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Originally Posted by Fuse Eh!
What a fascinating thread about the Black Brant sounding rocket program! Special thanks to Blackshire for the original post, links and info; Dave for the great BB pics; and a tip of the toque to Brad Gordanier of Polyus Studios for putting together such a great retrospective video!
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You're welcome, and I'm most grateful to Bobby Hamill for preserving the four-finned (and other) Black Brant scale data, and to Ez2cDave for posting Mr. Hamill's model--and Bristol Aerospace of Canada--pictures and dimensioned drawings here on YORF, where they will also be preserved (and be available to everyone)! ALSO:
If anyone from Estes reads through this discussion thread and looks at the photographs, drawings, and videos herein, the four-finned BBII's close similarity (in terms of its physical form, as well as its décor scheme--yet its four fins give it a whole different character) to the three-finned BBII round that is depicted in the Estes scale kit suggests an intriguing option:
Much like how Centuri, in some of their kits (such as the Star Trooper, the Nova, the Fireflash scale missile kit, etc.), included paint scheme information and/or parts for building & finishing either an "Easy" version or a "Challenging" version, Estes could--*without* changing their Black Brant II scale kit as it is--enable the builders to build it either as the three-finned version, or the four-finned version. The fin information (dimensioned drawings) and the décor scheme information (the photos) on the four-finned BBII could be posted on the Estes website in the "downloads" section, or it could be printed on a kit insert sheet, or both, and:
The wedge-section, semi-monocoque ("stressed-skin," with a little interior bracing such as a few bulkheads) fins of the four-finned Black Brant II could be built up--in three dimensions--using Plastruct or Evergreen sheet plastic, and such fins could readily be cemented to the kit's plastic "boat-tail" tail cone. Or, if a builder didn't want to go to such lengths, he or she could simply use the fin planform drawing as a pattern to cut out four flat, 3/32" thick balsa fins.
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Originally Posted by Fuse Eh!
Apropros of the ending of the video, perhaps we can direct our scale and livery questions about the Black Brant to the Canadian Wildlife Service?  |
It might have a different--and desirable--effect. If the Canadian Wildlife Service received multiple inquiries of that kind, they might decide to change the Eastern Brant's name back to "Black Brant" again (or they might "lean on" whichever government department had that authority, if they themselves couldn't officially change the name back...) :-)