Binge Build: A Plethora of Painted Projects - Day 1 !!

 Monday, November 29th, turned out to be a perfect weather day for getting outside and shooting paint on some of the binge-build models.  Three of the seven assembled birds have been through the primer sanding stage, so these were today's targets.

The Interceptor, Nike-X, and Big Bertha models all got two applications of gloss white. I ran out of paint before the third and final coats could be applied, so this will have to wait until I can get more.

A couple coats of gloss black finished the Bertha nose and the Interceptor tail nozzle.

Metallic silver was used for the Interceptor antennae and the Crossfire ISX tail nozzle, and finally, some gloss orange now adorns the Interceptor wing pods.

I just may get these birds finished by EOY, after all!  

Stay tuned.....

Binge Build: A Primo Primer Painting Party !

 Today, the weather in Castle Rock, Colorado was absolutely perfect: temperatures in the mid-60s, lots of sunshine, and no wind.

In reality, I should have taken advantage of these conditions to be out at the flying field launching rockets, but instead I chose to haul all of my binge-build models up the long staircase from the basement la-BOR-atory.

Since I'm hoping to get these birds completed by the end of the year, it was deemed that such a great weather day should be best spent shooting primer coats.

Before I had them all done, I ran out of primer paint, thus requiring a trip to the nearby automotive parts store to pick up another can of Dupli-Color gray.

Here are all of the models set out to dry:

Tomorrow - more sanding....

Binge Build: A Pile of Plastic Parts.

 This post covers the collection of noses and other plastic pieces from the various kits.

At this point, I have also added the plastic parts from the Estes Interceptor to the build pile.

Most of these pieces require the usual mold seam mitigation, shoulder sizing, shock cord loop clean-up, and final sanding in preparation for painting.

At least the noses don't have to be sealed and sanded like the balsa versions of yore.

Following are pics of all the models in this build with nose cones, nozzles, and other plastic parts completed and dry fitted:

Next stop: final prep and primer paint!

Binge Build: Fin Filling Fun, Frolic, and Frivolity !

The binge-build models have now been processed through the big fill n' sand step.

OWWWF ! MY FINGERS HURT !!

I have even built up really thick callouses on my fingertips!

Oh...wait...that's from playing guitar...

Never mind!

But, anyway, that was a lot of fins to fill and sand.

Hey, Elon.....where is my Tesla-Bot ???

 

For this multi-rocket build I chose to "CWF" the fins after they were attached to the body tubes, rather than my usual MO of doing them separately.  The only exception to this were the little 'tab' fins on the Crossfire.  Compound fins are usually more difficult to fill and sand if assembled.

Also, I was able to forego most of this step on the Icarus booster stage fins in favor of papering them.  I figured that these fins could use a little bit more reinforcing strength due to all of the hard landings they will be subjected to. I did, however, glue on some reinforcing balsa gussets along the fin roots.  These parts received the full  fill and sand treatment.

All of these models were subject to no less than three cycles of this process, so I've been quite busy covering myself with CWF dust.

You might have noted that the above photo includes a 7th model.  This is an Estes Interceptor that had been completed up to this point since last Spring.  It has now been integrated into the current binge-build.

Moving on.....

Back In The Day, Part 47 - A Little Tidbit From An Old Estes Model Rocket News Issue

I happened to be spending some time last evening looking through some of my PDF files of old Estes Industries' Model Rocket News, when I ran across this long-forgotten article from the April/May 1974 issue: 

The Colorado Springs club mentioned in the article was the organization I belonged to back in the 'old fleet' days. 

'Skywatchers Rocket Club' was the name given to the ROMAR (Rocky Mountain Association of Rocketry, NAR Section 331) club during some years when we weren't chartered as an NAR section due to the lack of the required number of NAR members.

I recall participating several times in Estes' Build-Up program back in the 1970s in which clubs would build models for the company to take to trade shows and public promotional demonstration launches.

Of course, we were required to give the models our very best workmanship, since these were display versions.  Many times, the birds were intended only as static display models, so we weren't required to install motor mounts or recovery systems. 

