Back In The Day, Part 18 - A Little Colorado Rocketry History

Because my build series on the Steampunk Protostar is creeping along appallingly slowly, and I haven't had any recent launch sessions to write about, I deem it necessary to come up with some filler material with which to continue posting at regular intervals in my humble little corner of the Interweb.

Thus, I have settled upon the notion of regaling all of you with a series recalling the short history of the Skywachers / Rocky Mountain Association of Rocketry club to which I belonged back in the old fleet days.

Skywatchers/ROMAR existed in Colorado Springs during the time spanning the demise of the famous Peak City Section through a point prior to the formation of COSROCS, the present area club. At one time ROMAR was the only game in town - the sole representative of organized model rocketry in existence along the Colorado Front Range.

So, it's time to dial up the BlastFromThePast "Waayyyy-back" machine.

Next stop: 1973......

Steampunk Protostar, Part 26 - Not Your Everyday Launch Lugs

Hi, Blog Readers,

You might just be wondering why I should devote an entire build post to a mere, lowly launch lug.

If this were a build of a standard, run-of-the-mill model rocket, that would be a valid point.  After all, there is not much you can really say about a little paper tube glued to a bigger paper tube.

But this is the world of Steampunk.

Every single part and sub-assembly of a model rocket constructed in this genre becomes a distinctive decorative design element in its own right.

Even something as mundane and purely functional as a launch lug.

So here is my rendition of the 'little paper tube' done up in Grand Victorian style.

I scrawled out a sketch of what the lugs will look like:

 

 

The stock Protostar kit supplies a single 2 inch length of 3/16" launch lug that the instructions say to cut in half, but the Steampunk version needs a little more than this, so I had to raid my parts stash for an additional pair of 2 inch lugs.

 

The first order of business is to apply some CWF to fill the spiral seams on the parts. I don't want the ship's launch lugs to look like big cardboard mailing tubes!

 

A 3/16" dowel is useful for holding the lugs during sanding.

 

 



The two lugs will each be 40mm in length, so 10mm needs to be carefully cut off.  This is done by inserting the dowel as a support and making the cut with a hobby knife.  Several rolling rotations of the lug while making light cuts will result in a clean separation.

 



 The 10mm pieces of lug will serve as mounting bands as shown in the diagram above.  Two additional 10mm lengths need to be cut from the third remaining launch lug.

Next, the four short pieces get a lengthwise cut, again using the dowel as a backing support.

These smaller lugs are then glued on the ends of the main launch lugs making sure the cut edges are in line.

Here is a shot of one of the completed launch lug assemblies.

BAR Fleet #119 - Alpha VI, 60th Anniversary Edition

Source:  Estes Industries

Kit #: 001958

Type:  Sport Model

Stages: Single

Engine Type: 18mm

Recovery:  Parachute

Length:  32cm

Diameter:  25mm

Weight Empty:  35g

Nose Cone:  Tangent Ogive

Fin Type: Tapered Swept plastic fin can

Number of Fins: 3

 Color Scheme:  Pearl White / Gloss

Metallic Maroon

 Date Completed:  23 March, 2019

 

When I first learned that Estes Industries had produced a special edition of the Alpha model rocket to commemorate the company’s 60^th Anniversary, it was a no-brainer that one should be added to my list of ‘must-haves’ for the fleet.

Since the Hobby Lobby stores carry this model in their sales inventory, one was quickly located and purchased, utilizing a 40% off coupon, of course.

 

 

 Being an E2X model, the Alpha VI is a very quick build.    In just a little over an hour from opening the kit, the model was rendered flight-ready, even with the extra embellishments/techniques I employ in my model rockets.

 Here is a picture of the kit parts, laid out all nice and ‘purty’.

 

 

 One of the first things I do when I build a kit is to throw away the stock rubber shock cord and replace it with a better, longer fiber-elastic one. 

 Because I intend to fly this model only once, I settled for keeping the original rubber shock cord, but I did tie an additional one on to double its length. 

No nose cone snap-back damage for this Alpha VI !

 

 

Another modification I make on any kit build is to replace the bulky ‘tea-bag’ style shock cord mount with a section of manila card stock with three slots through which the cord is threaded and glued. This is similar to the old Centuri / MPC style mounts.

 

 

 The only major down side to the Alpha VI kit is that the body tube is pre-finished, precluding the ability to fill and hide that horribly unsightly spiral seam.   I will just have to live with it.

 All in all, the model turns out looking quite spiffy !  A nice addition to the long history of this famous model rocket design.

 The final touch on my bird is to apply some rub-on fleet number decals.

 

 

#119 is scheduled to be launched at my first flying session for 2019, after which it will be retired and reside permanently in a display case.  I don’t wish to have a model in my fleet that hasn’t flown at least once.

 Here is another pic of the completed model:

 

 

Back In The Day, Part 17 - More Cartoons By ME!

In thumbing through some more issues of ROMAR's Cosmic Steppingstone news- letter, I ran across some more sketches which I rendered.  These are all attached to information/invitation  pages about the HOTROC Regional contests held in Colorado Springs in the early 1980's....

Enjoy !!

 

 

A New Quick Project...

Yesterday I stopped into the local Hobby Lobby and found this...

It's off to the secret basement la-BOR-atory!

Steampunk Protostar, Part 25 - Back To Work

After an extended time away from this build, I finally got busy last night and completed construction and attachment of the third main fin.

Now I can start on the pod attachment, launch lug, and riveted body tube skin detailing.

At the rate I'm going, I might get this model done by 2025!

Ya think?

Cheers.

The BlastFromThePast 2018 Fleet Photo

This is a pic of all the flight-ready model rockets in the fleet as of the beginning of 2019. 

I've had all of the birds out of the boxes this week in order to inspect them and install recovery wadding, just in case the weather suddenly gets better and I can grab'n'go to the flying field.

I figured I might as well fire up the Android and take a group portrait while I had them all unpacked.

I've also been busy building new 'chutes' and streamers, and pre-installing ignitors...I mean, STARTERS... into select motors.

If nothing else, tinkering with and photographing the fleet has had the effect of lifting me out of the winter doldrums and inspired me to get back to work on the Steampunk Protostar.....

















I'm hoping to have at least a half dozen or so new models completed for next year's photo.