Foam Board Rocketry Challenge

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
This is how I got started in all things RC. We had a shop teacher that offered an after school class for "Model Flight and Roketry" Back in my school days when we walked both ways up hill in the snow carrying the horse wearing one sneaker on one foot and newspaper on the other foot we didn't have cool things like STEM classes. I am so glad someone took time out of their personal lives to invest in a group of kids to generate interest in such a great life time hobby.

Some of the ones i had done over the years were the standard straight tube wooden nose cone "Starter" kits. The "Fat Boy" a molded plastic X5 kit that came with my first Estes "Official" launch pad including the ignition module with the special key and arming lights when I was down in FLA visiting my dad who took me to Cape Canaveral where I got the kit. then the two most intricate ones were a wooden RC glider model that had twin booms like a OV10 Bronco I forget the official kit name and a huge 4 foot scale model of an aim 9 sidewinder missile. Got the kit and built it not knowing I could not legally get the motors to put it in the air at the time so I gave it to my nephews for decoration in their play room.

This does make my ears perk up and think I wanna try to design and build something but my winter blahs have sapped most of the remaining motivation from me until the sun starts showing more and I can actually BE out side for a bit.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
i can imaging that a scale replica of a missile that can actually be launched wouldn't go over so well... also what size engine? thats big! like E size? ie. expensive size.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
i can imaging that a scale replica of a missile that can actually be launched wouldn't go over so well... also what size engine? thats big! like E size? ie. expensive size.

I can't remember the required size as it had multiple configurations that could be done. Off the top of my head I would say it could easily fit 3 or 4 D size engines in a cluster so the single engine size had to be B I double Guh BIGG. Weighed ~5lbs without the motors. Had three standard ~15 inch chutes for recovery. Came with this chunk o wood you had to shape for the nose cone that was barely shaped well enough to resemble a cone at all.

I made that plane too heavy to actually fly with the rocket boost. It used a D size motor and basically had enough lift to clear the rod and fall over when I attempted its first flight. It had a mount to use a .049 cox motor in pusher configuration that couldn't move it fast enough to generate lift added with my sad and non existent fixed wing skills. (second ever attempt to fly fixed wing RC) Needless to say that was a short lived effort.

Man all these failed fixed wing memories recently make me think I am destined to never get one in the air for a full flight hehe.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
wow that is massive! i think with E class engines you have to have a permit or license or something to launch so 4 D size makes sense.
 

FAI-F1D

Free Flight Indoorist
I seriously need to get mine built. My rocketry test program has been a train wreck over the past two weeks. Burned one up and absolutely shredded the v2 prototype the following weekend. All this at a time when I desperately need to come up with a replacement that's easier to produce as a kit now that I've got so much demand for Switchblade kits that I can barely keep up.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
A v2 of what? Is it secret still? Also I might add to your switchblade demand, those are really cool, and I have some 1/2 A motors laying around...
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
i have a couple 1/2 A motors as well.. or were they normal A? huh.. guess i will find out when i try to launch!
 

FoamyDM

Building Fool-Flying Noob
Moderator
I know how you feel about the scoring. I feel with the challenges, everyone wins when they happen.
We (the FT community) have another avenue/ more planes/ more plans/ stronger community.

Um... when is the deadline then? July 12th, 2018?

If so...
Mine will be the Spacefarers of Catan Rocket game mechanic:
Catan rocket.JPG


$10 to the person who makes a replica of the SpaceX rocket that takes off, splits and each piece land safely at specific locations :D
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
I know how you feel about the scoring. I feel with the challenges, everyone wins when they happen.
We (the FT community) have another avenue/ more planes/ more plans/ stronger community.

Um... when is the deadline then? July 12th, 2018?

If so...
Mine will be the Spacefarers of Catan Rocket game mechanic:
View attachment 102091


$10 to the person who makes a replica of the SpaceX rocket that takes off, splits and each piece land safely at specific locations :D

cool catan concept. alliteration.

also lol $10? haha. it would cost a couple thousand to make that happen. and that is not including the wrecked ones.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
Hey $10 is $10.... I'm glad to see your entry! Also the deadline is the 12th, for everything, I updated the first post as well.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
the only problem i see is with scoring. you might as well not include me because i most likely will not be at ff and i do not have an altimeter.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
I think height measurement might be an issue, I have an altimeter that Ill be bringing to flitefest for those who are there. For those who do not have one you will be exempt from that part of the scoring.
 

FoamyDM

Building Fool-Flying Noob
Moderator
Daniel Don't let that stop you. I'll be surprised if mine doesn't turn sideways at launch. :) I've shot 2 rockets ever. 1 was a 2 liter rocket.

Both went up. None-looked like a 1950's space rocket.
 

foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
Don't worry about it, this challenge is more about fun than anything else. Plus it's just that, a challenge, to push the limits of foam board.
 

Daniel Kezar

Ultimate Cheap Skate
Daniel Don't let that stop you. I'll be surprised if mine doesn't turn sideways at launch. :) I've shot 2 rockets ever. 1 was a 2 liter rocket.

Both went up. None-looked like a 1950's space rocket.

haha. i might have a slight advantage considering my hobby before i got into rc was rocketry. i have 6 rockets (5 that i can launch, one needs fins bc apparently the recover system included ejecting half of the rocket), 3 launch stands, 2 functional launch controller, and- lets see- one C6-5 and two A10-3T rocket engines (i did a big launch day with my 4H club a few months ago where i went through about $25 worth of engines. this is all i have left at the moment) i will try to attach a picture of the remnants after.

thats my bucket of stuff after
IMG_0828.JPG

i laid out some stuff on my bed after. yummy sulfur smell for a week after.

**file upload keeps failing. sorry no other pictures.

edit: just wanted to note i did rockets for a long time. since i was like 8. most of them flew away. recently i have had better luck. needless to say, my collection would be 3 times as large if i had recovered them all over the years.
 
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foamtest

Toothpick glider kid
I also got into rockets at a young age and even have a gold one that used film to take pictures at apogee. Really cool when I was 5. Then I build some out of cardboard tubes I had lying around and I still haven't lost one yet. Although I did have to make a new friend to get one out of a gutter but that's a story for a different time.