The launch lugs are going to have to stand off the ST-115 just slightly, because there’s this ridiculous tiny piece of BT-55 going in at the front. Only a tenth of an inch larger diameter, but there you are. I don’t have a punch the right size and strength to make the needed hole in…
Next I kludged up a long BT-50 to ST-115 centering ring. I cut another short piece of ST-115 and cut out a strip to make it a slip fit into the body tube; then I added three layers of 90# index cardstock. Here it’s glued up, dry fit inside the end of my leftover ST-115…
I’ve started building the R13, an oddroc I conceived of almost a year ago. I’ve been referring to it here as RX, but forget that. I decided last year to build a smaller, less odd prototype, the Rxiiiab; I built it, flew it, painted it, declared victory, and this year I build the real thing.…
Next up, installing the adjustable nose weight. I decided to use a small pill bottle (which used to hold 10 Advil). I pried out the plastic insert from the cap, and found that if I substituted two disks cut from 90 pound index cardstock the cap would not be too loose but wouldn’t be quite…
Fins — paper glued, trimmed, thin CA on the edges, ready. I decided, sure, let’s cant them. I kludged up a modification to the Estes fin thing. It’s the first time I’ve done canted fins, deliberately anyway, so I took it slow. One at a time, lots of time for the yellow glue to set…
A couple of things I just noticed: On the Estes web site there is a Little Joe II plastic parts set: http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets…astic-parts-set and a Mercury Redstone capsule plastic parts set: http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets…e-plastic-parts. Great for those who didn’t do such a great job on the tower on the first try, or whose capsule didn’t survive re-entry. But also…
http://www.estesrockets.com/media//catalogs/Estes_2016_Catalog.pdf Coming in March, it says: Puma, Skill Level 3, mini engine. In May, a BT-60 Nike Smoke, Supernova (both Skill Level 2) and Estes Shuttle (Skill Level 5, parachute/glide recovery). In June, Apollo 11 Saturn V (4″ diameter, Skill Level 5). Big Bertha’s still with us.
I’ve started on my (first?) rocket for the club’s ongoing B streamer spot landing contest this year. I started designing something a while back, and after a while I looked at it and said, huh, that looks like a Baby Bertha, doesn’t it? So I revised the design a bit to make it a Baby Bertha…
Sorry about the radio silence. There’s been stuff happening and stuff not happening and all that. What hasn’t been happening is actual building. I do have fins cut for the flexwing but attempts to talk myself into airfoiling them have been countered with procrastination. I’ve been messing around with figuring out how to handle the…
Time for the side spars. My wife brought a handful of these things home a while back. I don’t know what they’re called. I don’t know what they’re used for. It looks like they consist of 4″ of 0.015 music wire with a plastic knob on the end. Wait, why didn’t I just cut the…
Rich's Rockets 