Cherokee Goon Build, Part 1, Parts
This isn't my idea, I wish it was. I saw the Cherokee Goon on TRF, HERE John Bergsmith (Boosterdude on TRF) posted the first pictures I'd seen of this Gooney. He got the decals and fin pattern from a post from Blades HERE . Go to the second post for the decal art. I've got pieces and ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Part 2, Pieced Fins
My Cherokee Goon fins will be the same size as the BT-55 original kit fins. I've only got 3" wide balsa on hand, the root edge is a bit longer. I'll piece it together from scraps.
This old, shelf worn balsa was picked up cheap at the local hobby store. Both the edges were a little banged ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Part 3, Pieced Fin Shaping
Sand the pieced fin sides flat without losing too much of the 3/32" width. Here's all three Goon fins next to the Semroc kit fin. The corners on the new fins are still sharp.
The corners were rounded to match the Semroc fins. The fin grain will be filled before gluing onto the ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Part 4, Assembly
Here's the engine mount with the replaceable Kevlar loop around the rear centering ring. This was an earlier example where I used a launch lug as a tunnel for the Kevlar. You should use a smaller plastic tube from a cheap Q-Tip. A smaller tube won't allow as much of the ejection charge to ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Part 6, Decals
I scanned the Semroc Cherokee D decal sheet and drew up another one with some changes. The original kit had decal wraps to fit the BT-55 tube. This Goony is BT-60 based. The roll wraps will have to be a bit wider. I eliminated the logos from the large wrap decal. At the middle of the sheet is ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Part 5, Wet Sanding
I did do some wet sanding on the Cherokee Goon. Here's how the fin looked after the last heavier final coat of white. The gloss is good but there is some slight pebbling on the surface.
Wet sanding should be called "damp sanding". You don't want any water to get in or on a unpainted, ...
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Cherokee Goon Build, Finished
The 12" red and white Baby Bertha parachute is a good color match. 1/4 oz. of clay was pressed into the nose cone. This one should be good up to a B6-4. I have plenty of the Quest B6-4 engines to work through. The smaller Quest ejection charges will be fine in this short rocket. ...
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New Cherokee Goon Decal - The Big Fix
My Cherokee Goon has been through 12 flights, many were Quest B6-4s The upper wrap decal was dirty from the Quest ejection charges. The rocket is BT-60 based, short and very strong. With a new decal wrap it would look like a new build. Here's the Cherokee D decal you can find online. I used ...
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