ACME Spitfire (FlisKits)

The ACME Spitfire from Flis Kits was inspired by a FAR SIDE cartoon and a challenge by the Jim Flis' son to "make it work"...which he did.  It's a hilarious, truly one-of-a-kind rocket. I received my Spitfire rocket as a gift in the 2005 Secret Santa gift exchange on The Rocketry Forum.
 
This is a nice exotic.  There was only one anomaly with the nose cone attachment, noted below, but a totally fun build!
CLICK ON ANY PICTURE below to see a larger image.
ACME SPITFIRE KIT
 
Here is the layout fresh from the bag.  There are a LOT of steps to this puppy, so I've decided to double up on cutting the BT so I have enough parts when I'm done to make two rockets.
MOTOR MOUNT

The secret stability of this rocket is in the inner motor mount assembly. The entire rocket is built around this straight tube and firmly attached at each BT junction point. 

Here is the motor mount with engine retention clip.

BODY WRAPS

Mod #1 - added some details to the BT and fin wraps, added my name and company insiginia, a few text lines:

B.I.I.
Capt. Jerry
Who Needs NASA?
Unleaded Only
   Property of
   Beaucaire
   Industries
   Intergalactic

BODY TUBE TIERS

Notice the markings I've placed inside to keep these babies in order. I created two sets, one for later if/when I build a brother.

This was my first BT cutting gig, and I must say, sharp blade and slow hand and they all came out perfectly.  Sanded the ends to make them smooth. the instruction called for two alignment lines on the outside, but I already see that the body wraps I'm about to put on the BT pieces will cover those lines, so I ran the lines up the INSIDE as well.

TIER ONE
 
Off we go.  The first two c-rings go on the bottom BT, tier one.
 
Every rocket I've put together so far has been mostly CYA and wood glue. This one is going to be primarily straight old Elmers White Glue.
 

TIER ONE SHROUD

All the body wraps and fin wraps were printed on very strong adhesive backed paper. The shroud that goes on tier one was printed on 100lb card stock.

All the wraps and this shroud were coated with clear coat to protect the color during assembly.

BT WRAPS DONE

The crack-back adhesive paper makes putting these wraps on a breeze. I was able to cut them all to size, test wrap the tubes, and once in place, let a small piece up and crack off the backing, smooth that piece firmly to the BT, then the whole wrap can be released and backing removed. It smooths out perfectly.

I used a black Sharpie to eliminate the white ring you can see along the edge and give it a "finished" look.

BODY WRAP CUSTOMIZATIONS

Here are some closeups of the changes I made to the wraps before printing them out.
TIER TWO

The centering rings, although very thin, require you to install them half-way into the top of one tier and half into the bottom of the next. Quite a trick.  After lining up the second tier, I put a huge bead of Elmer on the top of the c-ring and pushed the top piece in place. I spun and shook the assembly to force the glue around the inside of the seam
TOP TWO TIERS

Here are the final two tiers in place. The c-rings make the assembly very solid, more than I expected.
FIN WRAPS

The fins are now wrapped with the adhesive backed printed "metal plate" patterns.
FIN ASSEMBLY

The fins are are carefully attached around Tier One.

NOTE: I cut out the wraps with the "overspray" to help in perfect fitting on the BT. For the wraps, most of that just got trimmed off.

But for the fins, I decided to cut the fin wraps with the overspray pattern tabs still on. When I papered the fins, this extra material was left overhanging at the root line. When I attached the fins, the extra material spread out from the root like a paper "fillet". It was cool, the fins look riveted on. Glue along all the exposed edges and the look is complete.
NOSE CONE ASSEMBLY

Using the markings from the instructions I assembled the nose cone and the shock cord assemblies. I should have dry fitted the nose cone to the body first, as you will see later.
CLAY WEIGHT

A large block of clay was included and is now formed into the cavity at the top of the BT. Also, a toothpick guide is mounted at the top to go up through the nose cone recess hole and keep it from wobbling during flight.
HMM, PROBLEMS...

Nothing I could do would make the nose cone seat properly in alignment on the top of the BT. Ugh.  I had to cut the nose cone apart and dry fit everything. I put the top c-ring onto the body and then dropped the nose cone on, making a mark inside the nose cone when it perfect. The mark was noticable different from the one in the instruction.




Here is the new nose cone glued back together. You can still see the original marks under the drying glue. The final "angle" was much steeper than indicated.
CORRECTED NOSE ASSEMBLY

Well, there you go, a perfect fit.
COMPLETED

All finished.
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