Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter Build, Part 14, Canopy Forming

Relax and take your time on this step! A great fit and good glue bond canopy edge is do-able. 

Wrap some 220 grit sandpaper around the main BT-50H tube.
Sand back and forth in a straight line. Try not to squeeze the sides of the canopy or the edges could end up too high and away from the nose cone.

You know you are getting close when the pen lined sides hang off the edges. Use some 400 grit to knock off the hinged plastic strings.

Use some 400 grit to knock off the hinged plastic strings. It's a little like that thin layer that stays on when you file your fingernails.

Set the canopy on the nose cone. Look closely at the edge contact. There may be some gaps where the canopy doesn't touch.
Sand the areas that are touching the nose cone to reduce the high areas. This should close up the gaps.
When you get close, it takes very few passes with the sandpaper to get the final fit.

The front curve that goes over the front of the nose cone might require a deeper curve. Wrap some sandpaper around a BT-20 or engine casing to make the inside curve sharper.

Launch! Schoolyard, November 9, 2017

I haven't launched anything in a while. Burn bans and flooded launch fields have cancelled many club launches. This morning I walked over to the soccer field around 7 a.m. No wind, cool and clear skies - perfect. 

Here's the first launch of the Estes CURVLINEAR with an 18mm A8-3 engine. A little nose weight was added to put the C/G at the same location it had with the stock 13mm engine mount in place.
Arrow straight to about 175 feet. Full parachute and no damage at recovery.

Another test launch of the Odd'l Rockets F-104 STARFIGHTER  with an Estes A8-3. Stable and true to about 225 feet. No damage.
Test flights with larger engines will happen this weekend at the N.E.F.A.R. launch in Bunnell, FL.








Of all the dismal MPC rockets, this one is actually a favorite.
The RED GIANT was launched with a B6-4. I thought it was an Estes B but the loud boost and altitude reminded me it was a Quest B6-4. Altitude was an estimated 275'.
A lot of websites say to only use a C6-5 engine but this model is perfect for a smaller field with the B6-4.
I ran and caught it before it touched down.

The Estes SUPER ALPHA flew with an Estes B6-4 to about 225'.
After the Chinese made Quest B6-4, this wasn't as exciting. A textbook flight with no damage.






"Say goodbye to my leetle friend!"
Today was the sixth and last launch of my Estes MOSQUITO with a 1/4A3-3t engine. I saw it on the launcher and heard the ejection, but that was it!
These things have a habit of flying off in the opposite direction at ejection. Who knows where it landed. I searched the field for a few minutes then figured it was a sign that maybe the rocket herd should be thinned.



As I looked for the Mosquito I picked up some ejected crepe paper wadding. (I was looking for anything yellow.)
From the Super Alpha flight, here's how wadding should work -  a actual ejection "piston". On the right you can see the ejection charge side with a compression dimple in the middle, right above the engine. I could use this compressed wadding "wad" again in a BT-60 rocket.

Five up, four recovered, still a good start to the day!

Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter Build, Part 13, Canopy Forming

Well, I should have covered this step after the 6th build post. I'll edit the 6th post and a link to the canopy forming.

Use a ball point pen and trace around the indent line at the base of the canopy. The canopy is clear, this gives you a visible line to cut on.


With a sharp knife, lightly score around the entire canopy line. Don't cut all the way through.

To make the breaks easier, cut the outside plastic apart at the four corners.
Flex the plastic down the score line. If it doesn't easily crack, score the line a little deeper.

Here's the canopy with the outside plastic removed. Notice the pen line is still there, it'll be sanded off in the next step.

Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter Build, Part 12, Fillets and White Undercoat

After each undercoat had dried, I did some light sanding over any rough areas.

Two fillet passes were made over all the joints with Titebond No-Run, No-Drip (Molding and Trim) glue.

.

Now the model is ready for the silver metallic paint.

Notice the nose cone is slightly yellow. The yellow plastic is hard to cover.

Estes Saturn V Wraps Tip

In the Saturn V instructions you are told to extend two pencil lines up the body tube at the raised tunnel locations. These lines are used to align and position the upper wraps.
You are directed to draw two lines, one on each side at the base of the tunnels. It's a little hard to get the two lines right at the sides of the tunnel on the vacu-form wrap.

I took an easier way out.
TIP: One single line, centered directly on and above the lowest raised tunnel. A pencil line was marked at the centers of the tunnels on the upper wraps.
A single line - easier centering and alignment.

Odd'l Rockets F-104 Starfighter Build, Part 11, Fuel Tank Gluing

The wing tanks are glued on with the rear center tip of the tank 3/4" from the trailing edge of the wing.
The front of the tank overhangs the front of the wing by 1 7/16".

Here's the model so far with the long plastic nose cone inserted.

Body Tube Manufacturers

On YORF, a question came up about body tube manufacturers, specifically CMR and MPC style tubes. These body tubes had a slightly rough white outer layer. Instead of a small open seam was a little overlap of the outer wrap. This overlay could be sanded and you'd end up with a tube that didn't need any seam filling!

I found this website after a search for body tubes:

"Precision Products Group Inc. has re-branded the four leading precision tubing product manufacturers: Paramount Tube, Stone Industrial, Euclid Spiral, and Pheonix Tube. All four are now operating as Paramount Tube. Each company brings new strengths, technologies and capabilities from its respective industry to form one of the largest custom tubing companies in the industry."

Here's the website address for Precision Products Group: http://www.ppgintl.com/

As explained above, there has been a merger of four different tube manufacturers. It seems Euclid style body tubes are now made under the Paramount name.

Unless you are buying in BULK, don't try ordering single tubes from this website. You are better off buying single project tubes from your favorite vendor.

Speaking of that, jonrocket.com has acquired most all the tube inventory from Uncle Mike's Rocket Shack. Check out the Body Tube Sets and "Plenty Of Tubes" packages.