So now for something completely different.
I play disc golf (badly). I also fly high powered rockets - some of which are so big I need special FAA permission to fly them. Some time ago I was trying to figure out how to combine the hobbies thus was born the Flying Basket of Death and Destruction. Yes, a basket that will fly straight up to around 200-300' up with a rocket motor and then float down on a parachute - if everything goes as planned. I may even allow some dg'ers to throw some plastic at it while its in flight - either up or down - just to see if they can ace it from the flight line.
Key thing to take away from this is my standards for this build is it has to be as light as humanly possible but still be within or as close to the PDGA standards for basket dimensions as possible. Build materials will be wood dowels, balsa, plastic chains and paper fiber tubes. No, I can't just find an old metal one and jam a motor in it. All metal construction is forbidden and seriously dangerous. Not only that but metal is super heavy which would make it super duper expensive to fly and the bigger the motor the further away from the crowd I have to launch it - like 500' or more. Ain't nobody hitting a moving target from that far. Plus, I'd have to use a redonkulously huge parachute - like 10-15' diameter...no thanks.
So to start here are some photos.
1. I've already started construction some time ago but from the photo you'll get the idea of what I've done so far...
2. The second photo is a little issue I have with this design. Haven't settled on whether or not to fix it much less how. If the build comes in at a reasonable weight (>4lbs) I may try to fix that. We'll see.
3. Here it is with the remaining balsa "fins" glued in place. Time to move on to the next thing.
Figured someone here might find this entertaining.
I play disc golf (badly). I also fly high powered rockets - some of which are so big I need special FAA permission to fly them. Some time ago I was trying to figure out how to combine the hobbies thus was born the Flying Basket of Death and Destruction. Yes, a basket that will fly straight up to around 200-300' up with a rocket motor and then float down on a parachute - if everything goes as planned. I may even allow some dg'ers to throw some plastic at it while its in flight - either up or down - just to see if they can ace it from the flight line.
Key thing to take away from this is my standards for this build is it has to be as light as humanly possible but still be within or as close to the PDGA standards for basket dimensions as possible. Build materials will be wood dowels, balsa, plastic chains and paper fiber tubes. No, I can't just find an old metal one and jam a motor in it. All metal construction is forbidden and seriously dangerous. Not only that but metal is super heavy which would make it super duper expensive to fly and the bigger the motor the further away from the crowd I have to launch it - like 500' or more. Ain't nobody hitting a moving target from that far. Plus, I'd have to use a redonkulously huge parachute - like 10-15' diameter...no thanks.
So to start here are some photos.
1. I've already started construction some time ago but from the photo you'll get the idea of what I've done so far...
2. The second photo is a little issue I have with this design. Haven't settled on whether or not to fix it much less how. If the build comes in at a reasonable weight (>4lbs) I may try to fix that. We'll see.
3. Here it is with the remaining balsa "fins" glued in place. Time to move on to the next thing.
Figured someone here might find this entertaining.