(BAR-52) The Pelican
This design started as a BT-80 shortened version of an Estes Starship
Nova. Axe the Vertical Stabilizer and it looks a lot like a pelican in
flight, well it does to me anyways.
It's a 29mm rear eject that uses a single G80
It's a 29mm rear eject that uses a single G80
2025-07-16 Knocked out a CAD Model and some Preliminary Drawings.
2025-07-17 Complete CAD Package
2025-07-18
Turned the Nose Cone pieces from Redwood. The 4x4 raw material was just a few bucks more, and it's so much easier to turn. Lighter too!
2025-07-19 Head and Shoulders... knees and toes...
Started gluing the Upper Nose Cone to the Lower Nose Cone. Once this dries it'll get a big ole lag screw, or two, to hold the pieces in place.
2025-07-20 Lagging the Nose Cones and Cutting Wings
Used a 1/2" Forstener Bit to drill down
1-1/4" into the Forward Nose Cone, then installed (2) #10 x 1-1/2" Long
Simpson Structural Screws to secure the Forward Nose Cone to the Rear
Nose Cone.
Then cut the Wings from 1/4" plywood and sanded / routed them to the final shape.
Gluing the Forehead
2025-07-22 Attaching the Wings to the C-80
Used my Fin Alignment Fixture
Gluing the Down Extensions to the Wings
Simple matter of fixturing up the rocket
and setting up the Down Extensions. They were then tacked with wood
glue to set their positions.
2025-07-24 Wings to Down Extensions: Glue Fillets and Dowels
In order to make the Wing to Down
Extension joint Hell-For-Stout it needs an internal Dowel and heavy glue
fillets. It's a bit time consuming but necessary. Some fixturing was
required to hold everything in position to dry.
2025-07-25 Under Wing Stuff
Wing Fillets, Launch Lug, Lower Air Inlet
2025-07-26 Upper Wing Glue Fillets and Tube Fins
Applied Gorilla Wood Glue to the upper
side of the Wings where they attach to the C-80, and Titebond Quick and
Thick was used at the C-80 Air Inlet at the C-80 interface.
Once
those glue fillets were set-up, the 4" Tube Fins were fit-up and the
initial glue fillets were applied to the C-80 / Tube Fins. I revised
the design and space the Tube Fins out so they land at the top center of
the C-80.
2025-07-27 Tube Fin Wood Glue Fillets
2025-07-28 Kevlar Anchor
Drilled the Nose Cone for the 3/8" Steel
Dowel. It's a slight interference fit into the Nose Cone, and will be
trapped by the C-80 Coupler.
2025-07-29 BT-80H Wrap
I measured the rocket and then layed out the pattern on the BT-80H, then started slicin' and dicin'.
Applied a liberal amount of Elmer's White Glue to the inside of the BT-80H and then installed the BT-80H over the C-80.
Then started to apply Gorilla Wood Glue and Titebond Q&T.
2025-07-30 Nose Cone Installed
There's the Pelican!
2025-08-01 Do I make you horny Baby ???? LOL
Cut the Nose Bump out of 1/4" Plywood,
then sanded and routed it to shape. Some more glue fillets and The
Pelican should be ready for CWF.
Still gotta make the recovery spool... might need to buy some BT-52H MF from BMS...
Still gotta make the recovery spool... might need to buy some BT-52H MF from BMS...
2025-08-31 The Swing Test...
passed. Rock solid... like it was meant to fly... like a bird.
2025-09-06 Primer Day 01
Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer... what used to be called "Red Oxide" back in the day.
2025-09-07 Sanded, Ready for Paint
2025-08-09 Flat White Paint
Applied the Rustoleum Flat White Paint today. Now it looks all marshmallowy.
2025-09-10 CWF Round 2 and 3
Barnacle Billy.... Applied some Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler to the Nose Cone... Sanded... Re-Applied.
2025-09-11 Gloss White and Gloss Orange
Had just a bit of Rustoleum Gloss White
left in the spray can so it was used to painted the Nose Cone and the
Forward Body Tube. Then Rustoleum Gloss Orange was used to paint the
Head of The Pelican. I'll mask off the orange in a couple days and then
paint the Gloss White on the entire rocket.
2025-09-12 Black On The Wings
Sprayed Rustoleum Gloss Black on the Wings
2025-09-21 Gloss White Top Coat
Masked off the Head and the Wings... then
sprayed on the Rustoleum Gloss White top coat. It started sprinkling
rain... so this one will have some repairs I'm afraid.
The Unmasking
Came out pretty good...
No comments:
Post a Comment