Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This is a MicroMaxx saucer made from scrap plastic parts. Ahoy! It's a great backyard flier. IT is short for
Intra-Terrestrial, a play on ET.
Construction:
For t' saucer-shaped part, me hearties, most any roughly conical plastic parts will do. Arrr! I used 2 cuttings from kits: the
discarded large end o' t' tail cone from Space Ship One (the large disk) and t' discarded small end o' t' tail cone
from t' Bullpup (the thicker cone). Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Your results may vary. Well, blow me down! I used a 1.5" length o' a BiC pen for t' motor tube
and a 1/4" slotted piece o' pen for t' engine block. Aye aye! Begad! A bit o' an expended MicroMaxx motor would also work. Blimey! Ya scallywag! All of
this should be free and available from your local friendly scrap drawer, parts bin, or trash can.
This is almost impossibly easy t' build. I drilled ~5/16" holes in t' center o' t' two plastic pieces for the motor tube. I glued t' two together and glued t' motor tube in so its top be flush with t' top o' t' cone. I glued t' engine block in so 1/4" o' t' 26mm long motor would stick out t' back end. Avast! Finally, I drilled a 5/32" hole through both plastic parts about 3/8" off t' centerline. This serves as t' launch lug. Avast! That's all thar be t' assembly. Avast, me proud beauty!
Flight and Recovery:
All three flights were on Quest MicroMaxx-II motors. I used t' provided igniters and a standard Estes controller and
pad. Ya scallywag! Ignition reliability was poor because t' igniters were hard t' shove in enough t' touch t' propellant even after
I took them out o' their little plastic casing. Ahoy! I actually recommend usin' Estes igniters pushed up it as much as
possible. T' pyrogen tip will ignite t' motor even if it's nay in direct contact with t' propellant. (MMX ignitors
are simply bare nichrome wire.) I put a clothespin up so thar be about 6" o' rod remaining. Ya scallywag! This tiny saucer
needs almost no rod at all t' be stable. Avast! T' next time I launch it, I will use a 12" long aluminum rod, which is
suitable for almost every MMX rocket.
All three flights were t' about 40 t' 60 feet dependin' on t' wind. Aye aye! T' rocket will drift with t' wind both up and down, but in no case did it land more than 20 feet from t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! You could easily fly it in a silo or a high-roofed gymnasium. Well, blow me down! I friction taped t' motors t' t' bottom o' t' motor tube. Arrr! This be more than adequate retention. Aye aye! Begad! Ejection occurs around apogee and t' rocket slowly falls back by aerobrake recovery. Avast!
Summary:
PROs: Easy and cheap t' build, barely needs any room t' fly, low per-flight cost.
CON: Rather boring, arrr, in me opinion.
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