Vaughn Brothers VB Extreme 54 build thread

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maxvelocity

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I usually suck at build threads because I forget about them or get sidetracked onto another project part way through so this time I am going to try and do a good job.

I received my VB Extreme 54 today which is an OOP kit from back in the 90s??? Anyone know what years these were sold? It is a minimum diameter 54mm rocket which include an adapter for flying on 38mm motors. This kit popped up at the perfect time being that I recently decided to go back to old school cardboard/paper kits because I'm starting to feel like carbon and glass just make it too easy.

The first thing I noticed when going through the kit is how COMPLETE the kit is. The only thing you need to build this is adhesive. EVERYTHING else is there including the altimeter sled, shock cord, 28" nylon parachute even wiring and hardware for the altimeter is included. Reminds me of the first time my dad and I were in the hobby 15-16 years ago when pretty much all "kits" were real kits. I just wish I had thought to buy some of the old kits and sit on them until now.

I am going to build the kit all stock according to the instructions. I will soon be purchasing an RRC2+ which I will use in this rocket for the deployment. The rocket design is single deploy with a payload bay for an altimeter for controlling the deployment event. It could easily be converted to fly dual deploy but for me it will be built stock.

Here is a picture of the kit in the bag.
VB Extreme 54 Bag.jpg
 
maxvelocity said:
I received my VB Extreme 54 today which is an OOP kit from back in the 90s??? Anyone know what years these were sold? It is a minimum diameter 54mm rocket which include an adapter for flying on 38mm motors. This kit popped up at the perfect time being that I recently decided to go back to old school cardboard/paper kits because I'm starting to feel like carbon and glass just make it too easy.
Click to expand...
I know it's not "old school" to some on here (Mr. Swackhammer!) but VBR is definitely old-school to me and most everybody here. Here's the VB Extreme page I scanned from I think their 1997 catalog. Definitely looking forward to this build thread, thanks for documenting this one!

VBX.jpg
 
Pretty cool kit that was fun to fly. Great blast from the past.
 
maxvelocity said:
I usually suck at build threads because I forget about them or get sidetracked onto another project part way through so this time I am going to try and do a good job.

I received my VB Extreme 54 today which is an OOP kit from back in the 90s??? Anyone know what years these were sold? It is a minimum diameter 54mm rocket which include an adapter for flying on 38mm motors. This kit popped up at the perfect time being that I recently decided to go back to old school cardboard/paper kits because I'm starting to feel like carbon and glass just make it too easy.

The first thing I noticed when going through the kit is how COMPLETE the kit is. The only thing you need to build this is adhesive. EVERYTHING else is there including the altimeter sled, shock cord, 28" nylon parachute even wiring and hardware for the altimeter is included. Reminds me of the first time my dad and I were in the hobby 15-16 years ago when pretty much all "kits" were real kits. I just wish I had thought to buy some of the old kits and sit on them until now.

I am going to build the kit all stock according to the instructions. I will soon be purchasing an RRC2+ which I will use in this rocket for the deployment. The rocket design is single deploy with a payload bay for an altimeter for controlling the deployment event. It could easily be converted to fly dual deploy but for me it will be built stock.

Here is a picture of the kit in the bag.
View attachment 157013
Click to expand...

The kit you are building was bought in 2000, when I was at the Blackrock launch, from the Vaughn Brothers vendor table.
 
Years ago I had the VB Extreme 29. It was really a fun rocket. It could fly on everything from an Estes D12 to an 29 mm H. Mostly I stayed with D's and E's and it flew straight as an arrow. I think I finally flew with an F-motor and I never got it back. As I remember it was a thick cardboard tube with surface mounted fiber glass fins. I didn't feel good about the surface mounted fins, so I put some fiber glass and epoxy on the fin/tube attach point. It didn't look good, but painting it black help hide things. It was rugged and reliable. It went almost straight up and came almost straight down on a small chute. You could launch it on a small school yard and it would not go out of bounds.
 
Very nice. I have both 24 and 29. Great kits. Looking forward to the build documentation.
 
Did the 24 have the same style av bay with the foam pieces? I'm thinking about cloning one by downscaling the 54.
 
Never seen the 54 set up but yes, both the 24 and 29 have the foam plugs. Envious...
 
JRL303 said:
Never seen the 54 set up but yes, both the 24 and 29 have the foam plugs. Envious...
Click to expand...

Ok, if they both have the foam I would assume they are setup the same. The 54 has a foam piece that goes above the coupler bulkhead then an aluminum sled , another foam piece and then its sandwiched by the nosecone.
 
