Soyuz build from Cosmodrome Vostok

[delta22]

Wrapped the 1.4" lower transition with 2x layers of thin FG and sanded it to maintain the sharp step to the wider middle tube. Then did the same 2x FG for the mid-section and upper transition.

While it looks pretty Frankenstein right now, the shape is exactly what I was going for. Once painted it will get the job done well. As it is very near the NC, the fact that it weighs 8oz is not a problem.

 

[delta22]

Also built up a 3.2" long section of body tube with the same double layer tube as the rest of the upper body, and epoxied it to NC shoulder.

Then filled seams in built up tube and small gap at NC shoulder with Mr. Fixit epoxy putty. Trimmed it while soft with Exacto.

Next day, followed by sanding and 2x wraps of FG on body.

 

[delta22]

Prepared another section of double thick tube 8.2" long with a 2x wrap of FG.

Carefully epoxied this to the mid-section just above the inter-stage gap, using a metal rod to help fine tune alignment.

Then added a 0.3" section of fiberglassed 54mm tube to the upper area of the inter-stage gap, painting it with thin epoxy and sanding twice.

This 54mm ring will be mostly obscured by the lattice to be added later, and represents the form of the upper stage motors.

 

[Spurkey]

Looks good, Frankensteinian or not. Thanks for the update!

 

[wilsotr]

So I sent Gordon Agnello (aka Sandman) this diagram and he is building it for a very reasonable cost. He even improved on the drawing before doing the build.

Typical Gordon Agnello.

 

[sodmeister]

Typical Gordon Agnello.

Yup ,that`s about right !


delta22 - she`s looking great ,and a very nice build thread indeed.I like it...I like a lot !! This is proving to be very helpful for when I start mine (whenever that will be)

Cheers

Paul T

 

[delta22]

Formed a shallow small cone to represent the top of the core first stage oxygen tank.

Tacked in the first cone with fast epoxy, then laid two more identical paper cones on top to increase its strength. Used West slow epoxy for the build up to totally saturate the paper and maximize strength.

Also put a single layer of light FG on the NC to harden the surface of the basswood.

 

[delta22]

Got the detail work completed on the escape tower.

Marked out and filed in the notches between the top set of nozzles. Bought a fine triangular file for this.

Then formed the lower, larger escape tower nozzles from 3/8" and 1/8" dowels.

The sizes on these parts are very close to scale. The shapes are an approximation to within a 1/16".

Used a fast tacking wood glue to attach parts and then painted with slow epoxy to harden and further bond.

 

[delta22]

Prepped some conduits for the upper stage from 1/8" basswood.

Attached them with 5 minute epoxy, then hardened them with two layers of slow epoxy.

 

[delta22]

Formed the 1.6" x 1.6" grid fins from more 1/8" basswood.

Fast wood glue to assemble, then wrapped rocket body with 80 grit sandpaper and sanded grid fins' side braces to fit rocket contour.

Again, fast epoxy to bond to the fiberglassed body followed by slow epoxy for hardening.

 

[delta22]

Cut a 8.5" section of 1/4" threaded rod and secured it to two centering rings as pictured. Using rod couplers (the 1" long nut on the left in the first picture) each of the three upper body sections will screw together.

At each connection point, the threaded rod will end 1/8" short of the outer body tube and the rod coupler will make the connection.

Second picture shows bottom of this section. A stiffy tube reinforces the coupler tube. This will screw on top of the altimeter bay and can be easily removed for access to the electronics.

Last picture shows top of this section which will screw onto nose cone assembly, and can be opened to adjust nose weight. Coupler tube is reinforced with a single wrap of 6oz FG at this end.

 

[delta22]

Lastly painted another layer of thin, slow epoxy on the escape nozzles to maximize bond strength.

The smaller nozzles at the bottom are 1/4" by 1/8". I had to hold them with needle nose pliers to sand them and glue them to the rocket.

 

[sandman]

Lastly painted another layer of thin, slow epoxy on the escape nozzles to maximize bond strength.

The smaller nozzles at the bottom are 1/4" by 1/8". I had to hold them with needle nose pliers to sand them and glue them to the rocket.

It's a good thing I left that part separate.

 

[wilsotr]

Got the detail work completed on the escape tower.

Marked out and filed in the notches between the top set of nozzles. Bought a fine triangular file for this.

Then formed the lower, larger escape tower nozzles from 3/8" and 1/8" dowels.

