Dr. Zooch - Saturn V build - FINISHED

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I set my Estes Saturn V on the floor of my kitchen, then the Dr. Zooch Saturn V on the edge of the kitchen table. Finally I held out a small Saturn V rubber toy I ordered off of Amazon last Fall.

3 Saturn Vs 01.jpg

Here they are all sitting on the table:
3 Saturn Vs 02.jpg
 
Can't wait to see some launch video.

Over the weekend I went out with my 6 year old son and we met my brother and his 12 year old son. We launched about 7 or 8 rockets and I got two launches of the Zooch Saturn V.

The first launch I just took pictures. I'd found a setting on my camera that I expected to take a burst of 16 pictures so I could get 3 or 4 of the rocket lifting off - but instead it put 16 low resolution images tiled together on one file. It looked rather stupid. There were about 8 pictures of the rocket sitting still, one of it halfway up the rod, and 7 more of the left over smoke. I'll check with the user manual - there's got to be a way to do what I want.

So on the 2nd launch I made a video. My brother and his son saw the wadding after ejection and assumed that it was part of the rocket, that's what they mean when they're saying it's in two pieces. It came down in one piece, but not quite okay.

One of the corners of the parachute burned off and so the parachute didn't open uniform, and the rocket spiraled down. No other damage was done and I can replace the parachute easily enough.

A note about the launch location. It looks like we're out in the desert or an area with just dirt and brush. We're actually in a very nice part of North Atlanta in Georgia. There is a neighborhood my brother found that was developed to the point of paving the streets and then the developer ran out of money and abandoned the place. A few years ago it was flat and wide open, now a lot of weeds and other brushy plants have grown up. It's still a nice place to launch, it just looks worse on the video than it is.

[video=youtube;uuwbR1K7MDg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuwbR1K7MDg[/video]

The launches were fantastic!! I flew the first on a B and the second on a C and they went straight up and flew beautifully. Well done Dr. Zooch. Well done.
 
Looks great. The Zooch Saturns are not only fun to build but from everything I have heard or seen, fly very nicely.
 
great flight Mushtang!! I have logged 5 flights on my Saturn V and Skylab Saturn V ...they both fly great. I did switch to an Estes 18 inch chute for both of them....I like a somewhat slower descent rate. You did a great job on your build thread...your Saturn V looks awesome!!!
 
I am getting ready to put on the finishing touches. I made a couple of minor modifications. On the tower, I cut some small nozzles from a round toothpick. On the upper section, I added a chute line to suspend that section a little more horizontally from the chute. Rather than painting the black stripes on the bottom section between the two wraps, I printed a duplicate wrap and cut the black stripes from the upper wrap. I had to Sharpie the white bands, then just glued those partial wraps in place on the bottom. My printer did not exactly color match the original, but comes close. A real fun build.

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Looks great Glen!

I am getting ready to put on the finishing touches. I made a couple of minor modifications. On the tower, I cut some small nozzles from a round toothpick. On the upper section, I added a chute line to suspend that section a little more horizontally from the chute. Rather than painting the black stripes on the bottom section between the two wraps, I printed a duplicate wrap and cut the black stripes from the upper wrap. I had to Sharpie the white bands, then just glued those partial wraps in place on the bottom. My printer did not exactly color match the original, but comes close. A real fun build.

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View attachment 301578
 
Rather than painting the black stripes on the bottom section between the two wraps, I printed a duplicate wrap and cut the black stripes from the upper wrap. I had to Sharpie the white bands, then just glued those partial wraps in place on the bottom. My printer did not exactly color match the original, but comes close. A real fun build.

Great idea on the lower vertical black bands!
I painted mine before adding the wraps. I was concerned the masking tape would tear into the card stock wraps.
Your idea solved that problem!
 
Thanks! this was kind of quick weekend build, but after having gone through several other Zooch kits, I am starting to get the hang of them. Trying to decide on the next one, maybe a Titan IIIC.

Great idea on the lower vertical black bands! I painted mine before adding the wraps. I was concerned the masking tape would tear into the card stock wraps. Your idea solved that problem!
another alternative would be to hit the model with clear coat before masking off for the black portions, the tape would come off the clear coat easily and not peel the paper up. I realize those parts of the real thing were not corrugated, like the lines on the paper wrap suggest, I could have just printed a solid black rectangle on cardstock as well.

Looks fantastic Glen! So did you manage to create some FGP or go a different route on the engine bells?
I took a shortcut there as well. When I built my ASTP Saturn 1B I just kept adding a healthy fillet of white Glue-All around where the dowel contacts the nozzle bell. It takes a few overcoats of glue to build it up, and you can sort of spread it where you want with a sharp dowel or toothpick to shape it. I used the same approach here, it looks decent, but not quite as built-up as a FGP worm.

Can't wait to launch it, but the rainy season is coming soon. Hope our next launch is not scrubbed.

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Many thanks! That is the magic of the Dr. Zooch ant-scale, his kits pack a lot of fun into a little white cardboard box. I hope he gets back to supplying them, many are low or out of stock at the typical channels.
 
My Dr. Zooch Saturn V came with a thick steel washer in the small parts bag (the bag with the screw eye and swivel). I couldn't find anywhere in the instructions or parts list mentioning this washer. It looks like a nosecone weight. It would have probably fit in the third stage tube, but it's too late because everything is glued together and painted.

Was I supposed to install that washer somewhere?
 
My Dr. Zooch Saturn V came with a thick steel washer in the small parts bag (the bag with the screw eye and swivel). I couldn't find anywhere in the instructions or parts list mentioning this washer. It looks like a nosecone weight. It would have probably fit in the third stage tube, but it's too late because everything is glued together and painted.

Was I supposed to install that washer somewhere?

Yeah, probably. Sadly, the Good Doctor did not show the balance point on the plans/instructions - none of the DZ kits that I've built do. (I have a copy of the Saturn V but it's still in the box.) But here's what can you do: prepare the rocket to fly, wadding, motor, etc. Then find the balance point and do a swing test. Perhaps someone who's built this kit will chime in with where theirs balances.
 
My Dr. Zooch Saturn V came with a thick steel washer in the small parts bag (the bag with the screw eye and swivel). I couldn't find anywhere in the instructions or parts list mentioning this washer. It looks like a nosecone weight. It would have probably fit in the third stage tube, but it's too late because everything is glued together and painted.

Was I supposed to install that washer somewhere?
This will explain the metal washer. https://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=17995&highlight=Zooch+Saturn+metal+washer
 
The funny thing about this is I got the Dr. Zooch Saturn V kit with the washer in it when eRocket started making them.
I got a Dr. Zooch Saturn V last month from eRocket and it didn't have a wash in it and no special instruction for the washer. So I really don't know what's going on with the washers people find in there kits.
 
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