| Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Galaxy Quest - Protector
As I looked for a comedy spaceship, one that came to mind was the Galaxy Quest - Protector. Interestingly, there are not that many pictures of this ship out there, but I decided to make an attempt. "Attempt" being a key word, because after finding some shots of it, I set off to draw my plan and then started building. After getting the body and fins all glued together, I realized that I made a critical error in duplicating the look of the Protector. I'm sure you can spot it, but then I hope you ignore it and simply consider the looks of this little (yet to be determined) flier!
Parts List:
Apogee Ogive Vac-Form NC (#19207)
Construction:
The Hard Plastic (black) NC from apogee has the should provided separately to be glued in by the builder. I through that should away. I then trimmed the shoulder of the Vac-Form (white) NC to leave 1/8". This was then glued with CA into the Hard Plastic NC to form the body.
Next, I cut the 7mm tubing into (3) three 1" sections and glued them together to form the motor cluster. I then cut the black nose cone back to where the motor tubes would just fit in place. I glued them using CA. I then cut a piece of notebook paper to just fit over the top tube and glued it in place with CA. I then soaked it twice to strengthen it.
I
then moved to cutting out the fin pieces. Each piece was then glued in place
using CA. I had to really watch how these were held in place to make the right
angles and for them to stay put. I then did multiple passes with CA to make
fillets on each of the joints.
The upper fin is placed there to simulate some of the living quarters of the Protector, but also to try to give some stability for flight. We'll see.
I next, cut nose cone tip to make a separation point. I used an 18mm tube and placed it around the nose cone to draw a line. Then slowly used a hobby knife to cut through the plastic tip. I then took a piece of card stock, rolled it, and installed it into the piece of nose cone I cut off to make a shoulder. It required several wraps of 1/8" wide tape to make it fit properly.
Next, I used a 10" piece of Kevlar and epoxied
one end into the nose cone tip and the other inside the body.
I sealed the openings in the rear (around the 3 motor tubes) with some glue to ensure a positive ejection force.
Lastly, I packed the nose cone with clay for balancing.
It was now ready for paint and detail. I used Testor model paint and a brush for the first several coats. I had to paint inside due to the extremely cold Vermont weather we were having. However, one day it reached 37 degrees so I went out and sprayed a coat of white paint on the rocket.
I didn't get to do the detail work I had planned. I was going to make some decals, but only had time for a stripe down each side. Yes, time in this contest ran out on me (or the other way around).
Flight:
I prepped the rocket with three motors. I took apart three Quest MicroMaxx ignitors and attached wire extensions to the leads. I then taped everything in place and prepared for a launch.
After getting 24" of snow the previous night, snow blowing all morning, and still getting snow, part of that preparation was to clear a small area in the driveway. My son and I ran out of the house, set up, and gave this bird a first attempt. I captured it on this video.
Unfortunately, only 1 motor initially lit. I tried to
lift the rocket. Then instantaneously, the ejection charge of the first motor
popped while the remaining two motors lit. The ejection pop (and the 10 degree
weather) caused the launch lug to break-away, the nose cone to eject, and
therefore, it didn't have a chance under the power of the other two
motors!
ENJOY, LISTEN, and ANALYZE the Video (MPG - 849K)
I wish I had one more day before the deadline, because I'm sure this will fly. I will try again, after I replace the launch lug.
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