The sizes on these parts are very close to scale. The shapes are an approximation to within a 1/16".

Used a fast tacking wood glue to attach parts and then painted with slow epoxy to harden and further bond.

Beautiful work!

 

[MaxQ]

Lastly painted another layer of thin, slow epoxy on the escape nozzles to maximize bond strength.

The smaller nozzles at the bottom are 1/4" by 1/8". I had to hold them with needle nose pliers to sand them and glue them to the rocket.

Really enjoying this thread.
I have a cosmodrome Vostok that I was building as a Soyuz....I have the core boster done, but have been searching for the right material for the grid fins.

Your thread certainly shows the way for handling the build.

 

[delta22]

Gordon (Sandman), yes you were right, forming the nozzles from separate pieces is the way to go.

Thanks for the kind words gentlemen.

In order to figure out how much nose weight to use, I worked up RockSim models of the Cosmodrome Vostok and this Soyuz.

As RockSim does not model canted boosters, I built these simulations by calculating each rocket's total effective cross sections at each point and expanded the core to match this. Whatever stabilizing benefit was derived from the form of the boosters was not accounted for in these models.

Made the sim of the Vostok to see how well my sim's assumptions worked for a known good flyer.

Weight for the Vostok was based on information from Mike at Cosmodrome: Vostok (includes 10oz nose weight, but no motors or recovery) weight of 3lbs 3.1oz and CG as shown in the attached .jpg. Sim adds 5oz for recovery. Also adds the recommended H242T motor.

My Vostok sim reported a margin of 0.95 using RockSim calculation method against a reference diameter of 3.0".

Soyuz weights based on measurements on this build:
4 boosters 30.8oz
lower core 14.4oz
upper core 36oz (cores split in the middle of the rocket for deployment)

Assumes additional 3oz for electronics, 9oz for recovery and adds a G motor plus 16x D11s.

Adding 8oz of nose weight, my Soyuz sim reported a margin of 1.22 using RockSim calculation method against a reference diameter of 3.0".

I will go with 8oz nose weight, which puts the fully prepped weight of this rocket at 8.3lbs.



View attachment Vostok Cp.rkt

View attachment Soyuz Cp.rkt

 

[sodmeister]

As others have said ,including myself.....beautiful craftsmanship Boris ! I`m picking up some great and very useful information that will be used on my Vostok build in the future.
You use many of my building techniques ,so I guess I`m on the right track

Again great build thread !

Paul T

 

[delta22]

I am so proud of my kids.

(As I started this thread, I give myself permission to briefly hijack it.)

My son Paul (age 13) and his teammates Jared and Connor in the Hastings Middle School TARC team 9016 just qualified for the TARC national finals. They are learning a lot about planning, teamwork and communication as well as having a lot of fun flying rockets. All of us are very excited about going to the finals in Virginia.

My daughter Amelia (age 18) is Co-President of her class, was one of the leads in the recent, excellent school play, is taking an AP and a college course as a HS Senior, and got perfect 5's on her two previous AP courses. She is also in band, chorus and many more clubs and committees. Amelia has been accepted by 5 colleges and offered generous scholarships.

Both kids love to read and study, are happy, healthy, kind-hearted and wise beyond their years.

 

[sodmeister]

I am so proud of my kids.

(As I started this thread, I give myself permission to briefly hijack it.)

My son Paul (age 13) and his teammates Jared and Connor in the Hastings Middle School TARC team 9016 just qualified for the TARC national finals. They are learning a lot about planning, teamwork and communication as well as having a lot of fun flying rockets. All of us are very excited about going to the finals in Virginia.

My daughter Amelia (age 18) is Co-President of her class, was one of the leads in the recent, excellent school play, is taking an AP and a college course as a HS Senior, and got perfect 5's on her two previous AP courses. She is also in band, chorus and many more clubs and committees. Amelia has been accepted by 5 colleges and offered generous scholarships.

Both kids love to read and study, are happy, healthy, kind-hearted and wise beyond their years.

I suppose you really cannot ask for much more out of life...now can you !


Paul T

 

[wilsotr]

I am so proud of my kids.

(As I started this thread, I give myself permission to briefly hijack it.)

My son Paul (age 13) and his teammates Jared and Connor in the Hastings Middle School TARC team 9016 just qualified for the TARC national finals. They are learning a lot about planning, teamwork and communication as well as having a lot of fun flying rockets. All of us are very excited about going to the finals in Virginia.

