Orbital Upscale Project

I started this project a week or so ago, and thought I'd share some pictures. It's an Estes Orbital Transport, upsized to 2.6" tubing. I know it's not a terribly original idea, but who cares!
This bird WANTS to be BIG! I've got a good start on it, but it's far from being done.


Here's a pic of the main wings on the booster

 

Cutting the ramjet tubes.

 

All parts of the main wing

 

Gluing the ramjet housings together.

 

Gluing the ramjet housings to the main wing. Using a gallon of thinner for weight.

 

Ramjet housings glued on. Wings mocked up to check fir in the bodytube.

 

Full-scale OT laid on the upscale to give an idea of the size of it.
That's as far as I've gotten. More updates to follow.

 

[Chilly]

This is a project I've been wanting to do myself, possibly with 1.9" tubing on a 2x D or E cluster. I know it's been done to death - so does anyone out there have upscale plans and a parts list?

 

Originally posted by Chilly
This is a project I've been wanting to do myself, possibly with 1.9" tubing on a 2x D or E cluster. I know it's been done to death - so does anyone out there have upscale plans and a parts list?

I attached have fin templates for the 2.6" upscale. They are drawn in DeltaCad. You have to have DeltaCad in order to view the files. A demo of that program can be had here:

https://www.dcad/com

You could re-draw them for a 1.9" upscale

 

Whoops! Bad link.

https://www.dcad.com

 

[Stones]

Looks like you're off to a great start!
Question: the metal angles at the fin tips, permanent or just there while the glue/epoxy dries? The reason I ask is, in the pics, they appear to look permanent, having bolts and nuts attached.

 

[SwingWing]

Originally posted by asmqajm
I attached have fin templates for the 2.6" upscale. They are drawn in DeltaCad. You have to have DeltaCad in order to view the files.

I see on the deltacad page that it "reads and writes .DXF files"
Could you save or export a .DXF file and post it? I have a similar cad program called Fastcad, that can read .DXf, and I would love to have the templates!
Thanx in advance

 

[Chilly]

Thanks for the CAD files. I'll wait 'til I get home and load the demo software on my home PC.
What about parts? Can anyone recommend BTs and NCs? Any recommended motors? I imagine a 2.6" with all that lumber hanging off it wouldn't fly on anything smaller than an F50. I'm hoping a 1.9" with Estes tubing would be light enough to fly on a D cluster.

 

Originally posted by Stones
Looks like you're off to a great start!
Question: the metal angles at the fin tips, permanent or just there while the glue/epoxy dries? The reason I ask is, in the pics, they appear to look permanent, having bolts and nuts attached.

Thanks!

You are correct, those angles are there to stay. They made from aluminum .030" thick. They've got some JB Weld behind them with the #6 screws holding them together.

I plan to remove the screws, put a layer of glass over the outside, then replace the screws. Those little winglets were the first thing to break on my full-scale OT, and I don't what these breaking off.

 

Originally posted by SwingWing
I see on the deltacad page that it "reads and writes .DXF files"
Could you save or export a .DXF file and post it? I have a similar cad program called Fastcad, that can read .DXf, and I would love to have the templates!
Thanx in advance

I should have done DXF's in the first place. I have attached a file with both formats. I should mention that the parts in the drawings are labeled according to the Estes instructions for the OT kit.

Just print the drawings full scale, cutout and tape them together and use. I also want to mention that I'm not posting something untested. I drew these, used them, and they work great.

 

Originally posted by Chilly
Thanks for the CAD files. I'll wait 'til I get home and load the demo software on my home PC.
What about parts? Can anyone recommend BTs and NCs? Any recommended motors? I imagine a 2.6" with all that lumber hanging off it wouldn't fly on anything smaller than an F50. I'm hoping a 1.9" with Estes tubing would be light enough to fly on a D cluster.

Figure out what your upscale factor for 1.9" tube would be first.
The full scale model is a BT-50, which is .976" dia x 18" long

1.9/.976 = 1.946
Use the number 1.946 to find your upscale sizes.

So first, you would need a 1.9" bodytube 35" long (18 X 1.946)


For the ramjet tubes, you would need a 1.00" bodytube 2.9" long.
(.541 x 1.946) (1.5 x 1.946)

For the glider, you would need a 1.432" bodytube 12.6" long
(.736 x 1.946) (6.5 x 1.946)

Once you know what sizes you need, then you can try to find tube sizes that match what you need the closest.

 

[SwingWing]

Originally posted by asmqajm
I should have done DXF's in the first place. I have attached a file with both formats. I should mention that the parts in the drawings are labeled according to the Estes instructions for the OT kit.

Just print the drawings full scale, cutout and tape them together and use. I also want to mention that I'm not posting something untested. I drew these, used them, and they work great.

Got em, and they open just great. I assume they are drawn at 2.6/.976 = 2.664 scale?

 

[Chilly]

Thanks for helping with the tube sizes. Sometimes I'm oblivious to the obvious...

 

Originally posted by SwingWing
Got em, and they open just great. I assume they are drawn at 2.6/.976 = 2.664 scale?

Actually, the scale factor in my case was 2.704. That was based on a tube OD of 2.640" that I was using. It's certainly close enough to work if your tube OD is slightly different.

 

[kelltym88]

Very nice build so far. Any time you get to use a table saw to build a rocket, well in the words of Tim the tool man Taylor:

OOOHHHH OOOOHHHH

 

Well, it's been awile. Projects move slow in my shop. The OT is getting closer to being done, so I thought it was time to post another round of pictures.

This is first picture is my first-ever attempt at turning my own balsa nosecone. I needed a custom cone for the glider, so I thought I'd give it a try. I turned it on my drill press.

 

Finished cone installed on the tube.

 

Tail-end of the glider showing the cardstock nozzle I made out of an Oatmeal Creme Pie box

 

Gluing the glider wings together.

 

Epoxying the vertical stabilizers on to the main wings.

 

Gluing the wing strakes on, using clamps and scrap plywood to get a good alignment with the main wing.

 

Epoxying the recovery leader to the motortube. The booster bodytube is shown to the right.

 

Fincan being epoxied in, using more clamps and scrap plywood to align the strakes with the main wings. I applied 30 minute epoxy on the rear edges of the strakes to join them to the main wing. Epoxy, tape over both sides of the joint, plywood scraps, clamp. This aligned the strakes perfectly with the main wing, and filled the joint with epoxy.

 

Underside of the booster.

 

Completed glider next to the full scale one.