January 2006:
After the trip to the 2006 Florida Winter Nationals, I
decided to do a Level 3. This is where John Hansel a fellow SEARS
Member did his first Level 3 attempt. He had a zipper that day. He
later had a successful Level 3 flight at a TWP/FSM club launch in
March 2006.
I started off looking at other level 3 projects
including Chris Short's
War Eagle and Lee
Brock's Sky Plow. I decided at that time I would do a 7.5 inch
diameter rocket. Through internet searches I discovered Smokin Rocket
Kits. They had two kits of interest, Psycho
and Mega
Nuke. I decided on Mega Nuke. I contacted Joel Rogers who has had
numerous flights on his Mega Nuke. Here are some pics:
http://rmpitzer.syr.edu/launch/nypower03/pages/DSC_0424.html
http://rmpitzer.syr.edu/launch/nypower03/pages/DSC_0429.html
Joel responded quickly to my request for more details. It is
nice to have some on-line support. He also referred me to Gene
Constanza's Mega Nuke Web Site. Joel provided a Rocksim file
which I can modify. I decided to go with a 98mm motor tube. Smokin
Rockets was bought by new owners and is closed for now. I found out
that Hangar 11 and
Red Arrow (via Chris
Short) could provide the parts, fins and slot the tube. I decided on
Red Arrow and made the order.
May 20th 2006:
I received the rocket parts from Red Arrow via Chris Short last
weekend.
June 4th 2006: I have contacted
Rick Boyette from Florida Space Modelers about being my L3CC. He
recommended to add a timer to the electronics. The timer will deploy
the drogue a few seconds after the simmed apogee. He says to use a
timer even if you have redundant altimeters, because he has seen
redundant altimeters fail. I have decided that I will fly my level 3
at the TWP/FSM site in October 2006 or Jan 2007 at the 2007 Winter
Nationals. The timer will be a MT3G.
June 25th 2006: I now have a rocket
rotissere to support the fiberglassing of the tubes. I also ordered
some Quickburst EZ
Large Ejection Canisters for this project. I am expecting to get
a Aeropack 98mm
Retainer Assembly soon. It was out of stock when I ordered and it
is taking a while. It is going to be engraved.
Rocket Rotissere
I saw this web article Airframe
Tube Fiberglassing Rotisserie Stand and decided to use one on the
Mighty
Mo Project. The purpose is to make sure there is no pooling of
resin during the fiberglassing process. I ordered the rotissere motor
from ebay and gathered the parts. The actual labor and tools for
constuction were supplied by John Hansel at his shop. Thanks John!
Click for larger image. 
July 16th 2006:
I took the first step on the airframe which is to peel off the top
layer of phenolic on the three foot tube. Then, I wrapped and epoxied
some 3 inch kevlar tape around the tube. This gave me a chance to use
the rotissere. The Kevlar is to help prevent a zipper from the shock
cord impinging on the airframe tube edge. See pictures here.
The current plan is to fly a L1300 Blue Baboon for a test flight and
Level 3 with a AMW M1350 White Wolf. I ordered the MT3G timer. Also
based on a email conversation with Nick at Aerosleeves, I am going to
use Superfill to fill the weave on the aerosleeves.
Adding Kevlar tape to the end of the airframe tube
Click for larger image.
Peeling off top layer of phenolic. 
Putting Kevlar tape over the peeled area.
July 29th 2006:
I fiberglassed the upper section of the airframe. I plan to fill the
weave of the tube with Superfill. The Aeropack 98mm motor retainer
and the Perfectflite MTG timer have been recieved.
Fiberglassing the upper airframe section
I put a layer of Aerosleeves
on the three foot upper airframe section of the rocket. I decided to
go with one layer of Aerosleeves instead of two. I used West Systems
resin with slow hardener. The rotissere was used to turn the tube
while I got the the excess epoxy off. Then I left it turning to cure.
I did this at John Hansel's air conditioned shop. Nice to have
someone watch who has done this before.
Click for larger
image. 
Removing excess epoxy on three foot tube while rotissere turns.
The three foot tube cures while rotissere turns.
July
29th 2006: I superfilled the upper section of the airframe.
Applying Superfill to Upper Airframe
I am using Superfill to fill
the weave in the Aerosleeves. It has a part A and a part B. I mixed
each part separately and then combined 80 grams of a and 40 grams of
B. Then I mixed A and B. I had at least half left over. It is like
cake icing I guess. It takes 8 hours to cure so we will see how it
comes out.
Click for larger image. 
