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  #1  
Old 10-13-2012, 11:25 AM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Default Astron Sprite clone

This is a Semroc bird, although I tried cutting my own balsa before giving up and just buying the laser cut parts from Carl. I went with a paint scheme I saw on a vintage bird somewhere, and added the old Estes logo that I printed out from Kurt's scan. (It was a tough choice between the logo and the diamond check wrap.) Oh, and it's a 13mm bird. I thought it would be nice to get it back.

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Bill Eichelberger
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http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #2  
Old 10-13-2012, 02:47 PM
chrism chrism is offline
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Nice retro look. And in Bengals colors.
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  #3  
Old 10-13-2012, 04:59 PM
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tbzep tbzep is offline
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Originally Posted by chrism
And in Bengals colors.


Uh oh. That means the first flight will be a loss.

On a related note, I bet you Ohio folks love the Titans these days since we're fighting your teams to be the worst team in the NFL this year.
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  #4  
Old 10-13-2012, 08:26 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Uh oh. That means the first flight will be a loss.

On a related note, I bet you Ohio folks love the Titans these days since we're fighting your teams to be the worst team in the NFL this year.


Surely you jest

The other Ohio team (unfortunately my team) is 0 and 5 and things don't look much brighter for tomorrow. Alright maybe a little brighter since Haden is finished serving his 4 game suspension.

Bill,

Nice job, Is it still a tumble recovery?
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  #5  
Old 10-13-2012, 08:33 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bernomatic
Nice job, Is it still a tumble recovery?

No, I went with a streamer. I had these tiny Mylar strips that cover the adhesive on some of the packages at work. Nice flashy silver, and I have an unlimited supply. Not looking too good for flying here tomorrow, but I have vacation later this week.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #6  
Old 10-13-2012, 08:42 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bernomatic
Surely you jest

The other Ohio team (unfortunately my team) is 0 and 5 and things don't look much brighter for tomorrow. Alright maybe a little brighter since Haden is finished serving his 4 game suspension.

Bill,

Nice job, Is it still a tumble recovery?


Titans vs Browns: Watch them battle for the #1 draft pick of 2013! (Yes, I know there are several one win teams, but I have faith in the Titans and Browns.)

Why go with the streamer? Is the Sprite prone to lawndarting? Just wondering. I have one on my build table. It's just sitting there, along with a bunch more. Have I mentioned I love sanding?
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  #7  
Old 10-13-2012, 08:54 PM
A Fish Named Wallyum A Fish Named Wallyum is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Why go with the streamer? Is the Sprite prone to lawndarting? Just wondering. I have one on my build table. It's just sitting there, along with a bunch more. Have I mentioned I love sanding?

I've never seen one fly, so I can't say about the lawndarting tendency. The mini engine should cut the altitude down enough that losing it isn't likely. I guess I just felt like it.
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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper
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  #8  
Old 10-13-2012, 09:19 PM
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bernomatic bernomatic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Titans vs Browns: Watch them battle for the #1 draft pick of 2013! (Yes, I know there are several one win teams, but I have faith in the Titans and Browns.)


At first, I was like how could you even try to compare, but then I saw the Titans were at -90 in the points for/against.

I guess at least the Browns have been keeping it close.
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Bernard J. Herman Ohio RLS

Starport Sagitta Rockets
email bherman@sagittarockets.com

NAR # 97971 SR

What's your idea on the best way to change Washington D.C.?
Let us know at the Cantina
Sagitta Cantina

We're looking for a few good Catos, please tell us about any you may have had. Survey of Anecdotal Malfunctioning Engines or S.A.M.E.
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  #9  
Old 10-14-2012, 08:50 AM
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Doug Sams Doug Sams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tbzep
Why go with the streamer? Is the Sprite prone to lawndarting? Just wondering. I have one on my build table. It's just sitting there, along with a bunch more. Have I mentioned I love sanding?
My take is that, when you fly a (generic) Sprite, several things can happen, most of them less than desirable
  1. The sliding motor will slip the hook leaving the Sprite to lawn dart.
  2. The motor will bounce off the hook and rebound forward thereby making the rocket stable, whereupon it will lawn dart. (See #1.)
  3. The motor will properly shift itself aft and the rocket will tumble in whereupon it cracks a fin on landing
  4. With more than a ¼A motor in it, it will fly out of sight, and regardless of whether it lawn darts or tumbles, you will lose track of it and never find it.
  5. The rocket will tumble home and land safely with the flight declared a complete success.
So, I'd say you have something like a 20 or 25% chance of success without the streamer

Seriously, IMO, the combo of 13mm motor mount and streamer recovery is a good idea. Keep in mind, the Scout was very similar to the Sprite with shifting CG and tumble recovery, but the Scout III came with a 13mm motor mount and nose blow recovery.

That said, depending on how much time and effort one is willing to invest, and how faithful one is to these original, classic kits, one might build them nearly stock with a willingness to tinker with them, trying to make them tumble home safely.

In my case, I went stock when I cloned these childhood classics, but promptly retired them in near pristine condition after one obligatory flight each.

But if I wanted to fly one on a regular basis, either I modify it for more reliable recovery, or get used to flying it with lots of scars and band-aids


Doug


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  #10  
Old 10-14-2012, 09:13 AM
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Doug Sams Doug Sams is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by A Fish Named Wallyum
This is a Semroc bird, although I tried cutting my own balsa before giving up and just buying the laser cut parts from Carl.
I surely appreciate laser cut parts. Foe example, on the conformal fins used on the Squirrel Works Cloud Warrior where the booster fins abut the sustainer fins, trying to free hand cut and fit those is nearly impossible. Either there's a gap between the fore and aft fins, or worse, the the gap is uneven due to the edges not being perfectly parallel.

In fact, I found that, even with laser cut fins, it's easy to get a gap. I only very lightly sanded the edges, yet the primer caused a tiny bit of shrinkage in the wood resulting in a small gap <Linus sigh goes here>

Anyway, for the Sprite clone, if one wants to try it sans laser cut parts, here's what I did. The fin and fin cap templates were copied and then glued to the balsa and allowed to dry.

(BTW, here are some tifs with multiple copies of the templates: FINS FIN-CAPS )

With the templates glued in place, I was able to rough cut the pieces, using a new blade. Then I sanded them to size. In the case of the fin caps, a sanding stick was very useful.

I left the fins slightly over size (in span), then, with them glued in place on the air frame, I carefully sanded the outer edges until the ring fin fit just right.

If anybody wants to try this without benefit of laser cutting, HTH

Doug

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