Rocket Fever! Part II

I lost my voice a few days ago, and was barely able to speak a word for about two or three days. Yesterday, I sounded like Batman. Today, I woke up speaking like the guy from Sling Blade.

This is... an improvement?

Don't worry - I am now on medication. The hardest part about this is that I've been too tired to work on rockets most days.

However... One day last week, I felt a little better, and got a surprising amount done.

I primed the Trident A, my three-motor cluster scratch build. I also sanded the plastic ridges - or flash - and applied plastic putty to the nose cone. Once this is sanded and painted, you won't see the seam.

I sanded the nose cone of the Sounder I - the tiny, super high-flying rocket I designed on a whim a few weeks ago. I just wanted to see how high I could get a little rocket to go by tinkering in OpenRocket. This one will go high and fast, and if I add a booster stage to it, it'll go even higher and faster - up to 3500 feet at Mach .62!

Both Trident A and Sounder I - especially Sounder I - will need added nose weight to be stable in flight. For that, I'll add some clay to the nose - 5 grams in the case of Trident, and more in the case of Sounder.

So I picked up a little scale to measure components - including fins, motor hooks, payloads - and clay for nose weight.

This one is small - too small to weigh an entire rocket. But it's accurate to a tenth of a gram. There were scales accurate to a hundredth of a gram. That might be useful if you were using a simulator to determine potential performance, and wanted extreme accuracy, or if you were doing competition rocketry. But this one was less than $8, including free shipping. So it's good enough for my purposes for the time being.

Next, after reading something on The Rocketry Forum, I decided I wanted to see if I could fill fins with CA (for n00bs, I mean see if I could make the wooden fins smoother by covering them in cyanoacrylate - super glue). I tried this once before on my Estes Hi Flier, but it didn't turn out great. Either I used too little CA, or sanded them too little, or too much, or used the wrong primer.

Extreme closeup of the Hi Flier - not terrible, but you can still see some wood grain.

In any case, some people seem to have good success with this technique, and I get a little tired of using wood filler sometimes - it always takes me at least three coats of filler before I get a finish I like, and that's a lot of drying time and sanding, and half the time I still notice flaws once I start priming and painting the rocket.

I had some fins lying around from a rocket I never finished - the Ceres B booster from the book Make: Rockets: Down-to-Earth Rocket Science by Mike Westerfield.

The Ceres boosters from the book have four fins. Three is easier, and the four-
finned version can be overstable - especially with a heavy payload on top.

I had a problem with my first build on this, and in the end, I decided to make the Janus II two-stage rocket, and stick the payload from the Ceres on top of that.

Anyway, I grabbed a tube and started gluing on fins. I figured if the filling technique worked, I'd just make the rocket. Then I decided why not just make the rocket anyway? I recently lost three rockets, and this will be a nice big one with an E motor. Even if the finish isn't perfect, I'll still have a rocket that should fly well, and look pretty cool.

So I glued on the fins, without even bothering to fill in the body tube spirals - which is something I always do. But I'm going to experiment here. I'm going to fill the fins with CA and prime the rocket with filler primer, and see how good that combination is at covering flaws.

I'm getting better at using the guillotine fin jig.

Then I started playing around with some of the rocket parts I had lying around. I got some potential new ideas just sticking a transition and more tubes on top of the Ceres B.

A transition and a BT50 make for a different look...

Adding the Sounder I on top make it kind of look like a sounding rocket scale model.

Of course, this rocket was designed to carry the ICU2 camera payload bay, seen here.
I included a standoff for the launch lug, so that I can use this payload.

I even thought how easy it would be to stick three tubes on the sides between all the fins - external motor pods! Then I'd have a four-motor cluster rocket, one with a lot of different potential cool looks! As long as you design your rocket so that it's stable, the looks are kind of up to you. The design possibilities are kind of exciting.

Finally, I started one of my big rockets: the Estes Partizon, a Pro Series II rocket, which I got during the Estes holiday sales.

