Salamander-5

[Bob H]

A fellow club member had photocopies of the Nova Salamander-5 rocket glider blueprint. They were not very good quality but I managed to piece them together good enough to build one.

I made a Micro-Maxx version first to try out the concept and I got several good flights so I built a full size one. I wasn't after duration so I tissued the model with green on the top and a blue under side.

The model has flaps that are held up during boost by a burn string and released at ejection. The thrust of the motor wants to push the nose up and the wing flaps want to push the nose down.

The instructions say to launch it at about a 20 degree angle from vertical. The thrust is supposed to push it into an upward arc and during coast, the flaps are supposed to push the nose back down so that when the flaps are released, it transitions into a glide.

That's exactly what happened when I flew the Micro-Maxx model.

[Bob H]

When I tried the full size model, the flight was totally different.

First of all, there was too much wind and I should have waited for a calmer day. The amount of "up flap" to use is shown on the plan at about 45 degrees but it is one of the things that needs to be tweaked.

Anyways, I put in about 45 degrees up flap, loaded a B6-2 (recommended motor) and positioned it at about 20 degress on the launch rod. At liftoff, it arced right up but at motor burnout, the wind blew it over on it's back.

The "up flap" when inverted became "down flap" and it transitioned into a fast inverted glide that continued until the flaps deployed and it dived down right through the door into the back of bill's truck. Bill was in the back of the truck when the glider came to visit.

The glider suffered a dent in the cockpit area but othewise was undamaged. Bill was undamaged also.

[Bob H]

Feel free to jump in with your theory as to what happened.

I think that launching it into the wind was a mistake. It got pushed up and over before it even got to the coast phase. I couldn't try it again lanching with the wind as it would have had it angling toward the spectators.

So I will try this on another day. A calmer day.

[barone]

Any way of getting a copy of those plans?

Ok.....to keep me from getting in trouble..........if this is a current kit being produced, please provide a link.... :rolleyes:

[Bob H]

Any way of getting a copy of those plans?

Ok.....to keep me from getting in trouble..........if this is a current kit being produced, please provide a link.... :rolleyes:It was produced by a company called Nova in 1982 - 1986.

I have scans of the photocopies. It looks like someone took a blueprint and folded over sections to photocopy. They are dark with lots of black smudges on them plus a bit of distortion where the plans weren't flat on the copier.

I sent all of the scans to YORP a couple years ago but can understand why they were never posted. It will take someone to redraw the whole plan for them to be really usable.

I assembled and redrew the parts onto one large document. I didn't put all of the details on the plan but it is good enough to make one from.

The size is about 30" X 19" so when they print out they will be "tiled" and you will have to tape them together.

PM me your email and I'll send it along.

[billspad]

When I tried the full size model, the flight was totally different.

First of all, there was too much wind and I should have waited for a calmer day. The amount of "up flap" to use is shown on the plan at about 45 degrees but it is one of the things that needs to be tweaked.

Anyways, I put in about 45 degrees up flap, loaded a B6-2 (recommended motor) and positioned it at about 20 degress on the launch rod. At liftoff, it arced right up but at motor burnout, the wind blew it over on it's back.

The "up flap" when inverted became "down flap" and it transitioned into a fast inverted glide that continued until the flaps deployed and it dived down right through the door into the back of bill's truck. Bill was in the back of the truck when the glider came to visit.

The glider suffered a dent in the cockpit area but othewise was undamaged. Bill was undamaged also.

I'm mentally traumatized.

[Bob H]

I'm mentally traumatized.How can you tell?

[Mark II]

It was produced by a company called Nova in 1982 - 1986.

I have scans of the photocopies. It looks like someone took a blueprint and folded over sections to photocopy. They are dark with lots of black smudges on them plus a bit of distortion where the plans weren't flat on the copier.

I sent all of the scans to YORP a couple years ago but can understand why they were never posted. It will take someone to redraw the whole plan for them to be really usable.

I assembled and redrew the parts onto one large document. I didn't put all of the details on the plan but it is good enough to make one from.

The size is about 30" X 19" so when they print out they will be "tiled" and you will have to tape them together.

PM me your email and I'll send it along.
Well, the Coaster Centauri DynaSoar plans are oversized as well, and yet they are up on the site. Somehow, we have been able to cope with that, and the flaming of YORP on other forums hasn't been too vicious. :rolleyes: So how about it, Scott? ;)

MarkII

[Ltvscout]

It was produced by a company called Nova in 1982 - 1986.

I have scans of the photocopies. It looks like someone took a blueprint and folded over sections to photocopy. They are dark with lots of black smudges on them plus a bit of distortion where the plans weren't flat on the copier.

I sent all of the scans to YORP a couple years ago but can understand why they were never posted. It will take someone to redraw the whole plan for them to be really usable.

I assembled and redrew the parts onto one large document. I didn't put all of the details on the plan but it is good enough to make one from.

The size is about 30" X 19" so when they print out they will be "tiled" and you will have to tape them together.

PM me your email and I'll send it along.
Hmmm, I don't recall getting them. Could you resend to me please when you have a chance? You can send to scotth at execpc dot com.

Thanks, Bob!

[Ltvscout]

and the flaming of YORP on other forums hasn't been too vicious. :rolleyes: So how about it, Scott? ;)

MarkII
YORP is getting flamed somewhere?! Do you have links available to send me so I can defend myself if needed?

[Ltvscout]

I sent all of the scans to YORP a couple years ago but can understand why they were never posted. It will take someone to redraw the whole plan for them to be really usable.
Nevermind! I was looking in my files under Bob Harrington and they're under Robert Harrington. ;) The file dates are all 2-17-09, so I just got them fairly recently. I haven't done an update since then. I will get them up on my next YORP update. Thanks again, Bob.

[Eagle3]

Dude, I stitched those together, painstakingly I might add,and sent them to you a while back. Keep digging in those files, otherwise I can resend.

[Ltvscout]

Dude, I stitched those together, painstakingly I might add,and sent them to you a while back. Keep digging in those files, otherwise I can resend.
Mystery solved. :D

Thanks, Buzz & Bob. (Yes, I do have them in Bob's folder.)

[Jerry Irvine]

A fellow club member had photocopies of the Nova Salamander-5 rocket glider blueprint. They were not very good quality but I managed to piece them together good enough to build one.


January 1982 California Rocketry magazine

http://v-serv.com/crp/CRm/1-82/CRm.1-82.21.w.jpg

By the by, MR is Melodi Rosenfield.

Jerry

[Bob H]

Dude, I stitched those together, painstakingly I might add,and sent them to you a while back. Keep digging in those files, otherwise I can resend.Painstaking is probably an understatement! Those were pretty poor and there was tons of overlap.

I ended up cutting small pieces and pasting together a plan that I could work with enough to build the model. The Micro Maxx plan fits on a single 8 1/2" X 11" sheet.