Ye Olde Rocket Forum

Go Back   Ye Olde Rocket Forum > Weather-Cocked > FreeForAll
User Name
Password
Auctions Register FAQ Members List Calendar Today's Posts Search Mark Forums Read


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #141  
Old 01-02-2019, 08:38 PM
MarkB.'s Avatar
MarkB. MarkB. is offline
Surfrajettes Fan
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: El Paso
Posts: 1,113
Default

Thanks for the kind word, guys.

Looking back over this thread, which is really Bill's, I notice that almost all of my posts are in the winter months during snowstorms (or at least what passes for a snowstorm here in El Paso). Typically, it's sleeting outside right now with snow on the peaks.

In any event, I made a little progress today; I did get the lug off and repaired the area on which it formerly resided. That's a piece of cardstock cut to size and yellow glued to the tube. After that dried for a few hours, I blended it in with sanding sticks and then top coated it with sealer. A few passes of 400 grit and it's ready. This repair was key to the whole project as I am not aware of a replacement body tube.

The second picture shows the repair on the fin. I squared off the chip and cut a piece of plastic stock to slightly over size for a patch. I then glued it in, making sure one side of it was flush against the beveled front of the fin so I would only have to sand one side. Great plan; It didn't work out that way. Somehow, the Plastruct Plastic Weld liquid cement got under the fin and the glue was hot enough to craze or eat away the adjacent plastic. I scraped off the damaged area and filled with plastic putty. Luckily, I anticipated problems and masked off the fin on the edge of the beveling. I wet sanded the fin and it should be fine under primer. You can see the outline of where the lug will be placed forward of the repaired fin.

Next up is the parachute and the nose cone.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:  DSC_0061[1].jpg
Views: 48
Size:  1.20 MB  Click image for larger version

Name:  DSC_0063[1].jpg
Views: 59
Size:  1.44 MB  
__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7
Reply With Quote
  #142  
Old 01-02-2019, 09:04 PM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkB.
Thanks for the kind word, guys.

Looking back over this thread, which is really Bill's, I notice that almost all of my posts are in the winter months during snowstorms (or at least what passes for a snowstorm here in El Paso). Typically, it's sleeting outside right now with snow on the peaks.

In any event, I made a little progress today; I did get the lug off and repaired the area on which it formerly resided. That's a piece of cardstock cut to size and yellow glued to the tube. After that dried for a few hours, I blended it in with sanding sticks and then top coated it with sealer. A few passes of 400 grit and it's ready. This repair was key to the whole project as I am not aware of a replacement body tube.

The second picture shows the repair on the fin. I squared off the chip and cut a piece of plastic stock to slightly over size for a patch. I then glued it in, making sure one side of it was flush against the beveled front of the fin so I would only have to sand one side. Great plan; It didn't work out that way. Somehow, the Plastruct Plastic Weld liquid cement got under the fin and the glue was hot enough to craze or eat away the adjacent plastic. I scraped off the damaged area and filled with plastic putty. Luckily, I anticipated problems and masked off the fin on the edge of the beveling. I wet sanded the fin and it should be fine under primer. You can see the outline of where the lug will be placed forward of the repaired fin.

Next up is the parachute and the nose cone.
The "stock" (unflown) Ready-To-Fly Nike-Clipper (see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MPC...e52b6%7Ciid%3A1 ) has *two* launch lugs, behind and ahead of the center of the body tube, as can be seen in the photographs. Your Nike-Clipper may have been either a poorly-built one (using the single, middle-mounted plastic launch lug--the Nike-Patriot kit [Quest's version was re-named the Nike-K kit] had red plastic parts, including the single launch lug), or maybe someone built--or re-built--one with that Nike-Patriot launch lug. (Quest's Nike-Smoke kit also used the single middle-mounted plastic launch lug, molded in white like its fin unit and nose cone.)
__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
Reply With Quote
  #143  
Old 01-02-2019, 09:26 PM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
Default

Also, Mark, what are the total length and the body tube length of your Nike-Clipper? (I now think it's a Nike-Smoke, as I'll explain.) The 1974 AVI sale catalog lists the Nike-Clipper's total length as 19" (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/74avi01.html ). *ALSO*:

I just looked up the page in that AVI catalog that lists the Nike-Smoke kit (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/74avi04.html ), and that Nike-Smoke--which is 19-1/2" long--definitely appears to have red plastic parts (fin unit, nose cone, and launch lug). That MPC/AVI Nike-Smoke, like Quest's Nike-Smoke (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/nostalgia/94qst16.html [also 19-1/2" long]), also has the single, middle-mounted launch lug, so I was wrong--your model is a Nike-Smoke rather than a RTF Nike-Clipper. If your rocket lacks a 20 mm stuffer tube down inside it, toward the rear (only the RTF Nike-Clipper has that, see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MPC...cef95%7Ciid%3A1 ), then it's a Nike-Smoke.
__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
Reply With Quote
  #144  
Old 01-02-2019, 10:48 PM
MarkB.'s Avatar
MarkB. MarkB. is offline
Surfrajettes Fan
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: El Paso
Posts: 1,113
Default

Blackshire,

Length is 19"+; remember, the tip was missing from the nose cone and while there could have been an internal piston attached to the now-identified-as-plastic engine mount, I kinda doubt it.