I picked this rocket to do first, I guess, because it was the one I was least excited about, so I wasn't too worried about messing it up.

I can't tell you why I wasn't as excited about it - maybe it's the Estes suggested paint job, a kind of ugly purple and orange I find rather dull. But the thing about building rockets is that you can make them any color and pattern you want.

Of course, once I start building a rocket, I am really consumed by that rocket, and devote lots of care to it. This one is freakishly tall for me - 56 inches! That's only 4 inches shorter than my mother... Now I have to pick a color scheme. I'll post pictures of the build soon.

I haven't blogged in a week, so I wanted to let any regular readers there may be what I've been up to.

I have a couple pieces of exciting news coming up. Stay tuned!

[EDIT] Oh, I nearly forgot! I emailed Estes about the wonky fin on my Nike Smoke, and they got right back to me. They're sending me a new rocket, and I don't even have to send the original rocket back. So, I guess I get to keep that for spare parts.

Good job, Estes!

Like my Facebook page for blog updates.

Awesome Launch, New Book, New Rocket

Last Saturday's launch went really well, and it was a lot of fun. Weather was perfect, and I prepped all my rockets before leaving the house, so people didn't have to wait around a lot for us to get stuff ready.

Launching the Estes Crossfire ISX

I did a total of 7 launches, including my two new rockets - the Estes Cosmic Explorer and Estes Hi Flier.

Cosmic Explorer

Hi Flier

 Chad lost one rocket - his two-stage Estes Taser Twin. He'd lost one of these already, and this was only the second time he'd launched his new one - it ended up in a field of tall scrub beyond a barbed wire fence.

It was a great flight, though. As it descended from the sky, the streamer looked like a flame set against the setting sun.

I messed up the final paint job on my Cosmic Explorer, but the thing flew really well, and descended smoothly and beautifully. This might be because I cut a spill hole in the center of the giant parachute, so it was nice and stable coming down.

At dinner afterwards, I learned that a local community college holds a class on model rocketry - essentially a camp for kids - and that they might be looking for a teacher. I might be a rocket n00b, but I have learned a lot in the last two months, and I'm going to look into doing this. It would be fun, and my girlfriend would see my rocketry as a worthwhile pursuit, rather than some nerdy obsession I've gotten into for some reason.

Speaking of learning a lot, I have to recommend a book to my fellow rocket n00bs. I'm currently reading a new model rocketry book called Make: Rockets: Down-to-Earth Rocket Science, by Mike Westerfield. It is due out in paperback on September 22, but you can already get it for Kindle.

This book is from the publishers of the DIY magazine MAKE, and it's really great. The author starts you off building rockets right away, and rather than using kits, he gives you plans and parts lists, so you are essentially making a scratch-built rocket. There are some cool chapters on payload sections, cluster launches, and even building your own launch pad and launch controller - a project I really want to undertake, especially since I'm about to start building my own cluster rockets. Also, Chad just got the Apogee Aspire rocket, which can go over a mile high - or achieve supersonic speeds - but uses an F composite engine, and our little Estes launch controllers just won't handle that!

Back to the book: All the original designs in this book have great, Greco-Roman names, like Juno, Ceres, Cerberus, etc., and there is a lot of actual science for those who are interested.

I'm helping Chad assemble his Aspire rocket, and am using the guillotine fin jig for the first time.

Lots to do!

Tight Launch Schedule!

We have a launch scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. - looks like the weather is going to be perfect. In the low 60's, not too humid, only a few clouds in the sky. Should make for a good launch.

When I say "we," I mean Chad and I, and the other friends we drag along to watch us launch rockets. We usually take a cooler of drinks and some snacks. This will be our first launch where we won't be sweating through our sun screen.

Problem is, it looks like I'm going to have trouble finishing my two new rockets. I've got the Estes Hi Flier painted, but I wanted to add a flat clear coat to it. A lot of sport models are pretty shiny, but since I've gone for a Blue Angels theme on this one, and it's a small rocket, I'd like it to have a flat finish - flat finishes tend to make the rocket look a little bigger. But the humidity today was at 80%, and tomorrow it looks like it will be about 75% - pleasant, but the clear coat I have calls for painting in no higher than 65% humidity. I don't want to go against this instruction, since I'm worried it might fog the clear coat, and ruin the look of the rocket - and I've been working on this one for over three weeks.

You can't tell from the lighting, but that's gloss paint, and it looks rather shiny - even though I haven't really perfected getting a super smooth finish on it.

I like this paint scheme, but now that I've got the rocket together, it does look a little plain. If I were to do it over, I might do one or two rings of gold around the body tube a half inch or so below the nose cone. On a sport model like this one and the Cosmic Explorer, details in paint as well as decals help to break up the monotony of a single color.

Here's a photo from my second build - the Estes Crossfire ISX, drying after the first base coat of red went on:

It's a pretty color, but see how boring the rocket would have looked if I'd left it all one color? This makes it look like a toy - the kind made by Santa's elves in one of those claymation Christmas specials - instead of a badass death machine.

The problem with my Cosmic Explorer is a different one. It comes with decals to apply thin red lines on the fins, around the body, and down the length of the body, in addition to a logo decal to be applied in the center. Instead of decals, for the stripes, I opted to mask off the body and use red paint. When you're as much of a n00b as I am, decals are tricky to get on straight, and I can remove and adjust masking tape until I'm satisfied I've got everything where I want it. Decals can also break easily - especially long, skinny ones. You can fix that, but I'm just not that skilled yet. Also, a line of paint is less likely to flake off.

The Cosmic Explorer is supposed to have one red ring stripe around the tube halfway up, and one down either of two opposing sides. But I decided it might look even better with two ring stripes. I got the first one in place, and it looks pretty nice.

Lighting's not great - this is a much nicer
shade of red than shows here

But before I mask off the second stripe, I need to let this dry over night. I could, of course, just skip the second stripe, but I have already decided I want it - note my comment above about the details breaking up the monotony of a single color, and adding interest to the rocket's appearance. Once that is dry, I need to do the two stripes up the side - which will be its own challenge, since I'll have to do a long, narrow mask for a line 1/8 inch wide nearly 12 inches long, down the airframe and between two fins for each line.

Then I'll need to apply that compass logo sticker. And I have a few smudges on the body that I want to see if I can remove with a bit of light wet sanding before I do that. And then, I'd like to apply a gloss clear coat, to seal everything together and protect the decal.

I've thought of launching these rockets as-is, and (if they survive) finishing them afterwards. But I take pride in my craftsmanship (not that I'm a great craftsman, but I'm working on that), and I hate to present an unfinished rocket. And if I lose the rocket, then I won't get to finish it the way I want before it flies again. The Cosmic Explorer also has airfoiled fins - my first time really doing that - and might well chip upon landing after the first flight - a risk I was willing to take in order to make this rocket look and perform as well as it might, and to learn the skill of airfoiling fins.

Some people would perhaps say "What's the point of going through all that work if you might end up losing the rocket anyway?"

But, for me, the building process is part of the point. I'm not just throwing these together to get them into the sky. I enjoy the craft of making these look right. This is a craft, like any other, and as in any craft, while I do have an end product in mind, if I didn't enjoy the process of crafting the rocket, I'd just buy some ready-mades and launch them.

Chad has lost 16-18 rockets this summer - that's like $400 worth of rockets! I haven't lost one yet, but there's always a first time. We constantly joke at our launches about "hubris." I need to get him a t-shirt that says "#YOLO - You Only Launch Once."

