Deuces Wild Scratch Off
Brief:
For some time now, I have been a customer of a newer manufacturer, FlisKits, Inc, and have written a few reviews for EMRR on some of the models this company markets. The Deuces Wild! is by far one of my favorite kits from this manufacturer and the canted cluster 18mm model is a great flier! However, when Jim Flis approached me and asked about an HPR version of the “Deuce”, I just couldn’t resist. I began designs in different scales and settled on a 4-inch diameter, 38mm version for my upscale which I appropriately named “Deuces Wild — 38 Special”.
Construction:
My model wound up being 49.5-inches in height and I used PML 3.9-inch Quantum tubing for the bodytube and 38mm phenolic for the motor mounts. The dimensions for the upscale proved that these sizes would be very close to the correct dimensions. Custom 1/2-inch thick ply Centering rings were made for the motor mount; deployment section and bulkheads were made for the bodytubes and 1/4-inch ply was used for fins. Stainless steel hardware was used throughout the model and I opted for PML’s
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I began by cutting two motor mounts to a length long enough for a three-grain Cesaroni motor. Custom CR’s were next and cut from 9-ply 1/2-inch Birch. They are near exact upscales of the fiber CR’s shape, as supplied in the original’s kit. The angle on each motor mount was 10 degrees and for additional support, I made the triangle piece from 1/4-inch ply for support of the mounts, another copy from the original. Since this assembly would require porting for ejection gases, I built a guide tube from 2.1-inch phenolic to port motor ejection gasses to the lower bodytube section. The top of this assembly was capped with a stainless steel u-bolt for the shock cord. Moreover, 1/2-inch diameter holes were drilled on two sides of each ring and I used 1/2-inch oak wood dowels to hold the whole assembly together.. This allowed me to adjust and reposition the CR’s to my liking for final assembly.
I purchased some 1/4-inch Birch Ply sheets from the local hobby shop and cut out four fins from the pattern I had upscaled. The fins had an extended root on them since this would be built with thru-the-wall mounting. Each fin was fitted to the motor mount assembly, which was designed so the bottom and top CR’s “sandwiched” the fins for additional strength. The entire assembly was epoxied together using West Systems Epoxy and then set aside to dry. Next, I spent time cutting each body tube to length. I slotted the bottom BT and cut out the area for each motor mount using a pattern I made from upscaled dimensions. Two separate upper bodytubes were cut; one would be used for dual deploy and one would act as a payload tube for single motor ejection deployment. This versatility allowed the model to have a broader range of motors available to her and still keep the altitude respectable.
A deployment unit was made from two 1/2-inch thick CR’s I made, along with a piece of 38mm tubing and a 3.9-inch phenolic coupler. I had tons of PML “CPR” altimeter mounts which I use for other rockets and wanted to use the same, test proven deployment for this model, so I decided to go with the CPR-Max unit. It was glued to one end of the 38mm tube and provided very simple way to secure and seal the altimeter in the bay. Note that my deployment unit resides inside the coupler for the upper bodytube. As a side note, I really like this CPR-Max unit and will probably use it quite a bit in the future for other large projects; it’s a very nice piece of hardware and inexpensive to boot!
A 5/16-inch eye-bolt was installed in the nosecone and a stainless steel U-bolt was used to connect the shock cord for the upper section. This U-bolt was mounted to the top CR of the altimeter bay, while two more eye-bolts were used on the bottom. When assembled, the lower section contains the drogue chute, while the upper section of BT contains the main chute, nosecone chute and nosecone. I decided on two separate parachutes for the upper section, as the nosecone was made from solid Poplar and weighed in at over 2.5 lbs. With heavier nosecones, I always let them come down under their own parachute and this helps prevent zippering of the upper bodytube.
After the upper sections and hardware were assembled, the lower fin can was installed in the lower bodytube. I used finishing nails to tack the BT to the fin support planks and bottom CR. Also, Epoxy Putty was used to fill any small gaps around the area where the motor mounts exited the bodytube. The lower area was sanded and 6 ounce glass cloth was used to fiberglass the fin area and motors mounts for additional strength. Additionally, I coated the entire nosecone in epoxy to help prevent shrinkage and cracking.
