French VE-10 Aigle

[PeterAlway]

Some years ago, I realized I had mostly complete scale data for some obscure French rockets. Over the past week or so, I decided to try to draw up a few of them I thought the VE-10 Aigle was a fun project. It looks weird enough to be an interesting project. While I don't have the full geometry of the fins worked out, I've got the chord, span, and thickness, so even if the leading edge sweep is a little squishy, it seems good enough for model rocketry. The B&W photo is the longer VE-10 version, and the color photo is the shorter VE-10A version without the clear covers over the strobe lights (which I assume are recovery beacons for locating the payload in the desert). The payload is a dummy ballistic missile warhead. This rocket was testing instrumentation to be carried in the dummy warheads in future tests. This beast dates back to the early 1960's. The missile it was supporting everntually became the Diamant satellite booster that launched the first French satellites. The drawing is at 1/50 scale if you print it at 300 DPI or 7.02" x 9.52" (the centers of the border lines make a 7 x 9.5 box, for 3/4" margins when printed on 8.5" x 11" paper.
As usual, you are welcome to use the drawings for your modeling projects, but not to distribute them or post them without my explicit permission.

The color photo comes from here: https://www.cannes-aero-patrimoine.net/pdf/pub/caspfa_PME10__003_Couchot_VE10s.pdf

The B&W photo comes from here: http://www.capcomespace.net/dossiers/espace_europeen/espace_francais/pierres_precieuses.htm

 

[lakeroadster]

Very cool.

 

[MarsFire]

That's such a cool rocket. Thank you for drawing it up Peter! A little clarification question: Are there 2 "tunnel covers" like the line drawing shows, or just one as the color profiles seem to show?


Andrew

 

[PeterAlway]

That's such a cool rocket. Thank you for drawing it up Peter! A little clarification question: Are there 2 "tunnel covers" like the line drawing shows, or just one as the color profiles seem to show?


Andrew

Oh, I goofed! Just one conduit thingie. I drew two views on the main drawing so that I could leave them or remove them as needed from the color views. Then I forgot to remove the extra from the drawing. Also the diameter of the bulgy part is 805 mm, not 8005 mm.

Peter

 

[PeterAlway]

OK, I'm not sure how to edit properly, so here is a fixed version of the drawing:

 

[bad_idea]

Thanks, Peter!