So MPC Nike-Smoke it is.
__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7
Reply With Quote
  #145  
Old 01-03-2019, 08:34 AM
Ltvscout Ltvscout is offline
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 6,472
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by blackshire
That's not a Nike-Smoke (although it *is* made with Nike-Smoke parts), but a Nike-Clipper, an RTF version that MPC made (see: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MPC...1472d%7Ciid%3A1 ). That makes it a rarity, well worth rescuing! The other pictures in the eBay listing show its instructions and packaging; the Nike-Clipper used the plastic "wadding piston" (other MPC RTF rockets used it), which fit inside an internal 20 mm stuffer tube.

Not a Nike-Clipper. I own several of those. The Nike-Clipper is an all plastic (except for the inner 18mm tube for the motor) RTF rocket.
__________________
Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
Ye Olde Rocket Forum
WOOSH NAR Section #558
Reply With Quote
  #146  
Old 01-04-2019, 10:08 PM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkB.
Blackshire,

Length is 19"+; remember, the tip was missing from the nose cone and while there could have been an internal piston attached to the now-identified-as-plastic engine mount, I kinda doubt it.

So MPC Nike-Smoke it is.
Thank you. Your information and Scott's (the MPC Yankee 1 is also all-plastic, and also uses the plastic "permanent wadding" piston) clinch its 'Nike-Smokiness'. :-) I thank you *both* for the information and confirmation! As to why your Nike-Smoke was so poorly built by its previous possessor, there are two possibilities. Either--which I think most likely--some kid built it (in a hurry, I'd guess), or a *parent* (more likely a "know-it-all" father) did. Whoever did it, gluing the launch lug on too close to a fin, actually achieved a dubious "first":

In his "Handbook of Model Rocketry," G. Harry Stine listed the following "construction howlers" that he had seen in beginners' model rockets, but what your Nike-Smoke has ^isn't^ listed there:

1. A nose cone glued into the body tube;

2. A motor mount glued in backward;

3. A solid bulkhead glued across the inside of the body tube;

4. Recovery wadding glued into the model;

5. Balsa fins that were cut out with a pair of scissors ("But, Mr. Stine, it makes such a nice, fuzzy edge for gluing!");

6. A model rocket motor glued into the model;

7. A saddening parade of model rockets with crooked fins, too-small fins, fins glued onto the nose, no launch lug, launch lug mashed flat, no motor mount, shock cord not glued in, and body tube crimped or bent. BUT:

In any event, I think your rescue operation is well worth doing. Quest Aerospace (see: www.questaerospace.com ) still offers the Nike-Smoke fin unit/motor mount and the Nike-Smoke nose cone (including the tip that's missing from yours), so you could replace--or perhaps 3D print a duplicate, in red ABS plastic--the missing nose tip. (Plus, I'd like to see Quest re-issue their Nike-Smoke kit. Even if they no longer have the plastic launch lug [which could also be 3D printed, if desired], an ordinary launch lug--glued atop a short balsa standoff--would be a perfectly usable, and lighter and lower-drag, replacement. If enough of us "lobbied" Quest, they might re-issue the kit; it would fly very nicely on their new Q-Jet composite motors.)
__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
Reply With Quote
  #147  
Old 01-05-2019, 03:13 AM
ghrocketman's Avatar
ghrocketman ghrocketman is offline
President, MAYHEM AGITATORS, Inc.
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Nunya Bizznuss, Michigan
Posts: 13,443
Default

I have DELIBERATELY glued nose cones and engines in beat-up models ensuring a DESTRUCT-O send-off final flight.
The last one I did that with was an Estes Polaris with a 24mm D11-9.
__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL
, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !

Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !
Reply With Quote
  #148  
Old 01-05-2019, 04:30 AM
blackshire's Avatar
blackshire blackshire is offline
Master Modeler
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
I have DELIBERATELY glued nose cones and engines in beat-up models ensuring a DESTRUCT-O send-off final flight.
The last one I did that with was an Estes Polaris with a 24mm D11-9.
That's different, though; he was referring to rockets that had yet to be flown for the first time. Even my father occasionally arranged "Viking Funerals" for old, worn-out rockets, so that they could go out in a blaze of glory.
__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
Reply With Quote
  #149  
Old 01-05-2019, 05:24 AM
BigRIJoe BigRIJoe is offline
Craftsman
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 164
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ghrocketman
I have DELIBERATELY glued nose cones and engines in beat-up models ensuring a DESTRUCT-O send-off final flight.
The last one I did that with was an Estes Polaris with a 24mm D11-9.

Are you an NAR or TRA member?
Reply With Quote
  #150  
Old 01-05-2019, 05:58 PM
tdracer's Avatar
tdracer tdracer is offline
Scale Modeler Extrodinare
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: Everett, WA
Posts: 398
Default

There was a fatality a couple years ago in California when someone was allegedly doing a final sendoff of an old rocket and it struck some unfortunate on the way down.

Ballistic recoveries are an unfortunate part of rocketry - sometimes sh"" happens. But you don't want it do it on purpose. It's simply too dangerous.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:42 PM.


Powered by: vBulletin Version 3.0.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe © 1998-2024