Estes-Shuttle: Build

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Next comes the motor mount. Pretty standard and easy. I like true and straight rings so I used the motor retainer as a guide. I epoxy the retainer at the same time as (or with) the aft ring. What this did was make the aft ring a little off according to the instructions. In the end this will not matter. As the center centering ring and fin are slotted for a perfect fit......you will see it all worked out.

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For the center ring, I carefully lay up some tape (after measuring hash marks all the way around the tube) to make a ridge to but the ring up against....all to make it straight. i then tack the ring on with CA.....then pull the tape...then glue seam with CA to fully glue in place. BTW: the motor tube was sanded with 220 prior to all gluing.

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I did the same with the fore/upper ring. After all the rings were on. I saturated the inside of the motor tube with the thin CA. It totally soaks in. I then sand it smooth. Of course the motor block was also installed. Pretty standard fare here.

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When everything was good and dry, I test fitted everything. You can see the gap between the lower fin tab and the aft centering ring (because I used the retainer as a "guide" for the aft ring and glued them all at the same time and together). This is not a problem for me, because of the slotted design on the fin/centering ring AND the gluing of the joints along with the fillets....it will be plenty strong when all is done. The lower photo is a DRY FIT....nothing is glued in place.

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I then moved onto the side boosters....gluing them in the "holders" etc. This was kind of a pain and one has to move slowly here. Don't force anything! It is VERY easy to dent,crimp or otherwise mess up the side booster tubes....OR bend the holders. I know and appreciate that this kit needs to be light. But the side boosters seem THIN and DELICATE...IMO. Later you will see what I did to all the inner portions of the tubing to seal and try to increase (try) the strength. As the instructions say DO NOT glue anything until everything is in place. This is where thin CA really comes in handy....Shown below are the middle and aft holders. The aft holder (and I think the middle) is placed at a measured location from the instructions. The TOP one is not. Its location is determined by the placement of the glider. Again....dont glue anything until everything is in place!!

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Next I placed the top/fore holder and adjusted everything with the glider on the holder prior to gluing....this is a time when one must not rush. Remain calm and go slow..... :)

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Everything was glued into place...Wow....what a trip....I love this kit! I like how the glider comes off nicely too...I think we are in the home stretch as far as construction...

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Next comes putting all this together!

Next I installed the motor mount. As you can see, I used a Q-Tip to "Shmeer" the epoxy inside the body tube. After shoving it in there, I then used the fins (dry fitted only!) to hold the motor mount in place...Easy-Peezy...

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When the epoxy had set...it simply pulled the fin out.

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Instead of using the Estes shock cord mount...I like to use a small Kevlar lanyard that is glued to the inside of the rocket. It enables me to change out the shock cord and it lasts a whole lot longer than the rubber band!! Below is how I do it....pretty straight forward. If I had a smaller diameter piece....I would have attached it to the fore centering ring. BUT for this size rocket, it is "Tomato--Tomata" Either way...it works.

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Next I sealed the inner portions of all the tubing. I like being able to wipe out and clean the rocket after flights AND in case it becomes a POW or goes MIA after a launch, It will be a little more protected from the elements....i.e. moisture. Nothing fancy here...Just "slop" it in there and watch it soak in. After it dries, I then do one more thin coat. No, I am not worried about weight...this is going to launch on composite motors. It also does not weigh much when dry. It also...IMO adds some strength the the tube...I think. Below is what I use...

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BTW: The LAST photo in post #102 shows the poly when it is still WET. After it dries the inner tube looks almost like I did not put anything on it. It really soaks in and dries up nice and tight. The cone still fits very well and comes off nicely still too. I use this on all my rockets. It is especially nice on my large projects. Just get a damp rag and wipe it out after a launch!
Good Stuff.
 
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Wow! That’s some kit.

Nice work :)

Thank you very much for you kind comment. It is really a fun and different kit. I hope you give it a try, I am pretty sure you will like it!
Andrew
 
OK....Time for a pause. I need to explain something!!

(I don't know why I am stressing so much about this) Okay...I want to say first off that I LOVE this kit AND the original design. I also like the color scheme on the kit card....truly. When I purchase a kit I often think it through and "study" it a bit before beginning a build. I had two ideas (for changes) on this kit prior to even building it. When someone does a build thread there is some expectation (I think) that the person kind of sticks to the original design and color scheme. THEN I thought that on MOST of my build threads (Conquest, Odyssey etc.) I deviated from the original in some way. So no worries....right?

