Estes Cloudhopper (0851) Fin Templates

Looking for a scan of the Estes Cloudhopper's fin templates, not the Semroc Retro-Repro Saki kit's fins.


I know that both JimZ and oldrocketplans.com both have the cloudhopper, but both are .tif files that my computer can't open and print (school machine, I can't install software to resolve this). JimZ's is a drawing (thus suspect), and ORP's lacks the fins (it just has the empty sheet the fins came in and doesn't have a ruler to provide scale).


It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a new scan of the instructions too.


Personally, I'm thinking that I'll build two of them with a Spy Vs Spy theme.





Thanks!
Jim

Spy vs Spy my favorite Mad Magazine comic

Changed my mind... One Cloudhopper, One Zoom Broom...

I figured this would be a way that I could use up a pair of the PNC-60L nosecones that I've got sitting unused in my nosecones box. Man, I wish that we could just order the parts we wanted from Estes again.

Ok people... Here's the two options we currently have for the Cloudhopper:



Can anyone do better?

Oh... And how thick are the fins?

Well at least with one you have an measurement reference and can over lay on the other until get it sized to the correct size, and voila you got a pattern. Jim here is a PDF of the tracing, it should print to match the measurement. I you will post the balsa sheet to here instead of Flickr I should be able to work a bit of magic and get them both sized correctly.

View attachment Estes851CloudhopperFinTrace0001.pdf

View attachment CloudhopperBalsa SheetwithScale.pdf


Edit: if you dont want to post it here, I can PM you my email, Im having trouble getting a good print from flickr.

NVM I think I have it now.

Edit of Edit of Original: The two PDFs have scales and are both printing to within about .02" of inches of each other when both are printed to equal the 1" marks. I did lay one on the other to get an overlay comparison and I believe the Balsa sheet to be the more correct of the two.

Rich.

The Sketch is a direct trace of my Built Cloud hopper, and as I recall it is 3/32 balsa.

Thanks Mike,

Like many of these call outs for info, I posted over on YORF too. I've got confirmation that it's 3/32" for the fin thickness. I'm still hoping to get an image of the fins (in the matrix preferably) with a ruler to guarantee accuracy. I noticed on the sketch that the horizontal stabilizer tapers in thickness from the centerline to the tips. Yet the scan of the balsa (less fins) looks like the width is constant (except for the notch) (I'm currently at home (so no printer)).

K'Tesh said:

Thanks Mike,

I noticed on the sketch that the horizontal stabilizer tapers in thickness from the centerline to the tips. Yet the scan of the balsa (less fins) looks like the width is constant (except for the notch) (I'm currently at home (so no printer)).

Click to expand...

Looking at the punched out frame the taper is not as severe, as I built mine over 40 years ago, and was much younger then, I was probably a little over zealous with the sanding of the fins at the time, and my have made the taper more pronounced. I would think, between the two sources, someone good with a drawing software, could redraw them, in a closer to true rendering. As stated, the drawing started with a true trace of the fins, and then made the lines straight with a ruler. So being a trace, they are probably just slightly oversize anyway, except for where "extra" sanding may have taken more away.

Ok... here's the latest.

DaveR over on YORF found a fin template on ORP's decal page...

I've downloaded it, and modified it a little (added the pattern name, and fin thickness info). However, I can't print it from home.

Just in case someone can print it and compare it to the balsa matrix and report the results, I've uploaded the image. Otherwise, it'll be Monday at the earliest before I can check it.





Thanks!
Jim

Very nice now I have something to compare the reworked pdf's I posted above, to see how close I got.

Interesting how close some of the parts were (exact) yet the long horizontal on the balsa sheet PDF that I reworked was about .25" too long, the stabilizer pieces were dead on as were the winglets. The two large fins on the same PDF were about .125" longer than the new drawing.

Just checking something, is the Estes logo printed on the balsa sheets always the same size? If it is then the logo is about .75" to .80" long and could be used to scale the balsa sheet images to the correct size, at least on some of them.

Does anybody know what the angle that the wings are at? I know that they are more than 120 degrees apart. I'd like to make a fin guide template to ensure that they're even... I've discovered that my eyeball calibration is off.

rharshberger said:

Just checking something, is the Estes logo printed on the balsa sheets always the same size? If it is then the logo is about .75" to .80" long and could be used to scale the balsa sheet images to the correct size, at least on some of them.

Click to expand...

It varies, but it's possible that the Goonie Birds had a common sized sheet.