Keira's Dr. Zooch Rockets Gumball Lofting Vehicle!

We did a little experiment. One of the machines had a JUMBO "gumball capsule" that we call "Orion" (after the oversized version of Apollo being currently designed by NASA, in contrast to the "tiny" standard gumball capsule we call "Soyuz"). The jumbo capsule won't fit on the GbLV booster by itself-- so we modified it a bit. The small capsule sits atop a centering ring in the end of the booster... so we merely got a second 'small' gumball capsule from a machine, and attached it to the bottom of the 'big' gumball capsule base. I roughed up the big base with sandpaper to give the plastic some "tooth" for the glue to grab, mixed up a little epoxy and then slathered a goodly amount in the small gumball base, centered it on the back of the larger base, and turned it on a toy car wheel turned sideways (like a pottery wheel) to ensure it was as close to perfectly "centered" as I could get it. Then I filleted around the little capsule base with the extra epoxy to make sure the little one was locked in place on the back of the big one. We added a bit of clay and a quarter (I told Keira to use three pennies, but she insisted on the quarter, despite my assertion that three pennies weighs pretty close to what a quarter does, and only costs three cents versus 25 cents... but Keira said she didn't care, she wanted the quarter... we got a good laugh when I told her "see, you already sound like you work for NASA!!!" LOL )
I didn't have an extra screw eye, so we unscrewed the one from her small capsule and screwed it in the top of the big one, which of course brought the parachute with it... Keira then consulted with her mom about a suitable test flight occupant and selected a small card picture of a horse, and loaded it into the capsule, while I prepped her booster. We were then ready for the inaugural flight of the "Orion" big capsule GbLV...

Keira dutifully logs in her flight in the Alamo Rocketeers logbook, while I explain the vehicle and capsule to Art Applewhite...

Keira finishes loggin in...

Keira shows the new "Orion" big capsule on her GbLV...

Keira loads the rocket on the pad, and hooks it up... the larger aft body with the transition puts the launch lug out JUST far enough to clear the larger capsule!

Keira explains the launch console controls to her cousin Jeremy, who has a BA in Aerospace Engineering from Perdue University...


Launch pics next! OL JR



More coming! OL JR

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Ignition sequence start...

We have ignition...

We have liftoff!

Liftoff, and the GbLV has cleared the tower!!!

More coming! OL JR

The GbLV is accelerating steadily...

Ascending smoothly...

Gaining altitude quickly...

Rapidly rising on the C6-3...

On a nearly vertical trajectory...

More coming! OL JR

Jeremy again helps retrieve the booster... he's the first to notice that "Houston, we've had a problem..."

The booster was gliding tail first, with the streamer flipping along behind it, at a pretty high rate of speed... it came down pretty hard and fast on one fin...

Meanwhile Keira goes down the hill aways to retrieve her big capsule...

And returns happy... nothing some Titebond II can't fix...

Later! OL JR

Hey Jeff....that is great...nothing like lofting a gummy bear a couple of hundred feet up and seeing if there is any impact on taste!!! sounds like a fun day and that is all that counts!

luke strawwalker said:

It's me Jeff... Keira's hit the sack... field trip tomorrow!!! :horse:

She flew a gummy bear on the inaugural flight... and promptly ate him about ten minutes after he landed... LOL

I'll try to get her on here tomorrow to read yall's comments and offer her thoughts on everything...

Later! OL JR

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Great Build thread Keira!! BTW, they make a 5 pound gummy bear for when you and dad make the upscale GbLV!

What a great thread. I can tell that Keira had a great time building and launching her rocket. I bet dad enjoyed it too. Fantastic launch pictures, thanks for sharing.

hope it is OK to make the bump here, but I think Kiera has THE build thread for the Dr. Zooch Gumball Lofting Vehicle...here are some pictures of my Gb-LV...I tried to paint it like a Pershing missile....its going to be a gift for my 4 year old nephew....its a neat little kit!!



all I have to do is hang the chute for the gumball container and the streamer for the booster.

couple more pictures:



thanks Kiera for a GREAT build thread! It was a big help!

Wow Rick! That paint scheme is really impressive. You always go the extra mile.

NJRick said:

hope it is OK to make the bump here, but I think Kiera has THE build thread for the Dr. Zooch Gumball Lofting Vehicle...here are some pictures of my Gb-LV...I tried to paint it like a Pershing missile....its going to be a gift for my 4 year old nephew....its a neat little kit!!

