard cameras.
Great flight with a nice whistle, and recovered close by. Used a 28" Loc chute with spill hole.
Also launched some others:
Black Brant II-50 - C6-5
Mini Minnie Magg - 2xC6-5
Nike Smoke - E12-6
Estes Goblin - E12-6
and my kids launched the Estes Skywriters on C6-5's with onboard cameras.
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Squirell Works makes some nice looking rockets.
Fixed a body tube that came in ballistic. Came out nice.
CA sealed around the top of the body tubes to strengthen a number of newer rockets that had not been CA'd...just to protect on ejection, or if they come in ballistic.
Sand and prime, Big Daddy.
Joined the airframe tubes on the 2x Viper, CWF, CA, Sand Prime, Sand.
CWF, Sand, Prime Super Vega fins.
CA sealed around the top of the body tubes to strengthen a number of newer rockets that had not been CA'd...just to protect on ejection, or if they come in ballistic.
Sand and prime, Big Daddy.
Joined the airframe tubes on the 2x Viper, CWF, CA, Sand Prime, Sand.
CWF, Sand, Prime Super Vega fins.
