Pigasus! Reborn Part 6 Finished!

PIGASUS!

This was my third try making a "Gooney" Pigasus. The first was built in the mid 1970s.

I tried again a few months back, but had problems getting the fins to align properly.

Most of the framework was from the Semroc Groonies series.

The head was already finished from the previous build.

The upper arm (or pork shoulder) decal extends from the main body onto the nose cone. After it was applied and dried, the joint was cut with a sharp knife.

As you can see, it's ready to fly with a C6-5.

Lately, I've been marking all igniter tapes with the engine types. (Thanks to Mr. Gibson!)

The "X" reminds me there is wadding installed.

UPDATE: Pigasus finally flew at the N.E.F.A.R. launch in Bunnell, Florida on March 12.

I was concerned the goggles and swept ears would redirect the airflow and cause it to turn. I called for a heads up. There was no problems, the flight was stable and true!

Thanks to Roger Smith for the great launch shot!

Dr. Zooch Saturn SA5 Wadding Flight Prep

I had a heck of a time packing the parachute in my Dr. Zooch Saturn SA5 rocket for last week's R.O.C.K. launch.

Looking in from the top, you can see there isn't enough room for the parachute, wadding and the adapter shoulder.

I have plenty of my home-cut crepe paper wadding. See HERE

I rolled it into a "piston" to fit down inside the BT-20 stuffer tube.

This took a bit more wadding than you might normally use in a BT-20 tube, but I did want to protect the parachute. This model is too detailed to risk it recovering under a melted parachute blob.

After adding squares to the roll, I finally found the right amount to make a sliding fit into the BT-20 tube. A small circle cut from another square was set on top of the stuffer tube just to be sure.

Even with the wadding piston below the open parachute compartment, it was still a tight fit.

In the end, the Saturn had a great ride on a C6-5 and a complete, unmelted parachute recovery.

Pigasus! Reborn Part 5 Printed Trim

I'd already drawn up the wings from the first build attempt.

I simply printed them up on 110 lb. cardstock and cut them out.

They'll be glued on the wing fins using a glue stick.

The goggles took a bit of tweaking to get right.

These are a double thickness of 110 lb. cardstock for rigidity.

These will be set on the nose dry.

When I am sure of the right position, they'll be tacked into place using a drop of thick Super Glue on a toothpick.

LAUNCH! Schoolyard March 18, 2011

I have to work this weekend and will miss the Tampa TTRA launch so I flew a few to get it out of my system.

Not a cloud in the sky and just a just a slight breeze this morning.

The FlisKits INTERLOPER was up first with a Micromaxx engine. Straight up and landed within ten feet of the launcher.

The micro version of the Odd'l Rockets BREAKAWAY was up next. Great altitude and all four tethered sections blew apart at ejection. It landed close enough I walked over and caught it before it hit the ground.

These are MicroMaxx static shots, I gave up trying to capture MMX models at launch, they are just to quick for my camera.

It looks like I'm going to retire my clone of the Quest COBALT.

It has only flown stable twice out of four launches.

Even with .40 oz. of nose weight it went horizontal with a Chinese made Quest A6-4!

To the left you can see how I cut through the shoulder of the nose cone to make a pull-out streamer area. You can't see the nose weight, it's just ahead of the streamer.

This didn't seem to help stability. I hate wasting engines on rockets that don't fly right!

Here's the best flight of the day.

It's an Eric Truax Carded PATRIOT with a 1/2 A3-4t.
This is my first launch using the engines from the ScoutStuff.com clearance sale. Stable, great altitude and streamer recovery.

I'll get a link the website soon in an upcoming model profile of this Patriot.

Last up was the carded downscale of the CHEROKEE T.

(I know, it's supposed to be the Cherokee "D" but this thing flys with "T" engines.)

I'm still going through my stock of 35 year old MPC 1/2A3-5m engines. The five second delay is about right for this BT-5 sized mainframe. Even with a streamer I had a 100 yard run to pick it up!

This model moves off the launcher. I was using a fast shutter speed and this was all I got!

Pigasus! Reborn Part 4 Masking

The wings were to be left white.

Scotch tape was used along the root edge. Above that, masking tape and a piece of plastic grocery bag was folded over the top.

Where's that pink spray paint?

After the mask was removed, here's the result, waiting for home made decals and wing feathers.

Whistle Rocket Second Try!

On The Rocketry Forum, Mr. Ray G. made a whistling Baby Bertha rocket using the old style plastic fishing bobbers or snap on floats.

I picked up this package at a WalMart, 12 bobbers of various sizes for $1.79. The picture shows what's left after I cut up half of them.

The rocket shown here was called the "Whistler". Three years ago I designed this rocket to (hopefully) whistle. It didn't!

Look closely at the upper fin trailing edge and the lower fin leading edge. I was trying to direct the wind stream from the upper fin across the lower fin's angled leading edge.

I've heard split fin rockets (like the Thor) whistle during boost. I was trying to duplicate this on a smaller scale.

I'll use this same rocket to test the bobber whistles. In the picture they look a little like a Life Saver candy glued to the fin wall.

Fast Forward:
The Whistler (with the new fishing bobber whistles attached) was launched this last Saturday with a B6-4 at the NEFAR launch in Bunnell, FL.
IT DIDN'T WHISTLE!

I'm certainly not blaming Ray R. His design worked well, you can hear it whistle on the YouTube video, HERE
I'm missing something on my end. The search continues!

Pigasus! Reborn Part 3 Fin Positioning and White Spray

Here's a rear ham hock view to show the leg and wing positions.

You can see why I wanted the wing's root edge joint to be strong.

The open front end simply got a roll of paper to keep the paint out of the tube.

Here's how the backside was masked.

Gluing the engine mount, the rear centering ring was recessed 3/4" from the rear of the tube.

Masking tape was set sticky side out around the inside edge of the body tube. Paper towel pieces were stuffed into all recesses.