This tribute to Len Fehskens was set up by John and Wini Labreque.
The display was loaded with lots of photos, news clippings and meet awards.
Also displayed was a Starship Vincia model, Vincia kit, and original Vincia design sketches.
Friday, August 10, 2018
NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 11 - Another Interesting Display
Moving along to more of the display tables;
This tribute to Len Fehskens was set up by John and Wini Labreque.
The display was loaded with lots of photos, news clippings and meet awards.
Also displayed was a Starship Vincia model, Vincia kit, and original Vincia design sketches.
This tribute to Len Fehskens was set up by John and Wini Labreque.
The display was loaded with lots of photos, news clippings and meet awards.
Also displayed was a Starship Vincia model, Vincia kit, and original Vincia design sketches.
NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 10 - A Few Words From Bill Stine
After being introduced by NAR president John Hochheimer, Bill Stine took the podium.
Bill related the story of the beginnings of the hobby of model rocketry, starting with how his father, G. Harry Stine, an engineer at White Sands , had published articles about the dangers of amateur rocketry. One of these articles came to the attention of Orville Carlisle, who had developed a small paper and balsa rocket powered by hand loaded solid propellant engines - the first model rockets as we know them today. Orville sent some of his rockets and engines to Mr. Stine to test out. The models turned out to be the solution to the 'Youth Rocketry Problem".
Bill went on to describe the formation of the first model rocket manufacturer, MMI, in 1958, and the founding of the Model Missiles Association, which later came to be known as the NAR, and the establishment of the Model Rocket Safety Code, which has been so important to the hobby.
He went on to describe a brief history of the first NAR sections in Denver and Colorado Springs, as well as the very first National Championship meets that came to be known as NARAM.
During his presentation, Bill made the statement that, in the 60 years since the beginning of model rocketry, over 500 million successful flights have been conducted!
To help us wrap our heads around that large number, Bill asked everyone in the room to close their eyes. He then began to pour some pellets into a metal bucket. (I'm not sure whether they were pellets, beads, beans, or what. My eyes were closed).
As he poured, Bill stated that the sound of each pellet hitting the bucket represented 100,000 successful model rocket flights.
And there were a lot of pellets!
On a more amusing note, Bill held up an object in a small baggie. It was a rubber grey nose cone that was used for the Aerobee Hi model rocket from MMI, the first commercially produced kit.
Bill stated that this nose cone was given to him as a baby for him to chew on as a teething device.
Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Cutting one's teeth on model rocketry', doesn't it?
Bill related the story of the beginnings of the hobby of model rocketry, starting with how his father, G. Harry Stine, an engineer at White Sands , had published articles about the dangers of amateur rocketry. One of these articles came to the attention of Orville Carlisle, who had developed a small paper and balsa rocket powered by hand loaded solid propellant engines - the first model rockets as we know them today. Orville sent some of his rockets and engines to Mr. Stine to test out. The models turned out to be the solution to the 'Youth Rocketry Problem".
Bill went on to describe the formation of the first model rocket manufacturer, MMI, in 1958, and the founding of the Model Missiles Association, which later came to be known as the NAR, and the establishment of the Model Rocket Safety Code, which has been so important to the hobby.
He went on to describe a brief history of the first NAR sections in Denver and Colorado Springs, as well as the very first National Championship meets that came to be known as NARAM.
During his presentation, Bill made the statement that, in the 60 years since the beginning of model rocketry, over 500 million successful flights have been conducted!
To help us wrap our heads around that large number, Bill asked everyone in the room to close their eyes. He then began to pour some pellets into a metal bucket. (I'm not sure whether they were pellets, beads, beans, or what. My eyes were closed).
As he poured, Bill stated that the sound of each pellet hitting the bucket represented 100,000 successful model rocket flights.
And there were a lot of pellets!
On a more amusing note, Bill held up an object in a small baggie. It was a rubber grey nose cone that was used for the Aerobee Hi model rocket from MMI, the first commercially produced kit.
Bill stated that this nose cone was given to him as a baby for him to chew on as a teething device.
FlatCat Boost/Glider Build, Part 4 - Let’s Rustle Us Up Some Glider Wings.
Ah, there’s nothing like a full-sized, fresh chunk of
balsa wood – just waiting to be butchered!
Taking the easy measurements off of the plans, the first
job is to mark out the FlatCat wings. For
accuracy I like to use a straight-edge reference block and a small drafting
triangle to mark the 90 degree cut lines.
A little precision slicing with a straight-edge and the
‘Sword of Exact Zero’ (Ref. The LEGO
Movie) to produce a pair of wing blanks.
Once the wings are cut out, it’s time to mark them with the
high point of the airfoil. I’m placing
it parallel with and approximately 30% chord length aft of the wing leading edge. For those of you who aren't quite up on wing terminology, chord length is merely the dimension from wing leading to trailing edge, analogous to a standard rocket fin root edge.
IMPORTANT TIP: It is rather important to keep the wing pieces
oriented for left and right sides! I
don’t want to end up with two of the same wing – then I'd be forced to build
two FlatCats!