I want to let John B. at Estes know that I truly love his design and think it is very nice. I did purchase the kit (x2), which is the mission of Estes (to get us to purchase their stuff :) ). But I have to say that I am going to change the color scheme and make a few small changes on the design. Nothing major...but since I did a build thread I wanted to give you a heads up that I changed things a bit. In the end...I like it. All things considered, I like the original design but I like my "tweak" better.

WHY
I feel I needed to explain this all?....I don't know!....I guess I am complicated...photos to come.

Andrew
 
First, nice progress, I'm enjoying seeing this kit come together. Second, I agree with neil_w, every build thread is different, and that makes them interesting. I appreciate seeing a kit go together with good techniques and skill, as well as a wild and crazy scratch built Odd-Roc. It's fun to see how different folks solve the same kinds of problems, and it is gratifying to see a pile of parts become a rocket.
 
You're waaaaaaaay overthinking and overstressing about this. And here's why:

Nope, nope, nope. Your rocket, your choice.

THANK YOU NEIL! I totally agree.....I simply don't know why I so was stressed at changing this kit on this thread. Even my wife said the same thing you said...It is my kit. I will post some photos soon. You are correct I am (was) WAY overthinking this and I had no reason to stress. THANK AGAIN guys!
Andrew
 
First, nice progress, I'm enjoying seeing this kit come together. Second, I agree with neil_w, every build thread is different, and that makes them interesting. I appreciate seeing a kit go together with good techniques and skill, as well as a wild and crazy scratch built Odd-Roc. It's fun to see how different folks solve the same kinds of problems, and it is gratifying to see a pile of parts become a rocket.

THANKS!

Onward!
 
So....Here we go. Instead of explaining it all I will simply post some photos of what I did. I like it...I hope you do too. As far as the color scheme....It will have to wait until the "Big Reveal". Well...Here it is...

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So....Here we go. Instead of explaining it all I will simply post some photos of what I did. I like it...I hope you do too. As far as the color scheme....It will have to wait until the "Big Reveal". Well...Here it is...

Hopefully only using one faux mini SRB doesn’t upset the flight dynamics. My personal OCD would require at least a pair so it matches the bigger SRB spoofs. But that’s me - as stated already, it’s your rocket! Awesome build thread, definitely worth using as a reference when my kit surfaces from the build pile.
 
Hopefully only using one faux mini SRB doesn’t upset the flight dynamics. My personal OCD would require at least a pair so it matches the bigger SRB spoofs. But that’s me - as stated already, it’s your rocket! Awesome build thread, definitely worth using as a reference when my kit surfaces from the build pile.

Thanks Scott-
When you look down the rocket the fin span and profile are pretty symmetric. If it flies weird....I will maybe put some weight in the faux booster. As it is, I am not too worried. I have had so much relaxing time building it....It will be enjoyed on the shelf more than in the air.
 
So, at this point the rest is the finishing work. I will post photos of that progress as things develop.
THANKS!
Andrew
 
So I had an exciting Friday night beginning the finishing work. It was a long day at work and I needed some quiet time at the table. First comes the fillets on all and remaining seams. I did fillets on the launch lugs earlier. I since I posted how they were done on earlier posts, I am just going to show the "finished" task.

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Saturday....Today, the fillets were good and dry. So I thought I would take some time before house chores to seal everything up with BIN. I intended to only do the balsa....but since I am a glutton for sanding punishment/hell, I went and did the whole darn rocket. Oh man....when this dries...I will be sanding for some time! FUN FUN FUN.

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As you can see from the other photos...I did paint the nozzles. I like to use acrylic Model Masters paint (Hobby Lobby) for painting all the fun "Doo-Dads". For this I used flat black. There will be other colors....

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Finally, even though I did not post any photos...I did sand the glider with 220 then 400 grit. It came out beautiful. I am really going to try and go light with the paint on this. I hope it glides as well as I hope it will.....

Andrew
 
Does this site tolerate profanity? I fear that I do not have a sufficient vocabulary to express my appreciation for this thread without profanity, but I'll try. Thank you for posting this. It is incredibly informative.
 
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