"Old" Estes Geo-Sat LV Build Thread

[BSNW]

Well Happy Holidays everyone. I wanted to post this as I am sure some of you may be interested in this old kit. I have never done a "build thread" before. I dont even know if this qualifies as one....as I have done most of the building already and took photos along the way.

I found this kit while looking at old Estes catalogs on Ninfinger. I also have a close friend and fellow rocket nut who has a 3D printer. He is big over on the YORF side of the rocketry world (teflon rocketry 1) and told me he would try and find me plans/files for the plastic parts of this kit. Sure enough someone DID have the plans and off he went. He even made me a "kit" with some spare parts and I was blessed to have my holiday break build! WOW what a cool design (and what a cool friend to give me something to do on my time off!).

I hope Estes brings out more kits like this. Especially with the popularity of Space-X and all the other folks building rockets to send our stuff up into orbit. Anyway I hope you enjoy the photos of the build. If you have any questions about the printing....go to YORF and look up "teflon rocketry 1" on their forums and I am sure he can answer any questions....his 3D printing and parts are TOP NOTCH! THANK BRUCE!!

One more thing..I DID change a few things. 1) The original kit had an 18mm motor mount.....I love Estes....but I think the original was under powered...so this one has a 24mm motor mount. 2) I also changed the lugs from 1/8th to 3/16. I will also fly this without the satellite payload b/c the printed parts are massively more heavy than the original blow-molded parts. I will used a standard BT60 for the payload section....much lighter!

I also added a 2 inch forged eye bolt for the shock cord, 1.5" rail buttons, carbon fiber lay-up on the fins and 1.5 inch/30 foot kevlar shock cord...plus a Kate tracking system.....I am using the mighty E motor after all.......KIDDING!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos.....
Peace
Andrew

 

[BSNW]

 

[BSNW]

 

[BSNW]

 

[BSNW]

I forgot to take photos of the 24mm motor mount construction and installation....oops. It is a standard mount anyway. Also the side boosters are mounted on strips of balsa and are not attached directly to the body tube. So there was a lot of lines to draw/mark on the main body tube. I decided to glue the side boosters on first (a departure from the instructions) instead of the fins. On other rockets I have built like this I found this order to be easier for me at least. I also loved that I had to cut my own fins from the fin stock. What relaxing fun.

 

[BSNW]

 

[BSNW]

IMO...this fin shape seems kind of weird for this type of rocket...But after some thought, I notice that I bet Estes made them this way so kids (like me!) could stand the rocket up when completed. It is an impressive kit so I be they wanted kids to be able to display it on a shelf or desk.....I would have!

 

[BSNW]

I then went on to cut and glue on the side boosters. Here is a shot with the plastic goodies dry fitted on one.

 

[BSNW]

Notice the GAP on the bottom of the wood strip next to the booster "flange".....measure twice cut once. With all that CA on the tube, I decided just to leave it and maybe fill it with putty later.
OUCH!

 

[BSNW]

Now they have you glue on small dowels on the side of the boosters....I never thought this would be such a pain in the #@!!. I ended up taping it to the line marked on the tube and tacking with CA.....good times.

 

[BSNW]

The Lower section.....taking shape! On a side note....it would be fun to build another one of these and get tiny decals of ULA or Space-X or Arian Space etc.....just a thought. I did get a set of decals for this kit made by none other than the master.....Bruce at Teflon Rocketry 1 Cant wait!!

 

[BSNW]

Okay no more eye candy....back to work. Time for fillets. LOTS of them. I used wood glue to keep it light.....trying to anyway.

 

[BSNW]

Okay....so after all that glue dried I set to putting the fins on. I was really tempted to change them to something more "boxy" but I decided to stick with the kit design.

 

[BSNW]

And here it is dry fitted with all the plastic goodies.

 

[BSNW]

I later put on the launch lugs. So I guess I am ready to begin finishing work. All the plastic stuff will get painted separately and put on later. The satalight in the payload is going to be a tough paint job. It does have decals, but I really want to make it pop. I will post more photos as I begin painting and finishing.....I hope you all liked this.
Andrew

 

[cjp]

Well Happy Holidays everyone. I wanted to post this as I am sure some of you may be interested in this old kit. I have never done a "build thread" before. I dont even know if this qualifies as one....as I have done most of the building already and took photos along the way.

I found this kit while looking at old Estes catalogs on Ninfinger. I also have a close friend and fellow rocket nut who has a 3D printer. He is big over on the YORF side of the rocketry world (teflon rocketry 1) and told me he would try and find me plans/files for the plastic parts of this kit. Sure enough someone DID have the plans and off he went. He even made me a "kit" with some spare parts and I was blessed to have my holiday break build! WOW what a cool design (and what a cool friend to give me something to do on my time off!).

I hope Estes brings out more kits like this. Especially with the popularity of Space-X and all the other folks building rockets to send our stuff up into orbit. Anyway I hope you enjoy the photos of the build. If you have any questions about the printing....go to YORF and look up "teflon rocketry 1" on their forums and I am sure he can answer any questions....his 3D printing and parts are TOP NOTCH! THANK BRUCE!!

