4" Diameter Upscale Midget Midgets
This 4" upscale Midget was to be my Level 2 rocket.  But all my rocket buddies talked me out of it.  They're all level 2's and 3's, so I was hardly in a position to argue 

But this baby rocks on H's and  I's. 

It had been ready for paint for months, but I found cracks in all the fillets, so I had to grind them out, 'glass over them, and re-fillet.  The key was trying to use too fine a filler for such a large fillet.  I should have had some aggregate - perhaps micro-balloons - in the filler to make it more suitable for large fillets. Or I should have 'glassed or papered them to start with.

Like the Midget600, there is no lower stage.  There's a chance one could be added, but there were no features (such as electronics bay) included in the design to support it, although it might be possible to attach a staging coupler to the sustainer's motor retention T-nuts.

And like the Midget600, the Midget400 has an external recovery attach point to bring it down throat first.

The nosecone was turned from cedar and hollowed out as shown.  A T-nut in the hole allows ballast to be added and provides the attach point for the recovery harness and parachute.
 


Photo courtesy of Tim Sapp


Here's a great liftoff shot.  I think that's an I357 motor.

Photo courtesy of Tim Sapp



Here's another great liftoff shot.  Can't recall the motor but the smoke sure is kewl!




One more liftoff shot.  It's kinda blurry but the flame is pretty neat.


Doug's Rockets Homepage

12-24-2008