X-Factor

Eldred Pickett's Descon-14 Entry

Parts List

• 1 - 18" by 6" 1/8 balsa
• 1 - BT-60 body tube
• 1 - BT-20 body tube
• 3 - regular engine clips
• 3 - BT-5 centering rings

Construction

I cut (3) 2 3/4 lengths of the BT-20 tube. These are the engine tubes. I used centering rings for a BT-5 as engine blocks, and regular clips to hold the engines.

I cut (3) 5" diameter circles out of the balsa sheet (pic 1). Then, I cut these circles in half to make the 6 fins (pic 2). For packing of the space between the engine, I used shredded paper and glue. Hey, I didn't know how to make a real MMT, and I hadn't been able to buy any yet.

Flight and Recovery

I flew it on 8/14 at a club launch, using 3 B6-4's(I chickened out on using C6-5's). Recovered nicely, even though it got singed tailfeathers (pic 3). The launch day pics show the model in its unpainted (primer) state.

Conclusion

I've only been a BAR for a couple months. I decided to enter the contest only after a bit of prompting from r.m.r. I'd never scratchbuilt ANY rocket before, let alone a cluster... I just bought a bunch of BTs, nose cones, and clips, and discovered that 3 BT-20's fit quite nicely in a BT-60. I'm pretty happy that the bird had a good flight and safe recovery. I think I'll keep it.

PIC 1	PIC 2

PIC 3	Launch Day

Launch Day	Launch Day