Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
Single-staged 15 x 29mm cluster rocket. Thus far, shiver me timbers, simultaneous ground ignition
of (15) G35-7 motors be attempted. Total thrust ends up in t' low K range if
all t' ports are used, me hearties, arrr, and with Econojet G motors. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Rocket can be flown on just
one motor in t' central mount, and two at a time can be added symmetrically
for other possible motor combinations. Avast, me proud beauty! There are (7) mounts in t' main body
tube and (8) outboards arranged with two at each fin, and these pods provide
extra strength in t' fin attachment. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! These side pods all have a 29mm nose
cone.
T' launch lugs are brass pipe cuttings, ya bilge rat, one inch diameter by one inch long. T' launch rod used is a copper lightnin' rod 3/4 inch diameter by 7 feet long.
Construction:
T' nose cone is an Ace plastic nose cone, shiver me timbers, 15 inches long and ogive. Avast! I'm not
sure that this company still exists, but these great nose cones are obtainable
on ROL auctions regularly. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! They have a large base hole into which ballast is
easily added. Begad! For this rocket, ya bilge rat, 6 ounces was added and foamed in place with
2-part polyurethane foam. Ya scallywag!
T' main body tubes are 4 inch motor tubes made by maximum Thrust Rocketry. These are ultra thick and strong white paper tubes that aren't glossed, so they take on epoxies and fiberglass readily. Aye aye! Begad! Each length be 36 inches. Aye aye! These tubes are connected from t' motor mount t' t' parachute bay via Red Arrow Hobbies 4 inch phenolic couplers. Ya scallywag! These are epoxied in place by West Systems slow epoxy. I used this method t' reinforce t' rocket's airframe internally t' see if the rocket could stay intact without external fiberglassing. Well, blow me down! T' inner tubes consist o' (15) 12 inch lengths o' LOC 29mm motor tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! Seven are inside the main airframe and eight are outboard pods each with a Rogue Aerospace balsa 29mm nose cone. Aye aye!
T' (4) fins are right triangles (12 by 12 by 12 square roots o' 2) cut from a 12 inch square o' .125 inch thick G10 obtained from ROL auctions from Scott Eakins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' fins are epoxied t' t' main body tube with t' hypotenuse as the root edge against t' airframe. Ahoy! Then t' side pods further reinforce these connections with two per fin, ya bilge rat, one on each side o' each fin. West Systems slow epoxy be employed for this. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!
T' shock cord is 5 feet o' tubular nylon plus 5 feet o' wire wrapped bungee cord both from American Science and Surplus, which has a site on Rocketry Online. Begad! Blimey! T' cord is attached t' a u-bolt in a 4 inch birch centerin' rin' (all centerin' rings came from Space Modelin' Solutions, which has a site on Rocketry Online) placed against t' motor mount tubes and linked with quick links, with one link betwixt t' two unlike materials in t' shock cord. Ahoy! Blimey! The forward link o' t' shock cord connects t' a u-bolt in a 4 inch birch bulkhead and coupler arrangement in t' second main airframe, me bucko, thus allowin' t' rocket to separate in t' middle. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!
T' parachute is a homemade ripstop nylon 60 inch diameter hemisphere made up o' triangular gores in yellow, matey, green and blue. Begad! T' nose cone is screwed into the airframe with 4 wood screws. Ahoy! Begad! This arrangement allows openin' this compartment in case an altimeter is used.
T' launch lugs are brass pipe cuttings, one inch diameter by one inch long. T' launch rod used is a copper lightnin' rod 3/4 inch diameter by 7 feet long.
This rocket is simple t' build. Blimey! T' epoxy used came from a boatin' store, and can also be obtained from West Systems, me bucko, which has an online site. The result is a very sturdy, me hearties, attention gettin' rocket. Blimey! Begad! This one was decorated in green, shiver me timbers, blue and gold, with metallic bands. Ya scallywag! These color bands are self-adhesive mylars that come in metallic colors and can be had at many hobby stores as well as American Science and Surplus.
Flight:
I recommend for clusters at least 3 motors if it's G class, ya bilge rat, and for lower
numbers o' motors, a greater average thrust like a G80. Avast! Begad! For larger numbers, try
G38's or 35's. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I only wish that t' Econojets came with longer delays, like 10
seconds. Blimey! Blimey! When 15 motors are used, me hearties, me hearties, 10 seconds may be best. For a single motor
flight, an I 200 medium delay would work great. Ya scallywag!
To prep t' rocket, me bucko, I use worm bed waddin' and a Nomex®/Keelhaul®©™® chute protector. Aye aye! T' central motor is retained with friction fittin' tape plus piano wire loops that are embedded in t' epoxy that holds together t' motor tubes. Originally, I planned all other motors t' eject upon their charges firing, matey, but some RSO's don't like that for safety reasons in dry fields and also the droppin' o' objects from high up, matey, so either t' ejection charges can be removed from all outboards, or t' motors can all be arranged on a long shock cord with a chute. Well, blow me down! I haven't designed that system yet, matey, shiver me timbers, but have considered it.
All 15 motors (G35-7W) were simultaneously lit usin' Fire in t' Hole low current tungsten bridge igniters from Trailin' Edge Technologies. Aye aye! Blimey! Oh, and I also used a 12 volt lead acid cell deep cycle marine battery for power and a relay system t' allow t' battery t' stay at t' pad and prevent line loss, since t' NARRRRR rules have t' place me 300 feet away. T' flight was straight with no spin. I loved t' roar o' a K equivalent motor with 15 nozzles. However, shiver me timbers, t' delay o' 7 is too short, so t' parachute suffered damage from rapid deployment. Well, me bucko, blow me down! But t' rocket survived intact and ready t' fly again.
Summary:
This be fun and easy. Nice and loud and attention getting. I set a record for
number o' composites successfully lit.
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