Dr. Zooch Rockets EFT-1 beta build...

Well, let's get back at it...

Once the core vehicle and one of the strap-on boosters have set up, glue the second strap-on booster to the stack. Apply a thin layer of glue to the booster and slowly slide it into place against the core vehicle. Ensure that the glue is centered against the contact point between the booster and core, and that the entire stack is perfectly flat on the work table... this will ensure both cores are completely aligned and true with the core vehicle. Also double-check the lengthwise alignment down the long axis of the vehicle and ensure that the booster is aligned at the bottom and along the wrap lines... Once you're satisfied everything is straight, true, and level, let the glue dry.

Next, grab the three slender dowels from the kit box and cut them to length as indicated in the instructions. Save the remaining bits cut off the dowels as they'll be used for aft struts on the boosters. Cut them to length per the instructions and set them aside. Round over the ends of the long dowels as indicated to turn them into LOX lines for the rocket, extending from the intertank area to the thrust structure. Cut two 3/16 squares of balsa as instructed for the forward strut attachment. Grab the four cut toothpick forward struts from their kitbag and then take all these detail parts and get them ready for paint. I find it easiest to paint these parts by rolling some tape into a double-sided loop, sticking it down to some scrap balsa, and then sticking the parts to be painted down onto the tape. Then they can either be spray painted white or brush some white paint on them using a bottle of Testors (or equivalent).

Once the core and boosters have set up firmly, you'll probably want to fillet the boosters a bit to the core to ensure everything has a good strong glue joint. I've found this tool to be EXTREMELY helpful for putting mini-fillets down in the crevasse between the boosters and core vehicle... it's a kid's medicine measuring syringe (I get one every time Keira gets a prescription so I have a few stockpiled) with a "Testors Gluing Tips #8805" tip popped onto the end of the syringe. The glue tips were cheap at Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure they can be found at nearly any hobby shop or online... they're small plastic tips that are made to wedge onto the tapered end of a model airplane glue tube tip, for applying thin, fine lines of model airplane glue to plastic models. The syringe tip is the EXACT same size as the model airplane glue tube tip, and the gluing tip will snap right onto the end of the syringe securely. Pop the plunger out the back, squirt in a few CC's of white glue, and presto you're ready to apply thin fillets anywhere, even deep in grooves between body tubes! When done, squirt the remaining glue back into the bottle,and clean the thing out under running water-- easy as pie! I spread the fillets and pop any air bubbles using the point of a bamboo skewer... another VERY handy tool to have!

Next we apply the detail parts... run a hobby knife to cut the paint where it overlaps the tape, and then pull the detail parts off the tape, and scrape off any paint lines. Of course there's no paint where it was stuck to the tape, so keep this side of the detail part facing down against the rocket... Carefully glue the small balsa squares centered on the core vehicle, and then glue the two toothpick forward struts from the strap-on boosters to the core vehicle's small balsa square on either side... apply a bit of white glue to shore everything up and set it aside to dry...

The aft struts are cylindrical bits cut off the end of the long dowels we turned into LOX lines... each is cut to length per the instructions, then tapered on the backsides to nestle down tight against the body tubes, and finally painted. Cut the paint and pull them off the tape, daub white glue on each end, and stick them in place between the strap-on boosters and the core vehicle at the aft end directly in front of the aft transitions on the thrust structure. Finally, the three LO2 lines are glued into their proper places on the rocket, just below the SMALL intertank doors, which should all be on ONE SIDE of the rocket... The LO2 lines reach from the intertank down the side of the LH2 tank to the thrust structure at the bottom. Make sure they're all even (ensure they're equally spaced below the small door printed on the wrap) and that they're parallel with the long axis of the booster and not slanted, and centered on the booster as best you can get them. The launch lugs should go on the opposite side, the side with the BIGGER intertank doors. (yeah I screwed up) Set it aside to dry.

Later! OL JR

You'll probably want to put some TINY fillets along the sides of the LO2 lines just to make sure they stay put... The syringe applicator shown earlier and a bamboo skewer are EXTREMELY handy for doing this...

Once dry, flip the rocket over and install the fwd and aft struts identically to the opposite side.

The glued up flame fins were slid into a spare BT-20 and shot with a few coats of white paint, allowed to dry a few hours, then masked off the fin tips and bright yellow paint shot on the centers of the fins and tube to simulate the rocket exhaust and smoke. Works for me...

Next, grab your Gen-You-Wine Dr. Zooch trash-bag parachute from the kit and assemble it per the instructions... sticky dots on the corners, cut the "poly-coated Popeilium" shrouds into even third, and apply to parallel corners, even them up, and attach them to the snap swivel.

