BAR jack of all trades
Shoulda said new baby CALF running around... not new baby humans... LOLOriginally Posted by NJRick
(Just in case someone got the wrong idea...)
Yes, we're thrilled with the strange liquid that fell from the sky in measurable quantities day before yesterday... very helpful!
Did you hear the one about the West Texas rancher who took his 9 year old son to Seattle-- so he could see what a rainstorm looks like...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Won't be milked... that's too much like work... LOLLuke... should I tell him, or do you wanna tell him?
That "new baby"... it only says "Moooooo" and will grow up toe either be milked or eaten. I believe Luke's talkin' about a calf.
All my cattle end up going well with french fries or baked potatoes...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
SO, back to work...
The next thing up is the capsule adapter... it's a slightly tapered (5 inches IRL) section that connects the top of the Atlas booster's conical upper LOX tank end to the Mercury capsule above it. It's made in the kit out of a short piece of BT-50 body tube, with some additions. From the wrap sheet, you'll find a long thin reddish stripe between the capsule wraps and the rest of the stuff on the sheet... using a straightedge and sharp hobby knife, cut this strip out. Apply a thin layer of white glue to the back of it, and wind it around the end of the tube, flush with the end, overlapping itself about three times or so... this will build up the "mating clamp ring" that connects the capsule to the adapter section. Next, using some of the leftover corrugated mylar used to make the corrugated booster section on the bottom of the rocket, cut a strip to size and test fit it on the adapter section. When you have a good fit, apply a decent layer of white glue to the outside of the adapter section and then carefully apply the corrugated mylar wrap. This re-creates the ribbed appearance of the actual adapter section... (historical note-- on one of the early unmanned Mercury-Atlas test flights, the rocket mysteriously blew up at max-Q... after a review it was discovered that this adapter section was not strong enough, and it collapsed in flight, allowing the capsule to impact the top of the LOX tank hard enough to rupture the "steel balloon" construction of the Atlas. The adapter section was strengthened and the problem was solved.)
Here's the conical upper LOX tank of the Atlas (balsa transition), the adapter section we just built, the Mercury capsule, and the still rather bare tower, test fitted together... starting to look like a Mercury Atlas!
Next, we cut a strip of balsa off the side of the balsa stock from the kit... it's basically a 3/32 inch wide strip (same as the thickness of the sheet) several inches long. (Thankfully I have a handy-dandy little "balsa stripper" tool that I picked up at the hobby shop-- it has and adjustable X-acto blade on the end of an adjustment arm controlled by a screw, and a fence that you simply slide along the edge of the balsa sheet, cutting a perfect strip- If you don't have this handy toy, you'll have to do it manually with a straightedge and carefully using your hobby knife). You have to CAREFULLY round this balsa strip into a "U" shape (rounded on top) to simulate the line fairing extending from the booster fairing to the adapter section below the capsule. This is fairly difficult to do, because of the softness and brittleness of the balsa and it being such a thin, slender piece. I found I couldn't reliably simply round the thing over on one side, since it tended to get uneven on me... so I simply "roll-sanded" it until it was basically ROUND... not exactly what you want, but you can always drag it across the balsa a time or two to flatten the bottom out enough to glue it to the Atlas... I'm sure some of yall can do this better than I can! Once you have your line fairing, take the Atlas, and carefully cut the point off the tip of the LONG (right hand) fairing... then using white glue, glue the strip vertically up the side of the rocket. Cut it off flush with the end of the tube.
Once it's dry and no danger of gluing the transition to the main body tube, install the balsa transition onto the top of the Atlas. Glue the next strip of line fairing up the side of the transition, keeping it perfectly vertical and inline with the fairing on the body tube. There's also a cable cover that's glued from the vernier fairing centered between the booster engine fairings, on the "front" side of the Atlas, that runs to the forward end of the tube. Go ahead and glue the remainder of the strip so that it extends up about 3/4 of the length of the transition. Ensure it's straight and in line with the rest of the fairing, and that the balsa fairing you just glued on it properly 'clocked' with it's other half on the body tube, and then apply a layer of white glue to the back of the paper strip and glue it to the transition.
