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View Full Version : North Plains, OR: Mini-Max blowout!


stefanj
08-12-2006, 01:45 AM
This is a launch PRE-Report.

I'm going to my first organized launch of the year tomorrow. Besides an upscale Ranger (3 x C11-7) and a Badger (http://home.comcast.net/~stefan_jones/Rocket.JPG) (scratch built tubby BT-80 model), I'll launch CLONES OF ALMOST EVERY CENTURI LARGE SCALE ROCKET!

Jaguar: D12-7
Scorpion: C11-5
Explorer: D12-5
Aero-Dart (Mk. III): F40-7
Hustler: F39-4, later F40-7
Aero-Dart (Mk. I): D12-5
Aero-Dark (Mk. II): D12-3, later F40-10

(Alas, I didn't get around to building my Lil' Hustler clone. )

I spent the evening hustling together some 24mm adaptors that fit my pre-Semroc-kit clones of the Aero-Dart and Hustler and Explorer. I made my own motor retainer clips, but made a tactical blunder: The forward tab on the clips went all the way across the tube. I thought it would make a nice motor mount. But this prevents the delay housing and ejection charge dingus of reload casings from going in. I had to spend a long time filing off the tab on one of the adaptors. Ugh!

I'll take a group shot of all of the models before launch.

Fingers crossed!

barone
08-12-2006, 07:09 AM
Fingers and toes crossed ;) Looking forward to the launch report and pictures of the fleet.

Don
NAR 53455

stefanj
08-12-2006, 09:14 PM
Bad news first: My Aero-Dart core-sampled. The shock cord broke or untied itself from the screw eye. The parachute and recovery section wafted down while the body tube went in ballistic. There are about 10" of uncrumpled body tube. I could get a tube and coupler and fix it, or buy the Semroc clone. Undecided at the moment.

Other than that, everything went well. Didn't launch the Ranger upscale, but the other stuff all went off.

The two "early" Aero-Darts went up on a D12-5 and D12-3 respectively. Both good flights.

Semroc Scorpion on a C11-5 was just ducky. I'm sorry that motor is going OOP. A C11-3 might do, but that's cutting it short. A D12-7 is an alternative.

The Jaguar, on a D12-7, on a streamer, went ferociously high but didn't drift too far. There was actually another shock cord break, but the body just spun on its axis and floated down. The two pieces landed fairly close to each other.

Hustler, on a F24-4, was utterly glorious. High, straight, fast. It's only a 50ns motor, but just perfect for that model.

Aero-Dart on a F40-7 performed amazingly until seperation. A bit too high for my taste. If I get another, I'll stick with E and low F motors.

Explorer on a D12-5 rocked! Another great match. Next flight I'll try a E9-6. I think I've mentioned before that the E9 is a close match to one of the Mini-Max E motors.

Unresized photos attached, I think.

stefanj
08-12-2006, 09:21 PM
This time for sure!

barone
08-12-2006, 10:22 PM
Sorry about the Aero-Dart. Guess I ran out of toes.... :rolleyes:

The rockets look great :)

Don
NAR 53455

snaquin
08-12-2006, 10:54 PM
Bad news first: My Aero-Dart core-sampled. The shock cord broke or untied itself from the screw eye. The parachute and recovery section wafted down while the body tube went in ballistic. There are about 10" of uncrumpled body tube. I could get a tube and coupler and fix it, or buy the Semroc clone. Undecided at the moment.

Other than that, everything went well. Didn't launch the Ranger upscale, but the other stuff all went off.

The two "early" Aero-Darts went up on a D12-5 and D12-3 respectively. Both good flights.

Semroc Scorpion on a C11-5 was just ducky. I'm sorry that motor is going OOP. A C11-3 might do, but that's cutting it short. A D12-7 is an alternative.

The Jaguar, on a D12-7, on a streamer, went ferociously high but didn't drift too far. There was actually another shock cord break, but the body just spun on its axis and floated down. The two pieces landed fairly close to each other.