Working Superfill into the weave 
Where I stopped with the Superfill 
Closeup
August 3rd 2006: The Upper
Airframe was sanded and 98mm retainer was test fit.
Upper Airframe sanded and 98mm retainer test fit
Click for larger image. 
Tube after second coat of Superfill and sanded smooth 
The end with the kevlar tape. Superfill fills in the depression.
98mm retainer with adapter/motor case test fit. 
75mm Motor Case, 98mm to 75mm Adapter and my motor tube
August
20th 2006:I put the 3 inch kevlar tape at the top of the
lower airframe. I also put a slice of coupler inside the lower
airframe so the pieces on the slotted end will be stable for
fiberglassing. Then I went to John Hansel's shop and fiberglassed the
lower airframe.
Click for larger image.
Note:The
36 in airframe tube weighs 54 oz with one layer of aerosleeves and
using superfill. I did not weigh it beforehand but compared to a PML
tube it is about 1.9 times as heavy. So adjusting the tubes in
Rocksim by that factor I am getting about 20lbs for rocket total. So
I am thinking I'll be under the 35lbs I originally estimated.
August 24th 2006: I Superfilled the lower
airframe.
Superfilling the lower airframe
Click for larger image. 
Tip: Thinning the Superfill with just a bit
of acetone helps it spread out on the tube. Also spreading the
Superfill along the length of the tube works better than spreading it
around the tube.
August 27th 2006: I sanded
the lower airframe and cut the slots with a jig saw.
Tubes sanded and fin slots cut out.
Click for larger image. 
September 17th 2006: I assembled the
altimeter bay as a dry fit today. The holder tubes are 54mm airframe.
The altimeter and timer electronics will be on a sleds inside 54mm
liners which will slide into the holder tubes.
I assembled the altimeter
bay as a dry fit today. The holder tubes are 54mm airframe. The
altimeter and timer electronics will be on a sleds inside 54mm liners
which will slide into the holder tubes.
Click for larger
image.
Altimeter Bay Holder Tubes 54mm Airframe within
centering Rings 
Aft End with cover removed 
Forward end 
Altimeter Bay in 7.51 coupler, forward end shown 
Altimeter Bay in 7.51 coupler, aft end shown 
Dry fit in forward airframe aft end up 
Dry fit in forward airframe aft end up 
October
1st 2006: I continued the altimeter bay.
Altimeter Bay Continued.
There is lots of labor to
this and trips to Home Depot.
Click any thumbnail for a
larger image.
The forward end of the altimeter bay. The front
is an airframe bulkhead. The open part will be inside the coupler.
The PVC fittings are for main deployment charges. 
The side view shows two larger tube that hold the altimeters,
The smaller tubes are PVC conduit that carry the ejection charge lead
to the aft where it is connected. 
Here is the aft cover. The cover was supposed to cover the
ends of the conduit with a tiny hole for the lead, but I messed up. I
will do another cover. The U-bolts are just handles. 
The reducer fitting is removeable and holds a Qickburst large
charge container with an ematch inside. The ematch lead is fed thru
the conduit and the the reducer is screwed into a PVC bushing on the
bulkhead. There one for each altimeter main charge output. 
The altimeter sleds are attached to the cover and pull out as
a unit. The sections of liner tube at each end help support the sled
within the 54mm altimeter holder tube. I ran out of screws for the
forward end of one of the sleds. 
This shows the aft bracket holding the G10 sled. 
This shows the forward bracket holding the G10 sled. 
October 9th 2006: I continued the altimeter
bay again. This is where I drilled the holes in the coupler to test
the idea of accessing the switches with a screw driver. I did not
know how easy it would be to find the switch. I found that the scheme
works!
Altimeter Bay further continued
This session included
locating the Missileworks switches on the altimeter sleds and
drilling holes in the coupler to access the switches. This concept
works! When the coupler is installed in the upper airframe there will
be matching holes drilled for access to the switches. After lots of
trial fits the internals of the altimeter bay were epoxied into the
coupler. Next the harge holders made of 1 inch PVC pipe were placed
on the cover along with ther terminal strips.
Click any
thumbnail for a larger image. 
Missleworks RRC2 Sled with three switches. 
Perfectflite MAWD sled. There will also be a MT3G timer. So
there are five switches on this sled. 
Holes to access switches on RRC2 sled 
Holes to access switches on Perfectflite MAWD/MT3G timer sled
Aft end of altimeter bay without the cover. 
Forward end of altimeter bay with the bushings for the Main
charge holders. 
Aft end with three holders for the drouge charges shown. 
Tacking down the internals. 
Inserted assembly into the coupler. 
