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Pappy

old man, lovin' life
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after years of dreaming (many, in fact, as this began one day in summer camp, 1974 plus minus) i have acted upon a decades old irritation and began the process of finally building my very own Orbital Transport.

Utilizing some recently discovered resources, indispensable and largely responsible for this undertaking, i was able to obtain a scan of an old set of Estes plans from JimZ the rocket plan guy, and have at it.

My story with this particular rocket is simple; saw a kid in camp with one built up and fell in love, with both that rocket in particular and model rocketry in general. On launch day they lit it up and i was in awe. i chased it across the field, ignoring the impassioned cries of the gathered... "LET IT FALL!!!" they yelled. I ignored them, so enrapt with the lightly descending booster section and my proximity to it's landing trajectory that i didn't notice the camp bully, matching my every stride, ultimately delivering a textbook cross-body block and sending me sprawling across the grass in embarrassment, shame and confusion. (surely he had been trained in the arts of football, perhaps explaining his other aggressive tendencies)

"Why'd you do that?" I chirped, annoyed.

"You gotta let 'em land." he said matter-of-factly, and offered me a hand up.

This also confused me, as this was a kid who once offered to fight me because i was wearing flip-flops. he was fat and mean and i hated him.

i digress.

After printing said plans of the heralded Estes rocket, i inventoried the parts list, and realized i was going to need a key to understand what i was looking at. This i found in short order at a site called ye olde rocket shoppe.

This project has validated many of my impulsive choices, as almost everything i needed i found to be in my Estes Designer Special, which will now be used for more than just staring at with great satisfaction. i would need to cut up a bt-5 tube using my handing dandy yellow Estes tube-cutter donuts, marking the cuts with the handy dandy yellow tube-marking ruler thing (which i still cannot fathom, other than the right angle and measurements. the bigger one is way more useful).

this project has also brought me back to the old days, with the cutting of templates and balsa.

i'll post a pic when it's done.

http://rocketshoppe.comhttp://spacemodeling.org/jimz/
 
finished. made many mistakes, but i'm good with what i have here. using ink jet decals came with a bit of a learning curve. substituted the neat nose cone just 'cause. came with the estes sci-fi pack i bought to make the magic free shipping number so why not use it. upon reflection, i think most of my nose cone collection, a couple dozen anyway, came from chasing that free shipping number.

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Having built the original, Thats a lot of lumber to cut!

Looks very nice! It's finished very well also.

Have you flown it yet?

It's great that you cloned it, but Semroc still produces the kit.
In case you decide on building a fleet.
 
...It's great that you cloned it, but Semroc still produces the kit.

unsure why i didn't just buy the kit, as i did see it for sale. probably a money thing. i did buy the mmx version, and am looking forward to trying that build.

i enjoy the old ways, cutting templates and such. brings me back. i noticed after getting started with the cuts that BMS sells the fins. kinda neat finding out other folks regard this kit the way i do. next i'm gonna try the mach 10. that looks pretty easy, and cool.

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regarding flying, i live in an area rife with trees, highway, roofs, and water. launching is a crap shoot, always. i was told by a guy that liked my estes hat that clubs launch over an hour away. combine club fees with the aforementioned, and i rarely get out. i will though, at some point.

appreciate the props :)
 
I built the MMX version last year. I've flown it a few times.

There is a build thread in the micro section, I don't remember any big gotchas with it.

A very nice kit and flyer! You will enjoy it.

The Mach 10 is another great kit! I've cloned 3 over the years.
It glides well, hence the need to build 3!

Follow the launch instructions to the letter! Like the Centuri Space Shuttle it needs to be launched at an angle.

DO NOT over finish the Mach 10, it needs a slightly rough surface to break up the boundary layer and glide
well. Also the paint adds mass that reduces the glide.

Post some build photos!
 
Beautiful!

I built one in around 1972 (when I was 12), and it was my pride and joy. IIRC, it turned out pretty good. The glider had a good glide angle and a nice gentle turn. It came down exactly as it was supposed to in spiral with about a 15-20 yard radius The main rocket didn't make it through the moves over the decades and this is all I have left

foo.jpg

When I started playing with rockets again a couple years ago, I bought the Semroc kit, and plan on building it this winter.
 