Estes would compensate our efforts with merchandise certificates which were used by the club to purchase model kits for competition meet prizes.

'Em were the goodle days!

Launch Date: November 4th, 2021

 Three Colorado front range rocketeers made yet another trek to Dove Valley Regional Park in Centennial to enjoy near perfect rocket launching weather. Temperatures were in the mid 60s with plenty o' sunshine and minimal wind conditions.

Lee Reep started things off with a nice flight of a Hex 3 on an A8-3 motor. This motor was a late 1980s MRC Tracker.  It performed great!

My first flight of the day went to an EAC Viper clone powered by an A10.  Recovery was by para-wad, but the model was returned intact.  This flight was a bit of a milestone in that it marked my 150th model rocket launch since becoming a BAR.

The next model to come out of my Sterlite tote box was the Estes Lynx. Flying on an A10-3T motor, the little model boosted nicely, but was again afflicted with parachute failure. Since the Lynx has a lot of fin area, it didn't suffer any damage from its 'break-apart' recovery mode.

Lee was up again with an Estes Dragonfly Boost/Glider.  Flying on a 1/2A3-2T, the model boosted very well, but the glider hung up on the streamer.  It descended for about half of its attained altitude, when it detached and settled into a good glide.  No Red Baron for Lee today!  

My third flight of the day was turned in by the 'old fleet' Delta-2 Astrocam carrier with a custom made payload section.  A nice boost on a B6-4 motor was followed by yet another 'chute' mishap. That's three in a row. Sheesh! Again, the model was recovered in undamaged condition, thanks to the soft turf of the Dove Valley field.

Lee's next flight was made by an Estes Ricochet.  Powered by an A10-3T motor, the bird turned in a great flight. Despite successfully deploying the parachute, the model popped a fin on the landing.  

During this entire time, Jim Gazur was at his prep area readying his first model of the afternoon.  Again, he brought out the big guns - his second launch of the 1:100 Soviet N1 Moon Rocket from David Koo.  This time the impressive model was set to fly on a G74-4W motor!

Liftoff was spectacular with the model boosting to 346 feet according to the on-board altimeter. Unfortunately, after ejection, the shock cord or shroud lines tangled with the parachute, preventing deployment.

The N1 took a fairly hard landing which caused substantial damage to the aft end.  Jim says it is repairable.  This G motor flight broke Jim's record for the largest flown at Dove Valley. The same model flew back in early October on F power.

My next flight was at the opposite end of the size spectrum: an Estes Quark flying on an A10-3T.  The model has a 1/2" x 6" plastic streamer attached to each fin, so altitude is limited and close-by recovery ensured.  A very entertaining flight....

Soon after, I pulled another model out of the box: the Skeeter Eeter 3, a 3x Mosquito upscale.  Flying on a C11-5, the model turned in a great flight with full parachute deployment, and recovery within the boundaries of the field. 

Lee was up next with a Spaceman, Semroc's re-make of the classic Estes K-kit.  Unlike the older version, this model featured an ejectable BT-5 motor mount with a streamer wrapped between the centering rings.  The model turned in a somewhat erratic, but amusing flight.

My next bird to fly was the Quest Big Rage, carrying ann808 keychain video cam and a FlightSketch Mini altimeter.  Flying on a C6-5 motor, the tall model boosted nicely, and arced over after apogee. Unfortunately, the parachutes failed to eject, and the model returned swiftly by break-apart recovery, No damage was sustained by the model or the on-board electronics.  Video imagery and flight profile data were successfully obtained.

Lee Reep was soon back in the action with the excellent launch of an Estes MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) boosted by a 1990s vintage B6-4 motor.  The model was recovered sans one of the fin pods.

 

Next, Jim Gazur had another interesting model on the pad ready for launch.  This was his Renger Sky Slash modified for rudder-only radio control. 

