Last night I launched just three times in my back yard. These launches were mainly for the purpose of testing my new launch controller; I also tried out crepe paper wadding costing less than 1/4 the price of Estes' flame-retardant toilet paper. (Okay, mostly the launch was because I was itching to burn some black powder...)

My Custom Galileo, on an A8-3. Arced badly and was lost in a mess of weeds on the neighbor's place. I'll be replacing this one.



My Semroc Rawhide, on an A8-3. Not the recommended engine, and the delay is a bit too short, but the parachute was damaged as much by scorching as by being deployed too early. The rocket was caught in the air by a neighbor kid.

Taylor's Estes Gauchito, on a 1/2A3-2T. This time I wrapped the chute in a sheet of wadding (after inserting three sheets into the BT) and the chute deployed perfectly. The flight was low and slow; this is an excellent rocket for a small field. Oh, and I caught it in the air... it landed right on top of me.

No launch pictures this time; we have a new digital camera, and are still working out the details of shooting launches with it.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org

Regarding the crepe paper wadding... some time back, I asked why we didn't still use crepe paper like we did when I was a kid (as that is what Centuri provided). I was told that Quest still does, and when I looked I saw that Quest wadding was about half the price of Estes. I was considering mail-ordering some, but then I wondered, could I just buy some flame-retardant crepe paper from a non-rocketry source and use it?

At Hobby Lobby, my wife found this:


(hopefully, this picture works...)

It's 20" wide by 7.5' long, flame retardant (as all crepe paper sold in the US apparently is), and was priced $0.98 per package. The price has since increased to $1.47 per package. Eleven cuts later, I had a substantial stack of wadding sheets, about 5"x5" in size. Assuming my measurements were accurate, I got about 72 sheets out of that package.

Here's how the pricing breaks down:



Based on that, I'm not saving myself much over Quest, but quite a bit over Estes. Of course, I actually paid just 1.4 cents per sheet for what I'm using now, since I paid just $0.98 for the package. As Hobby Lobby does not re-price items in stock when the reorder price goes up, I should be able to stock up some at the lower price if I act soon.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org

I won a Centuri Screaming Eagle on Ebay and it was still packed with green crepe paper wadding when I unboxed it.

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

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

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

I'm going to buy another Galileo, and redesign it two ways. First, the launch lug is going inside the transition; the arcing flight of the rocket (compared to two rockets that did not arc) makes me think that drag from that monster standoff may have helped take it out of the area. Second, I'm going to change it to accept mini-engines, so I can use "weaker" motors for lower flights (I could buy 1/2 A6-2's but there is more variety in the minis).

I could just glue a mini-engine mount into the regular engine tube, but I think instead I'm going to cut that tube shorter, mount the new engine tube sticking out a bit, and cut a new centering ring to replace the stock unit. That will, I hope, result in a rocket that looks like it was supposed to be mini in the first place.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org

Now I've heard somewhere that you can just put your 13mm motor inside a spent 18mm and you have an instant 13mm motor mount.

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Don
NAR 53455
"Carpe Diem"

True. In fact, I may have been the one who wrote what you read... since I do that to launch my Sky Devil on A3-4T engines.

I'm backing away from the 13mm conversion now, but I am still determined to bury the launch lug inside the transition. My current plan calls for a square lug made from 110# paper attached to the BT before installing the transition; I'll notch the upper end of the transition to fit. Making a notch for a square lug will be easier than for a round one, and should look more seamless if I do it right.

I'm thinking strongly of building a 13mm adapter with a streamer wrapped around it, so I can launch this bird and a few others on 13mm engines.

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NAR # 115523
Once upon a better day... SAM #0076
My site: http://rocketry.gonnerman.org