Thunder Roc

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Here's a photo of the Thunder Roc in production, concurrent with a just-discontinued Big Daddy.

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

The Thunder Roc decal is a bitch to apply because of it's size. I used an off brand of acrylic clear on mine and as a result the decal has started to curl and peel off. Add to this the damage incurred in last year's garage incident and I'm thinking about starting over.

[Ltvscout]

Add to this the damage incurred in last year's garage incident and I'm thinking about starting over.
What happened in the "incident."

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

We had our living room floors refinished while we were out of town and they had to remove an old hearth from one end of the room. They pulverized it and let it fall into the garage, which is where quite a few of my rockets were. Some of them were pretty badly damaged, but they were all clones. :(

[Ltvscout]

We had our living room floors refinished while we were out of town and they had to remove an old hearth from one end of the room. They pulverized it and let it fall into the garage, which is where quite a few of my rockets were. Some of them were pretty badly damaged, but they were all clones. :(
Did they reimburse you or knock off $$$ from what they charged for the work?

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

Nah, I didn't realize it had happened until long after things had been settled. The only stuff damaged was building materials or clones, and most of the damage was minor. The Thunder Roc was one of the worst damaged, along with the Astron Avenger and a Red Max that was almost dead anyway.

[Ltvscout]

Nah, I didn't realize it had happened until long after things had been settled. The only stuff damaged was building materials or clones, and most of the damage was minor. The Thunder Roc was one of the worst damaged, along with the Astron Avenger and a Red Max that was almost dead anyway.
That still bites though. That's similar to what happened to me a couple years ago when my son overflowed the first floor toilet. It leaked through the floor to the basement and got some of my rocket stuff down here. I wasn't a happy camper.

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The Thunder Roc decal is a bitch to apply because of it's size. I used an off brand of acrylic clear on mine and as a result the decal has started to curl and peel off.

I printed the decal sheet in two parts (to fit 8-1/2 x 11) onto permanent-adhesive clear vinyl that I found on the 'net, 10 sheets for a little over 20 bucks. I used it to print nose art for one of my R/C planes, and realized it would be perfect for the all black Thunder Roc decals. I've done tests on a printed sheet with some clear acrylic sealer and it seems it will hold up okay.

Update:
Big Daddy bites the dust on maiden launch, Rest In Pieces.

Seems the bevel on the cone for the shock cord attachment allowed the pressure to blow by after only partially ejecting the cone (about half way, it has a very long shoulder). I think I might build another because the launch up to the recovery failure was AWSOME with a D12-3. If so, I intend to cover the beveled area in some way, or cut half the shoulder from the cone and use an alternate means of attaching the cord. I'm glad I used a very open area for this launch, as the nose cone buried into soft dirt about three inches. If I can bear to photograph it, I'll post a damage pic.

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Here's the finished product. Now I just have to wait for a decent day to let 'er rip! The wife says I sit and stare at it like I used to look at her. :o I explained that it's just the wonder of actually having something that I thought was lost forever until I discovered all the fantastic resources that everyone has compiled to make a clone like this possible! :D

Now I have to decide which Centuri gem from the old days to reproduce next!

[Tau Zero]

Now I have to decide which Centuri gem from the old days to reproduce next!You're in for a *great* ride! :)

Cheers,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"

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Single launch today. First really beautiful day here in NW Ohio for a LONG time. Winds were about 3-6 MPH, temp 75 degrees. Launch was with an Estes D12-5 , rod angled about 10 degrees windward to be sure of a close recovery. Tracked very straight with no discernable rolling or spiraling. Estimate peak altitude at about 450 to 500 feet. Deployment of both 18" chutes was perfect for a nice, gentle descent. Touched down about 50 yds upwind. (I could have reduced the angle to 5 or 0 degrees as I had plenty of room downwind also, but better safe than sorry.) This is one awsome flyer; even better than I remember!

I really want to thank Semroc for the laser cut fins and JimZ for the pdf decal sheet, and last but not least the "Fish" for tipping me off in his EMRR review that this could be built from a stock Mean Machine kit.

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Man! Am I glad I decided to go with the dual 18" chutes instead of the single 24" that came with the Mean Machine kit that I bashed. I had one launch this afternoon, my third for the 'Roc, and somehow one of the 'chute canopies got draped over the fins while the shock cord was stretched. When it contracted, it tightened the entire canopy over the aft end. The rocket came down with the body horizontal dangling from the remaining 'chute which was attached by pure coincidence at what was very near the CG point on the body. I think some of the onlookers thought the horizontal recovery was nominal. :cool: I shudder to think what would have happened if a single parachute had hung up like that. The only damage was a little deformation of the chute that contacted the still hot engine nozzle. :)