Manufacturer: | Estes |
Brief:
I generally scavange whatever rocket parts I can for future use. This is the
story of such a rocket. It is BT-60 based and flies on 24mm motors. I also
installed two outboards, although now that it's built, I don't think I will use
them. I may add LEDs to the outboard pods, since the cones are translucent and
are not solid.
Construction:
The fins were already cut out (I forget whether they were die cut back then) and three had dowels already installed on their tips. I tried various orientations before I decided on this configuration. The side fins both extend downward and rest against the side pods.
The BT-55 pods have a 24mm motor mount installed. This is not centered but rather rests against the side of the tube where it meets the main body tube. I improvised solid motor blocks by capping the end with a cardboard circle and backfilling with Gorilla Glue. If I ever used these, I'd also have to use a tape thrust ring. I used some scrap tubing to make a shoulder for the plastic caps to rest against. These caps were eventually glued in with Liquid Nails, but only after all the painting and decal sealing was completed.
I have had a couple of Deuce's Wild! cones for a while and decided to use one as a tail cone. I split it in half and hollowed it with a combination of a wood carving knife, a Dremel grinder, and a spent casing wrapped with sandpaper. I installed an eye hook in the balsa as an attachment point for the Kevlar® leader.
I had two smallish pieces of BT-60, so one became a payload section. The shoulder is a small scrap of 38mm tubing with a lengthwise section removed. A paper cap keeps the ejection from blowing through and a piece of elastic was epoxied to the inside of this shoulder.
Finishing:
The nose and tail cones are painted black and the body tube is blue. Both are
Painter's Touch paints. I added many of the decals from the original sheet.
These match the paint scheme nicely, although the yellow decals seem a bit
washed out with the dark background.
Flight:
I added clay to the nose cone until the rocket passed a swing test. It's weight
grew, so a D12-3 was required. I angled the rocket into the wind a bit to keep
it from the tree line. This resulted in a near perfect ejection and a nice
recovery.
Summary:
In my opinion, this rocket looks pretty good considering it was cobbled
together from various parts from other rockets--and even air fresheners! Since
it will fly on a D12, I may eventually add LEDs to the side pods for night
launches. If so, I will also add another BT-60 to move the cone forward, which
would allow me to remove some or all of the nose weight.
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