Grab the pre-weighted balsa plug from the kit. Put the weighted end down, and apply a little CA to the center of the balsa end grain (don't get it on the sides of the plug) to harden the balsa a bit. Get the screw-eye from the kit bag and screw it into the wood, then remove it, apply some yellow wood glue into the hole, and then screw the eyelet back in. Get the Orion BPC nosecone, and insert it into the short (1 inch) piece of painted BT-50 kick stage cover tubing after putting a layer of white glue inside it. Next insert the weighted stage coupler, WEIGHTED SIDE UP, into the glue-lined kick stage tube below the Orion BPC nosecone, gluing the entire thing together into an assembly. Once dry, tie the shock cord elastic to the screw eye. Clip the parachute to the snap swivel, insert the flame fins, and presto your done!

Later! OL JR

So, after allowing the glue and paint to dry thoroughly over night, here's the finished product... The EFT-1 is ready to soar into space to test the Orion capsule on high speed reentries, and you didn't even have to deal with all the messy politics of putting the capsule on the EELV...

Enjoy! OL JR

A few more glamour shots... OL JR



NOTE: Some pics show the rocket without flame-fins on the pad-- DO NOT attempt to fly the rocket like this-- these are strictly display pics...

And a few more glamour shots... Later! OL JR



Note: display pics only-- don't attempt to fly without flamefins!!!

Last two... OL JR



Note: Don't fly without flamefins!

Luke,
outstanding job!!!!! That really turned out nice!!!

Of course, you just helped make the job of selecting the next Dr. Zooch rocket to purchase that much more difficult...do I go with Mercury Atlas? Atlas Agena? SLS? Skylab Saturn 5? Space Shuttle? Saturn1 Block 2? or now the EFT-1??

thanks for the Beta build....another great kit to look forward too!

Wow!

Very nice work!
I look forward to building and flying this one soon.

nice ! I think it would do more justice with clear fins ,
I have no affection for those flame thingys, the model is too nice for that

Thanks guys. I appreciate it!

@ Rick-- Wes has got TONS of great kits, and at his prices, you can afford to grab them all... (maybe not all at once!) Best value in rocketry IMHO for the money...

@stymie-- Well, ya... the flamefins are something folks either love or hate, doesn't seem to be much "in between". I think they're a novel solution to the problem of adding fins to "finless prototypes"... certainly better than the "out of place balsa slabs" Estes put in the back of their shuttle kit and Merc-Atlas... (among others). At least these "sorta" look like they belong. Nothing stopping someone from making clear fin sets for slide-in replacements for the stock flame fins... BUT, there's a BIG difference in adding them to every kit going out the door... suddenly you need a supply of BT-5 clear tubing (where would you get that?? Or just include a sheet of clear plastic and write ascerbic instructions on how to "roll your own"??) and of course the clear fin material itself (more sheet plastic I suppose). Plus add "go find yer own Tenax (or whatever else depending on the plastic) cement before you can do the build" to the instructions, ticking off some folks who don't want to go a-huntin' for some specific plastic cement, and for the other 50% of folks who buy the kit, who'd say, "oh well, don't have that, white glue or weldwood or epoxy or gorilla snot will do the trick" and have it come apart as soon as it leaves the pad, and then have them write back all gripey-like because the rocket crashed...

Double-edged sword ya know... Flame fins have their good and bad points... from a kit standpoint, it allows Wes to sell a kit at a VERY affordable price point, using commonly available materials and adhesives, and still produce a nice rocket. It also makes it easier on the builder, in that the adhesives and materials ARE readily available, so no 'scavenger hunts' scouring hobby shops or hardware stores looking for obscure adhesives or materials if one should mess up. The lower kit price is also a nice thing, because it allows the builder to get more bang for the buck. Plus, there's no steep "learning curve" with having to deal with plastics and get a good result the first time at bat, like one would have with 'roll yer own' clear tubes and clear plastic fins... And of course that option (clear fins) still exists for more experienced builders who WANT the "clear advantages" (pun intended) of clear plastic fins...

