XCVG's Model Rocketry Stuff

[XCVG]

EDIT: Changed name, because I'm using this thread to post all my model rocketry stuff. Scroll down to see my new rocket!

First off, a little background information. I used to fly RC and launch model rockets. The first I gave up on because I destroyed my plane. I sort of rebuilt it, but still haven't flown it after half a year (no completed pictures, sorry). Model rocketry I gave up because of a series of failures and the fact that it was really expensive. Recently The Source (basically a Canadian Radio Shack) started selling model rocketry supplies at great prices (big chain, cheaper than a hobby shop). I purchased a HiJinks Rocket and some engines with plans to add a camera in the nose. I thought I would rebuild the working-but-ghetto launch kit while I'm at it.

The "Suicide Bomber" Launch Controller

This is the old launch controller. It does the job, but it's big, ugly, and has no LEDs.

I was looking through my junk trying to find a dollar store fan that I originally planned to USB-ify which I thought would make a neat case when I came upon this.

I don't have any shots of the construction process, but this is the final product.

The lever button thing that was originally used for turning the microphone on and off launches the rocket. The original switch is still used. When not pressed, the blue LED lights up if it is connected to an ignitor (or anything with good continuity); it does not set it off. When pressed, the yellow LED beside it lights up and full power is sent through, launching the rocket. The whole thing is powered by a 9V battery, which just barely fits with some dremelling. It has a nice hefty feel to it. Probably the nicest looking thing I've built, by the way.

The "SuperPad Plus" Launchpad
(the original name was somewhat offensive, so I renamed it after a controller)

There are no pictures of the old launchpad unfortunately. It was basically a coffee can with two u-bolts holding an 1/8" brass rod (they didn't have steel at the time in that size) in. Back then I had the mentality that coffee cans could be used for everything. It was simply stabbed into the ground; crude but it worked. Well, a while back, probably when we moved, it got disassembled.

This is the replacement. The wood triangle was made by my dad because I suck at woodworking and he's good at it. He also found the cool legs. Trying to make an equilateral triangle was a Sega- we got close but it's not perfect. The paint can lid acts as a blast deflector, hopefully reducing the charring of the wood. The launch rod is the same rod, and it fits in the small hole near the middle. It waves around WAY TOO MUCH. The current plan is to acquire a second, larger diameter rod and install it in a second hole, trimming the current rod down and using it for smaller rockets. I've spray painted this black; it's currently outside drying.

 

[XCVG]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

No responses

So, I made some progress today.

The launchpad is now finished and painted black. You can see the launch rod hole better in this picture.

I found my busted Star Dart, and the damage wasn't too bad. The motor mount hook is completely gone, but an engine friction-fits just fine, so it's all good. It might eject out the back instead of popping off the nosecone and the chute, but that's almost as good. Speaking of the chute, it's not really a chute. I tore a hole in the parachute when I removed it, and it never really fit anyway. Rather than fix it or just use it anyway, I took some plastic bag material and made something in between a streamer and a chute. It fits nicely, and there should still be some room for at least one sheet of wadding. I painted it, but the paints were crap and I just suck at painting, so it looks like ass. Oh well.

This is what I built today. It's my take on a rocket glider. I don't really expect it to fly- nothing is straight and it's a horribly ghetto piece of crap. The engine tube isn't really attached well and it's tail heavy, although it glides okay. You can see part of the launcher in the background. It just hangs on a launch rod by a lug on the tail. That's the only place it would go.


I still only have one pack of C6-5 engines, though. I plan on getting some "mini" engines, but I don't have the money right now.

 

[Yoshilime M.R.]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

Oh man, i wonder if American Radio shack has any Rocket supplies, because what you made makes me want to get into it. You going to post any videos of launches?

I really want to see The rocket glider/Home-made rockets.

 

[ToastBucket]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

They don't. Go to a hobby shop like Ben Franklin or something.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

I don't know, I never saw anything resembling model rocket kits last time I went there. It's a craft store, y'see, not just a hobby shop.

 

[XCVG]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

I don't know about any brick-and-mortar stores in the US, but there are lots of online ones like Tower Hobbies and Horizon Hobby. If you live in a big city, there's probably a hobby shop, just look it up. However, hobby shops are generally quite expensive. The Source has the best prices I've ever seen in Canada- there are advantages to being a big chain. The selection isn't very good, though. I noticed that the packs of motors are different- they include recovery wadding and an extra ignitor- they don't sell either separately. They sell a starter set (no motors) for $15, but it'll probably cost you twice that. You can save (a lot of) money if you build a launch kit yourself, especially if you already have the materials. Do something cool like use an N64 for a base or something.

 

[ToastBucket]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

I don't know, I never saw anything resembling model rocket kits last time I went there. It's a craft store, y'see, not just a hobby shop.

My local Ben Franklin has a whole aisle for them =/

 

[Yoshilime M.R.]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

Yeah, there are a lot of hobbie stores around, but they'd probably charge and arm and a leg. MY local michels has a rocket or two, i should look into that.

