W&U 6x alpha upscale.

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UPscaler

UPscaler

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With the Tripoli Idaho season coming to an end, and 3 months to wait before we can fly any high power again, Weetie11(dad) and UPscaler(me, obviously) are beginning our 6 inch 6 foot estes alpha upscale. Okay so it's really 70 inches, but 6 feet just sounds better. It will have a 44 inch main airframe tube, a scale nosecone made by sandman that will be fiberglassed, and BEAUTIFUL. on board will be a Perfectflite Hialt45k or MAWD as the main altimeter, and for redundancy, a Missileworks RRC2 mini altimeter. I want to get decals so I can make it a direct upscale of the 40th anniversary special edition Astron Alpha IV. However, Mark, at stickershock is having trouble finding a decent picture to get an idea of what the body tube wrap looks like. If you have any pictures, please post them here, or send them to me via PM.

I am just $11 measly dollars from ordering the 6 inch airframe. Then I need to order a 7 inch FG sleeve from Soller.

The fun begins....NOW (or as soon as I get parts:eek:)
 
The "wrap" is a red sort of prismatic/holographic pattern that covers the whole BT just like the all-black Alpha III. I have a couple of the IVs and will try to take you some pictures later today.

I've also tried to scan the stickers, but they're gold metallic and black and don't scan worth a darn. I'll try to take a pic or two with a ruler so you can see that as well.
 
Yep thats the one we are looking for. If you can get a good picture of the artwork I am sure I can duplicate it... or at least come really close.
 
Taking pictures of these reflective objects - body tube and stickers - is difficult! Here are some attempts.

First is a hopefully straight overhead view of an Alpha IV body tube and the sticker set. The camera is reflected in the stickers, which is why the colors are odd. Next is an angled view getting better colors.

Next is an overall view. Note the two-loop plastic launch lug as is used on current Estes RTFs like the Rascal, HiJinks and Athena (these latter two also use the Alpha III fin can). Following that is a closer look at the 40th anniversary sticker on the body to show relative colors.

Finally there is a close up of the body tube trying to show the square "engine turned" pattern along with enough of the ruler for you to see the size.

Note: the background is the same piece of blue poster board for all the pictures. The overall view and the body seem to have a reddish cast. The others are closer, albeit not perfect (as seen on my little Acer's screen) from a color standpoint.

P6200119.JPG

P6200121.JPG

P6200125.JPG

P6200126.JPG

P6200123.JPG
 
Here is that Alpha IV with a current Alpha, a clone Alpha II based on Semroc parts (with a pre-Damon Alpha decal from Excelsior), an Alpha III with an ST-9 body (rebuild of the crashed one in the AltimeterOne thread), another Alpha III but with a IV nose cone (and a streamer inside), and finally the Alpha IV itself.

P6200107.JPG
 
the only thing I don't like about the Alpha IV is the nosecone, I like the current alpha's slightly pointier nosecone. But the decals are good! Thanks for the pictures BEC!
 
BEC said:
Taking pictures of these reflective objects - body tube and stickers - is difficult! Here are some attempts.

First is a hopefully straight overhead view of an Alpha IV body tube and the sticker set. The camera is reflected in the stickers, which is why the colors are odd. Next is an angled view getting better colors.

Next is an overall view. Note the two-loop plastic launch lug as is used on current Estes RTFs like the Rascal, HiJinks and Athena (these latter two also use the Alpha III fin can). Following that is a closer look at the 40th anniversary sticker on the body to show relative colors.

Finally there is a close up of the body tube trying to show the square "engine turned" pattern along with enough of the ruler for you to see the size.

Note: the background is the same piece of blue poster board for all the pictures. The overall view and the body seem to have a reddish cast. The others are closer, albeit not perfect (as seen on my little Acer's screen) from a color standpoint.
Click to expand...

