Sunday, May 27, 2018

Apogee Payload Altitude Rocket Build, Part 5, Fins

The supplied kit fins are 1/16" thick balsa.
I wanted something thinner for less resistance. I bought some 1/32" thick plywood for my competition builds.
This stuff is so thin and stiff I can cut it with scissors.

I didn't do an exact copy of the kit fins, my fin shape was closer to the old Estes Sprint style.



One great thing about plywood fins - the wood layers act like a depth guide when sanding airfoils! The change in color helps you sand to a constant thickness.



The fins are glued onto the laser cut lines.
The trailing edge of the fin lines up at the small horizontal line on the tube.
With only 1/32" of root edge, the fin joint is strong after the glue dries.

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