Terminal blocks added. Note bolts used to hold down the
cover.
November 11th 2006: This session
included making templates to drill the centering rings and aligning
the fins to tack them on. This proved challenging and I ended up
removing one and re gluing it. I was using various alignment marks
and a visual alighnment guide. A better plan would have been to have
a jig.
Fin Can Dry Fit
This session included making
templates to drill the centering rings and aligning the fins to tack
them on. This proved challenging and I ended up removing one and re
gluing it. I was using various alignment marks and a visual
alighnment guide. A better plan would have been to have a jig.
Click any thumbnail for a larger image. 
Forward CR template. 
Aft CR template. 
Motor tube wrap to get some lines for fin alignment 
Fin Can dry fit. 
Fin can dry fit with visual alignment guide
November
18th 2006: This update includes adding fillets to the motor
tube/fin joint. After those dried, fiberglass tape was laid over the
motor tube/fillets and epoxied.
Fin Can Fillets
Click any thumbnail for
a larger image. 
Fillets at motor tube and the fins. 
Forward end. 
Aft End. 
Fiberglass tape across motor tube and fins 
Forward end 
Aft End 
Wet fiberglass tape across motor tube and fins 
Forward end 
Aft End
November 19th 2006:Today was
major assembly day which included: putting the rod/bulkhead into the
nosecone, adding the hardware and retainer on the fin can, launch
lugs on the airframe, installing the fin can in the airframe,
inserting the coupler into the upper airframe. Most of this was done
at John Hansel's shop with his assistance.
Major Assembly
Click any thumbnail for a
larger image. 
Epoxying rod into tip of the nosecone. The tip of the
nosecone is in the bucket of water. 
Fin can showing the eye nuts to attach recovery harness 
Fin can showing 1/4 rods. The leading edge of the fin is
rounded 
Aft centering ring showing holes for the retainer 
Test fit of the fin can in the lower airframe 
retainer test fit 
Lower launch lug 
Upper launch lug 
screws installed for retainer 
Fin Can with the retainer 
glued down upper CR
Aft centering ring showing holes for the retainer 
Lower Airframe showing backing for launch lug 
Outside fillets for fins 
Twist tie for bulkhead in upper airframe 
Coupler/ Altimeter bay epoxied into upper airframe 
fillet at bulkhead in upper airframe 
Upper airframe with coupler
Update on the weight:
Lower airframe with fin can 16
Upper airframe 7.5
Nosecone
5
Chute and harness 7.5
Total 36 lbs
This does not
include electronics, paint or motor.
November 22th
2006: I consulted with Dave Rose of Graphix
N Such this week. He had a suggestion of a vinyl wrap for the
body tube with a rectangle pattern and a nice font for the lettering.
I am going to order the vinyl. So my color scheme will be yellow and
black as shown. Click on thumbnail for larger image. 
November 26th 2006:This weekend I made the
final location of the altimeters, timers and battery holders on the
sleds. Then, I wired them up with 20 gauge hookup wire. I soldered a
few of the connections, but there are more to do.
Wiring Altimeter Sleds
This weekend I made the
final location of the altimeters, timers and battery holders on the
sleds. Then I wired them up with 20 gauge hookup wire. I soldered a
few of the connections, but there are more to do.
Click any
thumbnail for a larger image. 
Top of sleds 
Bottom of sleds
December 2nd 2006:I took
the Mighty Mo to the SEARS lauch at Samson, AL. We did ground tests.
I used 6 grams to separate the lower to upper airframe sections. The
8 grams for the Upper airframe to nosecone. Both seem to be
sufficent. Note I put in three 4-40 nylon screws as shear pins to
secure the nosecone. I am considering putting some to secure the
upper airframe to the lower airframe. This is because we had a hard
time getting them apart with tape on the coupler.
Ejection Charge
Testing
I took the Mighty Mo to the
SEARS launch at Samson, AL. We did ground tests. I used 6 grams to
separate the lower to upper airframe sections. The 8 grams for the
Upper airframe to nosecone. Both seem to be sufficent. Note I put in
three 4-40 nylon screws as shear pins to secure the nosecone. I am
considering putting some to secure the upper airframe to the lower
airframe. This is because we had a hard time getting them apart with
tape on the coupler.
Click any thumbnail for a larger image.
Setup for ejection tests. 
Ematch lead fed through the vent hole.
Here are the
videos:
Upper
Lower/Upper Airframe Test
Upper
Airframe/Nosecone Test
January 1st 2007:
This long weekend is an my opportunity to wrap up the assembly of the
Mighty Mo. .
