R3verb
Well-Known Member
Hey All,
So, I'm building the Vesta Intruder for my 3 year old for Xmas (he's been talking about this rocket all year). I'm to the step where you put the 12 ribs on. Based on the instructions, they should be flush with the top of the tube and should have a little bit of clearance between the bottom of the ribs and the tops of the fin extensions:
But mine overlap:
I can't find any reference for how long the tube is actually SUPPOSED to be, the only thing I have to go off of is that Estes says the rocket should be 25.2" and mine is measuring right at about 22":
So anyways, I sent that all to Estes, hopefully they'll send me a refund or a free rocket or something.
Here's the reason for the post though. I've already put a considerable amount of time into getting those bottom fins perfect, I'd love to avoid having to re-do the whole thing and with Xmas less than 2 weeks away, I kinda don't have time to wait for a new kit to get here. So, I'm thinking I might just cut this one somewhere between the top of the fin extensions (probably around the 9" mark in that picture) and add another section of BT 60 tube with a tube coupler to get it to the right length. By my guess, the tube should be 12" long total but if anybody has one they can measure and tell me for sure, that would be super helpful. Will this work? I don't assume we'll ever be launching this on anything stronger than a D engine and with the 12 balsa ribs going over the seam, I can't imagine it's not strong enough right? Thoughts?
Thanks!
casey levinger
So, I'm building the Vesta Intruder for my 3 year old for Xmas (he's been talking about this rocket all year). I'm to the step where you put the 12 ribs on. Based on the instructions, they should be flush with the top of the tube and should have a little bit of clearance between the bottom of the ribs and the tops of the fin extensions:
But mine overlap:
I can't find any reference for how long the tube is actually SUPPOSED to be, the only thing I have to go off of is that Estes says the rocket should be 25.2" and mine is measuring right at about 22":
So anyways, I sent that all to Estes, hopefully they'll send me a refund or a free rocket or something.
Here's the reason for the post though. I've already put a considerable amount of time into getting those bottom fins perfect, I'd love to avoid having to re-do the whole thing and with Xmas less than 2 weeks away, I kinda don't have time to wait for a new kit to get here. So, I'm thinking I might just cut this one somewhere between the top of the fin extensions (probably around the 9" mark in that picture) and add another section of BT 60 tube with a tube coupler to get it to the right length. By my guess, the tube should be 12" long total but if anybody has one they can measure and tell me for sure, that would be super helpful. Will this work? I don't assume we'll ever be launching this on anything stronger than a D engine and with the 12 balsa ribs going over the seam, I can't imagine it's not strong enough right? Thoughts?
Thanks!
casey levinger