Estes - FireRay
Contributed by David Porterfield (Contributed - by David R. Porterfield)
Modifications: Since the plastic coupler included with the Fireflash isn't used, there's only a tiny launch lug on the fin unit, so a regular launch lug must be added. I painted the launch lug gloss black so it would blend in with the rest of the rocket, then aligned it on the body tube by sighting through the launch lug on the fin unit. I used the shock cord provided with the Fireflash (actually long enough, since this rocket ends up being considerably shorter than the Fireflash) and attached it to the inside of the black BT-50 body tube with a traditional tri-fold paper mount. The other end of the shock cord was attached to the plastic tube adapter as described in the Fireflash instructions. This completed the lower half of the rocket. The upper half of the rocket uses most of the parts from the X-Ray plus two clay weights from the Fireflash (put the other two with the rest of the extra parts). I packed the two clay weights into the nose cone for balance, and covered the clay with a small piece of aluminum foil. Then I assembled the payload section according to the X-Ray instructions, using paper tape where needed to get a snug fit. I slid the fuchsia fin unit onto the black BT-5 tube provided with the X-Ray (it's slightly shorter than the BT-5s that come with the Fireflash), then attached the payload/nosecone assembly with CA. The entire upper section is then attached to the adapter at the top of the lower section. You can glue it, but I decided to just friction-fit it very tightly with paper tape to make it easier to change the shock cord if needed. Then tie the parachute to the shock cord an inch or two down from the upper section. The final result is a payload carrier that uses standard engines and stands about two feet tall -- no shortie, but not so long as to suffer from the crumpling problems that plague the Fireflash. Construction: As noted earlier, this is a very easy rocket to build -- you can easily put it together in less than an hour. The materials provided in the two kits (all were fully complete) allow you to retain the black-and-fuchsia color scheme of the X-Ray. I cut up the decals from both kits to make a decal that says "Fire-Ray" (although I placed it a little low on the body tube and ended up adding a couple of strips of red automotive striping tape above it so it would look more "balanced" -- this wouldn't be necessary if I'd put the decals in the middle to begin with). I also cut out the two "X"s from the X-Ray decals and put them on the lower fins. The only "con" I can think of regarding construction and finishing is that you do need to supply a launch lug, which looks much better if you paint it black. I put the small piece of aluminum foil over the clay in the nose cone purely for aesthetic reasons, so whether you do that or not is entirely up to you. Flight: The first flight of the FireRay was on an A8-3, which took it up close to 200 feet. It looked like it deployed slightly before apogee. Its second flight was on a B4-4, which deployed slightly after apogee (a B6-4 might work better) at around 400 feet. I never had the chance to try it on a B6-4 or a C, because an upper air current caused it to drift into the woods, where it was not recoverable, but I imagine a C6-5 would have taken it up close to 800 feet. It flew straight and true both times it was launched. The shock cord, as noted earlier, was attached with a conventional tri-fold paper mount. No damage or wear was evident upon recovery, except for a little soot on the shock cord. The twelve-inch parachute supplied with the Fireflash works great. Summary: Other:
What You Can Do
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