The fin area was sanded and blended together, and then the entire model was fine sanded with 400 grit sandpaper. I added a few coats of White Krylon Primer, then wet-sanded with 220 grit. This was followed by a few coats of Gray Krylon Primer; once dried, I used filler for any small areas. The model was wet sanded again with 320 grit, then a final set of three coats of White Primer were added for the base-coat. A couple days were given for the primer to dry, then it was fine sanded with 400 grit and tack ragged prior to painting.
I used Krylon Sky Blue (medium blue) and Yellow Glossy for the colors, as I wanted to follow the paint scheme for the original on the Deuces Wild! package. Three coats of blue were applied to both upper body tubes and the nosecone and left to dry. I cut a small hole in the dual-deploy upper BT and installed a power switch for the altimeter. The lower section was done entirely in yellow, followed by a couple days of drying, some masking and two coats of Krylon Blue. I took my time to mask as I wanted the finish to turn out well. The final assembly resulted in a model weighing 8.5lbs “empty” and very closely resembling the original Deuces Wild! model.
Flight:
I had planned on flying the “Deuces Wild —38 Special” at a launch in Whitakers, but weather and lack of time prevented this from happening. As a backup date, I took the Deuce to NSL 2003 in Clark Summit, PA. Jim Flis and I had a featured event where he launched a MMX, 13mm, 18mm and 24mm version of the “Deuce” and I launched the 38mm version, all in succession..
I began by preparing the model. The altimeter was assembled and installed in the rocket, then the lower shock cords and drogue chute were installed. The two sections were joined and I began by packing the upper shock cord, 60-inch PML main parachute, 30-inch PML nosecone chute, nosecone shock cord and nosecone. It was a tight fit but all went together. A few pieces of masking were added to the nosecone and coupler to adjust fit, then I turned to the power plant.
The plan was to use two Cesaroni Pro38 3-grain I212 Smokey Sam motors for power. Both of these were assembled, but I dumped out the BP ejection from one motor and used the DAT tool to cut the ejection of the other motor to 12 seconds. They were then installed in each motor mount and capped using Aeropack retainers. I filled out the flight card and headed to the RSO table to check in the big “Deuce.” The model caught the eye of the RSO; something about bright colors and two big motor mounts canting out of the bottom. I almost fell over when he announced it weighed in at a whopping 13lbs 5oz!!! At this weight, I changed my guesstimate altitude to around 1400 feet.
I had to borrow a rail from one of my friends at the launch and we set up on a “K” pad, far away from the crowd. I wanted it have some safety factor built in case there were problems with motor ignition. This was one of the reasons I chose Pro38 motors as they light very fast and use low power e-matches which would not overtax any launch system. The Deuces Wild — 38 Special was placed on the pad, the altimeter was turned on and I installed the two igniters. Now came the wait…
When it came time, each of the FlisKits models were launched in succession, followed by the big Deuce. When the countdown came though—nothing. I swallowed my heart and headed back out to the pad to see what was wrong. Another guy next to me also did not launch and continuity tested good for both our pads. The main box was disabled and switched to the far away pad for an M motor cert3 launch. The Deuce would have to wait.
Come to find out, after the big L3 went up, the electronics expert at the field found a blown fuse in the system, which was quickly replaced. My launch was back on! It was announced as a “Scheduled Event/Notable Launch” and all the information for it was read. My good friend Jim Flis was standing next to me when eyes began to turn to the Deuce as the LCO started the countdown and pushed the button…
Both motors came to life instantly—I really like those Pro38 Motors!!! The Deuces Wild — 38 Special took off the rail fast and loud, with average impulse totaling a J424 behind it. The smoke trail was absolutely awesome!!! The model went straight up, no rotation, and allowed the audience to view two separate smoke trails that were absolutely incredible!
Recovery:
I faintly heard the applause in the background as it topped over and separated at apogee—halfway home. The model began to tumble in and I completely missed the backup charge fire on the one motor. When it hit 750 feet, the main charge fired, the nosecone came out under chute and the main came out and filled! The crowd was cheering by now and I could hear them under a breath of relief that everything went exactly as planned. Both the model and nosecone came down together, evenly in decent rate and landed about 200 yards out and straight ahead. It was a perfect launch.