Now it's time to start the HARD STUFF... LOL
The tower legs should be securely bonded to the antenna can, and the escape rocket motor can above. Grab the red painted hair-thin wires, some nail clippers, and some tweezers or smooth jawed hemostats, and apply a big drop of yellow glue to some paper to dip the end of the wires into. Lay the wire across the tower about 1/3 of the way up, ensure it's the width of the legs, find the spot to snip it off, and then carefully snip a bit of wire off with the nail clippers. Make sure it can drop down onto the work surface and not get lost... grab it with tweezers or hemostat and dip the ends into the drop of glue and swish them around a bit to pick up a drop of glue, then carefully apply it to the tower legs. Ensure that the placement is about 1/3 the way up the tower, and that it's as close to level as you can reasonably get it. Repeat for the other cross-piece, then cut the angled pieces in the same manner and glue them all down. Using a toothpick, apply a tiny bit of wood glue over the ends of each and wet it out onto the tower leg sticks a bit to ensure a good bond. Here's the first side of the tower...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Nar Level 2 6/18/2011
Were those egg cartons included in the kit? You didn't mention them in the inventory, so am assuming you bought them separately? What do you use them for?Here's the inventory of the parts...
Attachment 67358
A BT-60 main Atlas body tube, a T-50 spacecraft adapter tube, a T-20 motor mount tube, a T-5 tube (for the booster engine bells/sockets for the Flamefins), a T-3 tube (for the Flamefins themselves), a balsa weighted conical transition (upper end of the LOX tank of the Atlas), balsa nosecone (core of the Friendship 7 capsule), a baggie with 4 small centering rings (for the Flamefins), three fiberboard 20/60 centering rings (two notched), a sheet of corrugated mylar (for the Atlas booster section corrugations), kitbag with the tower parts, a couple sheets of balsa fin stock, a wood dowel, trash bag chute, kitbag with screw-eye and recovery parts, sticky rings, chute string, bulletproof thread recovery cord, humorous instructions, and a printed cardstock wrap sheet.
More later!
OL JR
Never fly a small rocket on a big motor from the wrong launch pad in high wind.
Patriotism belongs to the men and women who are the conscience of a nation.
Here is the price of freedom: Your Every drop of Courage, Every ounce of Pain, and Every pint of Blood, paid in Advance.
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whoops!....I didn't know it was a baby calf....my first thought was that if you had a new baby you would be one bleary eyed rocket builder!
sorry about that!
Shoulda said new baby CALF running around... not new baby humans... LOL
Yes, we're thrilled with the strange liquid that fell from the sky in measurable quantities day before yesterday... very helpful!
Did you hear the one about the West Texas rancher who took his 9 year old son to Seattle-- so he could see what a rainstorm looks like...
Later! OL JR
BAR jack of all trades
No egg cartons are included in the kit... Dr. Zooch doesn't eat THAT many omelettes, and I doubt he's much of a fan of quiche... LOL
No, I grab those from the kitchen as soon as the wife's emptied them out and tosses them in the trash can... so long as they don't have a broken egg in them and egg goo...
They are EXTREMELY handy little "work racks" to have on the workbench... when inverted, the egg cups make a very handy "body tube holders" that you can set the body tube in the 'valley' between the egg cups to hold it steady in a given position, like when gluing up various details, or launch lugs, to keep them upright. Also great for holding regular rockets while the fins dry... just overhang the fins past the end of the egg carton.
Slit the egg cups right down the middle with a sharp hobby knife, perpendicular to the long axis of the egg carton, about halfway through the depth of the egg cup, and they make VERY handy "clamps" for holding fins while you apply the first layer of glue and let it harden up for double glue joints... the tubes can sit in the valley of the egg carton in most cases, overhanging the end while the glue dries on the tube fin lines for double-glue joints... works like a champ!
The lids, when cut off the egg cup part, makes handy-dandy "parts trays" that can hold small detail parts or bits that tend to roll away or get lost while you're working on them... they also have room for mixing epoxy (when you need it) and/or paint... the uncut egg cups also work well for this, as you can mix most paints (make sure they don't eat foam first!) in the cups and dip your brush right into the egg cup to apply the paint... I even whittled the little foam "riser" sticking up from the inside of the lid into a little cradle to hold the Mercury capsule and tower while I did detail work on it (like cutting, applying, gluing up the hair-thin wires on the tower legs).
