Manufacturer: | Estes |
Style: | Ring/Tube/Cone Fin |
A really neat idea, found at JimZ's plans. I hope to have pix soon.
The concept is to have a boost-glider where the glider portion is like one of those ZZZylo (SP?) flying cylinders. The glider is made of a length of BT101 with extra material on one end. The booster section is like the old Scout, while the massive glider makes the whole thing look like a Streak on Steroids.
A.R.G. in Mississagua, Canada, still has some BT101 for sale, 3 pieces for $25 including shipping. I have their telephone # somewhere. I bought some to replace a crimped Saturn V tube, and since I didn't have any use for the other pieces, I thought this was the ideal project.
I downloaded the plans but as the printer fudged all the sizes, I ended up having to scale the fin pattern. Not a problem. The other modification is that the original kit called for BT30, which is like thick BT20 with a slightly larger ID. I used BT20, and don't think it will be a problem except it might not live as long. I also used a BNC20N cone, which is sharper than the cone which is called for, but looks better.
Building up the glider is simple enough if you're handy at cuting body tubes. I have a bunch of 11x17 card stock, which was indispensible in cutting the tubes for the internal liner rings. I taped the card stock around the tube which gave me a good edge to work with, then ran a new Xacto blade lightly around the tube until it got a good start. Then I applied more pressure until it cut the tube. A little sanding cleaned it up perfectly.
I used some stainless 1/16" welding rod I had handy for the hook. I made the hook more curved so that it will grab the engine more securely - no chance of the casing getting past this hook! The vent hole I cut with an Xacto knife, and soaked with CA to give it some strength and flame resistance.
It's all painted and ready to go. The glider is gold with a blue spiral (Go Bears!) while the booster is blue and gold. I need to touch up the booster because the masking tape pulled up some of the undercoat. Darn.
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