The model features a 2 gram servo mounted directly to the tail rudder, and the receiver and battery mounted in the motor pod assembly.  Flying on a B4-2 motor, the model boosted straight to a very respectable altitude.  Soon after the model had settled into a free-flight glide, Jim was able to establish control and bring it in close to the launch area.  A very nice RC glider flight, indeed!

The next three flights were my own:

First was a launch of the Mark II Rock-A-Chute reproduction model flying on a A10-3T motor. Boost was great, but after ejection the square parachute failed to open. Interestingly, it started spinning rapidly, virtually turning the recovery into auto-rotation mode.  The model landed fairly softly and sustained no damage.

The next two flights were made with my scratch-built Estes Astron Alpha. 

The first was powered by a B4-4 motor, and the second with a B6-4.  Both flights were high and recovered by the same 12" square parachute used earlier by the Mark II. I even managed to pursue and catch the second flight mid-air.  Not bad for a 65-year-old Geezer!

The final flight of the afternoon went to Lee Reep's Dragonfly glider.  This time an A10-3T motor was used.  Reaching a nice, high altitude, the glider separated successfully, turning in a great performance, even executing a couple of excellent rolls during its descent.

With this done, the intrepid crew of BARs packed up and vacated the Dove Valley field.  It was a near-perfect afternoon of model rocket flying.  We are already looking forward to another within the next month or so.

Cheers!

Interesting Video Camera / Altimeter Flight

 This past Thursday, I was able to get out with a couple other area rocketeers to conduct a Fall launch session at Dove Valley Regional Park.

One of my flights consisted of a Quest Big Rage equipped with an 808 keychain camera and a FlightSketch Mini altimeter.

I spent a good amount of time this morning with the process of pulling interesting still frames out of the resulting video, and downloading the FlightSketch flight profiles.  My aim here is to be able to match the video frames with the corresponding profile altitude and velocity figures.

Here is the Big Rage pre-flight:

At ignition, the model boosted nicely, arced over and descended a bit before the ejection charge fired.

Unfortunately, the parachutes did not eject, so the model free-fell in 'break-apart' recovery mode.  Neither the model or any of the payload components sustained any damage.  I had hoped that everything would work correctly because I had the booster and payload on separate parachutes, with the latter rigged so that it would hold the camera at a 45 degree angle during descent.  Another test of this system will have to wait for another day.

Here are the flight profile charts and data as recorded by the FlightSketch Mini:

And the video stills:

2 second mark - A shot of the launch area during boost.  Altitude was approximately 150 feet at a velocity of 114 fps.  Observing the flight is Lee Reep.

5 seconds - This frame occurred just prior to the model reaching apogee. Approximately 308 feet, 10 fps.  The altimeter says apogee occurred at  05.42 seconds into the flight..

The next seven frames all occur within the 6 to 7 second time frame, just after apogee.  All show a sequence of the camera pointing at the nearer ground details and then to the horizon. Altitudes from 304 to 270 feet. Got a few front range mountains in there!

7 second mark.  This is the last frame which showed the Big Rage's fin in the camera field, indicating the split second before the motor ejection charge fired:

Now for a wild ride!  The remaining frames were random shots of features being captured on camera with the model careening and spinning toward Terra Firma.

8 seconds - A swiftly moving horizon shot. 240 feet:

9 seconds.  OK, I don't believe in UFOs, but this frame is interesting.  Most likely, it's a random glitch or reflective phenomenon  from the camera lens. 166 feet:

10 seconds.  Another fast horizon exposure from 144 feet up:

12 seconds.  Two shots of the parking lot at the south end of Dove Valley Park.  Interestingly, this was the very lot in which all of today's launch participants were parked.  Very cool that this showed up in the flight video. Altitudes 75 and 65 feet:

14 seconds.  This frame shows the surrounding field just before 'crash-down'.  Altitude: 10 feet:

This was certainly a fun exercise. Nice marriage of video cam and altimeter.

One final note:  A full report of the entire November 4th launch session will be the subject of another blog post.  It'll take me a couple of days to get all the pics and text put together. 

Stay tuned !