Anyway, I was moving the last of some rockets off of a shelf, when I spotted a rocket in the corner that I had completely forgotten about. It was my attempt at an F Superroc model...the Long Tall Sally.
The rocket is big. Really big. She stands well over twelve and a half feet tall. She also has a 29mm motor mount (I was planning on using a "baby F," but wanted the flexibility of using 24 or 29mm motors.) My "go to" contest fins were trapazoids, and the LTS has 'em.
The secret behind LTS is that she is two Estes Mean Machines put together. These are the later editions with the "vacuum cleaner hose" joints that allow you to break her into three parts, while making very strong connections. Here are some pictures...
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| The vacuum cleaner hose joints....Just slip the parts together and twist! |
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| With great length comes great shoulder stability. The shoulder goes from the yellow glue to my fingers. |
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| Here's the crazy part...Ok, a lot of it is the crazy part... |
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| "Custom" Logo (there are two along the length of the rocket) brought to you by Sharpie markers. |
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| And this is the reason she breaks into three parts (plus the recovery section separation point). Picture by my beautiful wife Laurie. |
So, you might be asking yourself how did such a lightly built, horribly, stupidly long rocket do? The answer is...It didn't.
The contest was cancelled.
The rocket was broken into its individual parts and leaned behind a shelf in the corner, having never flown. Years passed. One...two.....three.....six.....etc.... Poor Sally was completely forgotten.
Maybe I'll fly her one day, now that I found her, but maybe not. The wind would have to be completely dead and everything would have to go perfectly... It might not be worth it. Still, if I did, it would be spectacular, no matter what!
Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!
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