Afternoon Project
 

Druziv:

(Ukrainian for friends or comrades).

So I built a rocket today, a Semroc Cherokee-D. Nothing particularly interesting about it: 3 fins and a nose cone. I tripped over the kit twice while I was cleaning out the computer room and took that as a sign to build it. I was unsupervised today and so I opened the package at noon and by 4:00 it was completely assembled with the fins drying in the jig.

What intrigued me was the time usage. By far, the most time-consuming portion of the build was assembling the parachute. In fact, it wasn't even close. I took an hour to carefully cut out the chute, make sure the adhesive rings lined up and then with my increasingly bad eyes, tying tiny knots in the the lines. Even with progressive lenses, I was just guessing. The chute in this kit was one of those thick plastic, orange and white, 24 inch, Jolly Logic chutes you could buy 100 at a time a few years ago. It has lines to cut for 12", 15", 18" and 24" diameters. I went with 15". I cut the lines of the proper length from the provided spool. When I finally got it all done, I looked up and couldn't believe how long it took.

The other stuff was easy:

motor mount: 10 minutes,
sand the fins: 10 minutes,
mark and line the tube: 5 minutes,
pin hole the lines for glue rivets and pre-glue: maybe 10 minutes,
find the drill and bit to add dowel to the nose cone: 15 minutes
locate fin jig: 15 minutes
everything else was letting the glue dry.

It's been a while since I built a simple kit more-or-less straight from the package. It was fun, but I wouldn't want to do that again for a long time.

Comments?

Would like to see pics. The dowel is for a sturdier screw eye attachment?

The nice thing about the Cherokee D is that the paint masking is easy. :D I've built A, B, C, D and E so far, some of them multiple times. I have the MicroMaxx one from Semroc waiting for me to decide I can work on something that tiny, and I have the fin pattern drawn up for a BT-70 Cherokee F. Good choice. :cool:

Druziv,

I've got a late 60's version of one of these that helps for tiny detail. Our school was about to throw it out and I happened to notice it. I use it to find splinters, do fine soldering work, etc. If I need extra magnification for that tiniest sliver of invisible metal sitting right on a nerve in my finger, I wear some readers underneath. It along with a nice work light make quick work of tiny tasks and might help with your fine knot work.

The Cherokee is one of my favorites. I personally like the short bodied version. You're right, a white base coat and a couple shots of red on the NC and she's ready for decals. My cousin's was the first D powered bird I ever saw and a 2" upscale Cherokee was my first 29mm bird. I used to love to fly it on F100 Silver Streaks.

Any chute larger than a 12" on a Cherokee-D when powered with a D or larger and you have a 90% chance of losing it to massive drift in ANY wind.
I fly mine on C's with any chute and a nice long double streamer if with a D.

I have built more Cherokee D's than any other kit.
Not because it is my favorite, but because I like having one in the fleet and have lost a TON of them.

I always liked the picture from the '73 Estes catalog .... the Mighty' D'

My first Cherokee D back in 2001 was the victim of a D12 CATO, I think my very first one. It completely blew the motor mount out of the body tube, but aside from some soot, left the body tube in great shape. I immediately replaced the D mount with an E mount and flew it with a full 18" parachute.
Once. :eek:
I still remember watching it float out of VOA. I felt like Henry Blake watching his antique desk head to Tokyo on the helicopter. :D

My first Cherokee-D was built and LOST within 2 weeks time in 1978 on a D12-7 and that idiotic 18" chute.
The only D engine that I regularly got them back on with a 12" chute was the D11-9.

I never built the short bodied Cherokee. Might have to rectify that this spring. :cool: