Our TARC entry is now complete! Hopefully it will perform as good as it looks.
I've never worked with phenolic before, so it was kind of interesting trying to cut the slots:
I also have never attached the fins before gluing the whole assembly into the airframe, but I think it works better this way.
...And it slides right in:
Here our completed rocket poses next to its portrait:
I haven't mentioned the Team much yet. I think we have the perfect balance of skills and talents on our team, from freshmen to seniors, from all interests and abilities. In all we have six members. This has been a great experience. I always thought that collaborating with others produces better results, and it's true. Apparently two horses can pull four times as much as one horse. I'm not sure if that's scientific fact or just a myth, but it's something I've heard before.
I smell another project coming on...
One with a biiiiiiiiig blast deflector!
P.S. -- My computer is still not working, but I'm pretty sure it's a hard drive failure. So once I get a new hard drive, you should expect to see more frequent posting.
4 comments:
Can you tell us more about why you chose fins of that shape? And also, what kind of glue(s) were used?
Yes. The clipped delta fins are good for low-induced drag, plus they're a fairly simple shape to work with. We're using 12 minute epoxy to put everything together.
Well, great minds think alike I guess. I'm building a rocket that's almost a dead ringer for yours, appearance wise anyway. It has a bt70 booster tube, a bt80 payload tube, balsa transition 29mm mount and is 48 inches tall. Same fin shape. This was also my first attempt at building the fins/motor mount assembly "outside" the rocket. Worked well.
I'm curious as to how you're mounting your launch lugs. I epoxied hardwood blocks to the centering rings. I'm going to drill a hole in each and install barrel nuts, then use half inch nylon spacers to put the rail buttons on. I'm a bit concerned about getting them aligned, so we'll see how it works.
Good luck with your TARC team!
Hello Jeff, and yes, that is quite a coincidence. Nearly the same specs as our rocket!
We're not using launch lugs for this rocket. We're using a launch tower so we can eliminate the need for one. However, in past rockets I've simply epoxied the lug directly to the tube, nothing more than that. I've never tried rail buttons but I would assume that they're similar to attach.
Thanks, and good luck with your rocket too!
~DTH
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