In reading up on the history of the FlatCat, I learned
that many of the earlier versions were built with non-air-foiled wings. Even the plans and article from which I am
working here show the model minus an airfoil.
In the last paragraphs of the article, Mr. Stine suggests sanding in an
airfoil to optimize glide trim and performance. Since I’ve done that with all of my past B/Gs,
this FLatCat build will be no exception.
A piece of masking tape is set along the high point line
to serve as a stop, preventing that point from being sanding down while forming
the airfoil.
Back in the day, when I was more interested in building
gliders for competition, I would have taken the time to sand a slight taper
from the wing root edges to the tip, but since this is a sport bird, I will
forego that step.
Using a sanding block equipped with 200 grit paper, I
then sand a bevel into the trailing edge of the wing. Doing so defines the final thickness of the
trailing edge. Courser sandpaper is used because the idea is to hog off a
substantial amount of wood while forming the airfoil.
The leading edge now gets rounded over - top and bottom.
Once all is said and done, the finished wing profile should look like this:
It also doesn’t hurt to go over the flat bottom surface
of the wings with fine grit block to smooth them out as well.
Next post will cover the wing glue-up.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 9 - Back to the Display Tables...
Here are a couple more interesting displays that were set up on the tables.
The first is a very interesting item from the dim and distant past....
Rather than describe this item any further, I leave you to read the write-up included in the photo:
This display of the Estes Patriot was set up by (I think), Bob Sanford (Someone please correct me if I am in error). The attractive display included both the original 1972 Citation version, and the recent re-release.
The first is a very interesting item from the dim and distant past....
Rather than describe this item any further, I leave you to read the write-up included in the photo:
This display of the Estes Patriot was set up by (I think), Bob Sanford (Someone please correct me if I am in error). The attractive display included both the original 1972 Citation version, and the recent re-release.
NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 8 - A Few Old Rocketeers.
Actually there were more than a few in attendance at the reunion...
Here is a pic of Tom and Linda Milkie:
Back in the old days, I used to read and re-read all of the fine articles and plans by Mr. Milkie that were published in Model Rocketry Magazine. Now, 45 years later, I finally get to meet the man in person!
Here are a couple more old-timers:
George Flynn and Guppy Youngren are joined by Tom Milkie for this photo.
George, of course, was the founder and editor of MRm, and also contributed a lot of articles and features for publication in that fine magazine.
I remembered Guppy from reading about his antics at NART-1 and the early ECRMs back in the 1970-71 time period. Some of these meets were the first time that F-Engine (Condor) boost/glide events were flown. Nobody really knew at the time how to build a Condor that would stay together, let alone glide. The only available F engines in those days were the FSI F7 or F100. The former was a long burner that allowed Condors to prang before the ejection charge could go off, and the F100s packed such a punch as to convert the gliders into a cloud of balsa parts at the pad!
When I met Guppy at the re-union, he was delighted when I made mention of his early Condor B/G attempts with a model he called 'Gargoyle' that I had read about in MRm coverage of those contests.
Here is a pic of Tom and Linda Milkie:
Back in the old days, I used to read and re-read all of the fine articles and plans by Mr. Milkie that were published in Model Rocketry Magazine. Now, 45 years later, I finally get to meet the man in person!
Here are a couple more old-timers:
George Flynn and Guppy Youngren are joined by Tom Milkie for this photo.
George, of course, was the founder and editor of MRm, and also contributed a lot of articles and features for publication in that fine magazine.
I remembered Guppy from reading about his antics at NART-1 and the early ECRMs back in the 1970-71 time period. Some of these meets were the first time that F-Engine (Condor) boost/glide events were flown. Nobody really knew at the time how to build a Condor that would stay together, let alone glide. The only available F engines in those days were the FSI F7 or F100. The former was a long burner that allowed Condors to prang before the ejection charge could go off, and the F100s packed such a punch as to convert the gliders into a cloud of balsa parts at the pad!
When I met Guppy at the re-union, he was delighted when I made mention of his early Condor B/G attempts with a model he called 'Gargoyle' that I had read about in MRm coverage of those contests.
FlatCat Boost/Glider Build, Part 3 - The Fuselage.
Now it's time to tackle the component that holds all the other parts together to make something that resembles a glider - the fuselage.
The first step is to cut the two lengths of 1/4 x 1/2 balsa that will make up the fuselage. The main piece is a king's foot (12") in length and the nose section is cut to 4".
In reality, the fuselage could be made of one continuous 16" piece, but I wanted to stick with how it was done in the original design.
I didn' t take a pic of this process, because it's just a couple of 1/4 x 1/2 balsa sticks. Not overly exciting.
The next process is to cut a couple of pieces out of the short 4" nose section, per the plans.
One of the cut-outs is the 'Piece-X' attachment pin that will later be glued to the pop pod pylon.
The dimensions are marked on the nose section and carefully cut out using a sharp X-Acto blade.
