Busy Weekend In The BlastFromThePast Rocket Laboratory

Greetings, Blog Followers
This past weekend I finally was given a substantial block of time to get into the shop and actually work on some rocketry projects.
First item on the agenda was to drive up to Lone Tree from Castle Rock to stop in at the Hobby Town store.  There I finally picked a Little Joe II kit for which I had been saving pocket change in a coffee mug throughout the past year .  While there, I picked up one each of the Estes PNC-20 and PNC-5 nose cone packs.  These fulfill nose cone requirements for several of the model rocket builds currently on the bench.  I'm actually taking the 'lazy man's' way out with these as the original intent had been to turn balsa cones for these models on the lathe.  The plastic cones will save me a lot of time in the interest of actually getting some rockets built.
Also acquired at the hobby store was a packet of blank clear decal material.
Once I got home, out came the lap-top.  After a couple of hours jimmying around with downloading decal patterns, designing custom decal patterns, attaching them all to a word document, adjusting sizes to fit the intended models, and making B&W test copies, I was ultimately able to produce a good decal sheet covering five of my current build projects.
I had hoped to get some Krylon clear seal on the decal sheet, but the excessive ambient airflow velocity of the vehicle finishing facility (wind in the back yard) was such that any spray painting was rendered out of the question.  This has been a problem throughout most of February and March.  All of the calm days have been too cold, and all of the warm days have been overly windy.
Frustrating, this.
I've had the Lunar Patrol model all prepped for painting all this time, but never the right conditions for spray painting.  Serious consideration is going into perhaps building an indoor spray booth.   The weather conditions have also prevented any hopes of getting out for a rocket launch during the past two-month span.  Sigh....
Next up on the 'tuh-doo' list was to break out the container of CWF and fill seams on the multitude of body tubes for no less than six rocket projects.  I see much sanding in the near future.
While puttering around in the shop, I managed to perform pretty much a complete build of an Astron Alpha.  Early this morning, I got up and did final grain-fill sanding on the fins, and attached the launch lug. All that is left is applying a glue fillet to the lug, then the model goes into the  painting queue to await its first coat of primer.
I also made substantial progress on grain filling and sanding the many balsa fins on the Satellite Interceptor.  This one should also be primer-ready by the end of the week.
Yet another project was to fashion a 500g weight to calibrate a Magnum digital scale I acquired back in February. The weight consisted of a glass baby food jar filled with enough nickels and a few paper clips to exactly equal 500 g.
Now I can weigh my models in style!
As a final touch to the Model Rocketry Weekend, I was able to fashion a new dowel 'antenna' for the tail fin on the Lynx model.  This piece had been lost on its last flight.
Phew!  I'm ready to go back to my regular job this morning for a little R & R....
Cheers!

Back On Track....

This morning I finally got back to building model rockets after having spent the past month diverting my attention toward a campaign of de-cluttering and re-organizing the basement.  This project also encompassed the wood shop and, of course, the model rocketry operations center. 
In my last post, I included a picture of the model rocket/utility workbench.  Last week I modified it to make it a little easier to use by removing the water bed drawer unit and a section of the under-bench shelf.  I can now sit comfortably on the shop stool facing forward with ample leg room underneath the bench.

Above the bench is a cabinet carcase which I had hanging around the wood shop.  The original intent was to build a hanging wall cabinet for my wood working hand tool collection, but I found that it makes a dandy enclosure to store all of the in-progress model rocket builds up and off the work bench.
Underneath the bench is a single wide recessed shelf that holds my model rocket tool box, the range box, a first aid kit, and a few other random tools, odds and ends.
Even though it is highly functional, I am still not entirely pleased with this bench, mainly for aesthetic reasons.  It's ugly. As noted before, it was originally built (nailed together!) out of scrap dimensional lumber to be used as a makeshift chop saw station. 
I currently have a design finished on the drafting table for a new dedicated model hobby bench that I will soon be building in the wood shop. It will be considerably smaller than the current bench, but will be equipped with a better system of tool storage drawers and a hutch unit with overhead shelves and cabinets.
And it will be much prettier!
As for my model rocket tool kit, I have organized it all into this:

It's an old lidded box that at one time held some sort of A/V equipment.  For many years it has been a storage repository for a lot of random junk that I have since discarded or re-purposed.
Last weekend, I cobbled together a shallow tool tray for this box out of a piece of 1/4" plywood and some Home Depot paint stir sticks.  The box now houses most of my model building tools and stores conveniently on the under-bench shelf.

