ASP MMX Micro Corporal Build, Part 5, Fin Gluing

A wrap around fin marking guide is on the instruction sheet. It wrapped and matched up! A rare thing.

The kit supplies a small plastic angle to draw pencil lines down the body tube.





The fins overhang the rear of the body tube by 1/8"



I extended the pencil lines over the back edge of the tube for easier alignment as the fins would be covering the rear of the pencil lines.

I used a very small amount of Beacon Fabri-Tac to tack the fins in place.

I wouldn't normally use CA glue for fillets, they can become brittle over time. I couldn't think of another available option.




A drop of CA was set on a scrap piece of cardboard. A toothpick tip was dipped in the wet pool of glue. The glue was transferred to the root edge, dragging the glue bead down the root edge.

Any excess glue was picked up quickly with a Q-tip.

Launch! Schoolyard Soccer Field, June 15, 2020

I doubt I'll be attending many group launches this Summer. I like visiting with everybody, but I can't take the heat! 
At a club launch I try to get there early enough to set up the equipment. After a few hours of launches and breaking things down, it takes the next day to recover! I went to the schoolyard early, while it was still under 80 degrees.

The Quest FLV is a perfect small field rocket with an Estes B6-4. Textbook launch with a bit of drift as the wind was already at 5 mph. Estimated altitude was about 275'.
When picked up I noticed the wadding was still inside. The engine was removed and the wadding blown out. You don't want any smoldering wadding left in the body.

My Estes GALACTIC TAXI clone was next up with a Quest A6-4.
Noisy boost with an altitude of 275'. The four second delay is just about right for this little rocket.








You can tell by the dark gray smoke it's a Q-Jet.
By now the rod was angled three or four degrees to the Northeast.
The Centuri ARGUS clone launched with a Q-Jet B4-4 to 325'. This was my best flight of the day.

I'm terrible at launch rod adjustments, but got it right today!
This one came right back to the launcher allowing me to catch it before it hit the ground. Yes, I caught it. (No grief needed.)

The toilet paper roll model, the HIGH ROLLER got quite a few positive responses when shown on the blog. I have submitted a build with templates to the NAR Sport rocketry magazine. Fingers crossed that it will be published. The picture at the right better shows the crooked bends in the main body.

Today it was flown with a Estes B6-4. Towards apogee I noticed a slow turn. Estimated height was 275'. The 12" parachute is plenty to bring it down safely.

I know - there is no glider on the Semroc MMX ORBITAL TRANSPORT.
I didn't test glide the small orbiter and noticed at the field the nose cone wasn't glued in place! You don't glue in the NC until weight adjustments from test glides are made. I was concerned I might lose the nose cone. The booster was already prepped for launch, I left the orbiter in the box.

First try, no ignition so I reset the igniter. The engine did light after the launch button was held down for about four seconds.
Boost was straight but not to 220' mentioned on the kit face card. I would estimate the apogee closer to 60 feet. The streamer ejected but didn't unfurl. No damage when picked up.

Five up, five recovered with no damage. Doing an early morning launch makes me feel like I've accomplished a lot by the end of the day.
EDIT: I just entered my launches into "My Flights" in the rocketreviews.com database. I've just exceeded 2019 launch totals and we're only halfway into the year!

ASP MMX Micro Corporal Build, Part 4, Engine Block, Coupler & Nose Weight

1/4" is cut off a coupler for an engine block.

The Kevlar shock cord is tied around the engine block.



Mark the other longer coupler at 3/4".
With a thin dowel, apply some glue inside the end of the long tube.
Push the engine block into the tube (and glue) up to the pencil line on the coupler. Remove the coupler.

Feed the loose end of the shock cord through the shorter coupler.
The split shot nose weight is tied to the other end of the shock cord.

The lead weight could slide down and through the coupler tube. The instructions recommend epoxy to set the nose weight at the top of the coupler.

ASP MMX Micro Corporal Build, Part 3, Tunnels & Tubes

The tunnels are made from small, half-round plastic strips.

After they are cut to length, the ends are rounded. Check the end roundness from both sides against a darker background, here my fingertip.

There are four tunnels, two long, two short.
I kept the tunnels stuck down to a piece of tape so I couldn't lose them.




One end of the plastic launch lug tube was rough cut. Not a big deal, a few light twists with a blade tip cleaned it up. You don't want to have a rocket get snagged on the launch rod.






Just the end edge of the tubes got a swipe of medium CA glue.
No real reason to coat the inside, these tubes are strong.





The dried CA edge got squared up with some 400 grit on a block.

The CA coat and sand simply makes for a better flat fit against the nose cone and upper tube.

ASP MMX Micro Corporal Build, Part 2, Fins

The full-size fin templates are printed in the instructions. With a pencil and straightedge I extended the outside lines for an easier cut.
The instructions mention using double sided tape to hold the small strip of plastic fin material. With the extended lines, I could simply tape the plastic strip down on top of the template.

With a straightedge and sharp blade, the plastic strip was scored about halfway through.

You can then flex and crack the plastic down the cut line.

Here's the four fins, cut out and ready to be evened up.

The kit gives you enough plastic for a few extra fins if needed.

The fins are small and evening up a full stack was difficult. Here you can see two fins are a bit longer than the others.

I couldn't stack and sand all four fins at the same time. Each fin was shaped separately. Check the size adjustments after a few swipes with 400 grit on a block.

ASP MMX Micro Corporal Build, Part 1, Parts

In 2014, I built the 18mm Corporal from Aerospace Specialty Products (A.S.P.)
I was very impressed by the fit and finish of the parts, especially the fit of the vinyl cut roll pattern. I understand the vinyl has been replaced with a water slide decal.

I was interested when I saw a Micro Maxx version of the Corporal was available. I understand ASP has more MMX kits on the way!

Here's all the parts! 

No balsa or basswood on these little rockets. The fins and tunnel details are cut from plastic. The body tubes are small diameter Kraft tubing

Parts of interest:
On the left is the fin material. It looks small but there is plenty for the four triangular fins.
To the immediate right is the half round plastic tunnel material.
The nose cone looks to be 3D printed. The nose weight is a split lead shot piece. Below that is the plastic launch lug.
On the far right is the water slide decal sheet.

Estes Doorknob, #9720 Build, Part 14, Sport Version Finished

Well, I do have pictures of this version -
I did my best to match up the blue spray paint with the blue in the decals. It's close!
The Rusto 2X Brilliant Blue is a little bit darker than the decals on the fins.
This model will be a popular rocket for Estes. Big and burly!