Steampunk Protostar, Part 30 - A Smoke Vent For a Space Rocket!

Questions on a typical doctor's office Patient Medical History form:

Q:   Are you a smoker?
A:  "Only when I'm on fire!"

Q: How Long?
A:  "Until somebody puts me out!"

Because the Protostar is purportedly a steam-driven vehicle, it requires all of the provisions for the operation of a fire burning steam engine:  air intakes and a 'smokestack'.

This part of the build covers the latter.

For the smoke vent, I am going fairly simple here with a section of 1/4 inch launch lug cut at an angle and affixed to the lower mid part of the body tube.  Of course it will include some of the usual Victorian era embellishments and details.

To start off, a piece of masking tape is wrapped around a 1/4 inch dowel, and the launch lug is slid on so that it is securely held.

A little work with a razor saw produces the steeply angled end.

Wrapping a sheet of sandpaper around the model's nose cone base helps to shape-sand the gluing end of the lug so that it will conform to the curvature of a future mounting plate.

A bit of CWF and some sandpaper are applied to hide the spiral seams.

Next, a wrap of 'riveted' Avery paper is applied around the end of the stack as a decorative detail...

 ...and a little bit of black paint completes the "smoke stack":

 

 

Next post:  A Smokestack mounting plate.

Launch Date: 14 July, 2019 - A Couple of 3FNC Flights

Today’s launch was yet another of those shoe box affairs in which I take a quick jaunt to the nearby park and put up a couple of small birds within the span of half an hour.  Weather conditions were very good at Founders Park in Castle Rock, with a temperature around 80 degrees, winds at 3 to 4 mph, and clear visibility with partial high cloud cover.

This session saw the launch of the old Hornet for its 47^th flight on an A3-4T motor.  The bird turned in its signature great performance and was recovered successfully.

 

 

The second rocket flown in this session was the Astron Alpha.

Flying on A8-3 power, the model turned in a great flight and was recovered about 100 yards downfield after drifting a bit under a ten inch parachute with spill hole.

 

 

All in all, an enjoyable time spent at the park feeding the insatiable rocket-flying bug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Launch Date: July 6, 2019 - A day in Pueblo

Today, fellow Castle Rock rocketeer Jim Gazur and I packed up the car with rockets and headed south  - 90 miles away to Pueblo, Colorado – to participate in a sport meet sponsored by S.C.O.R.E., the guys who hosted NARAM-60 last August.

Upon arriving at the spacious launch site around 9:45 a.m., we found about thirty rocketeers already out and sending models aloft.   The weather conditions were near perfect – around 80 degrees and wind conditions varying from dead calm to only occasional gusts to 5 mph.

I was immediately impressed with the launch site and facilities.  S.C.O.R.E. boasts a nice launch rack system on a cement pad with high power pads placed farther out.  They also have a small shed on-site for storing equipment.

After introducing myself to several of the members, I set about prepping my first flight of the day.  It took me awhile because I had to stop and watch several of the medium and high power birds that members were launching at regular intervals.

I soon had my Carlisle Mark II Rock-A-Chute replica on the home made launch pad with wood dowel rod.

Many of the old timer rocketeers present were delighted to see this historic rocket.

The model turned in a nice, high flight on an A10-3T motor.

Jim Gazur had brought along his Aerotech Astrobee-D to launch on a F67-4W motor.  

Carrying a Pnut altimeter, the model turned in a picture perfect flight, recovering on a Dino Chutes helicopter parachute.  The model landed right next to the launch racks.

My next model was the newly built FlatCat boost/glider. 

 The model boosted straight and high on a B4-2 motor.  At ejection the pod hung up on the glider, and I thought it was going to be a ‘Red Baron’ flight.  Instead, the model settled into a steady stable glide!  After a soft landing amid the cheers of the onlookers, I found that the pod’s shock line had draped over the wing in such a way that the glide CG hadn’t changed significantly.  Essentially, the FlatCat turned in a good flight as a Rocket/Glider.

Next up for Jim Gazur was a Madcow 2.6” Fiberglass Hawk flying on an F67.  The model weather-cocked and arced over, but managed to deploy its parachute before impacting the ground.

My last flight of the day was the maiden launch of my new Quest Big Rage.  I didn’t have time to install the intended 808 keychain camera, so I just flew it as a sport flight.  

