Hi, folks,
I recently acquired a near complete kit of the old Citation series Bomarc. You remember these: on ejection, the engine pod would descend on a 12" parachute, and the model would be left to glide its way down. Really neat! I built one of these when I was about 13 and have no memory of whatever happened to it. Probably lost it and just blocked out the bad memory!
Well. I have no intention of building the original out of the opened box, but I am cloning it. First, of course, I need to get all the pieces gathered. The Sandman made me some absolutely GORGIOUS ramjet cones. He made me 4 of them; two to use, two for 'later'! They were ready and waiting for me to come home after my vacation! Fabulous workmanship! The main cone in the kit was a plastic one; it was missing, so I will use a SEMROC BNC-55AO cone. The balsa die-cut pieces are 3/32 thick, and I have made exact cardstock patterns for transfer to my own balsa sheet. I'll scratch out the ramjet standoffs; they were already airfoil-shaped in the original, so they should be easy to duplicate.
This should be a really fun build. I'll include some pics as I go along. It is sure nice to have an original to follow, though. The dimensions page (#6) on the Rocketshoppe JimZ plans shows several incorrect lengths, based on the original I have. I'd be happy to update them if he wants.
Allen

If I have those plans online, send me the corrected info to include in the plan set. Thanks.

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Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
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WOOSH NAR Section #558

It would be great to get updated dimensions; I noticed inconsistencies on the KC-5 fin templates when building a 657 clone, but not having an original, just had to guess which ones to compromise on. Thanks, and I look forward to your build progress!

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Well, I have the pieces together to begin the build. I've enclosed the first of several pics, these being the body tubes and the fins. You will notice the darker colored BTs in the picture; these are the original kit tubes. The white tubes will be the clone's: BT-55 for the main (18"), BT-50 for the ramjets (6.5"), and the motor tube which is a BT-20 (18"). The nose cone I chose is the BNC-55AO from SEMROC (since the original plastic one was crushed), and those beautiful ramjets are Gordy's (Roachwerks). I also included in the pics the vacuum-formed ramjets for comparison.
The motor tube will have to be trimmed some to clear the Main NC shoulder, something not necessary to do on the original. Also, it will need the ejection vent holes punched (where IS my daughter's hole puncher?).
See also the vacuum-formed 'Raceway' This piece forms the dorsal tunnel laid over the wings and empennage. I will use a 1/2 x 1/2 balsa stick to duplicate this.
In the fins pics, you see the original die-cut fin sheet at the bottom, the cut out fins in the middle, and the carstock fin patterns I made to do it. I simply Xeroxed on a 'dark' setting' the original fin sheet using heavy card stock; the cut lines become clearly visible allowing accurate cutouts, which I can use over and over.
More tomorrow, I hope!
Allen

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For those of you who would prefer the original color Kraft tubes, the tubes that Red Arrow sells will fit the bill for you.

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Scott D. Hansen
Ye Olde Rocket Shoppe - Your One Stop BAR Shoppe!
Ye Olde Rocket Plans - OOP Rocket Plans From 38 Companies!
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WOOSH NAR Section #558

Over the past couple of days, I have managed to glue the main wing pieces together, fill tube spirals with Fill & Finish, and I have put 2 coats of sealer on all the wood surfaces, sanding in-between, of course.
I had to shorten the power pod about 1 and 3/8; on the original Bomarc, the power pod forward end extends all the way past the end of the main BT-55 by about 3/4". what stops its movement is the plastic nose cone adapter glued 1 inch into the front of the BT-55. The main idea, it appears, is to have the aft end motor hook just inside the BT at launch.
The power pod slides quite easily out the back end, which it must be able to do. On the clone the balsa NC shoulder stops the pod's forward movement.
The kit uses rounded toothpicks for the four antennae which are about 1/16" (0.0625")in diam. I used .060" carbon rod to make mine. I carefully drilled 1/16" holes into both the wing and the horizontal stabilizer for them and used 30 minute epoxy; they should be strongly mounted in case of a harder than normal landing.
For this model I wanted to do all my sealing of surfaces first, then install them on/in the BT. I still have one more coat of sealer to do, but it's coming along......
The 2nd pic shows what the model will look like.
Allen

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Looking real good Allen

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Leo

My rocket fleet and more @ Leo's Leisure Site and on YouTube - My latest project: ALTDuino

I must admit, I have been remiss in posting on the progress of this build. The model is largely glued up and together. Now, I probably did a bad thing: I sealed all the balsa and tube spirals in the usual way, which will not help the overall weight of the glider. I have sprayed the white areas with Krylon gloss white (old formula) and masked off those areas when it was time to paint the black. I used Pactra Gloss Black, because it wipes right off the Krylon with a little mineral spirits without damaging the Krylon. This allows a crispening of the lines on the leading and trailing edges of the glider, especially when some of it gets by the tape margins. The nose cone is done; I used Rustoleum Copper here (I really like this stuff the more I use it).
I have now wetsanded all the black areas and will recoat using an airbrush, so I can better control the volume of paint going on the model. I'll have to let it dry at least 2 to 3 days before any decals or 1/4 inch striping can go on. I'll flatten the finish after the decals have dried.
The motor pod is completed, and I'll place the 12 inch chute at the balance point of the tube in hopes of avoiding its wrapping up the parachute on descent.
The model will get balanced slightly nose heavy; as it stood before painting, it was a little tail heavy.
Pics asap!
Allen

snip...



So how's the progress?

Here we go:
I finished this Bomarc about 3 weeks ago. Sorry for the delay for pictures. Gordan's ramjet cones turned out fantastic. It has a very nice glide, though I have not launched the rocket yet. See what you think!
Allen

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