Of the two rockets, the Hi Flier is closest to finish, so I'll almost certainly launch that one on Saturday. But I'm going to try my hardest to finish this Cosmic Explorer without cutting corners. I really want to see this rocket go up. I've been working on it one for even longer than the Hi Flier! And I really want something new to launch - all my others have already gone up multiple times.

It's been weeks since I've launched. I can't wait for Saturday!

Oh, Noes!

My brakes went out when I was leaving for work this morning. I recently got my car worked on after letting it sit for about ten months, and it was so nice to be able to drive places again.

The reason I mention this here is that one of the first things I thought was Dammit! I was going to go launch rockets today!

My first couple of rocket launches with Chad were back when I was walking everywhere.  I live on the east side of Bloomington, and we launch in a huge park on the west side. Maybe it seems silly, but once I had my car back, the most satisfying part was that I could drive myself to launches, and to the huge hardware store and Michael's Crafts across town to buy building supplies.

And the weather has been so great this week! Today would have been my first time launching in weather that wasn't sweltering and humid.

I hate hot weather, especially humid weather. September and October are the perfect months for me in the Midwest. This indicates how awesome launching rockets is - I'm willing to slather on sunscreen and stand out in humid, 90-degree weather just to watch them go up.

I've gotten used to walking everywhere over the last year - I didn't even mind the polar vortex, because I bundled up tight, popped in the earbuds, and listened to podcasts during the 40-minute, 4:30 a.m. walk to work five days a week.

But this... This is a bummer.

I'm nearly finished painting and building my two most recent rockets - the Estes Cosmic Explorer and Estes Hi Flier.

Cosmic Explorer - a sleek-looking rocket that stands two feet tall

Hi Flier - 12 inch rocket which goes up to 1,500 feet

I just need to do some sanding on the paint job of the Hi Flier to knock down some tape dams - raised areas of paint caused by masking tape - and do topcoats and decals for the Cosmic Explorer, and I'm done. I've been working on these rockets for three weeks now, carefully trying to get details right, fill wood grain properly, and fixing a few things I messed up. I'm still working on the details of making a rocket look as good as it can.

But this workday - and the walk home - were so long, I might have to lie down before doing any sanding or painting. I want to get right to work on these, but I think I get sloppy when I'm too tired. I'm working on being patient to get the best results.

Just a couple previews:

I've opted for my own color scheme for the Hi Flier - blue and gold. Chad has one in the traditional color scheme (actually, had. He lost that one.), and as I've said before, when he already has a rocket, if I get the same one, I like to make mine look different. I thought of the Blue Angels when I was coming up with ideas:

But I'll probably skip the sticker. I am not a huge fan of self-adhesive stickers, and I usually get them on crooked, and there they stay.

And I've managed to put a pretty decent airfoil on the fins of the Cosmic Explorer:

This would have been easier to see if I'd taken a closeup later, after priming
the rocket. I'll post pictures of the whole thing when I'm done.

OK. Time to nap, sand, and paint...

Finally, Good Painting Weather!

It really feels like September now! It would be great launching weather, but the field where I fly is swarming with soccer kids this weekend. But it's a great day for painting!

The last couple weeks, it's been humid or rainy in central Indiana, so I've had to wait. And I've been working on two simple rockets for about three weeks or more (these are only Skill Level 1 rockets, but I've been trying to take my time and get the details the way I want them), and I'd like to put these guys to bed.

I did another primer layer on my Estes Cosmic Explorer and noticed some of the carpenter's wood filler (CWF) in the body tube spirals hadn't been all sanded off, but since I've had problems over-sanding and scuffing up the body of the rocket, I decided that was OK for now.

And I started the top coats of paint on my Estes Hi Flier - which I am not doing in the standard colors on the package. I've opted for blue and gold, a kind of Blue Angels theme. Chad already has one of these anyway, and when we both have the same rocket, I like to make mine look different from his.

I created a new page on the basics of how model rockets work so I can freely write posts in this blog without feeling I need to explain everything. You can find it in the side bar, or just click here.