Just about the handiest things since sliced bread... Got the idea from a club buddy of mine, Dave Montgomery, who's been a terrific modeler for decades!
Later! OL JR
PS. I also used one of these egg cups cut off a carton for the aft dome on the hydrogen tank of the External Tank on the Dr. Zooch "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle I did a few years ago... The rounded foam egg cup with the flat center makes a PERFECT rounded tank dome... especially when you "harden it up" with a few coats of yellow wood glue brushed on it to seal it off from harsh paint thinners in spray paint and protect it from engine heat... Works like a champ! http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?p=16277
Last edited by luke strawwalker; 12th January 2012 at 07:36 PM.
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
LOL... no prob... my fault for being imprecise in my post...whoops!....I didn't know it was a baby calf..
sorry about that!
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Ant Member
LOL- that's what I figured. I was gonna make a joke about Luke eating his new baby... but I didn't wanna freak anyone out.whoops!....I didn't know it was a baby calf..
sorry about that!
Back on topic- I'm using the mylar corrugation in this kit (just like the Juno II kit) rather than the paper corrugation, because the mylar is placed in areas (such as the capsule adapter) that are not exposed to excess heating at ejection. Such heating (often caused by non-ejected wadding catching fire or simply smoldering) does not burn all the way through the tube, but heats the material enough to radiate through and melt the mylar. Normally, my video research has shown, this type of heating takes place in an area between 2.75 inches above the forward end of the engine and the upper lip of the body tube. Frames of onboard video show large amounts of dense smoke sometimes coming from body tubes for as long as 16 seconds after ejection. When that same tube is diesected, there is clear evidence of an onboard fire. Most rocketeers never see this because the heat source is either consumed or simply goes out long before the rocket lands.
BAR jack of all trades
Sure it's not the "hibachi effect"?? I've seen that happen a time or two... I had a large Christmas wrapping paper tube come down one time and it was smoking the whole way-- heck even after it landed there was STILL dense yellow smoke wafting out of the tube (still air so it was particularly evident-- almost like "the fog" spilling out of the rocket as it was laying on the ground). It was obvious from the smell it was quite sulfurous and probably from smoldering motor delay propellant still burning in the casing and venting into the rocket from the now-open ejection end of the casing...
I've seen it do the same thing with red smoke coming from it... again quite sulfurous fumes...
In relatively small body tube rockets (BT-50 or 60 especially) the effect can really roast the inside of the thing... I chalk it up to irregular burning of the delay grain... perhaps it burns slightly faster on one side or the other-- as soon as the first hint of burn-through hits the "loose" (unpressed) fine-grained BP ejection charge, it's going to ignite it and "BOOM" goes the chute... but the unburned slower-burning part of the delay grain continues burning, now venting the flaming hot gases inside the rocket above the motor mount... and radiant heat and the tight quarters inside a smaller tube means that stuff gets really roasted, or even starts smoldering/burning on its own from the concentrated heat... stuff that doesn't happen as much in a bigger tube rocket (like BT-80) because it's further away from the heat source (inverse square law and radiant heat).
Need some radiant heat in here... it's COLD today! SO much for painting!
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Lifetime Member
yikes...I have 23 flights on your 1b.....after reading this I am envisioning a Vanguard...(or Kaputnik)...
Last edited by NJRick; 13th January 2012 at 01:16 AM.
Lifetime Member
Luke....this kit is turning out awesome....I think the mylar is really going to look great on this kit...I have never worked with that material....does paint have difficulty covering it? great build thread!!! (as usual!)
Ant Member
The Atlas is one of few rockets that can actually, correctly, be painted crome silver, mirror shine. (It really bugs me when people paint the Titan II that way... it was brushed aluminium finish.) Of course the fueled Atlas was flat white in the LOX tank area. So the Atlas kit can go either way.
BAR jack of all trades
I haven't had much trouble with it...
I've painted the capsule adapter with Testor's flat black brushed on with a fine point camelhair paintbrush... so far so good... may have to do a second coat to really ensure complete and even coverage...
More to come... need to update the build...
