Scratch Tea-Bird Original Design / Scratch Built

Scratch - Tea-Bird {Scratch}

Contributed by Jewel B. Butler Jr.

Manufacturer: Scratch
Style: Ring/Tube/Cone Fin

{short description of image}Brief:
This rocket is a replic of the great rocketeer Larry Brand designed called the Tea Bird. Got the idea off the EMRR web site. The rocket is a tube-fin stubby that flies really nice and is relatively cheap to build.

Construction:
I started with three container that my Sugar-Free KoolAid comes in, a Bt-80 nose cone fits perfectly as Mr Brand stated in the Tea Bird article. Got the balsa nose cone from an old rocket, needed some nose weight according to my rocksim.

Components used to build the rocket were:

  • 18 inch chute,
  • 36 inches of Kevlar .060
  • 2ft of paracord.
  • A LOC 1/4 inch launch lug 4 inches,
  • 2 Bt80-24mm Centering rings,
  • 4 inches of Bt-50 for a motor mount .
  • 4o/z round fishing weight 1/4inch hole drilled through the middle

Fisrt wash container throughly. Then cut off the ends of the containers and sand with a medium grit sandpaper, then measure 2 inches then mark, measure 4 inches then mark. Cut the tube fins from two of the containers. Sanding is very important because it helps the epoxy to adhere to the tubes. I glued the tube fins together two at a time then attached them to the body with a lot of 30-minute epoxy. Glue the motor mount together with 5-minute epoxy. Sand the inside of the main tube before installing motormount. The launch lug fits snuggly between the tubefins pick one. The nose cone was already painted red so I painted the body black and the fins blue.

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Flight:
Started with 2 D12-3 then went to a E9-6, delay was a little to long. I used dog barf. I used tape to keep the engines in. The rocket did a little weathervaining. Recovery was via a 24inch chute, came down nice and slow.

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Summary:
Great rocket if you got the spare parts to build one. Cheap if you save the containers. By the way, the KoolAid costs $2.99 to 3.99. It might be cheaper to just order you a BT-80 from Semroc or BMS for around 7 bucks. I had them just laying around.

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Other Reviews
  • Scratch Tea-Bird By Larry Brand (May 14, 2008)

    An all-plastic tubefin for 29mm motors. This tiny (15" tall) and extreme-stubby tubefin was inspired by a plastic container of Crystal Light instant iced tea packets I was looking at one day. Sitting next to it on the pantry was a 2.6" Estes Executioner my kids gave me for Fathers Day last year. I kept looking back and forth at that 2.6" Estes nose cone and the plastic Crystal Light container. ...

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