And actually read the instructions on how to build it. I think i just put the rocket to together without a parachute one.

 

[XCVG]

I built another rocket from scratch!

I was reading a review for the Estes Big Bertha and thought hmm, I want a big rocket. So I got this tube out of our recycling bin and cut it down. The fins are just Elmer's foamboard; I bought a 3-pack for building R/C airplanes some months ago. The body tube was spray-painted red and then I added the details with some Warhammer paint I bought ages ago (never actually did any, but I still have one kit somewhere). The nosecone (foam this time) is always the hard part- my dad actually did it on the sander (I tried and failed epically). You can't see it, but on the other side there is authentic Korean lettering. I printed it off along with the flag and copied it. The results are kinda crappy but it looks cool. Why North Korea? Well, first off, definitely not another "USA" rocket- I don't have anything against the US but it's WAY overdone. I also spray painted it red, so that pretty much limited it to Canada or a communist country. I was going to do Canada, but we don't have rockets, and I thought it would be cool to do North Korea. So it's a North Korean rocket. I haven't put launch lugs on yet; I plan to use wire or metal. The engine is in a separate tube inside, held in with balsa sticks and the engine itself is retained with the top of a water bottle.

Despite all the effort, I don't expect it to fly. This rocket is way too *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ing heavy. I'd say it's around 150 grams, based on a crap scale and some guesswork. The biggest engines I can easily get (C6-5) are rated for up to 113 grams, max. Why is it so heavy? Mostly because the tube I used has a really thick wall, too thick for model rocketry. There is a parachute inside, but it probably won't eject because of the massive volume of the tube and the fact that there are two balsa sticks mostly blocking the ejection of the engine (I hope they don't break). Most likely, this rocket will stay on the pad, or go up about ten feet then drop. The brass launch rod stands no chance against this rocket; I need a thicker rod. The current plan is to attach two "mini" engines (because they are cheaper) to the sides and hope it all ignites at once.


I'm going to build a Soviet SSBN ICBM next. Now, I just need a body tube...

EDIT: Fixed that, WTF was I thinking? An SSBN is a type of submarine. Which is getting me thinking...

 

[Tibia]

We had a Big Bertha when I was younger. We had another one that carried an egg in it, too. My dad was into these. I wonder what he did with his stuff.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

Re: Mk II Model Rocket Launch Kit

I don't know, I never saw anything resembling model rocket kits last time I went there. It's a craft store, y'see, not just a hobby shop.

My local Ben Franklin has a whole aisle for them =/

Gah, sorry, I was thinking of Michael's. DX

 

[Mako321]

We had a Big Bertha when I was younger. We had another one that carried an egg in it, too. My dad was into these. I wonder what he did with his stuff.

I've made a fat boy (or whatever the smaller counterpart is called)

 

[XCVG]

I'm currently working on another rocket. Tomorrow I'll finish both this one and the North Korean one.

This is the main body of the rocket. I was originally going to paint it aluminum-silver. I did, and it looked like flax. So I tried "dulling" it down with some flat olive drab paint. I went a little overboard, but I like the look. Originally I wanted to paint it the shiny aluminum for visibility, but I want an ICBM from the 60s, not a sci-fi rocket from the 60s. I actually built a stand out of some big dowel and a random piece of 2x4 (I think) to make spraying it easier. Similar to how the NK rocket says "North Korea" on one side and some Korean text on the other, this rocket says "USSR" on one side and "CCCP" on the other. I'm not that happy with the paint job. I made everything too big; the "USSR" text, the symbols, everything. It doesn't match the scale of the rocket at all. Oh well, there's always next time.

Pink foam is what I used to make the nose cone. Actually, I didn't make it; my dad did again. I just trimmed it and did some finish sanding by hand. This is acrylic craft paint- crap, by the way, I should find some better stuff. Spray paint just melts this stuff into a horribly deformed piece of crap. This nose cone isn't quite big enough (1.5" foam isn't thick enough), but it fits way better, with a narrowed part (glued on thanks to some shortsightedness on my part) that fits inside the body tube. You can't see it, but I drilled (sort of) a hole in the foam with a drill bit, then hot-glued a nut in. That's a popsicle stick you see there- actually two. I snapped several trying to drill the hole in the end for the shock cord. It's sort of threaded into the nut and a plastic disc which holds it all together is glued on with Elmer's Ultimate glue (polyurethane). I was beginning to forget that hot glue isn't the only game in town! On that subject, regular old wood glue is actually very useful.

