This isn't a chore--it's an opportunity! I'm sure I am not the only YORF member (or model rocketeer in general) who would be interested in buying such "after market" 'semi-finless Bug' X-24 fin sets from you.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

I'd buy a couple.

__________________
NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

Comrade Korolev, that makes you a B*A*D Marxist-Leninist, to so descend into decadent capitalism!...but thank you for doing so!!! :-)

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

The X-24 Bug kit instructions (see: www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/centuri/ka-12.pdf ) say that it has a ~2:1 glide ratio (it will travel forward about 2 meters for every 1 meter loss of altitude), so it is definitely (as its instructions also say) a good small-field boost-glider. Also:The internal launch lug (glued to the side of the X-24 Bug's motor mount tube) is a very good idea, as it ensures a straight (and faster) departure off the launch rod, which is helpful if there is any wind. Surprisingly, the ejecting motor is no problem, even at NAR contests, as there is a simple solution to this problem:

There is no need to modify the X-24 Bug *itself* to make it "NAR contest-kosher" with regard to it ejecting its motor. The kit instructions for the Centuri Hummingbird boost-glider, which also ejects its motor (see: www.oldrocketplans.com/centuri/cenKF-2/KF-2.pdf ), describe and illustrate a little tip for getting around this problem (please see below).

For contest flying, one end of a 16" length of string is glued to the inside wall of the motor above the ejection charge cap, using a small square paper tab. The free end of the string is tied to one end of a rubber band (which is cut beforehand to create a single length). The other end of the rubber band is taped to one end of a crepe paper streamer. A tiny bit of recovery wadding is placed into the front of the motor (seated atop the ejection charge cap), the streamer and its string/rubber band shock cord are rolled up and inserted into the motor's front end, and then the motor is prepped with an igniter and is inserted into the model. To speed up the motor preparation at a contest, the lengths of string could be glued into the front ends of the contest motors at home. At the contest flying site, the streamer could be transferred from an expended motor to a fresh one if desired.

I hope this information will be helpful.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Thank you for posting those X-24 Bug cardstock part sheets (in Reply #9, for any newcomers to this thread) with the creative variations on the original X-24 Bug decor scheme! (Having a somewhat slow internet connection, I didn't try looking at them yesterday.) The printed triangular former bulkheads are nice additional detail touches. All of your X-24 decor schemes would look great for X-24 Bugs built in the stubby-finned "semi-finless" configuration as well as in the "standard fin" configuration.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Thanks! Them's some HI-lacious reserchin' skills! (and HI-Lacious may be the name of my next rocket...)

The only issue I see with the motor-streamer space. The Hummingbird flew on 1/2A and A motors which have a lot of empty space in ths case. The X-24 needs a "B", and there is not much room in there. Of course, I am going to try this method . I mean it's a cool-simple solution, how could I not try it?

__________________
John Adams
"There is a lot of rocketry under 20ns"

You're most welcome. It wasn't research skills, though--just my equine visual memory. Also:If you used an aluminized mylar streamer (although crepe paper should also work) and equipped the X-24 Bug with an ST-7 motor tube, the streamer could be taped to the middle of the motor case on the outside and be wrapped around the motor (European boost-glider competitors often do this to make their models "contest-legal"). An aluminized mylar streamer might (but might not) melt if wrapped around a "C" motor in that way, but a crepe paper streamer (especially one made of flame-proofed crepe paper) should work okay.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Another X-24 Bug motor streamer idea just occurred to me:Flame-proofed, brightly colored art tissue (the kind that is used to make paper hot-air balloons in school projects--Michael's and other craft stores sell it) might be ideal for recovering ejected motors from boost-gliders such as the X-24 Bug. The tissue is very thin, so it could be wrapped around an 18 mm motor and have room to fit inside an ST-7 motor tube (especially if you used the slightly narrower Quest motors). The art tissue is reasonably strong, and although streamers made from it could probably be used only once, the tissue is so cheap that this would not be a problem.

__________________
Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Another X-24 idea you might think about if you have a spare Saturn V laying around. Go to page four.

http://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/enerjet/ejn01.pdf

I used to use red crepe paper strips for engine mounted (inside the forward end of the motor) recovery streamers. I would buy the large crepe paper sheets at the local department store to cut my normal recovery wadding from (a la the Centuri recovery wadding which is what I started my rocketry endeavors with), but would also cut my various recovery streamers from the same material when needed.

The crepe paper in those large packages was dirt cheap compared to buying any commercially available recovery wadding from Centuri or Estes. I don't think I ever bought any chute wadding from either source and still use 'home cut' crepe paper wadding.

Earl

__________________
Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970