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all I have to do is hang the chute for the gumball container and the streamer for the booster.

Click to expand...

NJRick said:

hope it is OK to make the bump here, but I think Kiera has THE build thread for the Dr. Zooch Gumball Lofting Vehicle...here are some pictures of my Gb-LV...I tried to paint it like a Pershing missile....its going to be a gift for my 4 year old nephew....its a neat little kit!!

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all I have to do is hang the chute for the gumball container and the streamer for the booster.

Click to expand...

Hey that looks GREAT Rick... You da man! I think if you ever decide to give up lawyering, you have a bright future in rocket décor design...

Later! OL JR

PS... the bump is good...

thanks Owen!! this is a neat little kit....truthfully..I may have to get one of these for myself since I am giving this one away...I am anxious to fly her! Happy New Year down there!!

Owen Eldridge said:

Wow Rick! That paint scheme is really impressive. You always go the extra mile.

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thanks Luke....building Dr. Zooch rockets is certainly more fun than lawyering that is for sure! The pics you posted of Keira's Gb-LV were awesome...look like this little rascal flies straight as an arrow!

I thought it was a fun build and I am anxious for some good weather to take my nephew, load up the payload capsule with gummy worms and fly her!!

Happy New year Luke!!

luke strawwalker said:

Hey that looks GREAT Rick... You da man! I think if you ever decide to give up lawyering, you have a bright future in rocket décor design...

Later! OL JR

PS... the bump is good...

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NJRick said:

thanks Luke....building Dr. Zooch rockets is certainly more fun than lawyering that is for sure! The pics you posted of Keira's Gb-LV were awesome...look like this little rascal flies straight as an arrow!

I thought it was a fun build and I am anxious for some good weather to take my nephew, load up the payload capsule with gummy worms and fly her!!

Happy New year Luke!!

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Happy New Year to you as well Rick, Owen, and all the other Zooch aficionados here on the forums...

Good luck with your nephew... hope he shows more interest than mine did...

Later! OL JR

thanks Luke...my nephew just turned 4...but his dad is a pilot and he seems to have a real interest in airplanes and rockets...he was over my house on July 4th and I was showing him my Zooch rockets and he apparently was asking my niece when he could come back to see the rockets again....so this little guy's first rocket is going to be a Dr. Zooch!

luke strawwalker said:

Happy New Year to you as well Rick, Owen, and all the other Zooch aficionados here on the forums...

Good luck with your nephew... hope he shows more interest than mine did...

Later! OL JR

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NJRick said:

thanks Luke...my nephew just turned 4...but his dad is a pilot and he seems to have a real interest in airplanes and rockets...he was over my house on July 4th and I was showing him my Zooch rockets and he apparently was asking my niece when he could come back to see the rockets again....so this little guy's first rocket is going to be a Dr. Zooch!

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Hehehe... good uncle... yer raisin' 'em right...

Remember the Dr.Zooch motto: "If rocketry's not fun, you're not doing it right!"

Later! OL JR

Great thread and what a good job you did Keira...congrats from me. Its so good to see another girl building rockets (tho' I am a teensy bit older )

sorry for the bump...but Kiera's build thread is THE thread for the Zooch Gb Lv! Finally got out to fly this one over the weekend with my nephew Bobby. We launched a Swedish fish! This is a cool kit! seemed stable as a rock in flight. I was a little worried about the streamer recovery for the booster...but no problem at all! recovered without a scratch!



I think the look on my nephew's face sums up how much fun he was having! As Dr. Zooch always says...if your not having fun, you are doing it wrong! I can't think of a better way to say it!

NJRick said:

sorry for the bump...but Kiera's build thread is THE thread for the Zooch Gb Lv! Finally got out to fly this one over the weekend with my nephew Bobby. We launched a Swedish fish! This is a cool kit! seemed stable as a rock in flight. I was a little worried about the streamer recovery for the booster...but no problem at all! recovered without a scratch!

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I think the look on my nephew's face sums up how much fun he was having! As Dr. Zooch always says...if your not having fun, you are doing it wrong! I can't think of a better way to say it!

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Looks like good.times there! Great job! Thanks for the bump!

