Beg Birtha

Anyone remember Rocket Services? No? How about "Pitfield" motors? Ah, matey, thought some o' you might. Well, matey, we don't see them around so much as in years gone by, but thar are still a few around. Aye aye! In fact, I stumbled across a cache o' them recently and thought I should build somethin' t' fly them in. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I'd never actually flown a Pitfield motor before. Aye aye! Watchin' other people's flights had always put me off a bit. Aye aye! T' rockets always seemed t' be underpowered, and had started t' descend while still under thrust. Begad! Who can forget Rick Newlands spendin' almost t' whole o' UKRA 2000 sandin' a nose cone from a balsa tree trunk, arrr, only t' have t' Pitfield powered rocket arc over while still under thrust? (Sorry Rick!) So I wanted t' avoid overbuildin' at all costs.

So what t' build? At IRW 2003, I entered a PMC (Plastic Model Conversion) o' t' Airfix Saturn V. Blimey! Though it didn't quite fly as intended, it took joint first prize, ya bilge rat, along with Mike Crewe's Mercury Redstone. Avast, me proud beauty! Our prizes were matchin' Big Berthas. Blimey! We'd agreed we would build them with a common theme, and drag race them. Blimey! Initially it was t' be a cluster, but, when we came into t' stash o' Pitfield motors, we had other ideas. Well, blow me down! Arrr! You see, me hearties, matey, BT-60 is exactly t' right inside diameter for an F36-5 motor mount. Well, blow me down! Beg Birtha was born.

Simulation

It was easy t' modify a standard Big Bertha Rocksim File. I just removed t' motor mount and added a new thrust ring. I made some rasp-format engine files for t' motor, usin' t' engine editor that come with Rocksim. Begad! Arrr! I got t' thrust curve, arrr, and data from an old Rocket Services catalogue. You can download both t' Rocksim file and t' engine file here:
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/beg%20birtha.rkt/
http://www.nsrg.org.uk/data/rs.eng/

I should point out here, ya bilge rat, that Rocket Services' motor designations, do nay correspond with t' more common "Estes-style" designations. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' "F36-5" should, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, strictly speaking, ya bilge rat, be known as E6-5, arrr, me bucko, and t' "F72-0" is, in reality, an E15-0. Ya scallywag! Havin' said that, matey, ya bilge rat, Estes aren't always consistent themselves. Begad! If you don't believe me, look at t' thrust curve for t' A10 mini-motor sometime.

Build

This really is a straightforward build. Begad! T' differences from t' stock kit may be summarized as "leave out t' motor mount and add some nose weight". Avast! But, ya bilge rat, because I know our beloved newsletter editor will appreciate t' extra column inches, I'll spell it out in full:

I skipped Step 1, ya bilge rat, Engine Mount Assembly, me hearties, and put t' parts in me spares box. Arrr! Instead, I made a new thrust rin' from a short section o' toilet roll core, reduced in diameter by removin' a segment. Begad! You could also use a short length o' coupler, or cut a rin' from a spent motor.

I completed Step 2, ya bilge rat, Shock Cord Mount Assembly, as instructed. Arrr! Ahoy! I chose t' do Step 9, matey, matey, Shock Cord Mount Attachment, at this point, shiver me timbers, while t' mount was freshly-glued and still pliable.

Step 3, Fin Preparation, arrr, ya bilge rat, was completed as normal. Begad! Begad! Step 4, me hearties, Engine Mount Installation, me bucko, was omitted. Step 5, shiver me timbers, Tube Markin' Detail, Step 6, Fin Attachment, arrr, Step 7, Launch Lug Attachment, & Step 8, shiver me timbers, arrr, Glue Reinforcement Detail, were all completed as per t' instructions. Aye aye! Step 9 was completed earlier.

Step 10, arrr, Parachute Assembly, me bucko, was skipped. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Instead, an approx 100mm x 1000mm streamer be made from t' finest Deepsky mylar. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This be attached directly t' t' shock cord, shiver me timbers, rather than t' t' nose-cone attachment point.

Step 11, arrr, Paintin' Your Rocket, was done as directed. Avast! Begad! For Step 12, me hearties, matey, Parachute And Shock Cord Attachment, I deviated from t' instructions, t' add t' additional 20g o' nose weight.

Flying

T' first flight was on t' occasion o' me first attendance at a WRS (Wirral Rocketry Society) launch, me bucko, on 10th April 2004. Aye aye! I thoroughly enjoyed this launch, a relaxed, convivial atmosphere, shiver me timbers, and a great bunch o' Rocketeers.

Because I omitted t' original motor mount, me bucko, thar be no retainer hook - it wouldn't be long enough anyway. So friction fit was t' order o' t' day. Well, blow me down! Blimey! And you do need t' make sure it's a tight fit, you really don't want a spent Pitfield motor landin' on your head! Blimey! T' F36 has an enormous nozzle, arrr, and I be a bit worried that an Estes igniter might get lost in there. So I used some QuickMatch, pushed all t' way in, ya bilge rat, taped t' t' motor body, me hearties, with an Estes igniter on t' exposed end. Begad! Blimey! It was only about 60mm o' QuickMatch, ya bilge rat, and when I pushed t' button, shiver me timbers, ignition be pretty much instant. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Beg Birtha fairly leapt from t' pad, so smartly that I don't think anyone managed t' get a picture. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motor thrust decreased, me bucko, matey, but kept burnin' almost up t' apogee, t' orange glow quite visible. Begad! Blimey! This would be a great rocket t' fly at dusk.

Conclusion

This was a fun conversion, o' an already classic rocket. Begad! This is certain t' become a favourite flier o' mine, me hearties, me bucko, shiver me timbers, at least until t' motors run out. Arrr! Blimey! Can't wait t' try it out at t' IRW, which, me bucko, t' me, be t' spiritual home o' t' Pitfield motor. Blimey! Blimey! If you took a look at t' Rocksim file, me hearties, you might have noticed that thar's a design for a booster stage in thar too. I haven't built or flown this configuration yet, ya bilge rat, but I do have some F72-0s...