Warbirds Rockets

thingiverse

I remixed my "F-Bomb" rocket to produce two rockets inspired by some of my favorite warbirds. These rockets utilize many parts from the F-Bomb, essentially replacing only the nosecone and tail fin units. All other components can be sourced from the original design. The F4U rocket flies, but exhibits a bit of instability, so proceed with caution. It mostly goes up, just not as straight as I'd like. The unusual fin arrangement may be causing issues, so I might redesign the fins at some point. In contrast, the P-40 rocket is a highly reliable performer with flawless flights every time. My last flight on a D12-3 propelled it to 348 feet at 98mph. The F4U nosecone consists of several parts that must be assembled in this order: 1. Place the rear motor bank onto the base. 2. Next, attach the front motor bank. 3. Finally, slide on the motor front and secure with glue – it will hold everything else in place. 4. Over this assembly, fit the motor cowling and glue into position. The flat portion of the cowling (without flaps) fits snugly into the notch on the base. Both nose cones feature a 6700zz bearing that accepts a peg fitting into the spinners. Each nose cone has two spinners: a "Display" spinner with props, and a "For flight" spinner without props. Choose your preference, but I suspect the display spinner might create unexpected results. I printed decals on label stock and applied them to the rockets, but I don't recommend this method as they lack the quality of decal stock (which would require printing a white base and masking areas for decals). Both rockets have been flown on D12-3s, with the F4U exhibiting some wobbliness in flight. This might be due to the Pringles can body being slightly short, the unusual fin design, or underpowering – it still flew well enough for me. The P-40 version, however, performed flawlessly. P-40 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F79Su97eT6o F4U Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yiRipgKEiE UPDATE: I separated the P-40 display prop and hub into two STLs for easier printing. I also added a "hollow" prop peg, which features 6mm x 3mm round magnets. These magnets are glued inside the peg and both the display and launch versions of the hubs. The peg then stays within the 6700zz bearing in the nosecone, allowing easy switching between display and launch configurations.