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...The glider had a good glide angle and a nice gentle turn...

sweet. compare your photo and the one of my glider and you'll see that i used a second copy of the right side decal, and trimmed the little fin-looking outcropping up front to make it less obvious. i mauled the two left side decals i had, and didn't feel like printing and preparing another decal sheet for one placement. interesting to me is that the old estes plans don't call for beveling the glider flap/wing connection before glueing. when the glider wing/flaps dried, the glue shrinking changed the angle of the flaps. might just be a corkscrew lawn dart now. sad-funny that all you have left of the booster is rubble. Soon to be rectified, though. :)
 
finished. made many mistakes, but i'm good with what i have here. using ink jet decals came with a bit of a learning curve. substituted the neat nose cone just 'cause. came with the estes sci-fi pack i bought to make the magic free shipping number so why not use it. upon reflection, i think most of my nose cone collection, a couple dozen anyway, came from chasing that free shipping number.

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Your canopy is beautiful - looks like a lot of sanding to achieve that shape
 
sweet. compare your photo and the one of my glider and you'll see that i used a second copy of the right side decal, and trimmed the little fin-looking outcropping up front to make it less obvious.
Ah yes. I see it now, but never would have noticed if you hadn't mentioned it.
i mauled the two left side decals i had, and didn't feel like printing and preparing another decal sheet for one placement. interesting to me is that the old estes plans don't call for beveling the glider flap/wing connection before glueing.
Looking closely at mine I can see that neither piece was beveled, and there's a visible gap on underside of the joint.
when the glider wing/flaps dried, the glue shrinking changed the angle of the flaps. might just be a corkscrew lawn dart now. sad-funny that all you have left of the booster is rubble.
I would have sworn it was somewhere in my parent's basement, but when they downsized and we cleared everything out, I didn't find it.
Soon to be rectified, though. :)
I haven't looked at the new Semroc kit to see if the coupling between the booster and glider is the same as the old Estes kit or not. If not, I'll have to change something so I can give the old glider one last ride.

The Semroc kit has laser-cut fins, so it'll be way less work than yours or the original kit, which I think was still pattern and balsa-stock. I don't actually remember cutting the fiins by hand, but I checked the Estes catalogs. Back in '72 die-cut fins were just being introduced, and if a kit had die-cut fins, it was listed as a feature in the catalog description.
 
...canopy is beautiful...

appreciate the props, but i'm nowhere near that good. nose cone is from estes' sci-fi pack. fit isn't perfect, though. i could'a dropped a few more coats of paint to smooth out the transition, but i decided to not go full on mrocd on this one.

coolnosecone.PNG
 
The Mach 10 is another great kit! I've cloned 3 over the years.

question: the plans i downloaded print the fin templates too large, i think, and there's nothing for scale in the image. can you give me a measurement of the leading edge of one of the wings? with that i can calibrate the printer to produce a true template.
 
Yes, but I'm away from home right now. I can get to it next week.
 
Beautiful work. Mods should move this thread to Low Power Rocketry, it'll get lost here!
 
finished. made many mistakes, but i'm good with what i have here. using ink jet decals came with a bit of a learning curve. substituted the neat nose cone just 'cause. came with the estes sci-fi pack i bought to make the magic free shipping number so why not use it. upon reflection, i think most of my nose cone collection, a couple dozen anyway, came from chasing that free shipping number.

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Awesome craftsmanship! 👍
 
question: the plans i downloaded print the fin templates too large, i think, and there's nothing for scale in the image. can you give me a measurement of the leading edge of one of the wings? with that i can calibrate the printer to produce a true template.

I found the SEMROC fin set I bought years ago to clone my next one, here are the measurements.

Wing leading edge is 7 1/4 inch wing root is 3 1/2, tip is 1 5/8, the trailing edge is5 3/4.

The fin leading edge is 6 1/4, root is 3 3/16 trailing edge is 4 3/8, tip 1 3/16.

Wing

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Tail

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Just a couple of notes.

The Centuri ST body tubes are hard to find. You can easily use Estes body tubes.

For the ST-16 main body, use the Estes BT-60 (8 in) and a BT-60 coupler also.
For the main engine tube ST-7 use the Estes BT-20 (6.5 in) and a PNC-20 nosecone. If memory serves, the entire cone needs to be filled with clay for proper launch CG.
For the belly tank use a BT-5 (1.5 in) and 2 Estes PNC-5V nosecones.

Trim for glide with a spent engine installed and the PNC-20 removed. Add/subtract clay to the belly tank for a
good glide.

The printed paper cockpit fits well on the Estes BT-60.

DO NOT FILL/SEAL THE FINS! just a light coat of paint.

Please do a build thread!
Or maybe, if there is interest, we can get a Group build going on the Mach-10!
 
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