Later! OL JR

Luke.....it was a fun day! Got to shoot the GbLv as well as my Lifting Body...both maiden flights. Also flew my very first BAR rocket...the Zooch 1b ASTP...aka Ol' Reliable...she made her 37th flight. Good times by all! The Zooch GbLv is a neat little rocket!

luke strawwalker said:

Looks like good.times there! Great job! Thanks for the bump!

Later! OL JR

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NJRick said:

Luke.....it was a fun day! Got to shoot the GbLv as well as my Lifting Body...both maiden flights. Also flew my very first BAR rocket...the Zooch 1b ASTP...aka Ol' Reliable...she made her 37th flight. Good times by all! The Zooch GbLv is a neat little rocket!

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I like your paint scheme... sort of "Soyuz-esque"...

You always come up with the neatest paint jobs for your rockets... VERY creative!

KUTGW! Later! OL JR

thanks Luke! this one was supposed to be something like a Pershing missile....I kinda felt bad militarizing Wes' rocket....I think I am going to be buying another of these shortly...one of my other nephews would like one. This is a fun little kit! Always fun to have a payload bay! When I am done I will post pictures on this thread.

luke strawwalker said:

I like your paint scheme... sort of "Soyuz-esque"...

You always come up with the neatest paint jobs for your rockets... VERY creative!

KUTGW! Later! OL JR

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Never feel bad militarizing anything in the Zooch line. It's cool. Besides, you bought it- it's yours. Paint it in any colors but Al-Qaeda as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be ordering another GbLv shortly Wes...I have another paint scheme in mind for that rocket.....and another nephew who would like to try to fly some rockets!

Dr.Zooch said:

Never feel bad militarizing anything in the Zooch line. It's cool. Besides, you bought it- it's yours. Paint it in any colors but Al-Qaeda as far as I'm concerned.

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Hmmmm... my kids have a couple of these laying around.


i just got inspired to make it fly...

sorry for the bump.....but I am closed to wrapping up another Zooch gumball lofting vehicle (GbLv) for my nephew Alex. I hope to fly her this weekend if the weather holds for us.

For this one I kinda went with a Gemini Titan II / Thor Agena (kinda...) paint scheme....nothing wrong with a little artistic license!! This is a fun little kit...she is a quick build and flies great! I still have to hang the chute and streamer.

hope you guys like her!

NJRick said:

sorry for the bump.....but I am closed to wrapping up another Zooch gumball lofting vehicle (GbLv) for my nephew Alex. I hope to fly her this weekend if the weather holds for us.

For this one I kinda went with a Gemini Titan II / Thor Agena (kinda...) paint scheme....nothing wrong with a little artistic license!! This is a fun little kit...she is a quick build and flies great! I still have to hang the chute and streamer.

hope you guys like her!

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EXTREMELY cool Rick!!! Looks AMAZING!

I'd say it's very Titan I-like... The Titan I had an 8 foot diameter upper stage and the regular Titan II-like 10 foot diameter first stage... The Titan II used 10 foot diameter stages for both...

REALLY looks sharp!

Later! OL JR

Thanks Luke, I like the way this turned out and you are right!! I forgot about the Titan 1. I was looking at the Thor for those distinct roll bands that curve around the rocket body. Another neat scheme for this one would be a laser guided bomb....kinda has that look to it as well. Just a cool little kit!!

NJRick said:

Thanks Luke, I like the way this turned out and you are right!! I forgot about the Titan 1. I was looking at the Thor for those distinct roll bands that curve around the rocket body. Another neat scheme for this one would be a laser guided bomb....kinda has that look to it as well. Just a cool little kit!!

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That's true... a laser guided bomb would be pretty easy to do with this one...

Later! OL JR

here are two shots of my latest Zooch GbLv.....fun day had by all! Thanks to my daughter who came along for the pics...we caught her lifting off and the second shot is the streamer recovery...very minimal damage to a fin, nothing that a shot of glue didn't fix immediately...didn't break a fin but loosened it ever so much. She was fixed as good as new in 2 minutes when we got home. I have to confess, yesterday I totally lost the gumball coming down by its own chute...but thanks to my son and and my nephew Alex's great vision, it was recovered with no sweat. We tried launching off some M&M 's in there and the consensus was they tasted better after the flight!!

just a neat little kit that is fun to fly and very stable!