SCALE - Little Joe Gallery

[JAL3]

The Little Joes were to me the most visually appealing rockets of my youth. I have several LJ IIs sitting around waiting to be built but they don't capture my imagination the way the Mercury version did.

I built Dr. Zooch's Little Joe. It was the hardest thing I had done up to that time. I used a lot of vocabulary words that I thought had been safely relegated to my past. The results were worth it though. It is by no means a masterpiece such as many on TRF create on a routine basis but it represent my best work to date when it was done. Memories of the LES tower still cause me to slip back into my older vocabulary but these days I'm blaming that on the SHR Mercury Redstone LES.

The build thread is in the archive: https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showthread.php?t=48388

The photo albums are here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/collections/72157607423569418/

.

 

[rstaff3]

Here are my LJ's. The small I is a cardstock conversion The bigger I is a 2.5"dia. 29mm model using a hardwood capsule that was a donation to an EMRR contest.

The II is the Semroc kit, trimmed as a mix of the kit specs and three rounds depicted in ROTW. No scale points here.

 

[billspad]

Here's mine. The body tube is BT-50 and it flies on 5 MicroMaxx motors.

 

[stickershock23]

Oh Oh can I play...

Yeah I know you've all seen it.. but Come on whats better than a BIG little joe.

This flies on 4 54mm CTI K motors 2 K560's and 2 K160 long burns..

Scheduled to fly AGAIN at OKTOBERFEST in Las Vegas.. This time I have mounted a camera in the middle of the 4 motors facing straight down...

All Photos by Ray LaPanse (and very fine photos at that LOL)

ANd a link to the VIDEO

Enjoy.

 

[JAL3]

Oh Oh can I play...

Yeah I know you've all seen it.. but COme on whats better than a BIG little joe.

This flies on 4 54mm CTI K motors 2 K560's and 2 K160 long burns..

Scheduled to fly AGAIN at springfest in Las Vegas.. This time I have mounted a camera in the middle of the 4 motors facing straight down...

All Photos by Ray LaPanse (and very fine photos at that LOL)

ANd a link to the VIDEO

Enjoy.

That is just too cool.

 

[hcmbanjo]

Here's mine!

The Dr. Zooch Mercury Little Joe was covered on a build thread here on TRF.
It had it's first flight last month on a Quest B6-4.

The Semroc Apollo Little Joe II was built on my blog at:
www.modelrocketbuilding.blogspot.com

 

[Micromeister]

My only Little Joe-I is a very poorly done scratch build using an old Centuri Mercury capsule. Flys well but not a very good rep. of the prototype i'm afraid.

 

[Boosterdude]

Mercury Little Joe

Post copied to this thread with permission

 

[JAL3]

Welcome to the SCALE - Little Joe Gallery on TRF.

This gallery showcases the (Mercury) Little Joe and those rockets derived from it. Particularly appropriate in this thread are the following:


Dr Zooch: Mercury Little Joe:
Neubauer: Little Joe I:
Urban Kartonmodelle: Mercury Little Joe:



as well as any upscales, downscales, clones, kitbashes or other derivative works. Even Goonies qualify!


Little Joe was an unmanned United States solid-fueled booster rocket used for eight launches from 1959–1960 from Wallops Island, Virginia to test the launch escape system and heat shield for Project Mercury capsules, as well as the name given to the test program using the booster. The first rocket designed solely for manned spacecraft qualifications, Little Joe was also one of the pioneer operational launch vehicles using the rocket cluster principle.

A successor, Little Joe II, was used for flight testing of the Apollo launch escape system from 1963–1966.

 

[JAL3]

Dr Zooch Mercury Little Joe Basic Information.

