Newbie - help with Estes Designer’s Special kit?

[TeeGeeThree]

Newbie here. My daughter and I built a super simple rocket last year from a kit and had fun. But it was almost too simple - just snap the pieces together and fly.

So we got a Designer’s Special kit, which has only general rocketry instructions. I could probably figure it out, slowly. But I want to keep it fun for my daughter. So I’m wondering if someone could point me towards a video or set of instructions that could walk me through building a rocket from the parts in that kit. Ie, ‘use this rocket mount’ and ‘this fin tracing’ with ‘this length tube.’ Etc. Something to guide us through building our first rocket from this specific kit.

I understand I could probably find a slightly simpler kit, somewhere between the one we got last time and this, but we’ve got this here and opened it up and we’d like to get building.

Thanks ahead of time for your help!

 

[spaceship<=>operator]

Apogee Components has a bunch of free plans and lots of information suitable for beginning builders. Use a design and simulation program (Rocksim, OpenRocket) to visualize and design from plans or a pile of parts.

 

[mh9162013]

I have the Designer's Special, and it should have all the parts needed to make several Estes kits (or make a very close clone). These include:

- Bull Pup 12D
- Goblin
- Citation Patrtiot
- Big Bertha
- Baby Bertha
- Mini Fat Boy
- Wizard
- Yankee
- Viking
- Star Trooper
- Swift
- Mosquito
- Der Red Max
- Alpha (nose cone will be slightly different, but pretty close)
- Hi Flier
- I'm sure there are a few others that I haven't mentioned; this isn't an exhaustive list.

Of course, you'll be missing the decals and some of the components might need to be modified slightly, such as cardboard centering rings. You may also need to go online to download and print out fin templates.

 

[T-Rex]

The whole premise of the Designers Special is you get to design and build the rocket.

May I suggest that you set this aside for a short while and purchase a couple of simple kits that require actual assembly. After doing that, you would have the experience and knowledge to make better use of the Designers Special creating your own rockets.

You can be thinking of designs you might want to build in the future while you enjoy building and flying the kit rockets. If you download a copy of Open Rocket, you can work up different designs and see if they will actually fly.

 

[rharshberger]

The whole premise of the Designers Special is you get to design and build the rocket.

May I suggest that you set this aside for a short while and purchase a couple of simple kits that require actual assembly. After doing that, you would have the experience and knowledge to make better use of the Designers Special creating your own rockets.

You can be thinking of designs you might want to build in the future while you enjoy building and flying the kit rockets. If you download a copy of Open Rocket, you can work up different designs and see if they will actually fly.

+1, kits also have skill levels, start at 0 or 1 and work your way up from there, don't go straight to skill level 5 or whatever the highest skill level is the skill progression is designed to teach construction and technique, as well as more advanced materials (and more adhesives, paints etc).

 

[ljwilley]

It's not a kit, it's a whole bunch of parts that you can make whatever you want with. Just make sure it's built well and is stable before you fly it. (do a swing test)

 

[neil_w]

I echo those who suggest building kits first.

 

[TeeGeeThree]

This was sold as a level 1 skill level, so I figured it was a logical step after we did the 0 skill of the first kit. Just need some minimal instruction to get me going here. I’ll check out apogee and see if any of those other Estes kit instructions allow me to figure this out. Thanks.

 

[TeeGeeThree]

Ok, looking at some of the models below, I think I'll be able to follow the instructions for a couple of those and work it out. It's a little tricky to correlate what parts are in the kits listed vs what I have, but I've gotten as far as being able to figure out the tube sizes, so I'm cautiously optimistic...

I have the Designer's Special, and it should have all the parts needed to make several Estes kits (or make a very close clone). These include:

- Bull Pup 12D
- Goblin
- Citation Patrtiot
- Big Bertha
- Baby Bertha
- Mini Fat Boy
- Wizard
- Yankee
- Viking
- Star Trooper
- Swift
- Mosquito
- Der Red Max
- Alpha (nose cone will be slightly different, but pretty close)
- Hi Flier
- I'm sure there are a few others that I haven't mentioned; this isn't an exhaustive list.

Of course, you'll be missing the decals and some of the components might need to be modified slightly, such as cardboard centering rings. You may also need to go online to download and print out fin templates.

 

[smstachwick]

I will second (third, fourth?) the recommendations to go for a kit.