Very nice.. thats a step in the right direction! Thanks
 
UPscaler said:
the only thing I don't like about the Alpha IV is the nosecone, I like the current alpha's slightly pointier nosecone. But the decals are good! Thanks for the pictures BEC!
Click to expand...

Well, an Alpha IV is just an Alpha III in different colors and the RTF-style launch lug, so has the same hollow parabolic style nose cone as the III. But I suppose nothing stops you from upscaling an Alpha (I) and dressing it as a IV. :)

Nose cone and fin shapes comparison across several Alpha versions in this post on YORF. Pics taken in the same session as the ones I posted above.

(but I forgot I posted the five-Alpha comparison here, too......:eek: )
 
Last edited:
Yeah, and who is going to call me out for it? "Hey, I have an alpha IV. I am appalled at you for switching the shape of the nosecone. I recommend you take that pile home and put a scale accurate nosecone on it NOW." :roll:


It's all about personal preference right?

I'm so excited to get this thing under way.
 
UPscaler said:
t's all about personal preference right?
Click to expand...

Which is why there's that Alpha III with a black Alpha IV nose cone on it in the group shot and why the clones I have built use Semroc's BNC-50K nose cone which is the closest thing to the original Alpha cone shape I have found. :D And I'm really getting to like the look of the orange and white Alpha III with the heavier body tubing.....

If you look at the MaxiAlpha 3 you'll find it's not a strict 2.8 scale up of any Alpha variant before it - different proportions all around.
 
Last edited:
Upscaler,

I think I am getting close.

In the preview the yellow will be gold CHROME. and the dark red will be the holographic material we talked about.

I can't seem to find your e-mail (got a ton going on I am sure its there but arrrgh) could you e-mail me again and I will give you a quote! and we can get them rolling!

ALPHA 4 PRE.jpg
 
stickershock23 said:
Upscaler,

I think I am getting close.

In the preview the yellow will be gold CHROME. and the dark red will be the holographic material we talked about.

I can't seem to find your e-mail (got a ton going on I am sure its there but arrrgh) could you e-mail me again and I will give you a quote! and we can get them rolling!
Click to expand...

Mark,
Those look pretty awesome, I'll shoot you an email. I won't be completely sure of the circumference until I am finished with the glass work.
 
The decals came from Mark at stickershock today! They are a perfect match! And beautiful! I highly recommend Mark's stuff for your next project!
 
BEC said:
Pictures, pictures :)!
Click to expand...

I'll try to get some. But my the first thing that happened when I opened them, happened to be a cat stepping on them, then my little sister going, "wow those are cool stickers"

So at the moment they are hiding. ;)
 
UPscaler said:
The decals came from Mark at stickershock today! They are a perfect match! And beautiful! I highly recommend Mark's stuff for your next project!
Click to expand...


I am glad you like them.. I think they are going to be REALLY cool. and keep the cat away from them LOL
 
stickershock23 said:
I am glad you like them.. I think they are going to be REALLY cool. and keep the cat away from them LOL
Click to expand...

Yeah! They should give some nice gleams when I fly something other than a K550 :p.

I don't think losing this one will be a problem. I took a good look at them, rolled them back up and put them in the mailing box. They're in a secret location at the moment!


I can't wait to really get this thing going.
 
Well, here is an incredibly bad picture of the decals. They don't do it justice. But at least you can see how well he replicated the art work!

sucks.jpg
 
Okay, here is the exploded view of how the rocket will look once the electronics have fired.
alphasetup.jpg



The only problem is...I have never used electronics before. I need all the help I can get on this. I understand how to build the sled...that's it.

So please share the wealth of knowledge. Will the way I have it set up work? Where do I need to drill holes? What do I do with switches? How many of what size shear pins should I use? basically, I need electronics 101. If you could post it on this thread that would be fantastic! Or private messages would work as well!
 
