Estes SLV in action

Here's a video of BEC's Estes SLV preproduction model taking flight on a D12-3. Considering the size and drag of this rocket, I was really impressed with how well it flew on the D motor. Getting to see this thing up close gave me an appreciation for some of the smaller details that are a part of the kit.

[video=youtube;tiK5QfZmzSQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tiK5QfZmzSQ[/video]

Thanks for that.

Here's the flight graph from that flight courtesy of the AltimeterThree aboard. If you want to play with DashWare and overlay the data on your video, I can send you the Excel file...

Cool, hope I can make it down to a meet sometime.

Very nice! Launch looked great!

I love D12-3 rockets...comparatively cheap to launch, simpler than reloads and still big enough to see from a reasonable distance. Time for me to get an SLV!

This is on my buy list as well.

My Estes SLV kit showed up today.

Mulling over a couple of small styling modifications, although overall I like the design a lot.

Anyone else building one?

That's a really great shot. The rocket didn't roll at all!

Part of John's design is a clever jig that helps you place the "booster" pods and the fins on them. That has to be the reason for so little roll - nice well-aligned fins.

BEC said:

Part of John's design is a clever jig that helps you place the "booster" pods and the fins on them. That has to be the reason for so little roll - nice well-aligned fins.

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Noticed that nice assembly jig. It is very well done.

Started doing a little on the SLV by working on the pods. Enjoying the old school paper wraps and transitions with the modern touch of precision laser cutting.

All balsa and paper, no plastic parts. A kind of a blast from the past!

Stole a couple of hours today and made some progress on the SLV. The strap-on pods are complete and ready to sand and prime. Started the forward transition. About to paper the fins.

Pics coming fairly soon.

My building time has been at a real premium lately, but I did get a couple more hours in on the SLV.

Booster pods are on and the next step is adding the fins. The upper body and payload fairing is pretty much complete.

Things you might find helpful:

1. Each of the five booster pods has two paper transitions at the rear. You can save some filling and sanding on the overlapped seams of the paper cones by making sure the two seams are lined up with each other. Then, mount the pods so that the seams are next to the main airframe tube. This hides the seams from view nicely.

2. The paper transition at the rear of the payload fairing can be improved by not overlapping the seam as the plans show. Instead, cut off the overlapping tab and make a new one that glues onto the back of the joint, leaving the outside surface of the transition smooth, with the ends of the joint butted together. This gives a neater result and saves a little body work and sanding.

I am making some minor detail changes here and there to make it a touch more "realistic". Probably will not use much of the stock decal sheet. Still mulling over the final colors.

Sitting here on the table, it looks like it would be fun to do with clear fins, also.

Fins are papered and installed on the SLV. Done except for fin fillets, the conduit on the side and the launch lugs.

Picture coming tonight.

I have decided to paint it more or less like a modern Delta launch vehicle in white and that attractive blue-green color.

And I had a brain storm last night about a set of fictional mission markings for the model that will be great fun.....
Some markings will be quasi-normal, like a NASA meatball and US star and bar, but not the rest.

More to come.

tab28682 said:

And I had a brain storm last night about a set of fictional mission markings for the model that will be great fun.....
Some markings will be quasi-normal, like a NASA meatball and US star and bar, but not the rest.

More to come.

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Iris 1?

BTW, I came to the same conclusion about the seams in the pairs of paper shrouds that form the nozzles of the "strap on" boosters. I wish I'd thought of your idea for the transition at the bottom of the payload section. I also glued in the center of one of the rings at the base of the actual larger-diameter payload section so as to make it more usable as a payload section since I like to fly altimeters and such.

Funny...

Nope, not Iris I. Why take a chance of a real life repeat of fictional history?...

Good idea on adding that ring in the upper section. I might have to do something similar.

Looking at the bare model, I sort of wish I had made the stock strap-ons much longer. Sure would look more like an actual booster.

Might have to get another one and mod it like that. Perhaps change to 6 strap-ons and go to to three removable through-the-wall clear fins in three of the units.

Might have to get another one and mod it like that.

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Yes, please buy another one, maybe two or three more!

If you put all the paper seams of those short transitions toward the center body tube you really can't see them.

So which one of you is going to be the first to fly it with a six motor cluster? I've already done it myself. although this is me saying this not Estes since the instructions don't say anything about clustering the model.
John Boren

tab28682 said:

Funny...

Nope, not Iris I. Why take a chance of a real life repeat of fictional history?...

Click to expand...

.....good point.....

JumpJet said:

Yes, please buy another one, maybe two or three more!

If you put all the paper seams of those short transitions toward the center body tube you really can't see them.

So which one of you is going to be the first to fly it with a six motor cluster? I've already done it myself. although this is me saying this not Estes since the instructions don't say anything about clustering the model.
John Boren

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Good idea on the hiding of the seams on the strap-ons...I mentioned doing that in post number 15...
A pretty obvious way to reduce the body work and no doubt lots of modelers will think of it.

I am likely to buy at least one more...I keep thinking of fun things to do with it.

It certainly was a paper parts and good old balsa blast from the past, with the nice modern touch with all the parts being laser cut!

With six balsa nose cones, it is almost as many at the Bi-dent (Trident II) and three short of the old Trident.

There are simply not enough rockets with five fins out there.

Looks like a great kit. Just got one for my birthday last month. I haven't started the build yet!

Rocketron

JumpJet said:

Yes, please buy another one, maybe two or three more!

If you put all the paper seams of those short transitions toward the center body tube you really can't see them.

So which one of you is going to be the first to fly it with a six motor cluster? I've already done it myself. although this is me saying this not Estes since the instructions don't say anything about clustering the model.
John Boren

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As soon as I get my hands on one, it will be built "go big or go home" and flown on a full 6 motor cluster at least once.

I predict mine will eventually get a 6 motor cluster launch.

I just bought one of these. I'm wondering how hard it would be to convert the pods to drop-off boosters. Maybe have an air start motor in the main body motor mount?

What size are the booster tubes?

Mugs914 said:

What size are the booster tubes?

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BT-50. The nose cones on the pods are BNC-50Js.

When we interviewed John Boren on The Rocketry Show podcast a while back, I believe he mentioned to us that the SLV makes a great cluster rocket.

mwtoelle said:

BT-50. The nose cones on the pods are BNC-50Js.

Click to expand...

The five side pods are BT-50 but they also all have BT-20 tubes inside them as part of the stock kit structure. So 5x18mm + 24mm center or 6x24mm are possible.