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  #21  
Old 01-31-2014, 01:24 PM
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astronot astronot is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnNGA
This is a Dirty Bird I built awhile back, I used balsa for the fins and a "thrown together n/c". The original would have used the MMI n/c. Goes straight up.


Yep. I'm definitely gonna have to build one of those. It will be time well spent. Is that the standard color scheme used back in the day? Red and White.

Why wouldn't Firefox ship the BT's to you?

So those slip over fireworks cones are what was originally on the Dirty Bird or no?

Ha..ha...
It's funny we are talking about the Dirty Bird rocket. You never know what direction a question will take.

David
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  #22  
Old 01-31-2014, 01:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by astronot
Yep. I'm definitely gonna have to build one of those. It will be time well spent. Is that the standard color scheme used back in the day? Red and White.

Why wouldn't Firefox ship the BT's to you?

So those slip over fireworks cones are what was originally on the Dirty Bird or no?

Ha..ha...
It's funny we are talking about the Dirty Bird rocket. You never know what direction a question will take.

David


I don't remember if I ever saw a color photo of a Dirty Bird, went with red because most firework plastic fins were red. I ordered those cones 3-4 years back, may have been a shipping or out of stock problem with the body tubes at the time. The Dirty Bird would have used the vinyl MMI nose cone

Last edited by JohnNGA : 01-31-2014 at 04:54 PM.
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  #23  
Old 01-31-2014, 01:51 PM
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astronot astronot is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnNGA
I don't remember if I every saw a color photo of a Dirty Bird, went with red because most firework plastic fins were red. I ordered those cones 3-4 years back, may have been a shipping or out of stock problem with the body tubes at the time. The Dirty Bird would have used the vinyl MMI nose cone


What would be today's equivalent of the MMI nose?

Thanks,

David
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  #24  
Old 01-31-2014, 02:16 PM
stefanj stefanj is offline
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Data Points:

Estes did sell that slip-on cone once upon a time:
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...61/261est4.html

You can see the MMI cone right above it.

Plastic fin units:
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...61/261est6.html

I wish there was a modern source for the spin fins! The "Bug a Bye" used them:

http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...n/esttech8.html

Here is the plan for the Sky Bird, mentioned in the cone listing:

http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...n/esttech4.html

It is Patent Pending!

The plan doesn't show a launch lug. You'd need to mount the lug on a strip of balsa so that the rod can clear the fin can's mounting ring.

The suggested recovery system seems a little dicey. You'd need to friction fit the fins just right, so that the fins stay on during boost but can be knocked off by the ejecting motor. I think I'd rather use streamer recovery.

Those old-timey plans were included in the "Design Manual" in the first Estes starter set I got, circa 1970. I remember looking at those plans and the unavailable parts, and imagining this vast span of time that the hobby had been around, with a "lost history" whose only evidence were hints dropped here and there. (e.g., I only knew about the BT-40 from those plans, and from a mention in the paper transition set.)
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  #25  
Old 01-31-2014, 04:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by astronot
What would be today's equivalent of the MMI nose?

Thanks,

David


Semroc part number BNC 40G is used on the Aerobee Hi, would be a close match
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  #26  
Old 01-31-2014, 04:49 PM
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hcmbanjo hcmbanjo is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnNGA
I don't remember if I every saw a color photo of a Dirty Bird, went with red because most firework plastic fins were red. I ordered those cones 3-4 years back, may have been a shipping or out of stock problem with the body tubes at the time. The Dirty Bird would have used the vinyl MMI nose cone


The link here:
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...61/261est6.html
Says the Dirty Bird fin unit was white plastic.
I'm sure that was just the color lot they received.
I remember seeing them on the back end of a fireworks rocket molded in red.
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  #27  
Old 01-31-2014, 04:50 PM
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mojo1986 mojo1986 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnNGA
I ordered some body tubes and nosecones from Firefox in the .750 range. They couldn't ship the BTs, but the n/c are the fireworks type, slip over the outer dia. Almost the early Estes PNC40F.


I have some of the old Estes ones. I originally had a few of my own and picked up some more in an ancient lot that I won on Ebay a dozen or so years ago. Got a built Dirty Bird III in that auction too! The Estes cone was a little more pointy than those black ones.

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  #28  
Old 01-31-2014, 06:53 PM
Fireman Fireman is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by astronot
What would be today's equivalent of the MMI nose?

Thanks,

David



David, You have to build you a Dirtybird... Anyone interested in old rockets should have one of these in his (or her!) collection.

I first got involved with flying model rockets about 1958-59. The only DB fin units I can remember seeing then were white polystyrene, and fairly brittle at that. The Range store at the old Peak City section range occasionally had bagged DB kits. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think they were left-overs from the Colorado Springs hosted Boy Scout Jamboree. (1960, wasn't it?)

The MMI nosecone was around very early. I wish Bill Stein or someone who might know would give us a short history of that cone. The earliest Aerobee MMI kits had wooden cones as I recall, but the second and third models, (with the shorter box) and all of the MMI Arcon models had the vinyl cones.

Old timers will remember that most all of these cones were a bit crooked, some more than others. Something about a flaw in the original mold if I remember correctly. I would love to know who made them, how they came about, and anything else about them. The ones I have are either white or light grey, but they may have appeared in other colors. The styrene inserts that I have are either red or green transparent plastic, though again, there may have been other colors. Anybody know?

One of my long term rocketry goals is to make a good copy of the MMI cone, either in vinyl, like the originals, or possibly in a fairly stiff RTV silicone rubber. If I just live long enough, maybe I will get that done someday. (Though if Quest or someone would bring them back, I would be waiting in line... Ditto for a clone of the old MMI tower.) I did make up a few styrene clones of the old MMI fin units a while back, just for my own use. A bit tricky, but not all THAT difficult...

It is great to know that some of you youngsters still appreciate some of the early rocket models!

Keep 'em flying!

The Fireman

formerly NAR 2217,

Peak City Section *2
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  #29  
Old 02-02-2014, 12:31 AM
FondyFlyer FondyFlyer is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fireman
David, You have to build you a Dirtybird... Anyone interested in old rockets should have one of these in his (or her!) collection.

I first got involved with flying model rockets about 1958-59. The only DB fin units I can remember seeing then were white polystyrene, and fairly brittle at that. The Range store at the old Peak City section range occasionally had bagged DB kits. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think they were left-overs from the Colorado Springs hosted Boy Scout Jamboree. (1960, wasn't it?)

The MMI nosecone was around very early. I wish Bill Stein or someone who might know would give us a short history of that cone. The earliest Aerobee MMI kits had wooden cones as I recall, but the second and third models, (with the shorter box) and all of the MMI Arcon models had the vinyl cones.

Old timers will remember that most all of these cones were a bit crooked, some more than others. Something about a flaw in the original mold if I remember correctly. I would love to know who made them, how they came about, and anything else about them. The ones I have are either white or light grey, but they may have appeared in other colors. The styrene inserts that I have are either red or green transparent plastic, though again, there may have been other colors. Anybody know?

One of my long term rocketry goals is to make a good copy of the MMI cone, either in vinyl, like the originals, or possibly in a fairly stiff RTV silicone rubber. If I just live long enough, maybe I will get that done someday. (Though if Quest or someone would bring them back, I would be waiting in line... Ditto for a clone of the old MMI tower.) I did make up a few styrene clones of the old MMI fin units a while back, just for my own use. A bit tricky, but not all THAT difficult...

It is great to know that some of you youngsters still appreciate some of the early rocket models!

Keep 'em flying!

The Fireman

formerly NAR 2217,

Peak City Section *2


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