The model flew perfectly on a C6=5 motor, deployed its 20 inch parachute and slowly drifted toward the dreaded ‘canyon’ to the north of the launch field.

After a 15 minute search among an area of scrub pine, I finally gave the model up for lost.

Several minutes later, after Jim and I had packed up and were just getting into the car to leave, a club member approached – carrying the Big Rage!  He had a good sight line on its landing area and found it hanging up in a tree.  I am very grateful for that gentleman’s efforts and kindness.

In fact all the members of S.C.O.R.E were extremely friendly and very supportive of each other.

It was a very enjoyable, professionally run meet.  Kudos to this excellent club!

I did happen to make the acquaintance of one Mr. John Tumis, one of the club members.  I just had to get a picture of his wonderfully orderly and efficient rocket prep area!

In a future post, I may have some photos I took of other club members and their rockets.  Stay tuned.

THEM ROCKET FLIERS

My last post featured a "Them Poem" by Mason Williams.

Being inspired by that, I sat down this morning and penned my own "Them Poem"  - one about model rocketeers.....

THEM ROCKET FLIERS

How 'bout them rocket fliers, ain't they nerds?
Flyin' them rockets, callin' them "Birds".
Flyin' them big rockets, flyin' them small,
Watchin' them parachute, watchin' them fall.

Lookit them high-falutin,' sun-burned, back'ards countin', fire-breathin', smoke-smellin'
Rocket Fliers!

How to be a rocket flier? Ain't hard to try it.
Just make yerself a rocket, find a field and fly it!


(OK.... I'm not normal......)

A Rocketry Related Poem... Kind of.....

How many of you folks remember a gentleman named Mason Williams?

Mason Williams is an entertainer best known for his hit guitar piece "Classical Gas" in the early 70's.
Mason was also a comedy writer known for his contributions to the Smothers Brothers Show and the very early days of Saturday Night Live  (We're really going back a long ways, here).

Some of Mason's work also included a series of poems that were recited to music accompaniment. 
These are called "Them Poems" and are spoken in sort of a 'redneck' voice.  The poems are about stuff that "Them People..." do.  Most of them can be found on a Google search.

So, what do the "Them Poems"  have to do with model rocketry?

In my case, plenty.  

Being a performing musician, I have memorized a number of these gems and have integrated them into some of my public shows.

This past Saturday, July 6th, I attended a rocket meet in Pueblo, Colorado, hosted by S.C.O.R.E.

As I was traipsing across the weedy field on a rocket recovery mission, I noted that my canvas tennis shoes and socks were being covered with all manner of stickers.  These are the weed seeds designed by our Creator to stick to animal fur (and human clothing) for the purpose of distributing them far and wide to propagate the species'. 

Some of those stickers embedded in my socks began irritating my ankles as I continued on my trek.

I was reminded of one of the 'Them Poems" and recited it to myself as I walked....

THEM STICKER GITTERS

How 'bout them sticker gitters, ain't they neat?
Gittin' them stickers in they feet.
Gittin' them goat-heads, gittin' them briars,
Pickin' 'em out with sticker-pickin' pliers.
Tenderfoot sticker gitters, how they squeal,
Stickers in they toes, stickers in they heel.
How to be a sticker gitter?  Don't need a ticket -
Just stick yer foot in some weeds,
and let a sticker git it !

OK.....I'm not normal.......

Steampunk Protostar, Part 29 - Finishing Up The Launch Lugs

After doing a little bit of work on the Protostar body tube, I am now turning attention back to finishing up the launch lugs.

The first order of business is to apply some CWF to the lug stand-offs.

After sanding the stand-offs smooth, its time to apply some rivet detail.

The original plan was to use sections of Avery paper with the rivets punched in, but I opted instead for the technique of carefully applying some precision-controlled drops of white glue to form the rivet heads.  I had to practice for a while on some scrap paper to get blobs of consistent size and shape.

Once the 'rivet' heads are completely dry, the launch lug assembly can be painted.

Regular old brush-on acrylic model paint will be used here.  A fine flat tipped artist's paint brush is employed for this step.

First, the lugs.  Some nice 'Steampunk' brass works here.

