Constructed Apollo Escape Tower with Plastic...

[rosko_racer]

Last weekend I decided that sanding those dowels was too much of a headache so I go .06" and .045" Plastruct Styrene round rods and put together the escape tower. At first I thought that it was not going to be a strong tower because I found the plastic rods too easy to bend. But it is pretty strong after you assemble the whole thing. I see why this capsule is rated at Skill Leve 5... the tower alone has 45 pieces to put together!!!

 

[foose4string]

I was seriously considering doing the same thing. I checked out the styrene at the hobby store and thought it a bit flimsy too, but realized the short lengths of strut and engineering of the tower would make it pretty rigid in the end. Wasn't sure what diameter was needed... thanks for the tip. Looks good BTW.

 

[rosko_racer]

The rods are a little bigger than what the instructions call for (.041" and .058"). I built the entire tower first and let it set for 24 hours to make sure the glues (crazy and plastic wel) were completely cured. Then I kinda handled it and found that it was pretty strong. And it seems that will handle the stresses of flight. I used yellow glue to attached the tower to the escape rocket and the capsule. I drilled small holes into the balsa parts, filled them with yellow glue, then anchored the tower to the holes.

 

[Micromeister]

That's pretty much what I did also Raul:
I went with a combination of Plastistruct and Evergreen rods that fit the scale a bit closer. the main support rods still seem a bit on the heavy side but it sure looks a heck of a lot better then what the wood dowels would have produced
Sorry just took some pic last night of the naked builds but haven't gotten them out of the camera yet.

I also changed the method of recovery for the capsule, attaching a short length of kevlar line just above where the shroud meets the balsa cone and a smaller 8" chute. also added weight to the opposite side of the capsule shoulder so it hangs sep motor UP during decent. I've used this method on several other mercury and apollo capsules to help pervent tower beakage on landing...so far so good

 

[lessgravity]

Great idea. I built mine twice before I was satisfied. Here is mine attached to my Little Joe II

 

[Micromeister]

I did something else that may or may not work out. I printed a second capsule wrap made just a tad larger then the first and slipped in on over the printed warp as the launch shield used on flight capsules.. I'm gonna try painting this shield overall white with the capsule so I can display it with the cover off and fly it with the cover on (As flown)... IF it removes after painting...We'll see.

 

[Stymye]

I've recomended using plastic everytime I read complaints here about the tower (that's alot over 4 years).. glad someones finally listening or trying it.


It looks so much nicer when painted too.

 

[tonypv]

I built my Little Joe II with the wood dowels. Then I read a review of the Saturn 1B on EMMR and he suggested using Evergreen Styrene rods. Well I did on my Saturn, boy was that a lot easier. Looks better too.
Almost done, on to the painting.
Here's my Little Joe II,

 

[cmmeyers]

That is a good idea, and I'll probably use the evergreen rods on my second Apollo capsule.

I am getting ready to build my first one for the Saturn 1B. I figure I'm a sucker for punishment, and want to experience first hand what all the griping is about! I'll post back here about how much I hated sanding down the dowels!

 

[foose4string]

Went to my favorite hobby shop today and was able to get the .060 Plastruct and some Ambroid Pro Weld, but they were out of the .045 rod. The Evergreen selection was looking even more anemic. I've got a couple more places I can try for the smaller stuff, no hurry though.

 

[rosko_racer]

What would be the difference between the Evergreen and Plastruct styrene rods?

 

[Stymye]

not much , however plastistruct makes a rod with an internal wire. I'm not sure what sizes you can get with the internal wire tho

 

[rokitflite]

Originally posted by stymye
not much , however plastistruct makes a rod with an internal wire. I'm not sure what sizes you can get with the internal wire tho

True Andy, but the internal wire stuff is not styrene. It's very soft and does not glue as well. Plastruct has an ABS plastic rack and a styrene one. I got rid of our ABS one in favor of the styrene.