One more thing..I DID change a few things. 1) The original kit had an 18mm motor mount.....I love Estes....but I think the original was under powered...so this one has a 24mm motor mount. 2) I also changed the lugs from 1/8th to 3/16. I will also fly this without the satellite payload b/c the printed parts are massively more heavy than the original blow-molded parts. I will used a standard BT60 for the payload section....much lighter!

I also added a 2 inch forged eye bolt for the shock cord, 1.5" rail buttons, carbon fiber lay-up on the fins and 1.5 inch/30 foot kevlar shock cord...plus a Kate tracking system.....I am using the mighty E motor after all.......KIDDING!!!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos.....
Peace
Andrew

 

[cjp]

Hi Andrew,It's great hearing from you.I'm retired as of last June and spend most of my time with our grandchildren,I have not flown with the club since 2012 but talk to Corny all the time and ask about you.Let me know next time your in the Falls and hope all is well with you and your wife.I still have not flown my Der Mega Max I scratched built.Last time we spoke you were going to trade me a motor that would work with it.You may not remember that LOL.Anyway take care,Carl. This rocket of yours is another masterpiece hope to be there when you launch it.

 

[sl98]

Yesterday, I received 3D printed GeoSat parts that were graciously printed by cwbullet. I suspect your parts were were printed from the same Thingverse file (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:440953) that cwbullet used and which was created by robnee (discussed here: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...r-custom-recreations.65934/page-2#post-741065)

I am just waiting for my clear payload section to arrive (it is being held up because my entire order was back ordered). I'm also going the 24mm route. Depending on final weight I may have to adopt your idea of flying without the satellite in the payload bay.

Thanks for your build thread.

 

[n3tjm]

I had that rocket when I was in High School. Loved it! I gave it to my best friend when I moved from PA to NH shortly after graduating.

 

[tenspeed]

A friend 3D printed this for me too. I also got the files from Thingiverse. I had planned to not use the satellite. Since I hadn't thought about the weight I might make it using the 24mm mount.

 

[BSNW]

I am happy to see other folks working on this kit. For awhile there I thought I was the only one who liked this kit!! I do plan on using a regular BT60 for the upper section of the payload bay for flight only - and use the clear payload with satellite for display.

I am sorry I dont have any more photos as of yet. All I have done so far on mine is sand,prime and did some more sanding again yesterday. All I can say is that...this is tough to paint! I have painted many rockets but the tiny-tight nooks down in between the boosters and the fins are tough to get coated. What I did was spray in the nooks knowing I was going to get runs/drips. I then sanded them down. When I put on the final coat I will lightly mist that area just to get it covered and put a gloss on it (I am using white primer). I will post photos when I can.

Anybody else have some ideas on getting in those tight spots with a spray can?

Fun times....
Andrew

 

[BSNW]

Okay- so I know it has been some time since I posted anything on this build. I can only paint at my friends place on the weekends (he has a basement and a full paint booth....we are spoiled!), so progress has been a little slow. The rocket has a couple coats of primer followed by sanding etc. I have the first top coat on and all I have left is the final sand with 400 and then the final top coat of white. This rocket is a challenge to build as it has many "nooks and crannies". I do have the satalight painted along with the transition and the nose cone. I like it so far. I opted for silver instead of the gold the instructions called for on the satalight. More photos to come as I make them!

 

[tenspeed]

Where did you get the solar panel decal? How much work have you done on the parts? They look really smooth. Mine show a lot more of the layers. Still very usable but will require a bit more filling and sanding.

 

[blackjack2564]

Outstanding build....nice attention to detail.

 

[BSNW]

Hello tenspeed and Jim.
The decals were made by my friend Bruce (teflonrocketry1) he can be found over on YORF. He got the scan and printed them on decal paper. He also made the plastic goodies using his 3D printer. I have not done any prep work on the plastic goodies. I just painted them. If you look closely they do have very tiny ridges/print lines which actually give them a "real world" look!

Jim!! Thanks for the comment! BTW, come back and launch with us in Amherst sometime!

I will be doing the final coat of white this weekend....I can't wait to post photos of the rocket/booster!

Thanks guys!
Andrew

 

[BSNW]

So! At long last I finally got over to my friend Bruce's' place and put the final coat on the booster. It is funny that even though the can of spray paint (Ace Hardware Premium) says "enamel" it is really a laquer. At it sprays, dries and lays out like a laquer. No worries, the humidity was extremely low and the finish came out great. Since it dried so darn fast I was able to take it home to put on the final touches. See Photos below!

 

[BSNW]

So here it is....the final product. I must say this build thread was kinda fun. I will maybe do it again. The only thing I have to do is paint the regular BT-60 section of tubing that will be used for the "Flight payload". I do not plan on using the clear-satellite payload section for launching. Since it is 3D printed, it is very heavy. A shout out to my buddy Bruce (Teflonrocketry1) over on YORF. Thanks Burce for the parts, 3D printing and some darn good decals! Speaking of decals I know I too k liberty with my final finish. I know some purists will balk at me changing some of the color schemes and decal placement. All I can say it is my model and I have to look at it, and I like it! Anyway......"See you on the flight line!"
Peace
Andrew

 

[tenspeed]

That looks sharp.

 

[pondman]

Nice build Andrew! Hope to see in down here in a few weeks.....

 

[tenspeed]

This fly yet?