Rainy weekends are perfect for rocket building. This is a project that is nearing completion, and just needs some finishing, paint and final assembly. You can see the ugly seams of layers of fiberglass (thick and thin) and the grey of JB Weld.
I started with a Phoenix BH-2000, and modified it to take two extra motors (inside the originally decorative side boosters) and a HCX flight computer to airstart them when the accelerometer detects that the central main engine has burned out. I also fiberglassed everything (fins tip-to-tip, upper body tubes, and thin fiberglass around the whole side booster assembly) for extra strength. I plan to use the strap-on-videocam, so I added layers of fiberglass to raise the GLR metal launch lugs higher, and cut out a rectangular patch in the fiberglass above the top lug for the nylon strap to wrap around the rocket without rubbing against the launch rail. I added Kevlar-wrapped racquetballs internally for protection against body tube zippers during parachute deployment (drogue and main). I also added a GLR metal engine retention system for the main motor tube so I can easily fly larger reloadable motors. And on the backside of the rocket, seen here, I ran a line of plastic straws (under the epoxy+milled fiber fillets) from the external engines up into the upper part of the rocket where the HCX computer will reside (the top straws are flex straws for the bend into the body. This should allow me to route the wires for the outboard motors up to the computer without having them flap around outside the rocket during flight.
If this all works, I hope to capture some cool video looking downward from the top of the rocket… as the main H210 redline motor burns out, and then the outboard white motors ignite mid-flight, carrying the rocket to new heights.
After painting, this should all look smooth and lovely, hiding the patchwork within.
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