I was gonna do it earlier and forgot that I was supposed to pick up my first grader at her elementary school today at ten after three, as Betty had an open house at her school and was up there til after 8 tonight... I get a rather forlorn sounding call from Keira at 3:40 wondering where I'm at... OOPS!!! "On my way!" LOL
SO I took her for dinner at the Chinese buffet in Rosenberg to make up for it...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Quite true... I like the mirror finish, but it's a MAJOR PITA to get that...
After the TOTAL pain the "chrome in a can" proved to be last time, this time I think I'm doing the "frosted at liftoff" look... go for more realism... The bottom part below the LOX tank will probably just get Valspar Silver or something like that... I'm NOT messing with the "chrome in a can" crap anymore...
IF one is so inclined to paint the Atlas in the "chrome" version, then to do it justice one either needs Alclad ($$$$) or Testor's Metalizer finishes (that you burnish to a shine after it dries). The other alternative is chrome Monokote, either the iron on stuff or the self-stick Trim Monokote...
FORGET the "chrome in a can" stuff even exists... it's a nightmare looking for a place to happen, and if you don't believe me, ask anybody who's used it...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
SO, FINALLY, back at it again...
First off, we can now test fit the spacecraft adapter to the top of the conical LOX tank transition... Looks cool don't it! We glue the last tiny strip of tiny rounded over "U" shaped balsa cable fairing to the spacecraft adapter in line with the rest of the fairing on the transition... The end should be rounded over a bit.
Next we have the tower lattice pretty well finished on the first two sides... Now for the last side...
Now for the FlameFin tubes... this is "the last remaining tube in the box"-- a T-3 (smaller than the BT-5 "engine spoof tubes" they slide into). We bisect it into two equal halves, glue the centering rings on properly spaced per the instructions, and then using a handy small brass angle, put fin lines down the length of the tube, spaced 90 degrees apart... yes, the FlameFins use THREE fins spaced 90 degrees apart, like a FOUR FINNED rocket would, with one fin missing... I've seen some done with the three fins equally spaced and it looks weird, plus it probably makes the fins less effective by putting them into more 'disturbed air' in the wake of the rocket. I've even seen someone glue FOUR fins on each FlameFin unit and then wonder why the ones under the motor mount burned off... "is that SUPPOSED to happen??"
Next the tower, having gotten all three sides completed, get the tiny inverted "V" struts at the base of the tower legs, extending down to the top of the capsule... Do them one leg at a time and allow them to dry... it's hard enough getting the pair lined up and set... trying to do all the legs at once is asking to knock the previous pair all out of whack while you're working on the next ones...
While the glue is drying on the leg struts, it's back to the FlameFins... Here you can see the fins all lined up in the egg cup "clamps" with the first layer of glue applied to the root edges, drying down, with the FlameFin tubes in the background, held in spring clothespins (another tool that's EXTREMELY handy to have!) with the lines of glue applied to the fin lines, all set up to dry.
More later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Next up, we glue the finished capsule tower fairing ring around the top of the capsule just below the tower struts... be sure you install it NOW, BEFORE you do the LES rocket motor nozzles on the top of the tower, or it'll never fit! Apply a tiny bead of white glue around the top of the capsule with a bamboo skewer and then gently massage the fairing ring in place... make sure it's even with the top of the capsule all the way around, and align the seam in it with the seams of the capsule wrap for a neater build... Once it's dry, you can go over any "bright spots" where the white paper is showing through at the edges with a pencil, which will darken them right up and hide them very effectively...
