Reference / Paper · 2015
Peak of Flight #391: Scratch Building a Rocket From Nothing But a Hard Cover Book
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 391 (2015-05-19).
- peak-of-flight
- apogee-components
- model-rocketry
Reference / Paper · 2015
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 391 (2015-05-19).
Apogee Components' Peak of Flight newsletter, issue 391 (2015-05-19).
In This Issue Textbook Rocket Story: A Scratch Build With a Deadline Cover Photo: The AGNI 1 rocket kit from Aggressor Aerospace Rocketry. Get your own at: https://www.apogeerockets.com/Rocket_Kits/Skill_ Level_2_Kits/AGNI_1 Apogee Components, Inc. — Your Source For Rocket Supplies That Will Take You To The “Peak-of-Flight” 3355 Fillmore Ridge Heights Colorado Springs, Colorado 80907-9024 USA www.ApogeeRockets.com e-mail: [email protected] Phone: 719-535-9335 Fax: 719-534-9050 I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 Textbook Rocket Story: A Scratch Build With a Deadline! By Chris Michielssen Upcycling Books contacted me by email on March 31 to make a flying model rocket out of outdated physics and math textbooks. As explained on the upcyclingtextbooks.org website: “We are a movement encouraging people to use their creativity to inspire change . . . to move us beyond textbooks. Grab an old textbook, possibly one collecting dust on your shelf right now. Look at it. Don’t think about what it is. Think about what it could be. Could it be a hat? Origami? A planter? A work of fine art? A rocket?” The idea fascinated me! This would be a good challenge or a possible disaster. A true scratch built rocket. By the end of the project I learned to appreciate commercially available body tubes, engine mounts and nose cones! I phoned Craig Joiner, Upcycling Books director, and asked about building a scale model. This might be one of the rockets on display at the Space Center Houston. I agreed to do the project. The build guidelines: Figure 1: The books from which to make the rocket. Inside was a scarf and a letter thanking Grandma for taking care of the grand kids! No textbooks! I emailed Craig and let him know I got the wrong package, no books to make a rocket. Four more textbooks were sent out and arrived at my door on April 8. 1. The rocket was to be built from the supplied hardcover textbooks. With only a few precious days left, I was running out of time. The only non-textbook parts were a dowel, shock cord and parachute. By now there was no time to make a complicated scale model and not enough time for a flight test before the public demonstration in Houston. 2. This was to be a rocket others would see and be inspired to build themselves. I was most concerned about the time window for the build. The textbook launch was to be at the Johnson Space Center Earth Day Celebration on April 18. Mr. Joiner assured me the books would be sent out the next day on Wednesday, April 1. UH, OH! On Friday, April 3 I received a flat envelope with two different address labels. One label had my address, the second label was addressed to Nevada! About this Newsletter The new build: 1. The rocket is now a sport demonstration style model that could easily be seen during boost. A slower “Big Bertha” style launch is sometimes best for a demonstration. 2. All visible surfaces should be obvious book pages. The bulk of the model will clearly be printed pages. Continued on page 3 Newsletter Staff You can subscribe to receive this e-zine FREE at the Apogee Components web site (www.ApogeeRockets.com), or by sending an e-mail to: [email protected] with “SUBSCRIBE” as the subject line of the message. Page 2 With four days lost, there were some simpler design compromises: Writer: Tim Van Milligan Layout / Cover Artist: Tim Van Milligan Proofreader: Michelle Mason I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 Continued from page 2 Textbook Rocket Story 3. I needed a clever name that reflected the textbook and rocket theme. The name “SPEED READER” fit the project very well. The body tube would be rolled around a tube form. I settled for a 1 ½” diameter PVC pipe from a hardware store. The 1 ½” diameter is a little smaller than a BT–60 sized model. To laminate the body tube pages and nose cone, ModPodge glue was used. ModPodge is almost a thinned white glue and can be applied with a cheap foam brush. Pages were torn out of the textbooks. I purposely picked pages with large copy blocks. The trick will be not to glue the paper to the PVC pipe. There is a good reason why body tubes are rolled diagonally in a spiral - it’s easier to make long tubes! The edge of the first interior pages were rolled dry, with no glue. The pages were set down at an angle. No glue was applied until the start of the first overlap. It doesn’t take much glue, a thinner coat is actually better and the thin paper will wrinkle less. Brush an inch of glue, roll the page and smooth to surface. Repeat glue brushing and rolling, just an inch at a time. Figure 2: Making the spiral wound tube using ModPodge on a foam brush. Figure 3: The first attempt at the nose cone didn’t turn out well. It warped when the glue dried. Continued on page 4 The Most Versatile Alignment Jig Ever Manufactured • Get Perfectly Aligned Fins Every Time • Holds the Tube In a Horizontal Orientation to Prevent Glue Drips • Self Adjusts to ANY Size Tube From 13mm (BT-5) to 66mm (BT-80) • Securely Holds The Fin While The Glue Dries • Kid-Friendly! Helps Them Make Stronger Fins, Resulting in Straighter Flights • Can Accomodate Fins Up To 1/2” Thick • Allows Any Number of Fins on the Tube www.ApogeeRockets.com I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 www.ApogeeRockets.com Guillotine Fin Alignment Jig Page 3 Continued from page 3 Textbook Rocket Story When you get the first page glued down, turn the paper around the pipe to make sure it isn’t glued to the PVC form. If it turns on the pipe you can start gluing down a second page. Eight layers of pages were wrapped! The tube felt as strong as a commercially available body tube. Next up was the nose cone. The first attempt wasn’t useable. For the second try I went with a simple conical shape. A 1/4” diameter dowel went down the center and some “centering ring” supports were cut from a book cover (see Figure 4). Layer upon layer of page strips were glued down from the tip to the shoulder (see Figure 5). Figure 6: Vertical stripes were added to make it look taller than it really was. The nose cone ended up shorter than I would have liked. Figure 4: The internal structure of the nose cone used a wood dowel and rings cut from a book cover. I tried to wrap 1” wide strips down a dowel to make a LONG Goblin style nose cone (see Figure 3). After it dried it warped! It ended up looking like a big pickle. Figure 5: Layers of paper were wrapped around the skeleton to give it shape. A BIG HEAVY pickle. Four hours of build time lost! Tapered, vertical blue stripes were glued down the cone to give it a forced perspective, making it look taller than it really was (see Figure 6). The second nose cone was smoother, lighter and useable. The engine mount parts were also made from the textbooks. Figure 7: The completed engine The motor mount mount. tube was made of page wraps formed around a 24mm engine casing. The centering rings were cut from the book cover, the Continued on page 5 Your Cool Rocket Designs Look So Much Better In RockSim Version 9! Design It. Launch It. v9 www.RockSim.com Space Foundation certified as an excellent teaching aid. Page 4 For further information, call Apogee Components at: 719-535-9335. I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 Continued from page 4 Textbook Rocket Story outside glossy cover skin was peeled off. No engine hook could be fashioned from the books so the engine will be a friction fit or held in place with a single wrap of masking tape around the motor tube and the engine extending out the back of the mount. The launch lug was made from another single page. It was wrapped around a 3/16” rod and glued together with a glue stick. The fins turned out to be the easiest part of the build. A template was made from cardstock and traced over the most colorful print area I could find on the book covers. Figure 8: The fins were made from thick book covers. trailing edges would be square. Figure 9: The finished fins (left), and the trim lettering cut from chapter pages (right). The only trim on the rocket was some blue stripes cut from chapter pages. To add a bit of interest and whimsey, a vertical countdown of 5 to 1 was cut from the same chapter pages and set down the rocket side. The rounded cover sides would end up as a rounded leading edge of the fin. The outside and To cover the unprinted back side of the fin, some of the cover print was scored and peeled off. The skin was set in place with a glue stick. An 18” parachute and shock cord were installed, and the rocket was done (see Figure 10). Figure 10: The completed model. Continued on page 6 Roam In Our Forest of Over 190 Different Types • Unique and exotic kits from over 20 different manufacturers • Skill Levels range from “easy” to “fiendish” • Sizes from 1/4A motor to level-2-high-power • We build & fly them to find out what they’re like, saving you grief • More new ones arriving all the time • Educational bulk packs available too www.ApogeeRockets.com Looking For A Fun Rocket Kit? Continued on page 10 www.ApogeeRockets.com/Rockets_By_Manufacturers I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 Page 5 Continued from page 5 Textbook Rocket Story http://upcyclingtextbooks.org/?p=1317) The Speed Reader textbook rocket flew with a D12-5 engine to 700’ at the Space Center Houston Earth Day Celebration on April 18, 2015. It was stable - Whew! The Speed Reader rocket even got a write up and video! (see: Figure 11: The Speed Reader takes flight. Lessons learned You can make a rocket out of nearly anything. But it’s not much fun making a scratch rocket while working against the clock! It did remind me of the early Estes Scout kits, where Gleda Estes rolled body tubes by hand on the kitchen floor. A project like this makes you appreciate commercially available body tubes, nose cones and ready to build kits. This turned out to be one of the most interesting rocketry challenges so far! Would I make another textbook rocket? Maybe! About the author: Chris Michielssen is an avid builder and flyer of low power model rockets. He produces Odd’l Rockets and accessories, available from Apogee Rockets. His building blog: www.modelrocketbuilding.blogspot. com is followed by 1,500 people each day worldwide. Join Tripoli.org Mention Apogee Components • Won’t Shatter Like Brittle Phenolic Tubes! • Super Smooth Surface With Tight Spirals • Standard LOC Diameters Up To 6 inches • Cut and Slot With Standard Tools • No Fiberglass Wrap Needed • Sands and Paints Easily • Cheaper than Fiberglass Blue Tube From Always Ready Rocketry www.ApogeeRockets.com High Power Tubes & Couplers www.ApogeeRockets.com/Building_Supplies/Body_Tubes/Blue_Tubes Page 6 I S S U E 3 9 1 M AY 1 9 , 2 0 1 5