Another Kit For The Build Pile....

I just picked this baby up at Hobby Lobby.

Back in the 'old fleet' days, I had a Nike-X that had been modified to fly as a two-stager: D12-0 in the booster, and 18mm upper stage.  Very nice flier.  This one I may build as a single stage D-engine bird.

When the FlatCat B/G is finished, this kit will be built alongside a couple other projects in progress - that Steampunk Protostar, an Orbital Transport, and a second FlatCat converted into a sliding wing Rocket Glider.

Plenty to keep this ol' fart busy through the end of the year.

NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 15 - One Final Display

The last item on the row of meeting room tables was my own small display of NARAM-11 ephemera.

 

 Included was an official meet program that was distributed to visitors to NARAM 11, a copy of the newspaper coverage article of the event in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, and a stack of official NARAM 11 flight cards that I had received from Bill Roe back in the early 70s. (Bill was the CD of the meet). 

I gave away a flight card for free to any reunion attendee who wanted one.
(I still have half a dozen left if any of you blog readers wish to pm me at emitton777@gmail.com).

I also brought along for display my replica of the Carlisle Rock-A-Chute Mark II model rocket and launch pad complete with a wood dowel launch rod. These items are not vintage, actually being built in 2016.

An interesting note:  In the final hour of the reunion, I noted that someone had placed a brand new Semroc kit of the Rock-A-Chute Mark II against the wall behind the display.  It was a great mystery to me until I learned it had been put there by Randy Boadway of eRockets!  Thanks, Randy!

NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 14 - Lee Piester at the Podium

The next member of model rocketry royalty to give a talk was Lee Piester, the man behind Centuri Engineering.

Lee gave a very interesting speech, relating the story of his conversion from amateur rocketry to model rocketry after visiting an early NARAM, his entrance into the model rocket manufacturing business with the founding of Centuri, and his friendly-rival relationship with Estes Industries.

One of the highlights of Lee's presentation was his showing an enlarged photo of the famous "Great Saturn V Duel" between he and Vern Estes. 

Betty Piester circulated through the meeting room with another copy of the photo so that everyone had a chance to see it up close.

Lee received the second long ovation of the evening as he stepped down from the platform.

FlatCat Boost/Glider Build, Part 8 - The Pop-Pod

This post covers the assembly of the FlatCat's 'Removable Propulsion System Housing', a.k.a, the Pop-Pod.
The heart of this sub-assembly is a 6 inch length of BT-20 or similar tubing.
Before any cutting and gluing begins, this is a good time to break out the CWF and fill the spiral seams.

The next procedure is to attach the motor block and retention system. 

A standard externally mounted regular motor hook can be used as shown in the plans, but I prefer to go with my internal hook system, which consists of an 18mm motor block ring and a length of .020 diameter music wire.  As illustrated below, a hook is formed to fit over the block after which the assembly is glued into place in the model's body tube. Note the slot cut in the outer edge of the ring to accommodate the thickness of the wire.



Once the assembly is dry, an expended motor casing can be inserted into the body tube and the wire bent over the end and clipped.  Here is a pic of the completed assembly.

Now it's time to make the pylon.
Another 4 inch piece is cut from the 1/4 x 1/2 balsa stock, and the ends cut to a 45 degree angle as shown in the plan diagram.

Now for a little bit of shape-sanding work. The first procedure is to round-over the leading and trailing edges.

Next, a piece of sandpaper is wrapped around an expended motor casing, and a concave curve is sanded into the long edge of the pylon.  This provides a much better contact surface for gluing to the body tube.

Which, , of course, is the very next step of the build.

Killing two birds with one stone (has anybody ever really accomplished that feat?).

The Piece-X is double glue-joint attached to the pylon at the position, and orientation (!) specified in the plans.  At the same time, some glue fillets are applied to the pylon.  The whole assembly is set aside to dry.

Over the course of the next couple of days, the pod pylon will get the usual application of CWF to fill the grain.  Gotta keep things pretty, you know.

Finally, the launch lug is attached.  This is a 1-1/2 length of 1/8" lug, with seams filled.  Yep, I do that even with boost gliders. 

When I became a BAR a couple of years ago, I promised my significant other that I would not clutter up the house with 'junky' looking rockets like I did back in the old fleet days, so every project I build now gets cleanly crafted and finished.

The pop- pod assembly is ready for primer and paint!