In the excitement, I had broken the golden rule and was so busy with people coming up to me, I forgot to watch where the rocket landed! Fortunately, I had people watching out for me and my friend Doug Gardei pointed out where it landed. The Deuces Wild — 38 Special was retrieved and beeping out an altitude of 1372 feet—very close to my guesstimate I gave the RSO. The model landed without a scratch and I was very pleased with the stability and performance. After watching the videos, I noticed it coasted for a while after motor burn out, with it whistling a bit while flying. I want to thank everyone there for making it a real “featured” event—It’s great rocketeers that make a great launch and NSL 2003 was filled with them that day. I do have plans for flying it once again at NARAM this year, so we will see how that goes, but for now, I am happy with my first cluster, and a canted one at that!!!
Summary:
To summarize, the model was very easy to build and it flew great. About the only change I would make would be to extend the motor mounts just a bit more, as they are too short to handle a Pro38 4-grain. Still, with the performance I had and the altitude that was achieved, I have a hard time changing anything. The model does deserve an additional touch, something I was holding off on until I saw how well it worked. I am getting some matching color Skyangle parachutes for it, hopefully by NARAM, in the yellow and blue.. With the weight, I figured on a 20-inch drogue, a 30-inch for the nosecone and a 54-inch with d-bag for the main. This should allow for some better packing in the forward section. Anyone interested in trying their hand at one of these can shoot me an email or check out the thread on The Rocketry Forum; all the pics are there to build this crowd pleaser…the Deuces Wild — 38 Special!
Introduction
Since first FlisKits' Deuce's Wilds have been reviewed on EMRR I've been willing to get one of them but as soon as Carl upscaled 'em it suddenly became a necessity for me to build a similar HPR clustered model that would to be flown on Aerotech reloads in the 38 mm range.
The first inspiration suddenly turned out to be a stronger desire and that forced me to order some LOC/Precision components that I got by the end of June. I was planning a trip to a Spanish launch during the first weeks of August so construction started.
Relying on LOC components didn't allow me to faithfully reproduce the Deuce's Wild unique nosecone (I didn't have the time to get one turned); apart from that and other minor discrepancies regarding construction techniques and personal building experience/preferences I think I still captured the spirit of such an innovative model.
Construction
Motor mount tubes…
I decided on two (2) motor mount tubes 10-inches long to allow the use of 38/480 hardware; the tubes were angled 10Ž° from the rocket centerline and that produced the hole pattern for the three (3) centering rings I custom-made out of ¼-inch birch plywood (FIG.1).
A ¼-inch birch ply triangle was also cut to provide additional support to the mounts (Fig. 2).
The aft and central rings had some holes drilled for further 2-part-foam expansion in the finished fin can. The motor mount tubes' support holes in the CRs were also angled to provide the necessary bonding surface. The subassembly went together pretty easily: the triangle support was epoxied to the aft ring and the central ring was then epoxy-notched making sure everything was square (FIG.3).
The tubes were next slid into position and the fore ring was added, all parts are epoxied together (the tubes were previously scuffed with very coarse sandpaper to provide the best bonding with the CRs) (FIG.4).
Fins and fin canister…
I cut the fins out of 4mm birch ply and laminated them with a single layer of 6 oz/sq.yd fiberglass cloth. Then the fin tabs were notched to engage the central ring and were drilled to allow foam expansion later on (FIG. 5).
The tab root edges were beveled and the fins were tack-epoxied (5-minute) together to form a pair of sub-assemblies (FIG.6).
That sub-assembled pair of fins was then epoxied to the motor mount: the central ring was engaged into the tab notches and the tabs themselves were sandwiched between the fore and aft CRs providing adequate anchoring for such large flying surfaces (FIG.7).
Few fillets were made with 30-minute epoxy thickened with chopped fiberglass (structural filling): since two-part-foam was going to be used I didn't want to add useless weight to an already heavy subassembly (around 26.5 oz).
Booster section…
I removed the glassine layer from the LOC tube and filled the spiral groove with carpenter filler; after it had dried it was sanded smooth with 400-grit sandpaper.
The aft end of the tube was then prepared to accept the fincan: fin slots were cut as well as motor mount tubes “slots;” the whole assembled fincan was then slid inside the tube and epoxied (30-minute). An additional 1-inch long retaining ring cut from a LOC TC-3.90 was simultaneously epoxied in front of the fore CR and seated well against it. Masking tape was used to tighten the whole assembly while it was left curing all night long (FIG.8).
Fin and motor tubes fillets were then made with epoxy and micro-balloons (cosmetic filling); they were sanded smooth with 400-grit sandpaper; two-part-foam was then poured into the fin can through the aft and central rings holes; about two batches were required with cooling periods between them.
