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Kick Me

Flight 3, BALLS 2004

OK, so it wasn't exactly balls-y, but the wind was blowing incredibly hard and I didn't want to risk my brand new rockets in the wind.  So I got out and dusted off Kick Me (only to have it covered in dust again?) for a flight on a PPL I350 blue motor.  After a misfire and a quick delay for me to run out and replace the igniter, the 3 grains of Blue Devil propellant RIPPED the rocket off the pad.  It probably broke Mach at 100 feet.  The motor burned out, and we all lost track of it ('cause there was no delay grain).  I still had a signal on the Rockethunter, and eventually we heard a pop filter down from above.  So we hopped into the truck and sped out across Black Rock, following the signal in a wide arc around the range.  We found the rocket blowing around in the wind out by the HoJo pad, undamaged.  Great flight!

Flight 2, June 15, 2003

Well, I couldn't let THAT flight stand, so I cleaned up the rocket and repacked it for a second redeeming flight.  This time, we drilled out the vent hole slightly larger, and made sure it was lined up with the vent on the motor.  After about an hour of reprep, it was back on the pad.  I was keeping track of the nitrous fill on this flight, and the payload section did not pop off before liftoff <g>.  A quick 5 count, and the rocket screamed straight up off the pad.  It disappeared after burnout.  Finally, the cloud of tracking powder could be seen at apogee, along with a couple of falling pieces.  Apparently the ejection charge was too close to the nylon shock cord and it burnt through.  The booster and payload landed downrange, and we found the kicked motor (which was also attached to the shock cord) near the pad.  The booster had broken a fin... no big deal, it's already been fixed and is waiting for its next successful flight.  You know what they say -- third time's the charm!

Flight 1, June 15, 2003

This flight was a long time in the making.  I had the rocket all set up and loaded to go since November, so it was quick to install a fresh battery in the ALTACC, build an ejection charge, and get it on the pad.  After tanking it, the spotter ran away and we began the countdown.  Unfortunately, what we didn't notice was that the payload section had managed to pop off during tanking.  I think the vent hole was too small.  The rocket lifted off the pad straight, but at about 300 feet, the now-crooked payload section let loose and the rocket went unstable.  It looped around a couple times, dragging out the chute, and finally came to rest just in front of the safety zone.  The ALTACC did fire the charge during the 4th or 5th loop... those things work :)

Design and Construction

Construction This rocket is built to take a beating.  First I covered the 38mm phenolic airframe with 2 wraps of 2 oz. glass, mostly to remove the body tube spirals.  I also added a 1" strip of 5 oz. Kevlar to the top of the tube, to prevent zippers. I took this bulletproof airframe and added 3 0.093 G10 fins to it.  The material was scavenged from an old project called "Shaker" that did the mondo shred routine (the name was quite appropriate-- the fin flutter shook the rocket apart).  I tacked these fins to the airframe using 5 minute epoxy.  Then I applied major fillets of West System epoxy mixed with milled glass fibers.  The fins were on there.  Just to be sure, I took some 6 oz glass and covered the fillet/fin area.  They shouldn't come off now. The rest of the rocket was pretty typical.  I primed with 3 coats of UV Smooth Prime (great stuff) and then painted with a scheme remembering "Shaker".  The rocket now has a yellow body, and red nose cone/fins.  I added a touch of black to the bottom of the fins to blend into the Slimline motor retainer (what a slick unit). Conclusion This scratch built is such a great design, I wonder why no kit manufacturers offer something like it.  Like my Mephisto, it's fun to pull out of my back pocket with a J570 in and trot up to the RSO.  "Oh that looks nice, what, G80?" "J570."  Then to see the looks on their faces.  And it rocks in flight, too.

Fillet treatment with glass fibers. Take off the masking tape- voilá.

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