Estes Super Orbital Transport - shuttle nose cone?

[SolarYellow]

Instructions for the current-production Estes 7314 Super Orbital Transport show part number 033341 for the glider/shuttle nose cone. It appears to be the equivalent of a PNC-50B, an elliptical cone for BT-50. I haven't found anything like that used anywhere else. Is it unique to the Super Orbital Transport? I've downloaded John Brohm's nose cone/rocket kit reference (twice, apparently), and it's not in there that I can find.

I'm looking at the 1980 catalog and there's a similar cone on the 1282 Photon Disruptor. Brohm lists that as a P/N 071010, PNC-50X, also used on the Scamp, but the catalog photo of the Scamp looks different. Looking at other instances of the PNC-50X, it looks like it has a longer fineness ratio than a PNC-20B. Am I just misinterpreting what I see in the SOT photos and instructions? Is the glider nose cone the PNC-50X?

I'd love to get my hands on one or a few PNC-50Bs without spending $34 per kit.

 

[rharshberger]

The SOT is a new kit based on the original OT... Brohms reference has not been updated afaik in a long time.

 

[BEC]

Yes, the Super Orbital Transport is the first use of that nose cone (and the one on the booster as well). I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time we see it, since it's a new blow-mold created to be an accurate upscale of the BNC-20B. At least I hope we see more of it.

The 50X nose cone is quite a bit longer than this one. The balsa version goes back to the original Sprint and Constellation.



My SOT's "PNC-50B" on the left, and a BNC-50X from a Semroc repro of the Astron Constellation with the bases of the nose cones aligned. Semroc's nose cones were always as good a reproduction of the original part as Carl and Bruce could make and it tracks well with an original I had but have since lost.

As Rich noted, John Brohm's list has not been updated for some time. There are lots of recent releases with new parts that could/should be in there but aren't.

 

[SolarYellow]

@BEC
Thanks as always for the pic and solid info.

@JumpJet
It would be awesome to get this cone into some other rockets. Something as simple as a Generic E2X with the elliptical cone would likely deliver the highest apogee of any Estes BT-50 rocket on a C6-7.

I have less than zero interest in owning, building or launching an SOT, but I would love to buy a bulk pack of these nose cones.

 

[bad_idea]

It would be awesome to get this cone into some other rockets. Something as simple as a Generic E2X with the elliptical cone would likely deliver the highest apogee of any Estes BT-50 rocket on a C6-7.

I have less than zero interest in owning, building or launching an SOT, but I would love to buy a bulk pack of these nose cones.

As a compulsive parts-buyer, I can say that if Estes were to sell individual parts on more than a sporadic basis, they would have so much of my money it would be ridiculous, and my house would be in danger of sinking from the weight of all of the tubes, cones, and couplers. So both my wallet and my foundation thank them for trying (and failing) to force me to buy four cones I don't want in order to get one that I do, for not selling the parts I want most at all, for randomly dropping parts from their website while I'm in the middle of designing something in OpenRocket (e.g., 4" Pro Series), etc.

A rule I try to adhere to is not to build any rocket for which I can't buy tubes and couplers in bulk lengths, or for which nose cones aren't available from multiple sources. (I will probably get into 3D printing at some point mainly to free myself from the latter requirement.) My recent excursion into single-sourced BT-65 - of which Estes is out of spare tubes - has me questioning my sanity.

 

[Cape Byron]

As a compulsive parts-buyer, I can say that if Estes were to sell individual parts on more than a sporadic basis, they would have so much of my money it would be ridiculous, and my house would be in danger of sinking from the weight of all of the tubes, cones, and couplers.

+1.

 

[SolarYellow]

My recent excursion into single-sourced BT-65 - of which Estes is out of spare tubes - has me questioning my sanity.

When they were out of stock on the 2-inch nose cone, I just sent an email through the contact form on the web site and they magically had stock again in a day or two. Might try that if you need some BT-65. Or wait until they're having a general discount. Also, always check the edu site. Sometimes stuff will be in stock there that's out on the main site.

 

[SolarYellow]

My recent excursion into single-sourced BT-65 - of which Estes is out of spare tubes - has me questioning my sanity.

Today's deal is Green Eggs.

 

[bad_idea]

Today's deal is Green Eggs.

Thanks. I saw that and am still debating how much more tube I'll actually need. Green Eggs tube is shorter than Olympus tube which is shorter than the out-of-stock tube.

 

[BEC]

Thanks. I saw that and am still debating how much more tube I'll actually need. Green Eggs tube is shorter than Olympus tube which is shorter than the out-of-stock tube.

The Green Eggs body tube is also slotted for three TTW fins.

 

[bad_idea]

The Green Eggs body tube is also slotted for three TTW fins.

That settles it. Thank you. I couldn't find the instructions on the Estes instructions page so wasn't sure if it had TTW or not. (Only just now noticed the instructions are linked directly from the Green Eggs page.) There's probably enough unblemished tube in the Green Eggs for what I want to do with it, but I'd prefer more margin.
Hobby Lobby's price for the Olympus isn't a whole lot higher than the Green Eggs sale price, so if the tubes don't come back into stock fairly soon, I'll just buy another Olympus, though that tube is 18" vs. the 23.5" of the 046007 tube.

I did lay in a supply of BT-65 coupler in my last Estes order, so I'm set there at least, just need tubes at some point.

When they were out of stock on the 2-inch nose cone, I just sent an email through the contact form on the web site and they magically had stock again in a day or two. Might try that if you need some BT-65. Or wait until they're having a general discount. Also, always check the edu site. Sometimes stuff will be in stock there that's out on the main site.

Re. 2", they now have the cones and coupler but not the tube. However it appears that the C204 coupler stock from BMS is very nearly (possibly exactly) the same size as the Estes 2" body tubes.