Mycroft's Flock o' Rockets
Lotsa Lotsa Tubular Fins
I like rockets that use tubes for fins. 'Nuff
said.
Custom Razor (kit)
Built in stock form according to the kit instructions except that
I replaced the parachute with a streamer. Flies nicely on A
and B motors.
 Custom
Serval (kit, now OOP)
Built in stock form according to the kit instructions except that
I replaced the streamer with a chute. Flies nicely on B and C
motors.
Quest Totally Tubular (kit)
Built in stock form according to the kit instructions.
Flies on A motors. It is occasionally unstable on B motors,
and always unstable on C motors. NOTE: my rocket is about
2 inches shorter than it should be. However, even the stock
kit is unstable on C motors.
 Custom
"Super Duper" Serval (modified kit)
Since I had a Serval in the kit pile, I decided to build it with
a 24mm motor mount sized for the Estes E9. Needless to say, I
added a bunch of weight to the nose.
First flight in 2002 was on a C11-5. It has also since
flown on E9-8 and D12-7 power.
 Rocketvision
6-Pack (kit, now OOP)
When my Rocketvision Quad Pod launch pad was seriously delayed,
they sent me a free Rocketvision kit. Made from phenolic
tubing and using a little nylon chute, this rocket is nearly
indestructible. It has flown many times on D12-7's and
C11-5's.
 Golly
(scratchbuilt)
Golly Plans Page
This scratchbuilt kit of my own design is made from a single
18" piece of bt-5. It flies on 1/4A and 1/2A motors.
K+S Tubular (scratchbuilt)
This rocket was constructed from a piece of heavy cardboard K+S
tubing. This tubing is used to ship K+S metal products to
stores. I built this rocket for the K+S
duration competition that I invented. It flies on
C6-5's. The Kevlar shockcord is attached to the outside of the
body tube such that the rocket body descends horizontally under the
parachute.
 Gopher
Holes (scratchbuilt)
I wanted a "Mean Machine sized" tube fin rocket, and
this was the result. Built from bt-60, this rocket primarily
flew on D12-3's. In the fall of 2001, I lost it to a
tree. With the maroon and gold colors, the name "Gopher
Holes" is a reference to the University of Minnesota (Golden
Gophers!).
More Gopher Holes (scratchbuilt)
This was a successor to my departed Gopher Holes rocket. It
wasn't an exact duplicate, though. It was built from bt-55,
was shorter than GH, and split in the middle instead of at the nose
cone. Motor mount was built so that it can use the Estes E9.
Note use of past tense. On its first flight on 8-2-2, I
launched it on an E9-6. It went straight up for about 100
feet, then took a hard right turn, flew horizontally, and did a
javelin impression right into the middle of a drainage ditch.
When the ejection charge blew, it tossed the back half of the rocket
up onto the bank, but the front half was completely submerged.
It took some serious tugging to pull it free from the muck.
Post-mortem showed that the body tube had kinked hard over just in
front of the tube fins. Defective tube? Declared a total
loss - not worth rebuilding. RIP.
Yet More Gopher Holes (scratchbuilt)
You didn't expect me to quit now, did you? To be built
eventually.
 Eight
(scratchbuilt)
In a slight departure from standard tube-fin design, this rocket
has a central 2.6" LOC tube with eight tube fins made from LOC
38mm motor mount tubing. It has a 29mm motor mount and flies
off a rail. (The rail goes through one of the tube
fins.) Zipperless design.
Its first two flights were at NARAM 42 back in 2000. Flight
performance was uninspired on a G38 and not terribly impressive on
an H128. I think that the small size of the tube fins causes
extra drag and a stability deficit. To augment stability, I
added four fins to it.
First flight in its new form was in October of 2002 on a
G38. It was an excellent flight although it's really too
draggy & heavy to get much altitude. In April of 2003, I
flew it on an H210 for a very nice flight.
 Starstruck
VI (scratchbuilt)
This rocket was built from Aerotech 1.9" diameter
components. It has a 29mm motor mount.
For a different look, I slightly staggered the tube fins.
First flight was on 6/8/02 using a G35-7. 2nd flight was on
7-13-02 using an H128-M. Both flights came off quite nicely.
In April 2003, I flew it on an H265 for a very nice flight.
2B (scratchbuilt)
Parts acquired; not built yet.
This tube-fin rocket will be constructed from 2.1" PML
Quantum Tube. It will have a 38mm motor mount, and it will use
an altimeter for dual-deployment.
 LOC
Cyclotron (modified kit)
The kit comes with tube couplers for use as tube fins.
Instead, I cut pieces of LOC 3.1" tubing for the tube
fins. I also cut rings from the tube couplers to reinforce the
ends of the tube fins. Instead of putting the tube fins flush
with the end of the body tube, I moved them up slightly.
Instead of gluing together the airframe reducer, upper body tube and
nose cone, I'm holding them together with screws. This will
allow easier future modification should I wish to put an altimeter
in it. I also installed two plywood spacers to allow
installation of rail guides. The rail will pass through one of
the tube fins.
First flight was on 7-13-02 using an H148-S Redline. Very
nice. So nice that I flew it again that day on an I161-M.
Since then, it has flown on an H123 and another H148. To
get it under 3.3 lbs for launches without a waiver, I've flown it
with a normal nose cone replacing the regular upper transition/body
tube/nose.
 Mobius
(scratchbuilt)
This 3.1" diameter rocket stands 6' 4" tall. With
a 38mm motor mount, it mostly flies on J350's. In the past, it
has flown on an I161, I154, and I284. Zipperless design.
Recovery on Rocketman R7.
For its first flight, it was both shorter and lighter. At
LDRS 18 in Argonia, KS, it flew on an I161. After a very hard
landing, I ended up stretching the rocket as part of the
repairs. On its first flight after repairs, it flew on an
I154. Unfortunately, the chute tangled and didn't fully open
until the rocket was about 10 feet off the ground. This
resulted in a couple dinged-up tube fins, so I glued couplers inside
them for extra strength. The taller, heavier rocket then flew
successfully on an I284 (2,186 ft). Since then, it's flown
successfully several times on J350's (2,705 ft). I typically
put my Missile Works RRC2 altimeter in the payload bay to record
altitude. Eventually, I'll modify this rocket again for
altimeter based chute deployment.
A very fun rocket to fly!
Links
|
