Most tube sizes in one rocket?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

neil_w

OpenRocketeer
TRF Supporter
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
16,642
Reaction score
11,417
Location
Northern NJ
This entirely inconsequential topic came up in another thread: what's the most tube sizes that have been used in a single rocket? Only talking about externally visible components, not internal structural parts like MMTs and such.

I'd say kits and scratch builds would be separate categories here.

Pictures required naturally. :)
 
Best I've done is three:

UpGoerV - 18mm, 24mm, 33mm:
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1507414630.425726.jpg

BluFyr - 24mm MMT counts here as its structural and visible - 18mm, 24mm, 40mm:
ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1507414686.954134.jpg
 
Well, it's a scratch build by LW Bercini. This should give you a run for your money. Meet Fractal.

LW & Fractal.jpg

And a rear view.

Fractal Fin Config 2.jpg
 
Ha, forgot about that one. That pretty much retires the category.

Still interested in other examples, particularly kits.

PS what's the red and black one on the left?
 
PS what's the red and black one on the left?

We were at NSL 2015. Hard to say what it was since so many models were original designs. (paradise for the likes of us) I do remember it bit the dust really bad. Pretty much a flying torch.
 
Saturn-IB kits.

For sure, at least 5 different tube diameters. Full size from bottom up: 270", 70", 260", 154", and 26"

Also a 105" tank tube in the center of the eight outer 70" tanks. Which some kits DO have but it is very difficult to see and borders on an engine mount tube, but is not an engine mount tube. It's both a scale part and is visible in between the 70" tanks but not easy to see once built.

So then that would make SIX

Oh, also the Escape Tower used 2.5" and 3.5" steel tubing for the struts. On most kits those are molded plastic or dowels. But some homemade models use tubing such as plastic tubing or brass, or such.

Which then would make for EIGHT

Saturn_IB_CG.gif
 
Last edited:
I had thought the S1B could be a candidate, thanks for the rundown. I would be inclined not to count the pieces in the escape tower (although that's subject to debate) but that still leaves six which might be hard to beat.

That still leaves open the newly created non-scale kit category. Any takers?
 
I'll have to start design on a "super-transition-master" that has eleventy tube sizes.

Here's my early design/sim effort... 😜

ImageUploadedByRocketry Forum1507503875.747753.jpg
 
I stretched an Estes Vector Force with an extra tube and coupler and made it into Victor Vector Force. After seeing it at a club launch Randy from eRockets said I could do better. At the next club meeting we found two more tubes and a coupler and stretched it again. It is now Mister Victor Vector Force.


NCDLrjR.jpg
 
I stretched an Estes Vector Force with an extra tube and coupler and made it into Victor Vector Force. After seeing it at a club launch Randy from eRockets said I could do better. At the next club meeting we found two more tubes and a coupler and stretched it again. It is now Mister Victor Vector Force.

That is awesome. :)

Pretty close to what snrkl was imagining...
 
That is awesome. :)

Pretty close to what snrkl was imagining...

It is indeed! Gawd, looking at that thing, I'd have been tempted to paint it like the Empire State Building and used it to launch a stuffed monkey toy into space!
 
Back
Top