Nytrunner
Pop lugs, not drugs
Ach, I was mistaken. The 2nd flight was the one that boomed the ground station.
(I know they were all bad, but that one was particularly bad
(I know they were all bad, but that one was particularly bad
N-1 builder kit from new manufacturer
- Thread starter Nytrunner
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In case anyone has not seen the other posts where I have mentioned this free eBook:
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol4_detail.html
Definitely worth a read. Written by the senior control systems engineer for the project (and the Semyorka/Soyuz!), Boris Chertok.
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol4_detail.html
Definitely worth a read. Written by the senior control systems engineer for the project (and the Semyorka/Soyuz!), Boris Chertok.
All 4 volumes of "Rockets and People" are available in PDF format . . . FREE !
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol1_detail.html
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol2_detail.html
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol3_detail.html
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol4_detail.html
Dave F.
dpower
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I've made it through Vol. 1, got stuck part-way through Vol 2. These are beefy books!
As I have commented elsewhere, I found volume 3 is a bit more of a difficult read to the rest. It is bigger, but it also jumps around a bit, since there is so much material to cover. Don't let volume 3 put you off reading volume 4
.It is nice to read the Russian perspective on the whole space-race thing. A lot of available documentation seems to be USA-centric, for obvious reasons.
I repainted the N-1 and the masking worked good. I had forgotten about fixing the N-1 capsule and escape tower. So, that is another item on the to-do list. I don't know if everything is going to be ready for flying at the club launch this month. I should have everything done for a nice static display. I painted the Saturn V roll pattern using masking tape, but I have some flaws. Hopefully, touching up with white paint will solve those problems. I still need to paint the silver trim on the aft-end of the Saturn V. I already have decals from Sticker Shock. The Saturn V stands taller than the N-1 because of its clear plastic fins. All of these are scale 1/125. (Technically, the N-1 is slightly different. As I recall it is 1/122.) Photos are shown below.
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I was able to buy spare/replacement parts for the Estes 1/100 scale Saturn V and modify them for my 1/125 scale. The nozzles from Estes especially came in handy. I just cut a little bit off the exit cone. For all practical purposes they look fine and I have made them removable for flight. The weight of the two moon rockets are comparable. The N-1 rocket without motors weights about 24 oz. and the weight for the Saturn V is about 19 oz.
ebruce1361
The man with the plan. And some duct tape.
I stumbled upon this thread and have spent the last hour and a half reading through from the beginning. Ho-lee crap! The suspense of this thread is better than most of the movies I've watched in a long time! I would love to get one of these and spend a year building it, but your parachute troubles make me nervous. Not to mention, I'm a bit burned out from building after doing our Estes 1/100 Saturn V. I bought it back in April and was trying to have it ready for the 50th anniversary, but club event cancellations and life in general have continued to delay the maiden flight. Hopefully I can get it in the air next weekend. Since then, I've been focusing more on electronics projects, and I have plenty of rockets waiting in my build pile. Still, the challenge of that N-1 is SOOO tempting. Maybe I'll try to scratch build it in upscale so it matches the 1/100 Saturn. That way, I've got more room for parachutes, and can possibly design a system like the Estes Saturn where the separation is somewhere in the middle so each parachute brings only half the rocket down. I figure there is plenty of space inside those shrouds to house better parachutes, but they are closed off on both ends. If it were to separate through the second stage shroud though, one chute could bring down the lower booster which would be the lighter half (and if the parachute failed, there's less mass to hit the ground as hard), and the other could have a bridle going up to the capsule like the Estes Saturn and bring it down rear-end first so the escape tower doesn't land hard.
This is probably a crazy idea.
But then again, isn't most of model rocketry?
This is probably a crazy idea.
But then again, isn't most of model rocketry?
Thanks, ebruce. I was going to launch the N-1 this weekend, but the club launch has been cancelled due to the state fire restrictions still being in place. I have replaced the mylar chute with the 2 yellow plastic chutes that come with the kit. The yellow chutes do fit. I think that I will pack the chutes more like an HPR rather than a LPR model rocket with the shroud lines laid down within the packed chute rather than wrapped around and around. This will allow the chutes to open quicker. Also, I am in the process of putting plastic ties around the BP motors and retainer clips. This will keep the motors in place and provide some weight to open the chutes.
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ebruce1361
The man with the plan. And some duct tape.
I hadn't noticed how thin the metal was for those motor hooks! I would say those zip-ties should help, but I wonder if you could get away with simply wrapping a layer or two of masking tape around the motors and mounts. It wouldn't save very much on weight, but it would certainly cut down on the bulkiness of six of those ties. On top of that, the tape might hold up better as the motor burns since the heat might weaken that little catch enough to loosen the zip tie, if not melt it off altogether. I suppose it would depend on the quality of the zip-tie, but I'd test one on another rocket just to see how it held up before committing to that method.
I had good launches with the scale manned lunar rockets, the U.S. Saturn V and the Soviet N-1, this past Saturday (Nov. 2). Actually, the 50th anniversary for Apollo12 is this month. I did not feel comfortable with doing a drag race, although, I might consider that for next time. I used a single-use AT 29 mm F50-6 for the Saturn V. The take-off was very fast, straight up, and all I captured on film was the smoke trail. I only used a tape friction-fit to hold the Boyce upper stages in place and this came off, when the chute was ejected. Knowing that the flight was straight, I may just glue this part in. Two clear plastic fins and the escape tower were broke on the Saturn-V. (The Saturn V bell nozzles were removed before flight.)
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Someone told me that poster adhesive putty can be used to hold e-matches in place. I have a lot of this stuff left over from children's Sunday school classes. I used it to hold the Blackjack e-matches in place. It worked like a charm and really cuts down on the prep-time. The N-1 flight was excellent and I only broke the escape tower. Even the grid fins were intact. The stock yellow chutes that come with the kit worked fine. One chute opened right away and the other opened on the way down. It almost looked like dual deploy. The zip-ties worked fine and no motors were ejected.
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John Taylor
Well-Known Member
I use the cable/zip ties all the time, never had one fail or melt.
Are you building this model?
Everything is now all put together, so I can't measure the tubes. The short shroud just below the Soyuz capsule is about 0.91" diameter just below the capsule. The diameter at the bottom of the shroud is about 1.11" diameter, if this is what you mean. I can only guess at the diameter of the transfer tube, but it is on the order of about 24 mm.
Everything is now all put together, so I can't measure the tubes. The short shroud just below the Soyuz capsule is about 0.91" diameter just below the capsule. The diameter at the bottom of the shroud is about 1.11" diameter, if this is what you mean. I can only guess at the diameter of the transfer tube, but it is on the order of about 24 mm.