The first step is to cut the two lengths of 1/4 x 1/2 balsa that will make up the fuselage. The main piece is a king's foot (12") in length and the nose section is cut to 4".
In reality, the fuselage could be made of one continuous 16" piece, but I wanted to stick with how it was done in the original design.
I didn' t take a pic of this process, because it's just a couple of 1/4 x 1/2 balsa sticks. Not overly exciting.
The next process is to cut a couple of pieces out of the short 4" nose section, per the plans.
One of the cut-outs is the 'Piece-X' attachment pin that will later be glued to the pop pod pylon.
The dimensions are marked on the nose section and carefully cut out using a sharp X-Acto blade.
Next, a small piece is cut out of the center of the nose section tip. This will provide a cavity for inserting trim clay later on when the glider is completed.
I used a couple of various shaped needle files to clean up the cuts.
Now the two fuselage sections are glued into one long piece. The end-grain surfaces absorb a lot of glue, so it's best to thoroughly pre-glue them before actually attaching the pieces together.
It is important that the two pieces are perfectly aligned. A straight edge ruler helps here.
The fuselage is set between a couple of small sheets of wax paper, then covered by a piece of plate glass and weighted down with a couple books for drying.
In the mean time, the two 1/2" x 6" fuselage sides are cut from 1/32" thick plywood. Again, no pic necessary here.
Once the main fuselage is dry, the side pieces can be glued into place.
Important Tip: It's best to spread the glue on the fuselage rather than on the side pieces to avoid getting glue in the Piece-X cavity, as it might interfere with the smooth operation of the pop pod.
For the same reason, once the side pieces are glued and clamped in place, it's a good idea to use a Q-tip to swab out any glue squeeze-out from inside the Piece-X cavity.
The clamps used to hold the assembly together to dry are actually clips cut off from department store trouser hangers! They make perfect utility clamps for a lot of applications.
Once, the fuselage assembly is completely dry, it's time to make a taper cut to reduce the fuselage height from 1/2" at the wing trailing edge location to 1/4" at the rear, as shown in the plans.
The next modification is not in the published plan, and that is to form a very slight forward slope on the bottom of the fuselage rear where the horizontal stabilizer will be glued. I marked the fuselage tube 2" from the rear (the width of the horizontal stab). Using a fine sanding block, I carefully formed a 1-2 degree forward slope, being careful not to angle the block side to side. Here's an illustration for better clarification.
This procedure introduces a little bit of negative incidence to the horizontal stab. I won't go into the details of aerodynamic stability here, suffice to say that doing this step will aid greatly with glide trimming and performance later on. For an explanation of negative incidence, refer to Estes' technical report TR-4 covering boost/gliders.
The next bit of work for the fuselage is to sand the front tip to a rounded profile. This is a drag-reduction measure. It is easier to start with cutting off the front corners at 45 degree angles with a razor saw. This makes for a little less work with a sanding block.
The final step is to taper and round the rear end of the fuselage as shown in the instruction diagram. Sand only the top and side surfaces. I did not round the bottom because that is the tail section gluing surface.
Later on, after the wings and tail section are attached, the entire fuselage will be sanded to round over all the square edges along its length. Again, this is a further drag reduction measure.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 7 - Vintage Launch Controllers
Reunion attendee Jeff Jenkins (NAR 46879) brought along a very nice collection of vintage model rocket launch controllers for display. Most of them were from Centuri Engineering, and also included the original instruction sheets that came with them.
One launch control system in the display that really caught my eye was this Estes Multi-Pad. The unit is a 12-pad launch system with a built in PA amplifier and microphone.
(Somehow, the wine glasses parked next to the controller add a little more sophistication to the display!)
This one brought back lots of memories for me, for it was this very model of controller used extensively by Skywatchers/ROMAR in Colorado Springs for conducting all of its demonstration launches throughout the 70s and early 80s!
I haven't touched one of these since 1983, but it seems like only yesterday!
When I got home from the reunion, I searched through my old photo files to see if I could find a picture that had our old club Multi-Pad unit in it.
I found one, but it's not too clear....
Yep, this is me in my old 'hippie' days, acting as RCO at a shopping mall demo in 1982. The Multi-Pad can be seen on the table just behind my freshly wrecked (sob) Centuri Little Joe II.
One launch control system in the display that really caught my eye was this Estes Multi-Pad. The unit is a 12-pad launch system with a built in PA amplifier and microphone.
(Somehow, the wine glasses parked next to the controller add a little more sophistication to the display!)
This one brought back lots of memories for me, for it was this very model of controller used extensively by Skywatchers/ROMAR in Colorado Springs for conducting all of its demonstration launches throughout the 70s and early 80s!
I haven't touched one of these since 1983, but it seems like only yesterday!
When I got home from the reunion, I searched through my old photo files to see if I could find a picture that had our old club Multi-Pad unit in it.
I found one, but it's not too clear....
Yep, this is me in my old 'hippie' days, acting as RCO at a shopping mall demo in 1982. The Multi-Pad can be seen on the table just behind my freshly wrecked (sob) Centuri Little Joe II.
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