Once dry, the lugs are masked off and the lug 'collars' and standoffs get a coat of flat aluminum acrylic paint. Care is taken not to get any paint onto the bottom gluing surfaces.

Here are the completed launch lugs.  These will get glued on to the model after the main body tube is painted.

The Estes Photo Contest

OK, so I dropped the hammer earlier today and submitted a photo to this latest 'contest' sponsored by Estes.
In reading the contest description, it sounds like there will not necessarily be any judging of the submissions, rather the winners will be selected at random.
The grand prize is pretty juicy - A four kit set of models covering the U.S. manned space program - a Saturn V, an Apollo Little Joe II, a Mercury Redstone, and a Mercury Little Joe. 

Sweeeet!

The contest is very simple - all you have to do is get on the Estes website, click the contest entry box, submit your name and email address, upload a picture of yourself or a family member launching a rocket - any rocket - and hit the 'GO' button.

Hey, Presto....You're in!

"THAT'S EASY !!!!"

Good luck!

BAR Fleet #123 - Big Rage

Source: 

Quest Aerospace

Kit #1010
Type:  Sport Model

 Stages:  Single

Engine Type:  18mm
Recovery:  Parachute

Length: 

(With Payload): 93.2cm
(Without Payload):  71.7 cm
Diameter:  35mm
Weight Empty: 
(With Payload): 92.8g
(Without Payload): 77.5g

Nose Cone:  Conical

Fin Type:  Trapezoidal
Number of Fins: 4
Color Scheme: 
Dark Blue, Black, Red,
Chrome silver Trim

 Date Completed: 

28 June, 2019

 A Really Tall Nike Smoke!

 

The Big Rage was a beginners’ model produced by Quest Aerospace.  The bird features a plastic ‘scale’ Nike Smoke nose cone and plastic fin can.  The main booster body and payload section came pre-colored – blue and black respectively.  Standing a little over three feet tall, the model is very impressive looking.

 This Big Rage model came to me already built by  a friend living in Colorado Springs, Mr. Robert Antion. 

There were a few modifications and fixes necessary before the model could be deemed flight-ready and added to the fleet.  Chief among these was painting the fin can and nose cone.  The original kit parts came molded in a hideous bright pink color!  I chose to change this to a more palatable bright red.

The model also came sans launch lugs, so I had to raid my parts stash to remedy this.  Since I did not want to re-paint the entire booster section to accommodate the new lugs, I chose to color them with a blue Sharpie marker.

For safety’s sake, I also replaced the stock kit shock cord, which was a bit too short, and had been sitting in storage for over twenty years.  I like that the model is equipped with a Kevlar shock cord anchor, as do most Quest kits.  All I had to do was install a four foot, ¼ inch elastic cord to the Kevlar loop.  A heavy duty snap swivel was attached to the free end of the shock cord to allow the model to be flown with or without the payload section.

Finally, the model was embellished with some rub-on fleet number decals and a two inch wide Chrome Silver Monokote band at the top of the booster section.

The Big Rage in no-payload-section configuration

This big bird is a welcome addition to the fleet, and is destined to log a lot of flight missions as the designated carrier for a key chain video camera.

 

Launch Date: 30 June, 2019

Today’s launch was another ‘Shoe Box’ session conducted at Founders Park in Castle Rock, Colorado. 

Perfect flying conditions prevailed for this session with wind speeds ranging from dead calm to maybe 3 mph tops.  Temperature at launch time was near 80 degrees and the field was in perfect condition.

The first launch went to the perennial Estes Hornet.  The model rose straight up on an A3-4T motor, reached apogee and ejected the parachute, which opened instantly.  There must have been a little thermal activity going on upstairs, because the model hung for a fairly long time under a 9 inch parachute equipped with a small spill hole.  At 42 seconds after launch, the model touched down softly on the turf a short distance away.  This was perhaps the best ever performance of the Hornet in its 46 year, 46 flight history!

 

 

The next flight went to the Estes Lynx.   After a perfect straight-up boost and coast to apogee, the parachute ejected, but failed to open.  Fortunately, the model balanced so that its descent was in a horizontal attitude, so no damage occurred on the harder-than-planned landing.  The parachute failure was a bit perplexing because it was well powdered just before the flight, and was properly packed into the airframe.  Nevertheless, it was still a fun and successful flight.