Once the first layer of glue on the fins' root edges are mostly dry, and on the tubes, grab each fin one by one, put a THIN layer of yellow wood glue on each one over the first layer, spread it evenly, and then carefully align it with the fin line on the tube, (I start at the front, and then pivot the fin down into position on the line, ensuring proper alignment). Hold the fin firmly against the tube for about 15 seconds or so (30 seconds if you used a thicker layer of glue or the first layer of glue was still pretty damp and tacky). Check the alignment as you hold it, to ensure that the fin is straight on the line, and that it's 90 degrees to the tube centerline. Presto, the fins will be locked in place, and you're ready to do the next one... I do opposing pairs, and clamp a scrap piece of balsa to the trailing edges with clothespins to ensure that they stay perfectly straight and aligned to each other while the glue dries for a few minutes. Also, you can go ahead and apply a THIN line of wood glue to the fillet areas and smooth it down with your finger-- this will spread any glue droplets squeezed out from under the fin and make a thin structural fillet at the same time, and fill any voids where the glue might not have completely filled the gap, all at the same time. Basically by the time you get one set of fins done on the second FlameFin unit, you can switch back to the first one and remove the balsa strip and clothespins, and glue the upright fin on in the same manner-- now you can 'eyeball' the vertical alignment with good precision-- hold it 15-30 seconds, and presto it's done... apply the minifillets and smooth them down, and set it aside to dry. Go ahead and finish the second fin unit in an identical manner. I don't bother sanding, filling, or airfoiling FlameFins... the purpose is for them to look a little "textured" with the color applied... since they're not "really" supposed to be there, and I have yet to see fire from the rocket look sanded, filled, or airfoiled... LOL
Next, the launch lug... You won't find any mention of it in the instructions, but you'll need one, because tower-launching an Atlas would be pretty problematical methinks... plus it's just easier to put one on now rather than wait until you've done the complete paint job and have it ready to go, loaded up, walk out to the pad, and start to slide it down the launch rod and go "OH, S#!T!!!"...Don't blame me for this one slipping by the instructions-- I didn't beta-build this one! LOL
Oh well, it'll be our little secret... LOL
Next I worked on rounding the little LES escape rocket nozzles a bit by working them over the end of an ink pen... I decided to stiffen them up a bit by adding some white glue to the interior of them and allowing it to dry... to hold them, I grabbed an egg carton and poked holes in the bottom of the egg cups with a bamboo skewer I use to apply tiny amounts of glue (like on the tower legs) and then inserted the nozzles open end up into the holes, and put a drop of white glue in each one, and worked the glue around to the nozzle walls and the bottom of the nozzle itself with the pointy tip of the bamboo skewer... works like a champ... if there's too much glue in the nozzle, you can always "dipper" it out by wiping off the bamboo skewer tip, and sticking it back in and swishing it around, picking up more glue... do that a few times and you'll have a fairly thin layer in there-- enough to toughen the nozzles up a bit but not so much they end up full of glue... with them pointy-end down, the excess glue will run to the tip, helping strengthen it a bit, since you'll trim it down later and glue it to the escape motor can...
SO, after painting the capsule adapter black with Testor's bottle Flat Black paint, and trimming the aerospike down to a more realistic size and gluing it on with a daub of yellow wood glue, and following that up a bit later with a mini-fillet of yellow wood glue applied by the tip of the bamboo skewer all the way around, letting that dry, then meticulously painting the tower red from top to bottom (meticulous because you have to keep the red paint off the capsule's antenna canister that the tower is glued to, and paint the backsides of the legs, and the tiny inverted "V" struts at the bottom that mate up to the top of the capsule!) ANYWAY, time for test fit... see how the capsule window is aligned with the cable fairing running down the capsule adapter and conical LOX tank transition...
More later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
A little more progress on the Mercury Atlas...
The escape rocket nozzles get painted red on the backside, since it would be VERY hard to paint them once they're glued on the escape motor... The fronts will be painted afterwards...
Once dry, the nozzles are trimmed on their pointy end slightly at an angle to promote a good bond when glued to the escape motor, and then a daub of glue is applied to each and the underside of the motor can, and allowed to dry. Then another daub of glue creates the double glue joint and the nozzles are stuck in place... They lock in place within seconds...
Another shot of the nozzles...
And another shot... coming along pretty well... once the glue dries, they'll get their final brush coat of flat red inside and out...
Meanwhile, despite the cold (well below freezing last night) I managed to shoot the main Atlas booster with primer... it's maybe 60 outside, so I brought it inside to dry... it'll be probably tomorrow before I can sand it though...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Ant Member
Launch lug??? Launch LUG??? Geee... I thought everyone would just build and install the own micro-MarkIV guidance system. What's wrong with you people? Needing a launch lug in the instructions.... sheesh.
BTW- a correction note will be in the kits from now on.
Lifetime Member
Luke...this is turning out fantastic!! The Mercury Atlas was always one of my favorite rockets....just really a neat looking rocket!! great job on the escape tower! I kinda like the white LOX tank paint scheme....throw in some flame fins, the white and silver rocket, the Mercury capsule and the red tower....(maybe a launch lug or two....
