Dr. Zooch Shuttle Build

...and finally, a frontal overview. I plan on painting the ET per Dr. Zooch's recommendation so that it looks scale.

Nice orbiter eugene
Cheers
Fred

Just flew the shuttle with a boost-vision TV cam aboard the ET and got some FANTASTIC video. I'll share it as soon as I'm able, but putting it onto my TV at home and then doing frame-by-frame is a knock out. You see the orbiter in focus and it sits rock solid on the ET through the flight until ejection, then the dog barf comes out as the orbiter's nose lifts and it shows it's bottom just like the real thing as it pulls away and then flies past about 3 times. I have to get it into a format that can be posted on the internet, and then will share it here.

Thanks for the compliments Fred!

Wes, that is absolutely AWESOME! I am anxious to see the footage. Cameras on top of rockets are absolutely cool but a cam on top of a shuttle....wow! AVI, MPG, or MOV works for me.

I have the shuttle video converted to a Windows Media format and have it in bith low rez and high rez- can anyone on this forum tell me if there is any way to post it here so everyone can view it? If so e-mail me by either PM'n me here or at [email protected].

Originally posted by Dr.Zooch
I have the shuttle video converted to a Windows Media format and have it in bith low rez and high rez- can anyone on this forum tell me if there is any way to post it here so everyone can view it? If so e-mail me by either PM'n me here or at [email protected].

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Let me say that I was at the MDRA launch yesterday where this occurred and had a chance to both watch the launch and watch the video.

Both were way cool.

Unfortunately, later on Dr. Zooch launched the cam on another rocket and the ejection/recovery failed (I saw a puff that indicated the ejection charge went off but the nose section didn't separate and it came in ballistic).

Zooch, did anything survive the lawn dart or is the whole camera toast?

The cam came out without a scratch- but was DOA due to internal injury.

Woohoo! It looks like it's "Duke's of Hazzard" orange. There's even a hint of texture on the paint to give it a "scale-like" appearance. For colors I used a brownish-red Tamiya paint basecoat and a Krylon orange dusted over the brownish-red.

Attached is a solo pic of the ET.

Here's an "in flight" pose with the orbiter attached.

And an underside view.

Tonight I'll attached the SRB's and install the recovery system. Tomorrow's flight is an "all systems go!" I can't wait!

great looking rocket! nice work eugenefl

If it looks right to you- that's the key. Since the real ET foam coating changes colors from yellow orange to brown orange over time, and since the lightweight tanks change differently from their predecessors, almost any shades between the oranges will have matched some tank at some point, so you can't miss. I used a bit more brown dusting on mine, and the arm-length spray method does give that rough ET foam texture. I also taped over the tank leaving the intertank exposed and did another brown misting. On my next ET I'll likely go the other way around so the intertank looks more orange.

Way to Eugene
Cheers
fred

Thanks again for all of the compliments. I really enjoy sharing my build pics! T-minus about 10 hours until flight time!

Here is the completed shuttle stack. This is a side view. (Actually, I haven't added the non-scale struts in these next series of pictures.)

Here's a top view.

And finally, a bottom view.

More pics to come. Hopefully we'll have good flying weather!

Oooooh, that is PRETTY!

Beautiful! Great job! Best wishes for good weather and great flights today...

Success! Mission complete!

Today the Zooch Shuttle flew on a Quest C6-5. The boost was straight and true! Admittedly, the 5 second delay was a tad long but plenty safe. I think the weight of the kit and high drag design didn't allow it to coast all that much. But like I said before, the boost was pretty quick to about 500-600ft or so. (Non-scientific guess there. It just looked A LOT HIGHER than Estes shuttles.) The kit arced over and headed downward and was fully nose down when it deployed the chute. The orbiter separated cleanly and did a mild wobble before settling into a glide. It looked like a foal trying to walk for the first time. It was funny because everyone was doing the "Oh...oh...uh oh...." followed with "Ahh..." and laughing/clapping. Once it got a little nose down attitude and picked up speed it glided wonderfully.

The stack returned under an 18" Top Flight nylon chute. It landed gently - almost as if someone placed it down on the grass. The chute is a tad big for this rocket but I like it for safe returns. I might seek out a 14"-16" nylon chute for smaller fields. (I think the supplied plastic chute is 16".) For no wind days like today I'll continue to use the 18".

Attached is a pad shot. EDIT: There is a bit of tape wrapped around the Quest motor. Their 18mm is more like 17mm. From this looks if the picture it appears there is extra tubing.

Here's the lift-off shot on a Quest C6-5.

The joy of flying this kit was that we were on the east coast of central Florida, home of the gateway to space. In a way, I felt like a small part of all that.

Here is a shot of the orbiter's safe landing.

And finally, here's the touchdown shot of the stack. There's nothing better than a nice piece of earth to land a rocket on safely.

I'm hoping to fly this kit again sometime next week on either a C5-3 or C6-3. I'd like to compare the weight of an Estes Eggspress vs. this kit.

I only had time for one flight today as a I got about 5 other flights with mid and hpr birds in. It was nice to switch over to something small like this. I got a lot of positive remarks and puzzled looks when they realized it wasn't an Estes kit. A few people asked where they could get there own which is always cool.

Thanks for putting this in kit form for us Wes. Hopefully more will be ordered, built, flown, and enjoyed. I'm looking forward to my next Zooch kit build.

Thanks to everyone that offered their kudos. I definitely enjoyed sharing pics and build tips.

I definately want one of these. This is one kit that is high on my "kits to build" list.

Since my birthday is next month, I'll probably take some birthday money and buy this kit.

BTW, great job on that Eugene.

From the onboard video to this thread of the build, this kit has been a real fun one to create. Of course it is expert modelers and builders like this who make me look good. I sweated out the original design and test flight and when all went well I called my wife from the field and said "It flies! Like an arrow, it really flies!" and she said "Good... maybe now you'll get some sleep for the first time in two months." Everyone can get a kit at drzooch.com and other retailers. In fact even retailers can get kits from me and then sell them to you- I don't care- as long as we have fun. Model rocketry should be fun.

Now I have to go back to work on the TITAN IIIC, SLV5... for next year.

Thanks for this thread!

Excellent thread Eugene,love the build pics

You did a great job,very nice

nice job on a tricky build !! looks good!

Originally posted by Rockhiittman
Excellent thread Eugene,love the build pics

You did a great job,very nice

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I totally Agree! Great thread. Love the Lift Off Pic. Excelent build Great Job!

Originally posted by eugenefl
The orbiter separated cleanly and did a mild wobble before settling into a glide.

Click to expand...

++Scale Mission points for simulating the S-turns!

This was a great flight!

The shuttle kit just got a mediocre review on rocketreviews.com. Sort of like handing in a 6 month project that you know is worth an "A" and having some slob give you a C-. Sigh Oh well- I'know the truth anyhow. My wife says I'm too sensitive and get too much good talk anyways. Perhaps the ol' head needed deflation.

The review was a bit short on the details for such a rating. Based on the photos maybe the workmanship was a bit shoddy anyway. . .
Maybe adding a thrust ring to support the motor clip would be a help though . . .

Mark