The booster was completed as soon as an internal baffled bulkplate (¼-inch birch ply) with a U-bolt was installed (and again retained with a ¼-inch length of TC-3.90 in front of it) as well as a 1 x 1x ¼-inch backing plate with a T-nut was epoxied to provide a solid rail guide mounting support (same solution for the aft rail mounting location just ahead of the aft ring) (FIG.9).
Finally a length (½-inch) of Carbon-Kevlar® reinforced TC-3.90 was epoxied 2.5-inch from the upper edge: it will retain the aft bulkhead of the electronics bay.
Deployment options:
- Single apogee deployment (with or without redundancy) without motor backup:
The rocket falls in one piece and both the aft and fore retaining rings are engaged by the e-bay bulkheads plate; the aft one is plugged (no motor ejection meaning plugged closures or no BP in the forward closures with delay elements correctly installed) while the fore one holds at least one BP can (two (2) if redundant); - Dual deployment from a single compartment:
As above but the fore bulkhead holds one (1) BP can and a ARRD or similar device; - Standard dual deployment with or without motor backup:
The aft e-bay bulkhead is inside the coupler and holds the drogue-event BP canister;
The aft carbon-Kevlar® reinforced ring works as a sealer and reinforces the booster tube near the edge (almost an anti-zipper); the fore retaining ring is still used to keep the main airframe and the e-bay together and holds the U-bolt and the main-event BP canister; - Single apogee deployment with motor ejection:
As above but employing plugged bulkheads (no BP canisters required), the main airframe is empty and the main 'chute is contained in the booster section (where the drogue was).
Electronics bay…
It is made of a carbon-Kevlar® reinforced TC-3.90 of standard length (6-inch); a 1-inch long section of BT-3.90 is epoxied to provide an “outside surface” for both static ports and electronics external power-up switch (a key-switch in my case) (FIG.10).
The aft bulkplate (¼-inch birch ply) was drilled for two T-nuts that had to hold the ¼ x 10-inch threaded rods used to support the electronics bed. If employing the single-event deployment described earlier the bulkplate is forced past the carbon-Kevlar® retaining ring, it is flipped and seated against it while the threaded rods are being screwed into their nuts (FIG.11).
If using standard dual-deployment the aft bulkhead must sit against the retaining ring from above meaning that it has to fit inside the TC-3.90 instead of inside the BT-3.90 (in other words you'll need another different bulkplate whose OD equals the TC ID).
The fore bulkplate is made of two (2) ¼-inch birch ply plates laminated together and then drilled for the threaded rods, for the U-bolt and the black powder canister(s); since I was firing redundant apogee pyro outputs I epoxied two (2) PML canister holders from their CPR 3000 system (FIG.10).
The electronics bed was made of 4mm birch ply with ¼-inch LOC launch lugs (about 1-inch long) (FIG.10).
Main airframe…
It was prepared the same way the booster had been: glassine removal and spiral fillling with final sanding (400-grit); same retention method for the fore e-bay bulkplate consisting of the ½-inch long carbon-Kevlar® reinforced TC-3.90 epoxied 2.5-inch from the aft edge.
Finishing
After all the fillets were sanded and everything was smoothed out a first coat of sanding sealer was sprayed all over the glassine-free model: the tennis-ball feel of the cardboard became a distant memory after the first 400-grit sanding…a few more coats of sealer with relative sandings and it was ready for priming. I used a nitro-thinned car primer that I sprayed three times with sanding (600-grit) and filling between each coat (FIG.12).
I knew I wouldn't have the time to finish the model with a paint scheme so I left it just primed for its first flight…
Flight preparation
The date (9/10 August) came and we moved out 1200 km to reach our Spanish friends in Lleida (Cataluna): it was the Third Italian-Spanish Meeting José Luis Cortijos organized in such a great rocket-launching site, the Alfés Aerodrome.
On Sunday morning I began prepping the model for the first time while my friend and Master-rocketeer Stefano Fìgoni assembled the two (2) I218 Redline motors (thanks again!). We opted for these two motors for the following reasons (in descending order of importance):
- They represented the best compromise in terms of thrust and acceleration and ignition reliability (most of all) between Blue Thunder and White Lightning propellant;
- Their impulse is about 320 Ns (38/360 hardware) meaning a total combined impulse of 640 Ns (which is the upper L1 limit);
- Because of the lack of available reloads they were the only matching engines other than the H123W (too low average thrust).