Just some things to think about... OL JR

Luke,
my preference in builds is Nasa and Scale stuff.... I am no where near on the level of most of the builders I read here...which is one of the reasons this site is so great....you guys share your skills with guys like me. (I book mark them for future reference...guys like you Luke and Banjo, both of you had a great build threads on the Zooch Titan that I am using now...) But Zooch kits are as challenging as you want them to be and they are great flyers. I enjoy the build and the anticipation of flying it....
I can understand where some may not like the flame fins...from my perspective...they are removeable for display and frankly..since my skill level puts me on the equivalent of NASA in @1959....I am never quite sure where my rocket build is going to go when I hit the launch button....just being truthful....most have gone up...but not all so if the fins help out there then I am all for them. I feel like that guy from the Right Stuff that was sweating bullets when he had to push the launch button....I think that was the scene...but to me...its all part of the challenge and fun.
This EFT-1 kit looks like a neat rocket. How tall is it Luke?

all good points. .. thanks

NJRick said:

Luke,
my preference in builds is Nasa and Scale stuff.... I am no where near on the level of most of the builders I read here...which is one of the reasons this site is so great....you guys share your skills with guys like me. (I book mark them for future reference...guys like you Luke and Banjo, both of you had a great build threads on the Zooch Titan that I am using now...) But Zooch kits are as challenging as you want them to be and they are great flyers. I enjoy the build and the anticipation of flying it....
I can understand where some may not like the flame fins...from my perspective...they are removeable for display and frankly..since my skill level puts me on the equivalent of NASA in @1959....I am never quite sure where my rocket build is going to go when I hit the launch button....just being truthful....most have gone up...but not all so if the fins help out there then I am all for them. I feel like that guy from the Right Stuff that was sweating bullets when he had to push the launch button....I think that was the scene...but to me...its all part of the challenge and fun.
This EFT-1 kit looks like a neat rocket. How tall is it Luke?

Click to expand...

It's about 17.5 inches tall with the flame fins, about 14 inches without...

Well, skills are learned, not inherited... you just have to throw yourself into the builds and practice, practice, practice... find techniques that work for YOU and go with it... try new things, and see what works for you and what doesn't. Interesting thing is there's always more than one way to skin a cat. Read over on YORF very long and you'll see a LOT of that... some folks absolutely SWEAR by dope finishes for rockets, like it was done in the 50's and 60's... Others swear by the carpenters wood fillers and rattlecan primers, like the 80's and 90's. No right or wrong about it-- it's just what you want to do and what works well for you. Some folks like the smell of dope and sanding, over and over again, and hate wood filler dust. Others like the slim/no odor of wood filler, sand it once, prime it, sand it again, ready for paint and would rather have some wood filler dust coating the workbench than the smell of dope thinner permeating the atmosphere... it's just whatever works well for you and that you want to do and want to spend your money on.

Building kits should be pretty straightforward-- the stability work is done for you; follow the instructions and you should get a product that goes UP without parting your hair... scratchbuilding is where you gotta really start knowing what you're doing... of course it's MUCH easier now than in the old days-- when I was scratchbuilding in the late 80's, the only thing we had for those us mathematically challenged was the cardboard cutout method, the swing test, and for design, the TLAR method (that looks about right). If you were good with numbers and very patient, you could grind your design through the Barrowman equations, but that was WAY over my pay grade back then. Managed to build some nice flying scratchbuilds despite my math handicap... Nowdays, you can download a free trial version of Rocksim or the shareware design program (VCP?) and design rockets to your heart's content, even choose from fistfuls of available parts from Semroc or wherever...

The sky is literally the limit...

Good luck! OL JR

The first kits are going into the boxes today- I have made one small change in the construction. Thanks to a suggestion from my beta builder Luke, who discovered that the pointed strap-on struts were about 5/8 inch too long. That length is exactly what is needed for the lower strap-on struts which I had the builders cutting from their dowel stock. Now, I simply have them cut the 5/8 inch pieces from the pointy dowels and use that excess piece as the lower struts. Simple.

Stymye said:

nice ! I think it would do more justice with clear fins ,
I have no affection for those flame thingys, the model is too nice for that

Click to expand...

I was on the fence about the flame fins in the beginning. After building a lot of the Dr's designs they all fly great, and I enjoy building the flame fins. It's fun painting them to try and get the flame effect.

Wow very nice build, like usual, always, expected, ect, ect.

Flame fins= rocket is gonna fly

No fins= displayed rocket

Dr.Zooch said:

The first kits are going into the boxes today- I have made one small change in the construction. Thanks to a suggestion from my beta builder Luke, who discovered that the pointed strap-on struts were about 5/8 inch too long. That length is exactly what is needed for the lower strap-on struts which I had the builders cutting from their dowel stock. Now, I simply have them cut the 5/8 inch pieces from the pointy dowels and use that excess piece as the lower struts. Simple.

Click to expand...

Wes...when do you think they will be available for sale?

NJRick said:

Wes...when do you think they will be available for sale?

Click to expand...

When he puts it on the website!

:horse:

Sending the info to my web master today- keep checking.