I thought I read somewhere with the Doctor's Atlas Agena, one of the build threads.... that his Atlas is a high flying kit....I am guessing this will be in the same ball park?
BAR jack of all trades
Well, after scouring my parts box(es) and the local junkyard, my options were down to taking a road trip out to Davis-Monthan AFB to try and find a Mark-IV guidance system in a junk pile somewhere, or use the launch lug... since funds are a little tight after the Indiana trip, I elected to just use the launch lug...
Then there's that whole miniaturization thing... Better get the ants on that one right away, Doc... Heck I'd buy one to retrofit into other kits... LOL
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Thanks... it's coming along pretty well I think...Luke...this is turning out fantastic!! The Mercury Atlas was always one of my favorite rockets....just really a neat looking rocket!! great job on the escape tower! I kinda like the white LOX tank paint scheme....throw in some flame fins, the white and silver rocket, the Mercury capsule and the red tower....(maybe a launch lug or two....
I thought I read somewhere with the Doctor's Atlas Agena, one of the build threads.... that his Atlas is a high flying kit....I am guessing this will be in the same ball park?
I did a build thread on the Atlas-Agena... it does fly pretty high. It's not an altitude contest rocket, but it flies pretty high for its size!
IMHO I think the Mercury-Atlas should outdo it... it should come out lighter in weight due to no "Agena" upper stage. Drag is probably a wash, maybe a bit higher on the Mercury Atlas, due to the tower and LES rocket nozzles and capsule shape versus the smooth cone of the Agena... They should probably be very close in performance, but I think the Mercury Atlas will edge out the Atlas-Agena...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Things are going slowly... the cold weather really put a crimp in my primer drydown... I can still smell it quite easily... Maybe late tomorrow I can sand it... we'll see...
I did get the tower finished... painted the nozzles inside and out...
Got the shock cord made and ready to glue in...
Guess I'll work on the world-famous Dr. Zooch trash-bag parachute...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Lifetime Member
Luke....quick question....just how fast do these rockets (LPR) actually go? I guess that there will be variations due to the design, drag..etc...but in a ball park....do you know?
Thanks... it's coming along pretty well I think...
I did a build thread on the Atlas-Agena... it does fly pretty high. It's not an altitude contest rocket, but it flies pretty high for its size!
IMHO I think the Mercury-Atlas should outdo it... it should come out lighter in weight due to no "Agena" upper stage. Drag is probably a wash, maybe a bit higher on the Mercury Atlas, due to the tower and LES rocket nozzles and capsule shape versus the smooth cone of the Agena... They should probably be very close in performance, but I think the Mercury Atlas will edge out the Atlas-Agena...
Later! OL JR
Lifetime Member
that capsule and tower look fantastic!!
QUOTE=luke strawwalker;283914]Things are going slowly... the cold weather really put a crimp in my primer drydown... I can still smell it quite easily... Maybe late tomorrow I can sand it... we'll see...
I did get the tower finished... painted the nozzles inside and out...
Got the shock cord made and ready to glue in...
Guess I'll work on the world-famous Dr. Zooch trash-bag parachute...
Later! OL JR
Cardstocker
I see you are from shiner, maybe this summer i can visit you and have a launch day, i would like to have a launch with someone elseDid you hear the one about the West Texas rancher who took his 9 year old son to Seattle-- so he could see what a rainstorm looks like...
Later! OL JR
and of course drink some shiner bock
Very good building thread, i will follow it
BAR jack of all trades
Oh, just off the top of my head... Of course it depends on the motor... burn duration and average thrust pretty much determine the "top speed", but just as a ballpark figure, they probably hit between 150-200 mph or so... Probably best to ask Dr. Zooch, since he designs all his rockets using Rocksim and simulates them extensively, along with an in-depth flight test program, before releasing the kit... (along with a beta-build or two to dig out any 'issues'). But I'd say it's pretty typical model rocket speeds...
Drag and weight oppose the thrust and burn duration... remember that air drag SQUARES as velocity DOUBLES, so of course on a 'draggy' rocket (with towers, protruding details and fairings, complicated nose cone shapes, etc.) this works to rapidly limit top speed versus a more streamlined, lower drag design...
I've got a couple Dr. Zooch kits in Rocksim (IIRC) and can check on that, but I'd say between 150-200 mph is pretty close to the mark-- maybe up to 250 mph...
Later! OL JR
PS. Thanks for the compliment on the tower... did you see the "Freedom 7 Mercury Redstone" build thread?? Same tower/capsule is used for that one...
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Yeah that could be cool... course I live at Needville, about 100 miles west. I run the family cattle ranches here and at Shiner...I see you are from shiner, maybe this summer i can visit you and have a launch day, i would like to have a launch with someone else
and of course drink some shiner bock
Very good building thread, i will follow it
The "Old Rocketeers #724" NAR section rocket club flies off the farm here at Needville (87 acres, mostly treeless) on a monthly schedule (except with the extreme drought and severe fire danger, wildfires nearby, and burn bans kept the club from launching since about last March!
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
Lifetime Member
Luke..I will go and search for your Redstone build thread...I have your Atlas Agena, Titan MOL, Saturn 5 and I think I have your Shuttle thread? (I got the Doctor's Shuttle in the mail this week!!!!) all of your builds are great Luke....very thorough and just vey well done...really helpful to a newbie like me!
150-200 mph is pretty darn fast for a cardboard tube and balsa fins!
Oh, just off the top of my head... Of course it depends on the motor... burn duration and average thrust pretty much determine the "top speed", but just as a ballpark figure, they probably hit between 150-200 mph or so... Probably best to ask Dr. Zooch, since he designs all his rockets using Rocksim and simulates them extensively, along with an in-depth flight test program, before releasing the kit... (along with a beta-build or two to dig out any 'issues'). But I'd say it's pretty typical model rocket speeds...
Drag and weight oppose the thrust and burn duration... remember that air drag SQUARES as velocity DOUBLES, so of course on a 'draggy' rocket (with towers, protruding details and fairings, complicated nose cone shapes, etc.) this works to rapidly limit top speed versus a more streamlined, lower drag design...
I've got a couple Dr. Zooch kits in Rocksim (IIRC) and can check on that, but I'd say between 150-200 mph is pretty close to the mark-- maybe up to 250 mph...
Later! OL JR
PS. Thanks for the compliment on the tower... did you see the "Freedom 7 Mercury Redstone" build thread?? Same tower/capsule is used for that one...
BAR jack of all trades
Thanks... I've got quite a few build threads around here and in the archives... SLS, EFT-1, Vanguard Eagle, Titan III MOL, Return to Flight Space Shuttle, Lifting Body Shuttle, Keira's Gumball Lofting Vehicle, Atlas Agena, Mark II, Freedom 7 Merc Redstone... and not JUST Dr. Zooch either... I've been working on a TLP Maverick missile, scratchbuilt Saturn V/I-F, SS-17 and Minuteman III missiles, 1/100 scale Ares I, and my thread on the kitbash I did of an Estes Canadian Arrow into a "Kriegsmarine U-boat launched V-2 missile"...
Those speeds are pretty typical of model rockets, though...
Later! OL JR
PS. Hope to get back to work on the Atlas soon... went to the nephew's birthday party at the pizza-n-games place today with Keira, and then changed the oil just before hard dark... have to see if the primer's dry enough to sand...
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
BAR jack of all trades
Well, after waiting a day or so for the primer to harden, it was finally hard enough to sand... filled the tube spirals and grain on the balsa fairings, and did a bit of touch-up with some Bondo spot putty and sanded that down... ready for another light coat of primer, just to cover the spots where the primer was sanded through, and the sanded spot putty...
Painted the upper LOX tank conical section (balsa transition) with a couple coats of flat white... ready to glue the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule on top...
While the second coat of primer dries on the rocket, I couldn't help but test fit the finished Atlas tank section and Freedom 7 on top of the Atlas body...
Picked up some Valspar "Metallic" Silver today at Lowe's for the lower sections and fairings of the Atlas... the rest of the rocket (LOX tank sections) will be flat white... not messing with the "chrome in a can" mess again...
Later! OL JR
The X-87B Cruise Basselope- THE ultimate weapon in the arsenal of homeland defense and only $52 million per round!
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