Hustler, on a F24-4, was utterly glorious. High, straight, fast. It's only a 50ns motor, but just perfect for that model.

Aero-Dart on a F40-7 performed amazingly until seperation. A bit too high for my taste. If I get another, I'll stick with E and low F motors.

Explorer on a D12-5 rocked! Another great match. Next flight I'll try a E9-6. I think I've mentioned before that the E9 is a close match to one of the Mini-Max E motors.

Unresized photos attached, I think.


Great collection! Too bad about the Aero-Dart. Your Aero-Dart should have caught some altitude on the F40-7. What size chute did you select for that model?

So the F24-4 seemed like a good load for the Hustler? I'm considering F loads for mine since it is the largest of the large scale rockets.

I have the Semroc SLS Explorer kit. I know your Aero-Dart collection is scratch built. Is your Explorer the Semroc kit or a scratch built? Sorry for so many questions but I admire your scratch builts.

Every time I get the 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon I purchase a couple of packs of the E9 motors too. I may use the E9 with the Semroc 24mm adapter for a first flight in my Lil' Hustler.

stefanj
08-13-2006, 12:10 AM
Great collection! Too bad about the Aero-Dart. Your Aero-Dart should have caught some altitude on the F40-7. What size chute did you select for that model?

Yes, it was really "up there."

The Aero-Dart has a 21" nylon chute, made from a toy umbrella I got at Dollar Tree. I made a whole bunch of them when I embarked on the cloning project years ago. They are very effective and sturdy, but kind of bulky. I will probably swap out the ones that are in the 1.5" ID kits (the two early Aero-Darts).

So the F24-4 seemed like a good load for the Hustler? I'm considering F loads for mine since it is the largest of the large scale rockets.

The F24-4 (a reload for the Aerotech 24/40 casing) was nearly perfect in the Hustler. Very fast, and gets it up nice and high but not so high that you'd spend hours looking for it.

I also flew it on a F22-5J reload. This is a black-smoker type motor, with more total impulse but lower thrust. Slower and more graceful a liftoff, with the dramatic smoke trail.

The original Hustler was intended for use with big bulky Mini-Max BP, PB motors similar to a F100. Relatively low total impulse (50ns, same as the F24) but a butt-kick thrust level.

NOTE: My Hustler might be lighter than the Semroc kit. Mine has balsa fins, balsa rings, and no baffle. This might have a slight effect on motor selection, but probably not by much.

I have the Semroc SLS Explorer kit. I know your Aero-Dart collection is scratch built. Is your Explorer the Semroc kit or a scratch built? Sorry for so many questions but I admire your scratch builts.

The Explorer shown is a scratch-build. It is actually my second one; the first went to Leroy Piester several years ago.

The Explorer is kind of clunky looking, but attractive in a retro sort of way.

Every time I get the 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon I purchase a couple of packs of the E9 motors too. I may use the E9 with the Semroc 24mm adapter for a first flight in my Lil' Hustler.

An E9-6 would work great in an Explorer. I don't have a "feel" for how big and heavy the Lil' Hustler is; I suspect an E9-6 would do fine in it. Maybe a -4 if it has a heavy payload.

Green Dragon
08-13-2006, 08:04 AM
Nice birds and nice photos .

Love the group photo with all the birds together :)

Bummer about the Aero-Dart, but that looks like a fairly simple repair ( cut it at the red/white paint joint to mask the seam, tie some good Kevlar cord around a coupler for new SC mount, then splice it and paint.. since you said the nose section was fine, that's the 'difficult' / scratchbuilt part. )

Hope to fly a few of my own if I can make time to get up to the ASTRE launch next weekend - notably my Enerjet 2250 clone is already prepped and ready with 3 x E9-6.
Plus my almost done ( just needs finish paint) Scorpion semi-clone. ( this one uses vintage SSRS 1.34" tubing, a BMS cone I had made years ago, plus Semroc laser cut fins and 29mm mount ).. nice choice for an F20 econojet :D

hopefully I'll get a chance to get up there and fly a few, haven't gotten out much this year....