I tested the new 9V battery (that provided more than 3.7 Amps), mounted the PML Co-pilot (RRC2) on its bed and slid the bed onto the previously installed threaded rods; the key switch was connected as well as the Daveyfire e-matches: a continuity test took place and then the canisters were filled with about 1 gram of BP each. The main airframe was secured, tightening the fore bulkplate nuts and the Rocketman R7C in its medium deployment bag was pushed inside the 4-inch tube; a 24” nylon 'chute was used as a pilot to ensure R7C extraction and 15' of ½-inch of tubular nylon was used as a shock cord. I filled the LOC PNC-3.90 with about 10.5-oz of weight to achieve more than two calibers of static margin between the CG and the CP (with the motors I planned to use). The engines were finally loaded, friction fitted and secured with both masking tape and a single machined screw; they were not going to fire the ejection charges so we figured out that this retention method could be enough (I didn't get the Aeropack retainers I'll be using for the next flights). It was weighted and sported out 8.8 lbs!!!
I had prepared some Magnelites ML-24 with one fold, we tested them and chose the ones with matching resistance values (about 1.2 Ohms).
Deuces Wild - Louisiana Lottery - Statistics - Scratch Off Odds
The rocket was loaded onto the rail (almost 100-inch long), the rail itself was strongly secured to the ground, igniters were loaded and the altimeter was armed…(FIG.13)
Flight and Recovery…
Our LCO Cristiano Casonati (who had helped me a lot before the flight) pushed the button and… both motors chaffed!! Some milliseconds (that seemed minutes to me) passed and the left engine ignited abruptly lifting the rocket off the pad… everything happened so fast that I didn't have the time to realize that my worst fear was coming true under my own eyes: a single motor ignition!!! (FIG.14)
The rocket left the pad on one motor, slightly drifting as it cleared the rail but boosting straight and true; then the first I218R died (1.53 sec of thrust) and the right one came to pressure to boost the inherently stable rocket to 2286 ft!!!! (FIG.15)
The Co-Pilot separated the nosecone past apogee (I'll enlarge the static ports a bit), the Rocketman bag was ejected and the pilot extracted the R7C to slow down descend ‘till touchdown about ¼ mile from the pad (I'm sorry I do not have any recovery-related picture… you'll have to trust me!).
Post-recovery inspection…
It is a very important and delicate phase in a rocket flight and shouldn't be underestimated. Both casings had been retained and both charges had been fired; everything looked fine apart from a fin scratch caused by a stone during touchdown.
Lessons learned…
- Upscaling is not a simple matter of enlarging geometric dimensions by a choosen numerical scale factor: both the construction and flying complexity do not follow the same linear law!!!
- Adding too much pyrogen (my fault) to the igniter wire leads doesn't ensure a better ignition; it seems like the big volume of gases produced by the burning mixture inhibits somehow the propellant initial combustion;
- The model can fly on one motor whose average thrust is equal or greater than that of a I218R multiplied by cos(10Ž°)=0.98; I would reccomend H242Ts (240) and I211Ws (480);
- Deuce's Wild!!!!!!
Conclusion
This first flight was half of a failure: we missed the two red flames and the two separate smoke trails whose scenographic effect is the key of the model's success (and Carl did a great job in upscaling many times that effect!!!!). On the other hand it proved that my design worked just fine giving us the opportunity to experiment some more flights without worrying about potential catastrophes related to asymmetric thrust (no one would have bet a cent on a “safe and successful” one motor flight…).
Scratch-Offs – Maryland Lottery
I'll now finish the model with a good-looking paint scheme (that will match the colors of the R7C), correct some aspects and launch it again as soon as possible (maybe not even this year unfortunately).
I enjoyed this project very much and would like to thank Jim Flis for having had that superb idea (I'll be waiting for the 3 motors model!), Carl Tulanko for the inspiration, my friends Stefano and Cristiano for all the support they provided and the Spanish team (José Luis Cortijos and Cinto Vìllar for the great lift-off pictures he is able to capture) that made it possible (check out the local news the day after!!!) (FIG.16).
Deuces-r-wild On Scratch
Feel free to contact me at g_boxwood@yahoo.it for any comment and suggestion/advise.