To see the Flying Stovepipe plans: CLICK HERE This was Estes Plan #56 from 1968.
This rocket is basically a old Astron Scout in the center except the fins are shaped with a one sided airfoil to induce spin during boost. At ejection there is (hopefully) enough still enough rotation to give you a gliding ring recovery.
I always wanted to try this one but was concerned that the flight results might not be worth the effort. I remember reading somewhere that the original designer, Larry Deran was still tweaking the design.
I do remember a toy called Toobee, which looked like the top of a soda can. After seeing one, I decided to try to see if I can make one of my own. I took a aluminium soda can, cut it at about 2~3" from top, and cut around the inside of the top (leaving the rolled seam joining the top to the body of the can -- it was kept as noseweight), then filed down the sharp edges. Actually worked quite well - just a slight flick (to impart a spin) when you toss it and it flew quite well.
ReplyDeleteEver since I came across those plans for the Flying Stovepipe a number of years ago -- but finding a source for the BT-101 has stopped me. Perhaps the recent reissue of the Saturn V kit may make it slightly easier to find the body tube? Have also given some thought into "rolling my own" and looked into getting a length of pipe to act as a mandrel.
ReplyDeleteNaoto san,
DeleteErockets sells the BT-101K tube for $4 and change. Look under "Parts from Semroc/Body Tubes/BT-101". Cheers