Dr. Evil's Pocket Rocket

This is a draft place holder for my 2nd DesCon entry, Dr. Evil's Pocket Rocket. Hopefully it's not too far outside the realm of good taste.

For my second Design Contest Entry, I decided to pay homage to a ship of such striking construction that all who see it are obliged to comment.

Officer: "Colonel? You'd better take a look at this radar..."

Colonel: "What is it son?"

Officer: "I don't know Sir. But it looks like a giant.."

Pilot: "Dick?"

Dick: "Yeah?"

Pilot: "Take a look out of starboard"

Dick: "Oh my God! It looks like a huge..."

Bird watcher: "Pecker!"

Bird watcher 2: "Oh where?"

Bird watcher: "Wait! That's not a woodpecker. It looks like someone's..."

Drill instructor: "Privates! We have reports of an unidentified flying object. It is a long, smooth shaft complete with..."

Back stop: "Two balls! What is that? That looks just like an enormous..."

Teacher: "Wang! Pay attention!"

Wang: "I was distracted by that enormous flying..."

Musician: "Willie?"

Willie Nelson: "Hm?"

Musician: "What's that?"

Willie Nelson: "Well, it looks like a giant..."

Colonel: "Johnson?"

Johnson: "Yes sir?"

Colonel: "Get on the horn to British Intelligence and let them know about this."

Yes, it's Dr. Evil's phallic ship from Austin Powers, The Spy Who Shagged Me. I built this as a kitbash of the FlisKits Grissom with a choice of engine sizes. One configuration is powered by a pair of MMX engines. The dual MMX motor mount is crafted from paper clipped from the NAR card in the FlisKit. Small diameter body tubes serve as engine blocks and stiffeners for the MMX MMTs.The MMX cluster adapter is removable to allow use of a standard Estes 1/2A engine.

The movie rocket was equipped with "spherical stabilizers". I elected to approximate these by two sets of two orthoganal disks. The distinctive nose cone was built up from various balsa bits and pieces found in the FlisKit Grissom kit. Shown here are pics of the rough nosecone assembly and the final contoured shape.

The construction is ongoing, and flights are yet to commence. This report serves as a sneak peek of what's to come.

Dr. Evil's Pocket Rocket has successfully flown on a clustered pair of MMX engines. I fashioned a two engine cluster igniter out of a single length of nichrome wire (vintage from my 70's first age of rocketry). The two nozzle filaments were connected in parallel, so that the burnout of one would not cut the juice to the other. I used a 14V battery from my cordless drill as a power source. A clothespin was used to prop the engines up off the blast deflector of a standard Estes Portapad. When I touched the leads to the battery, Dr. Evil's Pocket Rocket leapt off the pad on twin micro-plumes of flame. The boost was straight and stable, up to an approximate height of 30 feet.

(Click to Enlarge)

A double "pop" signified the nearly synchronized ejection charges, and the nosecone separated from the body tube. Unfortunately, the wadding and streamer did not deploy. They remained lodged in the body tube. This may be due to the micro-ejection charges not having enough force to clear the tube. The Pocket Rocket tumbled back into the street, for an asphalt landing. One "circular stabilization device" snapped off, and the other flopped loose. No damage to the balsa or tube was in evidence. The yellow glue joint failed. Oooh. That's gotta hurt!

The fins have been reglued, and the entire rocket painted flat white. I can't go around showing off my nekid pocket rocket, now can I? Dr. Evil's Pocket Rocket will return, on a warmer day.