Balsa Machining Service

And back to the main thread, I've used BMS for some of my builds. I've always found the hardest part in a scratch build to be the Nosecone. I guess I wasn't around when these guys did custom builds, but that would have been great. The bigger the dia., the harder it is to find good variety.

I look forward to seeing your projects. Tonight I started the MMT on the 3.0" School Rocket. I'm using an eye bolt instead looping 1/8 Kevlar through the two holes in the forward CR. I'm using thicker Kevlar line than came with the kit. Other than that, I'm building the kit as it came.

A few years ago I bought a nice 3.0" plastic NC from BMS. It is Estes compatible. It is the same NC that comes with the 3.0" School Rocket.

The 3.0" School Rocket is coming along well. For the most part, it is an easy kit to build. The parts fit amazingly well which makes it nice. The only issue was that no matter how you position the rear CR, a flange on one the three T nuts would interfere with one of the four fin tabs. Simple fix. I removed two of the T nuts, plugged the holes. I installed a threaded insert across from the remaining T nut.

The remaining tasks are inner and outer fin fillets, launch lug fillets and installation of the rear CR. At that point it will be flight ready. I'll have to wait for warmer weather for painting.

I would recommend the 3.0" 29mm School Rocket as a TARC team kit. Definitely get the optional payload section. I got the optional 34" airframe compared to the 17" airframe. I'm not sure which airframe size would be best for TARC?

Hi Guy,
That's the beauty of BMS. You can design your own rocket using the vast array of parts that they sell which are listed in their TARC Parts link download. Students can design a rocket and get a lot of parts from the 3.0" School Rocket kit which is available in various configurations. When I got my kit, I created a spreadsheet with various configurations then finally made a decision. TARC members could put various designs into Open Rocket to see which options work best for them.

I would like to assist a TARC team someday. There is a TARC session in this year's NARAM which I hope to attend. If I ever mentor a team, I will certainly reach out to you for do's and don'ts.

RE: Flying with an E30.

Its flown pretty well on that motor, I'd say its very optimal when your in a smaller field and you're itching' for something of higher power when the winds don't act up very much. The Summer Camp students had it really nice, they enjoyed the flight significantly. It goes up straight and gets up to around 500-700ish ft before coming back down. We didn't have a Jolly Logic on the flight, and it took around 30 seconds to a minute to get back down. Unfortunately, I'm having' website problems posting a pic, but overall, pretty impressive for a small field.