Thread: Lodestar?
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Old 09-10-2018, 08:54 AM
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Rocket Babe Rocket Babe is offline
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Join Date: May 2015
Location: Alabama
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[QUOTE
Quick questions:
1. Is your tri-Loadstar Dorothy based on the same general dimensions as the original Loadstar, or did you upscale/downscale?
2. Are your first stage boosters separate or joined somehow?
3. What recovery technique did you employ for the booster(s)?
4. What engines did you use for the first and second stages?
![/QUOTE]



Dorothy is the next step up from Randy's, "Space Man Spiff Rocket of Death. Spiff" was a kitbash of 3 Estes Bull pups with a payload section. I'll post a couple of photos below.

Dorothy is a kit bash of 4 standard Loadstar kits. It could be done from 3 with only an additional core bt extension. I already had 4 kits so I just used them and was left with plenty of extra parts - fins, payload section and engine mount.

What you can't see on Dorothy are the 3 standoffs between outboard tubes and the core bt (see Spiff) that are covered by a rectangle piece of balsa on each side. They were needed to join the tubes and to provide some space between them to keep the payload sections straight and from pushing against each other. Of course the balsa sheet makes Dorothy very strong.

The first stage boosters are simple friction fit, same as flying a single Loadstar and they just tumble back slowly on their own. The 2nd stage uses a single 18" mylar chute. If you'll be landing on a hard surface then use a 24". As you might imagine Dorothy has a lot of drag so a huge chute isn't really necessary and since she kicks the outboards she's much lighter than at lift off, having dropped 2-5 engines along the way.

First flight for two stage I used 3 C6-0's to 3 B6-4's.
Second flight was C6-0 to C6-5.
You could also go with a B6-0 to A8-3 on a calm day. Or single stage 3 A8-3's.

Single stage I use C6-5's . You could also use a pair of B6-0 with a C6-3 core.

I don't fly her when winds are over 9 mph.

I also included a night launch shot of Spiff.


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