~ AL

snaquin
08-13-2006, 06:54 PM
The F24-4 (a reload for the Aerotech 24/40 casing) was nearly perfect in the Hustler. Very fast, and gets it up nice and high but not so high that you'd spend hours looking for it.

I also flew it on a F22-5J reload. This is a black-smoker type motor, with more total impulse but lower thrust. Slower and more graceful a liftoff, with the dramatic smoke trail.

The original Hustler was intended for use with big bulky Mini-Max BP, PB motors similar to a F100. Relatively low total impulse (50ns, same as the F24) but a butt-kick thrust level.

NOTE: My Hustler might be lighter than the Semroc kit. Mine has balsa fins, balsa rings, and no baffle. This might have a slight effect on motor selection, but probably not by much.

The F22-5J seems like it would be a good load for the Hustler. I only have two of the 29/40-120 RouseTech motors but I hope to get two of the 24/40 motors soon. I'd like to try the three "F" loads that fit the 24mm hardware. I only have one or two of the old F23-7FJ econojet single use motors left with the old case style, before AeroTech changed the design and reduced the power of the original econojets.

The Explorer shown is a scratch-build. It is actually my second one; the first went to Leroy Piester several years ago.

The Explorer is kind of clunky looking, but attractive in a retro sort of way. An E9-6 would work great in an Explorer.

I have the Semroc SLS Explorer kit still in the bag. When I build mine I'll probably put a swivel or quick link on the shock cord so I can try the Hustler and Aero-Dart payload sections on it since the Centuri catalog made mention of it. I put it in RockSim and I find the Explorer looks nicer a little longer. It looks to be just about the right size with the Aero-Dart payload section on top at just under 35" in length.

I don't have a "feel" for how big and heavy the Lil' Hustler is; I suspect an E9-6 would do fine in it. Maybe a -4 if it has a heavy payload.

It sims real nice with the E9-6. The instructions that came with the Lil' Hustler kit estimated 6 oz. The Centuri catalog estimated 6.5 oz. but that one used the fin reinforcing. Finished dry weight on mine is exactly 6.5 oz and is probably a little heavier than most will find because I used epoxy for the build and sprayed a few extra coats of gloss white when I really wanted to spray white primer :o

I still need to order the Aero-Dart kit from Semroc and as you mentioned the other Aero-Dart versions can be built with available Semroc parts. Also one day I'd like to build the large 72 EnerJet version, I like the one GH cloned with the Moldin' Oldies Orion cone. I have the black and white checkerboard and EnerJet decals, I just need to break down and get the parts .....

A Fish Named Wallyum
01-23-2007, 02:21 AM
I was working on a Lil' Hustler review tonight and stumbled across this thread after googling for additional info. I couldn't figure out how I missed it the first time around until I looked at the date. I was on vacation. Great pics, Stefan. We really need to get you back to writing reviews for EMRR. Some of these birds would be perfect candidates. (The hint drops with a heavy THUD.) :cool: :cool: :cool:

stefanj
01-23-2007, 10:51 PM
I was planning on writing up some of these, but the release of the Semroc "SLS" models kind of took the wind out of my sails.

I'm not complaining. I think it utterly rocks that the Hustler and Explorer and such are now available to everyone. But doesn't seem as necessary to document the project.

stefanj
01-23-2007, 10:55 PM
Oh, I eventually did launch my Explorer on a E9-6. What a GREAT combination!

A Fish Named Wallyum
01-23-2007, 11:02 PM
I was planning on writing up some of these, but the release of the Semroc "SLS" models kind of took the wind out of my sails.

I'm not complaining. I think it utterly rocks that the Hustler and Explorer and such are now available to everyone. But doesn't seem as necessary to document the project.

Necessary? :eek: I look at it as cheap thrills. Give it a thought, will you? Rocket reviews are like barbecue. Lots of styles for lots of tastes. (Wanna take a guess at what I had for dinner?) ;)