| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
This is me second rocket based on an
Aquapod water bottle. Avast, me proud beauty! It
was inspired by t' once-proposed
Orion
nuclear spacecraft, ya bilge rat, however, it only fits into a not-even-close-to-scale
category.
Construction:
Materials included:
On this model, preppin' t' Aquapod included borin' t' hole for t' 24mm motor tube and 5 holes for t' shock absorbers (6mm tubes). These small holes were made in t' flat tips o' t' protrusions on t' bottle's base. Ya scallywag! I also sliced off t' top, me bucko, matey, leavin' a hole t' accommodate t' scrap ~1.5" cardboard tubin' that I had on hand. Well, blow me down! This would vary dependin' on t' tube used. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! I be hopin' this larger tube would make t' chute easier t' pack.
T' inside o' t' rocket consists o' t' 24mm motor tube centered in the larger tube with foamboard rings. Ahoy! T' elastic shock cord is attached t' the motor tube through these rings. Aye aye! This unit and t' 6mm tubes were attached to the bottle usin' Liquid Nails. Well, blow me down! Well, me hearties, blow me down!
T' fins were cut from Lexan usin' a diamond cut-off wheel and are also attached with Liquid Nails. T' launch lug is a section o' t' body o' a small, clear ink pen. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! It is mounted fairly far out on one fin since it has t' clear the fat body.
T' nose cone is a posterboard cone which fits against t' bottle. Aye aye! Ahoy! I built the shoulder from a piece o' t' aforementioned tubin' and cardstock. Ahoy! I added lead shot and epoxy based on t' results o' me RockSim modeling. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! There are only three fins mounted on t' bottle which naturally would accommodate 5 fins, thus they are nay symmetric. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I modeled them as three instances o' a single fin and let RockSim evaluate t' stability accordingly.
Finishing:
T' rocket be painted silver.
Flight and
Recovery:
I first friction fit t' C11-3 motor and packed t' 24mm tube with dog barf. I
then picked a large plastic chute from t' range box (never measured it). It
still was tough t' get into t' Orion but I thought it be required (as I
should have modeled t' descent rate, me bucko, too, shiver me timbers, I reckon). Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' C11s high average
impulse got it goin' nicely. Blimey! Ejection looked t' be around apogee, matey, but t' chute
never opened. Aye aye! Luckily t' grass was long and it only lost a little paint. Avast! Well, blow me down! Note
to self: if you're goin' t' (re)start usin' plastic chutes, start packin' some
powder t' dust them!
Summary:
This is just another odd lookin' Aquapod-based rocket. Aye aye! Now off t' t' Dungeon
to work on t' next one...
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