Robert Belknap's PageLocation: San Francisco Bay Area, CA Club Memberships: NAR# 94191 :: LUNAR Favorite Rockets: Quest "Mean Green" and the Semroc "BatRok" Biography: I started building rockets when I was a kid, but I never had the patience to finish/paint them. I gave it up when kits became harder to find locally. Now that my boys are old enough to enjoy rocketry, (and with being able to order kits online,) I'm finally getting back into the hobby. This time around, I'm taking the time to learn to do things "right" in order to improve the quality of the rockets I build.
Club Home Page: http://www.lunar.org RocketReviews.com Pages:
2012-06-14Finished Birds Photograph 
Tau Zero (outside)
2012-04-07Blue Ninja Flight Good flight. might want a d12-5 in this one. - d12-3 - 37.949274,-120.794935 [More]
Mean Green Flight textbook flight. chute deployed at apogee. slight damage (paint scrape) on forward body tube (landed on a rock?) - d12-5 - 37.949274,-120.794935 [More]
Mean Green Flight straight flight, no rotation. parachute ejected before apogee - d12-3 - 37.949274,-120.794935 [More]
Fire Wizard Flight Offering accepted by the sky-gods. (lost sight, unable to recover) - c6-5 - 37.949274,-120.794935 [More]
Fire Wizard Flight Good Flight. Safe recovery. (No fin damage this time.) - B6-4 - 37.949274,-120.794935 [More]
2012-03-03Finished Birds Photograph 
My Current BAR Fleet
2012-03-01Mean Green - Finishing Touches  Build Entry So, today I finished off my Mean Green kit.
First, I used scotch tape to mask off the area to be painted black. I've read here (more than once) that this is the best way to get a clean line. I figured that I'm going to have the decals over-lap the transition point between the colors, so if ... [More]
Finished Birds Photograph 
Completed Mean Green
2012-02-29Robert's Build Log Photos / Mean Green Photograph 
Mean Green Build 19
2012-02-28Mean Green - Painting  Build Entry I got some time (and good weather) this weekend to begin painting. (Grandparents took the boys off on adventure.)
Nothing special here. I did find a tip somewhere about using old DVD spindles as stands for rockets with engine hooks. I beefed up the spindle size with some masking ... [More]
2012-02-20Mean Green - Fin Preparation II : The Attachment Build Entry The next step was rounding the all the edges of the fins, except the root. Then it was time to mix another batch of wood filler. (I suppose I could have started with the fin prep at the very beginning of the build, and then filled them the same time I did the body tube.)
I tried a new ... [More]
2012-02-17Album - Mean Green
Album - Robert's Build Log Photos
2012-02-16Robert's Build Log Photos / Mean Green Photograph 
Mean Green Build 10
2012-02-15Mean Green - Fin Preparation Build Entry I wanted to lminate the fins with paper. I did this on the first batrock I built and I like the technique for adding strength to the fins. I probably don't need it as much on this rocket, but it also helps with the finish.
I started out by sanding the edges until everything was smooth.
I ... [More]
Mean Green - Motor Mount Assembly Build Entry The holiday season got busy. It's been almost 3 months since I did any work on this rocket. I pulled the kit and my building supplies out while the boys were asleep and got to work. (Noticing a theme here? Maybe I should call this Rocket "The Big Sleep")
I started out by test-fitting the ... [More]
2011-11-06Mean Green Build I picked this up from the on-site shop during my son's last Cub Scout Rocket Jamboree. It's a pretty simple kit, but I wanted to take my time building it and documenting the process. My goal was to really pay attention to the final finish of the rocket. I've been reading several other build logs, ... [More]
Mean Green - Prepping the Body Tube  Build Entry I had some time to start this kit today. The first step: filling the seams on the body tube with wood filler. I thinned the filler out with water, then I painted it on along the seams of the body tube. After letting it dry, I sanded off the (considerable) excess. I really glommed the filler on ... [More]
2011-10-11Viper 2-Stage Quick Build Workshop . Build This was an unusual build experience. It was part of a workshop available on-site at my son's Cub Scout Rocket Jamboree. Intended to give people with a wide range of rocketry experience a chance to build and fly a 2 stage rocket in a day. (My sister-in-law has no prior rocketry experience, and was ... [More]
2011-10-09Point Flight engine ejected past apogee. nose damaged on landing. repaired and flown again. - B6-4 - 37.730624, -121.766993 [More]
Fire Wizard Flight no additional damage - b4-2 - 37.730624, -121.766993 [More]
Fire Wizard Flight another tail fin detachment. repairable - c6-5 - 37.730624, -121.766993 [More]
Fire Wizard Flight estimated height tail fin detached at landing. repairable - B6-4 - 37.730624, -121.766993 [More]
BatRok Flight Lost in low cloud cover. Good recovery. Kevlar shock cord broke at attachment point when prepping for second flight - B6-4 - 37.730624, -121.766993 [More]
2011-10-04BatRok MK II Build This is my second Batrok kit. I built the first one for my son to launch at his cub scout Rocket Jamboree on 10/09/2011. In anticipation of it not lasting through the day, I orded a second kit. My main objective with this build is to improve the final finish of the rocket. Things I ... [More]
2000-01-01Album - Finished Birds
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Robert Belknap |