In other un-related news, the BlastFromThePast family was increased by one with the birth of a new grandson on March 9th.  Another future model rocketeer soon to be in the making, I should suspect.....
Cheers!

Time For A New Vehicle Assembly Facility

 

This is a night-time photo of the current BlastFromTHePast rocket building/electronics/small repair project workbench -  where all of my BAR activity has taken place over the last year and a half.

The structure was originally built for use as a chop saw station, and is constructed entirely from scrap 2x dimensional lumber procured from nearby house construction dumpsters.  Yup – I'm a consummate ‘Dumpster Diver’ !

When I moved my woodshop to the basement, I no longer used power tools, so the bench got pressed into service as a general utility work surface.

Under the bench top is a storage unit made from the under-drawers of my old waterbed. They are fairly functional as well, but do not allow any leg room under the bench top.  I have to sit sideways on the shop stool to get any modeling work accomplished.  Quite uncomfortable and impractical.
Above the bench is a ramshackle hodgepodge of shelving, also made from various pieces of found,  scrounged, and scrap  lumber.  Again, very functional, but not particularly aesthetically pleasing. 
 
Mrs. BlastFromThePast is certainly not thrilled with the ‘rustic’ appearance of my workshop, despite being tucked away in a corner of the unfinished basement.

So, to remedy this, I am in the process of designing a proper work station that will feature a nice smooth work surface, ample under-bench tool and supply storage cabinets with ball-bearing drawers, a back-of bench shelf and ‘cubby’ unit, and an overhead lighting bracket.

And it won’t be made out of scrap lumber!

Of course, building such a beastie will, no doubt, take time away from work on model rocket projects, especially since it will all be done using hand tools. But I’m sure I’ll manage.  The nice thing is that the new bench can be built nearby in the woodworking area of the shop, so I can continue using the current bench in the meantime.

I will certainly keep all of you blog-readers updated on the progress of this endeavor.

On another note, I got a good opportunity to view the lunar spectacle this morning. Awesome stuff!

Cheers,

-Ed

Star Trooper Back In Business

If you recall, back in early 2017, the Star Trooper model experienced a fairly substantial crash that left it in less than perfect condition.

Two new fins, some body tube repair, nose cone clean-up, and a new paint job later, the Star Trooper is once again fully flight ready.

One small change in detail was the placement of the fleet number decal.  It was originally on one of the fins, but with the model's propensity for losing fins (3 to date), the marking was moved to the body tube.
To go along with the Trooper, I finished off the booster section that caused the mishap.  It now has proper fins and a paint job.
The model is scheduled for its next test flight in an upcoming February launch.  If all goes well, and the staging system proves reliable, I will begin work on a scale BT-20 based WAC Corporal / Tiny Tim model.

No Resoultions: Part 2

I spent part of last night outlining my upcoming 4-month project agenda, and even gathering the parts kits for some of them;

1.  MPC Lunar Patrol - I started this one in 2016, and it's going Veerrrrryyyyy SLoooooow.  All that is left is painting and applying markings.  This will get done once the weather gets warm enough to trek out to the BlastFromThePast Vehicle Finishing Facility, a.k.a, the back yard....

2.  Satellite Interceptor clone.  This build was not planned until I bought a Super Neon kit on clearance from Hobby Lobby last year.  I didn't want to build the Super Neon.  I had to decide whether to use the kit nose cone to build either a Black Brant III or a Satellite Interceptor...  Construction is complete - just need to finish filling and sanding the fins, painting, and decaling.

3. Star Seeker - A clone of the sci-fi model from Estes' old Mini-Tri Pak.  The beginning of this build was started way back in the summer of 2016 when I first became a BAR.  It got pushed off to a remote corner of the workbench and forgotten in favor of other projects.  It's all painted and ready for markings, which I should be able to get done soon. 

4.  Star Trooper / Test booster tandem.  This is the one, if you recall, I crashed severely last year.  The Star Trooper is now repaired to flyable condition, and the booster has received proper fins and paint job.  All the pair needs now is a coating of 'gloss sauce' (Future).  I'll have it ready to fly at my next launch session.

NEW PROJECTS

1.  Mercury Redstone
2.  MPC Flatcat Boost/Glider
3.  Canopus-2  This is a re-build of my own cluster model design that I had published back in the early 80s in an issue of Model Rocketeer  (or was it American Spacemodeling?)
4.  Astron Alpha - During all of my involvement in model rocketry, I never got around to building an Alpha.  Sacrilege!   I shall remedy this oversight at once!
5.  Orbital Transport - Another rebuild from the dim and distant Days Of Yore.
6.  Time Permitting, I may use one of the numerous cardboard core tubes I have hanging around to do a scratch-build model of some sort.  I'm leaning toward an IQSY Tomahawk scaler...We'll see.