Dr Zooch Rockets

MODEL NAME: Mercury Little Joe, Little Joe

NUMBER:

Introduced:
Final Year:
Designer:

Type: Scale
Motor Mount: 1x18mm
Recovery: Parachute
Stages: 1
Length: 12.95"
Diameter:
Span: 5.27"
Weight: 1.74 oz

Mfg. Description: This is a semi-scale model kit of the Project Mercury test vehicle known as Little Joe. This kit comes with everything you’ll need to construct a flying small scale model of the test vehicle… okay, almost everything… it does not include the glue, or the hobby knife, or the sand paper, or the sergeant rocket engines, or the Wallops Island launch pad, or the 60 or so engineers it took to launch the real thing, or either of the two monkeys who rode aboard it (mainly because they’re… well… dead.). You also do not get the United States Navy to help you recover the rocket, but that should not stop you from phoning them and asking them to do so (Give ‘em that “I pay your salary” line… they just love that). Also NO 18 mm rocket engines such as B6-4s or C6-5s, which the rocket uses are included in the kit- you’ll have to go to a hobby store and buy your own. Which brings to mind another thing you won’t get… skill! Well, actually, you will develop some skill as you build the kit, but we have to tell you this because we have to assume that you may be a skill-less slug who, if we implied so, would believe that somehow by just opening our box a magic skill pixie will leap out dive down your throat and then bust out through your chest and build the model for you. This will not happen… or at least we don’t expect it to happen… okay be careful opening the box just in case and remember to keep your mouth closed at all times just in case. If you do release a magic skill pixie- alert the Navy while you have them on the phone discussing that recovery fleet thing. (Dr Zooch 2011 Web Ad)

Advertising Liveries​

Dr Zooch 2008 Web Ad

Face Card​

First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.

 

[Montaro]

Yesterday was the first flight, and was great , very fast acceleration, straight up flight with some rotation. See the project thread HERE

Data Log

Engine: A10-3T
Apogee (m): 52
Speed (Km/h): 98
Burn Time (Seg): 0.3
Peak Acceleration (g): 23.0
Average Acceleration (g): 8.6
Coast to Apogee time (Seg): 3.0
Apogee to Eject time (seg): 1.1
Ejection altitude: 47
Desent Speed: 14
Flight Duration: 15.0

[YOUTUBE]46FRMbzVPi0[/YOUTUBE]

 

[JAL3]

Neubauer Little Joe I Basic Information.

Neubauer Rockets

MODEL NAME: Little Joe I Also known as:

NUMBER:

Introduced:
Final Year:
Designer:

Type: Scale
Motor Mount: 1x24mm
Recovery: Parachute
Stages: 1
Length: 24.75"
Diameter: 2.6"
Span:
Weight: 6.1 oz

Mfg. Description: Little Joe 1 was a 1959 unmanned test vehicle to determine how well the escape rocket would function under the most severe dynamic loading conditions anticipated during a Mercury-Atlas launching. This 1/30 scale kit features 1/8" balsa fins, balsa capsule, hardwood/resin escape tower, 18" plastic chute, and decals. (Discount Rocketry 2012 Web Ad)

Advertising Liveries​

Discount Rocketry 2012 Web Ad

Face Card(s)​

Instruction Header(s)​

First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.

 

[JAL3]

Bump for editing

 

[Montaro]

My LJ with escape tower

 

[JAL3]

Urban Kartonmodelle Mercury Little Joe Basic Information.

Urban Kartonmodelle

MODEL NAME: Mercury Little Joe Also known as:

NUMBER:

Introduced:
Final Year:
Designer:

Type: Scale, Cardstock
Motor Mount:
Recovery:
Stages: 1
Length:
Diameter:
Span:
Weight:

Mfg. Description: DESC

Advertising Liveries​

Face Card(s)​

Instruction Header(s)​

First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.

 

[kuririn]

Cardstock Mercury Little Joe.
Plans were in the Apogee Peak of Flight newsletter a few weeks ago.
Not entirely scale accurate but a fun build.

 

[kuririn]

From the Jan. 1973 Enerjet News.
Sport scale version of the Mercury Little Joe