That's a pretty cool rocket, love the flame fins, bit of neat effect. How did she fly, or has she been flown yet?

skybuster said:

That's a pretty cool rocket, love the flame fins, bit of neat effect. How did she fly, or has she been flown yet?

Click to expand...

Not yet... we've been on stand-down since about March due to the EXTREME drought! We've been under burn ban since then. I could probably "sneak one in under the radar" if I really HAD to, but honestly I don't feel comfortable flying in the conditions we've had... this place is after all a working cattle ranch, and I can't afford to accidentally burn off even a little of the pasture or I'm sunk! Things are improving MARGINALLY since we've had an inch or two of rain over the last several weeks, but then also the holidays and other stuff has intervened-- like getting some older cows and bigger calves to market, putting a new fuel pump in one car, and wiring in new headlight plugs in the other one that the wife is driving to work, (stupid headlight bulb plugs keep MELTING and BURNING! Never seen anything like it! Replaced them with "high-temp" plugs supposedly good to 450 degrees this time-- guess we'll see!) Had to replace all the ball joints in the front end of my pickup over the weekend and early this week, go to Shiner and check cows, took the truck for an alignment and was told I had to replace the idler arm and pitman arm because the ball joints were shot, so I replaced them and the tie rod ball joints on both ends this evening... Gotta take the truck to get the alignment tomorrow, pick up Keira at school, and take her to swim practice... and still have a few loads of dishes to do and dirty clothes to wash... and my brother's renting a manlift this weekend and has me slated to help him chainsaw some trees that are leaning towards his house badly, before some storm lays them over and demolishes his old farmhouse completely (it's about 100 years old). Gonna take the trees down piece by piece from the top down... Next week I need to get some hay cut (yeah, pathetically late I know but kept hoping we'd get some rain and a little extra growth on it for more tonnage...)

No rest for the weary! I've got a Zooch Titan III MOL, Atlas-Agena, Lifting Body Shuttle, EFT-1, SLS, and Keira's Gumball Lofting Vehicle to fly when/if we ever get enough rain around here to actually fly... been a rough year...

Later! OL JR

Luke.....that stinks that you haven't been able to get some launches in...but after some of your previous posts, I am glad to hear that you have gotten some rain...

NJRick said:

Luke.....that stinks that you haven't been able to get some launches in...but after some of your previous posts, I am glad to hear that you have gotten some rain...

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Thanks... it's hurting the club guys more than it is me... honestly I've been too worried about the cows and too busy with everything else to worry about it much. Maybe if we get another inch of rain I think we'll be in good shape for a launch regardless of the burn ban (but of course it's up the club guys to make the call on that... I'm ok disregarding it if the conditions look good, but they may want to follow the letter of the law, and I'm not quite sure we're completely "there yet". Our commissioners are lazy-- they won't even consider lifting the burn ban til the 90 day renewal process rolls around... so if it was reinstated for another 90 days last week and rained 8 inches this week, they wouldn't even think about actually lifting it til day 90 rolled around again and forced their hand...

I just enjoy building for the time being...

later! OL JR

Kit is now on the web site. See the Vendor's area for the link.

Launched the EFT-1 this past weekend at the Shiner farm at our first joint launch between the Alamo Rocketeers of San Antonio and the Old Rocketeers from Houston. Weather conditions were just about perfect-- in the 80's and virtually NO wind to speak of... maybe 3 mph out of the east when there was any at all... she flew and recovered beautifully...

Here's the EFT-1 sitting on the pad...

Here's a shot my SIL got of the liftoff...

Liftoff of the Delta IV Heavy and Orion!!!!
And here's some burst mode shots I got of the flight...

More coming! OL JR

The Delta IV Heavy roars aloft...


Racing into the clear blue sky...


Heading for space to test the Orion...


The EFT-1 continues it's ascent...


Orion's safe return from the test flight...
Later! OL JR

Great launch pics! It looks like you really had a great day for it. Sorry I missed it.

Luke...GREAT launch pics.....that EFT-1 looks as stable as a rock in flight....I have bookmarked this build thread...looks like you had a great day!!

luke strawwalker said:

View attachment 76982
The Delta IV Heavy roars aloft...

View attachment 76983
Racing into the clear blue sky...

View attachment 76984
Heading for space to test the Orion...

View attachment 76985
The EFT-1 continues it's ascent...

View attachment 76986
Orion's safe return from the test flight...
Later! OL JR

Click to expand...

Yep, it was a neat flight... it was a tad warm but the winds and sky were absolutely perfect! The EFT-1 flew terrific... steady as a rock and recovered perfectly!

Later! OL JR