And - don't tell anyone - but I'm a few dollars away from having enough pocket change in my piggy bank (actually a large ceramic coffee cup) to spring for a Little Joe II kit......

Cheers!

No Resolutions!

I never make New Year's Resolutions.
I don't ever keep them, so I never waste time making them.
Instead, I tend to make detailed plans, lists, and schedules to outline progress on my various pursuits and hobbies.
The other day I was inspired by a post on one of the model rocket forums by a member who was lamenting how few rockets he had managed to complete in 2017. This got me to looking at my own model rocket fleet and the even more dismal rate at which I get projects completed.
In the past year, I only completed 3 new rockets and a glider, plus a couple pieces of launch pad accessories.  This brought my fleet total up to a mere ten flyable rockets since I became a BAR a year and a half ago!
Pathetic!

The current BlastFromThePast fleet.

To my credit, however, I do have three more birds on the bench started in 2017 that are almost done.

Almost-done projects:  MPC Lunar Patrol, Estes Satellite Interceptor, and Star Seeker

Part of the issue is that my free time away from work is shared by many other endeavors:  Loads of family activities (the most important of all), music practice and performance, and woodworking projects, not to mention all the myriad things to be done around the house and yard.  Many times, I find that I can only snatch 20 minutes here or half an hour there to work on the latest model rocket project.  A bird that could normally be built and completed in a day or two takes me a couple of months to realize.  I definitely have to make the most of these short segments of bench time available to me. 

Nonetheless, I have sat down and compiled a list of all the model rockets I would like to get built in 2018.  I've got 18 projects outlined - six for each four-month time span throughout the year.  If I can pull it off, the fleet will be triple its present size by EOY. 

I think it's entirely do-able....

Launch Date: January 5, 2018

My first launch session of 2018 took place on Friday of the New Year week.  Checks of local weather and wind websites showed afternoon temperatures in the mid -50s and minimal wind.  Ideal.  I was off from work for the whole week and my two grandkids, ages 7 and 9, were still on winter break, so they came along to fly their Generic E2X models.

Arriving at Dove Valley Park at 1 p.m., we found that the temperature was at 56 degrees with high overcast, and NO wind whatsoever.

The first model off the pad was the Hornet for flight number 38.  Once again, the bird performed very well on an A3 engine, deploying its parachute and landing very close by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was followed by flights of the kids’ Generic E2X rockets, all on A8-3 engines.  The grandson flew his once and his older sister flew hers twice.  All performed flawlessly, and were recovered very near to the launch pad.  I was really liking these calm conditions!

 

 

Next, it was time to fly some gliders.  The Griffin-2 and Firefly parasite were prepped and placed on the pad.  The tandem lifted off nicely on B4-2 engine power, achieving a respectable altitude.  The Firefly detached immediately at ejection and started a flat, straight glide toward the northwest.  The model has no turn trimming whatsoever, so I knew it would glide for a long distance.  It ended up flying out of the park boundary and landed in the median of the adjacent street.  I timed the glide duration at 71 seconds.  I definitely need to work on further glide trimming to instill a turn in its flight pattern.  As for the Griffin, it deployed its parachute and landed softly very close to the launch pad.

 

 

Next up was the Mini-Maggot-3 boost glider.  A 1/2A engine sent the model straight up to altitude where glider separation occurred perfectly.  Unlike the Firefly, this glider is trimmed to describe about a 25’ diameter right hand circle.  The MM3 circled gracefully straight over head and landed about 30 feet from the launch pad after a 56 second flight duration.  If this glider ever catches a thermal, I’m afraid it will be “Bye, Bye, Birdie!”

 

 

The final flight of the day went to the Estes Lynx.  An A10 engine took it perfectly straight and high.  Unfortunately, the parachute didn’t open so the model took a rather hard landing.  Luckily, the only damage sustained was the loss of the dowel ‘antenna’ detail on the rear dorsal fin.  An easy repair.

Failure analysis revealed that I had committed a dumb ‘rookie’ mistake.  Forgot to powder a new parachute….

Anyhow, it was time to pack up and head home, having completed seven highly successful model rocket flights in absolutely ideal flying weather.

Again, it was great to have the grandkids along – they performed all of the button pushing and model recovery – except for the fly-away Firefly, of course.