Brad W. Hanley posted pictures of a rocket he built.
Face it, we've all did this when we were starting out.
The balsa grain is running parallel to the length of the body tube. The fins could crack off down the grain line. A few pointed his mistake but offered no solutions.
There is an easy fix.
Cut a few long strips of printer (20 lb.) copy paper about 1/2" wide. Fold it down the middle lengthwise.
Coat one side of the paper with a thin coat of glue, a glue stick will give you more working time.
Lay the folded strip over the front of the fin. Press in place trying to get a tight fit of the middle fold over the leading edge. For more strength, you could roll the front corners of the paper strip onto the body tube.
On a design like this I wouldn't cover the entire fin. This model has a lot of fin area and it could add too much weight to the rear effecting stability.
TIP: Big fin models should be launched on low or no wind days. Too much fin area and the flight could go horizontal!
Yeah, my Phoenix acquired it's target, then deployed. The zipper was not pretty, but it did give ne the opportunity to learn how to fiberglass. I still need to finish the repair.
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