Wrapping up the assembly
Posted by: LaneKG (IP Logged)
Date: December 31, 2006 07:28PM
Click any thumbnail for
a larger image.
I completed the nosecone assembly by securing
the bulkhead to the centering ring inside the shoulder of the
nosecone with toggle bolts. I also put some nuts/washers forward of
the bulkhead to transfer the load on the threaded rod to the
centering ring as well as the tip of the nosecone. 
I decided to go with six 4-40 nylon shear pins for the
nosecone/upper airframe the lower/upper airframe connects. So I went
to John Hansel's house are did ejection tests. I used 6 grams for
each charge. The pins sheared with no problem.
Here are the
videos:
Drogue
Charge Test
Main
Charge Test
I decided to relocate the drouge ejection
charge holders from the aft end of the altimeter bay to the upper
centering ring in the lower airframe. This will move the charge away
from the drogue chute. 
I drilled two sets altimeter switch holes in the side of the
upper airframe. I am able to access the sitches. Sometimes it
requires some fishing. 
Here is a screwdriver inserted to operate one of the
switches. 
The wiring from the altimeter sled to the altimeter bay cover
was completed. 
During testing of the wiring. I found that two switches were
bad. They were replaced. I needed to replace the wiring that went
with them so that took up some time.
January 11th
2007: This week I applied Kilz Primer to the entire rocket.
Krylon Yellow to the nosecone and the upper airframe and Krylon Black
to the lower Airframe.
Painting
I applied Kilz Original
Primer to the entire rocket. Krylon Sun Yellow Gloss to the nosecone
and the upper airframe and Krylon Glossy Black to the lower Airframe.
I applied at least three primer coats and four color coats over the
course of two days.
Click any thumbnail for a larger image.
Here is the end result. 
January 13th 2007: I flew the Mighty Mo on a
L1300 at Samson. The flight was successful. I was surprised the
altitude was only about 1300 feet. So the revised altitude on the
M1350 flight is now 3300.
L1300 Test Flight
The test flight on the AMW
L1300 Blue Baboon motor occured on January 13th at the Samson, AL
launch site. Click here
for an album of pictures of the flight and here
for the video.
Click thumbnails for a larger image. 
Here is a summary
L1300BB test flight
51 lbs
loaded
CG loaded 70 inches
Stability Margin 2.11 Rocksim
Altitude 1359 on Perfectflite MAWD and 1140 on the RRC2
Time
to Apogee: 9.5 seconds
Descent under main 18 fps
Click
below for a plot of the Perfectflite MAWD data recorded during the
flight. 
Everything worked perfectly. I was very pleased with how the
freebag recovery worked and the large TAC9B is just right for this
hefty rocket. The nosecone did come down at about 28 feet per second
so I will use a 6o inch TAC-1 chute instead of the 48 inch on the
cert flight.
January 21st 2007: John Hansel and
I applied the vinyl wrap and decals from Graphix
N Such. The result is in the picture at the top of this page.
Very nice.
January 27th 2007: I flew the
Mighty Mo at the 2007 Winter Nationals as planned. The flight on an
AMW 1350 was sucessful and my cert papers were signed. The altitude
was 4340 feet.
I enjoyed the flight in part because I felt
prepared by doing a test flight and preping the upper airframe before
I arrived. It was nice to walk out and be the first flight of the day
as a Level 3 cert. The boost was fantastic on the M1350. Recovery was
a little wild since the lower and upper airframe were spinning
quickly around each other on the 100 foot shock cord. Also the main
and drouge shock cords tangled and made a loop around the upper
airframe. The mistake I made on this flight was not removing a rubber
band that I used to keep a pad wrapped around the drogue. It was
there just to keep the items organized but should have been removed.
So the drogue did not open. Perhaps that would have damped the
spinning and prevented the tangle.
Of course, it was a relief
to see no zippers. Joel Rodgers recommended to inset a 3 inch Kevlar
tape around the top end of the upper and lower airframe. He also
recommended using two inch shock cord enough to get past the lip of
the airframe. So I had that going for me.
It was a year full
of learning about big rockets. I got to consult with John Hansel,
Rick Boyette, Joel Rogers, Chris Short and Lee Brock. Some of the new
things I learned were fiberglassing a large airframe with
Aerosleeves, using a timer as deployment backup, using a freebag for
deploying the main chute, and applying a large vinyl body wrap.
I
got a whole lot of support from John Hansel. We used this air
conditioned shop quite a bit. There were a lot of steps that take
more than two hands on a big rocket. He also kept reminding me to get
in the doing mode rather than the thinking.