UPscaler said:
Will the way I have it set up work?
Click to expand...
Yep, though you may wish to consider having the nose cone come off the payload tube instead of the payload tube off the coupler. That way, you can attach the main parachute ejection charges to the forward end of the avionics bay and still be blowing the chute "out" of the tube, rather than into the sealed-off end of the compartment. (I've seen a few main chutes get stuck and/or tangled this way.)
UPscaler said:
Where do I need to drill holes?
Click to expand...
You'll need vent holes in the booster and payload section to prevent pressure separation, as well as in the avionics bay to equalize the pressure inside. You'll also need miscellaneous holes for fasteners, switches, and shear pins. See https://vernk.com/AltimeterPortSizing.htm for a vent hole sizing guide.
UPscaler said:
What do I do with switches?
Click to expand...
From an access standpoint, the easiest thing to do is put them in the vent band on the avionics bay. This way, they are permanently mounted in a location where you can turn them on and off at the pad or after recovery. A second option is to build "switch holders" onto your avionics board, to position the switches just beneath a vent hole in the airframe. You can attach the switches directly to the board, but this makes arming things on the pad slightly more difficult, especially if they are rotary-slot or screw type switches.
UPscaler said:
How many of what size shear pins should I use?
Click to expand...
On past 6" airframes, I've used 3x and 4x 2-56. Since your rocket will have three fins, four pins would bother me :p You may wish to go up to 4-40 size pins if the booster section has a large free internal volume. (Additional pin and vent sizing info at David Schultz' site: https://home.earthlink.net/~david.schultz/rnd/pressurelag/parachute.html) Make sure to ground test to insure you have adequate ejection charge to shear the pins.

hope that helps!
 
daveyfire said:
Yep, though you may wish to consider having the nose cone come off the payload tube instead of the payload tube off the coupler. That way, you can attach the main parachute ejection charges to the forward end of the avionics bay and still be blowing the chute "out" of the tube, rather than into the sealed-off end of the compartment. (I've seen a few main chutes get stuck and/or tangled this way.)

You'll need vent holes in the booster and payload section to prevent pressure separation, as well as in the avionics bay to equalize the pressure inside. You'll also need miscellaneous holes for fasteners, switches, and shear pins. See https://vernk.com/AltimeterPortSizing.htm for a vent hole sizing guide.

From an access standpoint, the easiest thing to do is put them in the vent band on the avionics bay. This way, they are permanently mounted in a location where you can turn them on and off at the pad or after recovery. A second option is to build "switch holders" onto your avionics board, to position the switches just beneath a vent hole in the airframe. You can attach the switches directly to the board, but this makes arming things on the pad slightly more difficult, especially if they are rotary-slot or screw type switches.

On past 6" airframes, I've used 3x and 4x 2-56. Since your rocket will have three fins, four pins would bother me :p You may wish to go up to 4-40 size pins if the booster section has a large free internal volume. (Additional pin and vent sizing info at David Schultz' site: https://home.earthlink.net/~david.schultz/rnd/pressurelag/parachute.html) Make sure to ground test to insure you have adequate ejection charge to shear the pins.

hope that helps!
Click to expand...

Okay, let's see if I am following here. In this picture I've drawn, the silver is 1/4 all thread, green is alts, red is the 1 inch body tube band around the alt bay. If I am understanding, the switches should go where the arrows are pointing correct? So then, if both altimeters are on one side, I just wire one to a switch on either side. But what exactly are the switches used for? Just powering up the altimeters? Also, the vent holes, size to be calculated tomorrow as I thought my drawing made sense, but then I fried my brain with all the lines and no color, go in that band as well. Thank you for the patience and help! Vern seems to have a way of describing everything, if you ask him a question and person, you better have a while for and answer because he is a big bucket of knowledge. I just figured I'd start here and keep learning as I go.

P.S. Should I use a larger threaded rod? is 2 enough, i've heard three used before, and I guess vern uses 1. :confused2:

altbaysorta.JPG
 
Also, my calculated alt bay volume, minus the area taken by the bulkplates, is (rounded) 297 in³. So three quarter inch vent holes should do the trick, right?
 

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