I purchased and built one in 1995. Now that I think back on it, I did most of the assembly in my dorm room in college. I never did fly it until probably 2004 or 2005, having taken a break from the hobby to finish college, start a career, moonlight as a club DJ, etc. One of the things that made it a little bit of a pain in the neck to bring to launches was that, building it as instructed, the main section was one piece 51" long, making it tricky to fit into some cars.

I ended up doing something that may get me banned from this thread: I glued in a motor mount. I had no 54 mm hardware, and no real inclination towards flying it well beyond eyesight. So I put a 38mm motor mount.

Right now, its chopped up a bit while I retrofit dual deployment capabilities into it [while enabling easier transport in my car], and replacing the 1/2" lugs with rail buttons.
 
Maxvelocity , can you do me , us , all a huge favor and post the actual physical dimensions of this rocket . Both BT length's , NC length , and fin dimensions would be great . I used to love flying these series of rockets . The VB24 on E30's where great . Even on the mighty D12 they where a ton of fun . Every year for the 4th of July ( late 90's early 2000 ) we used to build a few of the vb 38's and launch them outta the back forty over the lake on I132's . One person in a 12 foot row boat and a 5 horse motor and recovery was done easy .

Eric
 
maxvelocity said:
Ok, if they both have the foam I would assume they are setup the same. The 54 has a foam piece that goes above the coupler bulkhead then an aluminum sled , another foam piece and then its sandwiched by the nosecone.
Click to expand...

Wow, I never knew it came with an aluminum sled. Guess I shoulda looked closer. Let us know when its maiden flight is to take place, I assume it'll be at Maddox Dairy Farm. I'd love to be there to see it. Maybe at Dairy Aire?
 
When I get done working I will post up all the dimensions, I already have them jotted down as I supplied them to another member yesterday.

hball55,
Yes, I was surprised by the aluminum sled also. If I can paint it in time I will fly it at the TCC January launch. Thinking an I125. It could fly again at DA though.
 
Maxvelocity was kind enough to share the dimensions with me. When I build this sucker, I'm thinking the "new" AeroTech I65 will be perfect:cool:.
 
maxvelocity said:
When I get done working I will post up all the dimensions, I already have them jotted down as I supplied them to another member yesterday.

hball55,
Yes, I was surprised by the aluminum sled also. If I can paint it in time I will fly it at the TCC January launch. Thinking an I125. It could fly again at DA though.
Click to expand...

I won't chance any mishaps and will have to make the 4-1/2 hr trek to that launch. Actually, I'm itching to burn some propellant, since it's been twelve years since my last launch.

I didn't realize how popular the VB 54 extreme was with people, had I known I might have kept it, lol. Actually, no, because I just counted my built rockets and the count is around 55, with around 10 unbuilt.
 
Last edited:
Grand Pa Vaughn used to live 10 mins from my house and on weekends and we used to go over and help fill orders, all there kits were top notch. we put an L 330 Elis Mtn motor in a VB 54 hybrid and found out what the speed of cardboards was LOL I have almost every kit that they made and some that never really made it out to the public
 
Here are the dimensions of the kit:

Lower booster tube 34"

Booster coupler/shock cord anchor 5-3/4"

Upper booster section 17"

Payload coupler 5-3/4"

payload tube 8-1/2"

1/2" launch lug 6"

MMT adapter coupler tube 5-3/4"

38mm MMT adapter tube 11"

I didn't write down the nosecone dimensions but I can add that when I get home. I believe it is just a LOC cone.

Fin dimensions:

Root edge 10-1/2"

Leading edge 10"

Semi span 2-7/8"

Fins are made from 1/16" G10

I am going out to dinner tonight and if I get home early enough I plan to start building. I will post pictures.
 
I just had a successful L1 launch on the VB Extreme 38 that I built over 20 years ago and never flew. It ripped out of sight! I’m doing a fiberglass clone in a 54mm diameter for L2. It will have dual deploy using an AV bay as a piston ejection system. Fun to stumble across this thread, hoping being dormant doesn’t mean it’s dead...
 
Very nice!
The first HPR kit I ever bought was the 38. Threw a 29mm adapter in it and flew it on old school G80s back in the mid 90s.
 
I’ve decided to build an Extreme 38 to spec. Would anyone be able to tell me the distance from the base of the body tube to the base of the fins on one of their Extremes (and if so, what the diameter is so I can scale accordingly)? Or better yet, if someone has the old instructions and the distance is referenced, that would be even better!
 
Tankerbell said:
I’ve decided to build an Extreme 38 to spec. Would anyone be able to tell me the distance from the base of the body tube to the base of the fins on one of their Extremes (and if so, what the diameter is so I can scale accordingly)? Or better yet, if someone has the old instructions and the distance is referenced, that would be even better!
Click to expand...

One inch on the 54.
 

Attachments

  • Vaughn Brothers Extreme 54.pdf
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