A crappy view down the hole. I'll try to explain how this and the NK rocket are constructed. There is an inner tube sized to hold the engine. Since my paper-rolling skills suck, and I have no engine hooks laying around, it uses the top of a water bottle with a hole drilled in it to keep the engine in. We'll see how well that works. Since I actually want the ejection charge to do something, I used a ring cut from an expended engine (those things are THICK) to keep the engine from ending up in the nosecone. Unlike the NK rocket, which uses foamboard fins (too thick for this smaller rocket), this rocket uses old-fashioned balsa fins. They extend past the body tube so it rests flat on the ground; this feature was included to make painting easier. I kind of made up my own way to hold the inner tube in. Since I'm not going to pay good money for an engine mount and I can't cut circles worth a Dang, I had to be creative. The bottom is held in the center with a plastic disc cut from a milk jug and copious amounts of hot glue. Up higher, past the engine, two skewers are stuck through both tubes, one about an inch above the other and perpendicular. This is an improvement on the system the NK rocket uses, which features balsa sticks. Hopefully the ejection gases can get past the skewers. They are also coated with wood glue, whereas the sticks in the NK rocket were only CA'ed (cyanoacrylate=super glue) from the outside. I'm worried about the longevity of this system, but it'll probably just crash or explode anyway. I sort of splayed out the top of the engine tube on this rocket, hoping it would make the ejection gases more effective or something. The shock cord is an elastic band- too short but very stretchy. I used the traditional three-fold method of attaching it. It seems to be holding. As for recovery, I'm not sure if I should use a parachute or a streamer. I'm leaning toward a streamer or hybrid chute, simply because they are easy to build and I'm lazy.

So there you have it. Model rocketry is great because you can build rockets out of stuff you probably already have. If you are a hardware hacker you can probably build a launch kit for next to nothing as well. The only expensive part is the engines, and compared to a lot of things they aren't that bad. You can try to build nice rockets that will actually fly, or crazy flax that will never fly. You can hack crap together, or create a beautiful looking and flying model. The sky's the limit! (they don't go into space)

Current plans include a rocket car, possibly using the RC car I tried to put a propeller on. Another one is a mini engine rocket using a toilet paper tube- short and fat. Maybe another rocket plane too...

 

[Tibia]

You might want to consider decal or sticker paper. Then, you can do your logos and lettering in the computer and resize it to whatever you need. If you end up using sticker paper, you can just trim it close so you don't get any white. I do like the main color, though. That turned out nice.

 

[Yoshilime M.R.]

Hey XCVG, do these things explode on impact?

I ask because i found part of a kit, and Lazily assembled it (Glued everything together, there were no instructions and i was to lazy to bother.) And rigged up the ignition-fork/prong thing included to a 9 volt, so im set to shoot off this missile (missile because the chute will most likely not fire).


Since im planning to shoot it off at the park or school, i dont want to cause any fires, so thats why im asking.

 

[Twilight Wolf]

As far as I know they shouldn't explode on impact... unless he's got some design details he's not telling us about... >_>

 

[XCVG]

Hey XCVG, do these things explode on impact?

I ask because i found part of a kit, and Lazily assembled it (Glued everything together, there were no instructions and i was to lazy to bother.) And rigged up the ignition-fork/prong thing included to a 9 volt, so im set to shoot off this missile (missile because the chute will most likely not fire).


Since im planning to shoot it off at the park or school, i dont want to cause any fires, so thats why im asking.

Well, not on impact...

Just kidding, they don't explode. Unless you are using "plugged" or "booster" engines there is a small charge at the end of the burn that is supposed to pop the chute out. It isn't that powerful. The fire risk even for the engine flame is very small because it is a very short burn (a few seconds max) and the rockets move fast. Anyway, don't forget to post pictures or a video!

The current selection of rockets. I have an Estes HiJinks RTF rocket which is not shown- including the HiJinks there are six of them. There's the North Korean rocket, the Soviet ICBM, the repaired Star Dart, and two new rockets. The camo one my friend built- it is hand-rolled paper, foam fins, foam nosecone, and disposable- no recovery system, uses a full size engine. The blue and yellow one you can hardly see is made from a toilet paper roll, balsa fins and a foam nosecone the same friend made. It has hippie designs on the sides, uses a mini engine, and amazingly has a streamer recovery system packed in it. All of these rockets are ready to fly except for the engines. The NK rocket now has booster pods, as well.

Not pictured is the Rakkettengleider (rocket glider in fake German) and the modified RC car with engine mount. The RC car is the same one that briefly had a propeller- most of the mount parts are reused. It takes a full size engine and I might trigger it with the radio control, we'll see.

The current plan is to get some more engines and build some disposable mini engine rocket.

 

[XCVG]

I got some more engines, some paid for by my friend. We're going to go out and launch them on Sunday if weather cooperates. I have to build at least one disposable mini and get the RC planes ready.

I'll get some video of the launch if possible. I don't have the money to build the video rocket yet, and I have to test fly the rocket first anyway. It will happen, just not yet. I will get some more money within the next week, so expect updates.

 

[Yoshilime M.R.]

Oh heck yeah. I can so not wait for whatever videos/pictures you have in store.

 

[XCVG]

You guys are lucky! I was going through my tapes and found some footage of my and my friend's homebuilt rockets from a few years ago! I thought it was last year but judging by the video it was at least two years ago, maybe three. Anyway, I was lazy and did a crap rush job on the editing, and I think I forgot a rocket or two. The footage wasn't that good, especially the parts my friend did. He would aim right at the rocket and zoom in. So you get a little smoke and no good launch footage. Anyway:



If all goes as planned you will have more footage by the end of today.