any suggestions on building the graduator. in particular, i noticed that
the ttw fins do not go to the mmt. anyone had a problem with this?
any suggestions on building the graduator. in particular, i noticed that
the ttw fins do not go to the mmt. anyone had a problem with this?
The Graduator is a great kit, and very tough and stable.
For the TTW fins, I lined up the centering rings so that they butted up
against the tabs of the fins. Then I bought some dowel (I forget the
size, but almost as large as the tab that sticks through the body tube.)
and cut six lengths that would fit snugly between the centering rings. I
attached a pair of these so that they were on either side of each slot in
the body tube and epoxied them in place. This formed a "cage" that would
trap each fin and increase the area that could be reinfornced, as well as
distributing the fin load. I laid a large amount of epoxy in a channel,
then inserted the fin. I turned the rocket over (so that the fin pointed
down) and let it dry. The idea is to get enough epoxy in the channel that
is covers the fin, dowel, and runs back over to the body tube. I found
that this created a very strong joint and did not negatively affect
stability. This rocket even took bad recoveries and still didn't snap the
fins!
I did my Level I cert on this rocket with an H97, and sent it to 3000
feet!
Mike Hollihan
Mid-South Rocket Society
NAR# 53545
TRA# 4309
>any suggestions on building the graduator. in particular, i noticed that
>the ttw fins do not go to the mmt. anyone had a problem with this?
> any suggestions on building the graduator. in particular, i noticed that
> the ttw fins do not go to the mmt. anyone had a problem with this?
The Grad flies great on single use and reloadable F & G's. A G64 gives a
fantastic flight.
If you fly near concrete you WILL eventually crack a fin. This happended
three times to me, twice on the same fin. Just epoxy it back together and
keep flying. Even after field repairs (masking tape and SuperGlue) my
Graduator flew very straight.
If you fly near high grass or corn fields, consider adding a LOUD buzzer.
The Grad is not very heavy and will drift quite a bit. I lost mine in a
corn field :-(
--
Alex Mericas
Uh...later in the day, I realized that you could use an easier path to
constructing the "cage" I described.
Cut the six dowels as before. Glue on the forward centering ring, and
place the rear centering ring on the MMT to keep it straight. Epoxy this
in the body tube so that the rear of the forward centering is flush with
the top of the fin slot. Let this set up, then remove the rear CR.
Tack-glue the fins in place, using quickset epoxy or CA. Lay one dowel on
each side of the fin tab, working one at a time, and lay on the epoxy.
After this sets up, smear a ring of epoxy around the back of the body tube
and put on the rear CR. Fillet the fins as usual.
This is easier than cutting new fins (really!) and still strong.
Mike Hollihan
Mid-South Rocket Society
NAR# 53545
TRA# 4309
> any suggestions on building the graduator. in particular, i noticed that
> the ttw fins do not go to the mmt. anyone had a problem with this?
This is the same as a rocket i built from scratch a few years ago...I
retired that one and recently built another one from a graduator kit as
described above. It flys GREAT.
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