Started marking the tubes and cutting the first slots for the ducted ejection charge.

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Not much happening.

I cut a few of the spare CR and glued together. Just sitting in place but my thought is for it to be the mount for a rail button


Things will slow for a few days. I lost (misplaced) my taps. Have to pick up another. I need to secure the top and bottom of the pods together before I cut the ducts to make sure they properly align....

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Realized I could work the fins ....

Since I changed the nose cone I needed to verify the template for the fin. Of course it doesn't line up. I adjusted the pattern by eye and only had to do a second try. Dumb luck! It lines up fairly well now.

But now it is too big for the sheet of balsa supplied. So I cut a corner off and glued it back on. Some water for weight while drying.
I also discovered that cutting 1/4" balsa is not easy. Cutting the curves will be "fun"

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Yeah, cutting 1/4 balsa is a job for a power jigsaw or band saw. I'm using the Dremel Motosaw (https://www.dremel.com/en_US/produc...dremel-moto-saw) for stuff like this since I can't get blades for the Craftsman saw that my Dad gave me - oh - 40 years ago.

For those of you thinking "surely you can get blades!" I'll be happy to know where you can get 4 inch pin-end jigsaw blades. Three and five inch are no problem....

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Bernard Cawley
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We use the hardest balsa we can buy so you can fly it with an H or I motor if you want. Future iterations will probably have pre-cut lite ply (poplar).

Thanks guys for the inquiries BTW on this and also the 3" Orion and Athena. We are working it.

Jerry

I'll agree with that! Will post later but I was trying to use some push pins to hold the template in place for marking and had difficulties with that! Hardest Balsa I've ever used.....

Well - Uploaded my pix....

I now have more spare width than I need....
I was able to make a full size copy on cardstock at work and traced the pattern onto the wood.

Glued my rail button "target" onto the motor tube. The rubber band is providing some pressure while the glue dries.

And put a little thin CA on the couplers where I plan to tap them

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Most users want lite balsa so when we buy hard balsa we are very welcome, especially in the volumes and max widths we buy.

Received my tap set and got drilling. Verified I hit my "targets". I will probably change to metal screws - the plastic ones I had around for shear pins.

Cut out the fins (with a band saw and then cleaned the edges with a belt sander and sanding drum) - just have the fin sitting on the tube to verify the fit. (Hmm - appears the fin pix is the Australian view - sorry)

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I have been reading this thread with great interest. One poster suggested making only one tube ejection active. Another suggested adding length to the upper section which, interestingly would facilitate dual deploy if interested. One suggested sanding the balsa cones to a rounded end. All good ideas.

So I adjusted the parts list to add:
1 BT-22-5
1 TC-22-4 (2 would actually be more consistent with other kits)
1 PP-22-C
1 SA-1
1 SE-1
1 SCM-1
1 SC-5

I also reviewed pricing relative to other kits with a similar parts count. The website retail price would be $129.95. It falls in the 2nd tier of shipping due to package width, not tube length.

The instructions exist! Version 0.1.

I am attaching photos of the parts and the V0.1 package. It exists!

Jerry

Someone comment on if they would prefer an 18" tube + 5" or 2 12" tubes or a 9 and a 12 for the "passenger section". The coupler could have a 1/2" band on it for access to the electronics BT-22-1/2.

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