However, if you really have your heart set on building something out of that Designer’s Special, here’s what you need to figure out:

1. Motor retention. Most kits have a smaller motor mount tube inside the main body tube that hold the motor in place. A metal hook holds the motor in place during flight while being easy to gently bend out of the way for installation and removal. A thrust ring sits inside the motor mount tube and transfers the motor’s thrust to the rocket, instead of catapulting itself through the forward end of the body tube. Centering rings hold the motor mount tube in place inside the body tube. The Estes Baby Bertha instructions show a typical motor mount. (link)
2. Stability. This is trickier. First you’ll need to decide on shape, size, and number of fins that you want, using your own creativity and artistic flair. Simulation programs like OpenRocket exist that allow you to calculate the estimated Center of Pressure for your design, using either custom parts that you define in the program, or commercially available part from a preset library. Once you have your CP, mark it on your completed rocket. You can determine your Center of Gravity (CG) by loading the rocket up for flight and finding the balance point. For safe flight, you want it ahead of the CP by at least the diameter of the body tube. We call this 1-caliber stability, and you’ll see your stability margin displayed in calibers in OpenRocket. You can also do the calculations yourself using the Barrowman Method. The equations have a lot of steps but the steps themselves are very simple. Just be mindful of your groupings and order of operations. Should your stability margin not be great enough, you can add clay weights in the nose to achieve 1 caliber. Be mindful that different motors will have different weights: the greater aft-mounted weight of a C motor may make your rocket unstable even if a 1/2A motor is fine.
3. Initial guidance. For a rocket the size of a typical beginners’ kit, a 1/8 inch launch lug is sufficient. Larger, heavier ones benefit from a 3/16 inch lug.
4. Recovery. Most small sport models can use streamers for least drift distance and better chances of full deployment.
5. Motor selection. Generally you want to start with the lowest-impulse motor you think will produce a safe flight, and it’s better to err on the short side with the ejection delay. Most rockets built by beginners should start on fractional A, A, or B power, depending on size and weight.

 

[Scott_650]

Newbie here. My daughter and I built a super simple rocket last year from a kit and had fun. But it was almost too simple - just snap the pieces together and fly.

So we got a Designer’s Special kit, which has only general rocketry instructions. I could probably figure it out, slowly. But I want to keep it fun for my daughter. So I’m wondering if someone could point me towards a video or set of instructions that could walk me through building a rocket from the parts in that kit. Ie, ‘use this rocket mount’ and ‘this fin tracing’ with ‘this length tube.’ Etc. Something to guide us through building our first rocket from this specific kit.

I understand I could probably find a slightly simpler kit, somewhere between the one we got last time and this, but we’ve got this here and opened it up and we’d like to get building.

Thanks ahead of time for your help!

If buying and building an additional kit doesn’t appeal there’s an option that might work - Mike Westerfield’s book Make: Rockets: Down-to-Earth Rocket Science. The book takes you from simple drinking straw powered “air rockets” through building a basic model rocket up to building more complex designs premised on using the Estes’s Designer Special set bits and pieces. It’s a solid book, very straightforward explanations of how building techniques and methods, aimed at explaining how rockets work.

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Rockets...lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

 

[TeeGeeThree]

I think I'm working up a hacky quick way to do this. I downloaded Rocksim. I found a Citation Patriot file for it. I'm now cross referencing the parts it mentions with the parts in the kit -- so basically building the Citation Patriot kit from what I have here. And then I'll use the instructions for that CP to help me put it all together.

Yes, it would be easier to just buy a kit. But I've got all these rocket parts sitting here. Seems like more fun to try it this way...

But I'll also check out that book, thank you.

 

[TeeGeeThree]

Just downloaded the book on kindle. It's great, exactly what I needed, gives explicit instructions for building rockets from the designer's kit. Thanks!!!

 

[Scott_650]

Just downloaded the book on kindle. It's great, exactly what I needed, gives explicit instructions for building rockets from the designer's kit. Thanks!!!

Glad you like it - have fun and don’t be hesitant to post pictures as you build

 

[the random rocketer]

Hit JimZ's site for instruction sheets for old Estes kits. Also check the customer service page on Estes web site for instruction sheets

 

[techrat]

The Designer's Kit is meant for those that wish to "scratch build" from an existing supply of parts. It's not that tough, since it's mostly BT-55 tubes, nose cones, and some balsa. Make an 18mm motor mount, mount that in a BT-55 tube, add a nose cone, make 3 or 4 fins from a cardboard template, glue them on, then add a shock cord between the body tube and the nose cone. That, a motor and a chute and you're ready to fly (sorta')...

But yes, build a few kits first to get the hang of it.

 

[Hobie1dog]

to the forum

 

[cwbullet]

Welcome - The real test is to build a rocket with as many parts as possible.

 

[smstachwick]

OP appears to have dipped out three months ago.

 

[tg08]

May I suggest that you set this aside for a short while and purchase a couple of simple kits that require actual assembly. After doing that, you would have the experience and knowledge to make better use of the Designers Special creating your own rockets.

I agree, after learning how to assemble rockets from typical parts such as centering rings, motor mounts, and engine blocks, you can just throw together parts in the Designer's Special and sim it in OpenRocket. If it's unstable just add some weight in the nose.