My daughter Amelia (age 18) is Co-President of her class, was one of the leads in the recent, excellent school play, is taking an AP and a college course as a HS Senior, and got perfect 5's on her two previous AP courses. She is also in band, chorus and many more clubs and committees. Amelia has been accepted by 5 colleges and offered generous scholarships.

Both kids love to read and study, are happy, healthy, kind-hearted and wise beyond their years.

Congratulations! Life doesn't get much better than that.

 

[delta22]

Back to the build.

Making a push over the next three weeks to be ready to fly at the CMASS 4/30/11 Amesbury, MA launch.

Added 8 oz lead shot and a section of threaded rod into the nose cone. Will add a rod coupler to this to retain it to rocket. Can see Gordon's signature on NC base.

After first coat of slow epoxy on grid fins, sanded assembly, then Spot Bondo to fill small gaps.

 

[delta22]

Sanded NC and grid fins after wiping on another thin layer of slow epoxy with a gloved finger. Also drilled a 3/16 vent hole for altimeter bay, which is 8" long by 3" diameter. Painted epoxy inside ebay then re-drilled vent hole.

Filled a couple areas where I found slight gaps between wood parts and rocket body with Spot Bondo then sanded them down.

Did a final check and clean up sanding of all rocket surfaces.

 

[delta22]

Cleaned up work area and laid out fresh newspaper to reduce dust.

Masked off tube ends, coupler surfaces, and booster to core bond points.

Wiped all surfaces with rag followed by tack rag.

 

[delta22]

Painted all nine rocket sections with a light build up of Krylon white primer.

Found four areas where the fiberglass needed filling due to open pores. Touched those up with Spot Bondo.

Went ahead and painted the other five sections with Krylon White gloss after wiping the dried primer surfaces with tack rag. Had found on a previous project that the Krylon primer can leave solids on the surface that need to be wiped off before final paint coat.

 

[delta22]

After three painting sessions and multiple layers of paint, have a nice coat of Krylon White Gloss on all rocket components.

Two days later masked off and painted green areas using Krylon Hosta Leaf Gloss.

 

[delta22]

Built the altimeter sled using 1/8" plywood and 1/4" LOC launch lug.

Screw switch is from Featherweight Altimeters, altimeter is Perfectflite HA45K and a 9V Duracell for power.

Wires to ejection charge pass to lower section of rocket for single event electronic apogee deployment, backed up by central motor's ejection charge.

Put two small wooden triangles inside alt bay to position sled / screw switch in front of vent hole.

 

[delta22]

To construct the inter-stage lattice, masked off the pre-painted mid-section of the rocket and carefully marked off 12 evenly spaced points for positioning the lattice.

Then cut 24 pieces of 1/8" dowel. Dowel had previously been hardened with thin wiped on epoxy and later primed and painted.

I had a hard time getting the tiny 1" by 1/8" dowel sections to exactly the same size and then persuading them to stay where I put them when dry fitting it all together.

Hit on the idea of preparing each dowel piece with a tiny drop of 5 minute epoxy on the end and letting that partially dry. That created a tacky and compressible end on each piece and facilitated fitting, epoxying and retaining each piece in place.

Five hours and seven small batches of epoxy later the inter-stage lattice was assembled.

 

[delta22]

Went with Krylon Pumpkin Orange Gloss for orange/yellow rocket areas. Made a planning mistake when I painted the darker green before the lighter orange sections. The very narrow bands (1/16" to 1/8") where the two colors overlap may not end up with sharp, clean color transitions.

Unfortunately, got some nasty orange peel effect on a couple boosters. Will have to do some sanding and re-painting to clean this up.

The white and green went on well, with good coverage and no problems. This orange seems thin, runny and slow to cover, in addition to causing the orange peel in a few patches of the underlying white paint.

 

[sodmeister]

Painting can indeed be a little nerve racking ,too bad about the wrinkled paint.I must however say, things are looking quite nice ,and the Krylon Hosta Green seems like a good match (good to know and noted on file)...was that just trial and error ?

Was the paint problem due to not enough cure time between colors you think ?

I used the Krylon Pumpkin Orange on my 4" Polecat Jayhawk ,and it did take me over 3 cans to get good coverage ,but it turned out very nice and a good deep gloss without a clearcoat (although I did spray over a gray primer )

Paul T

 

[jazzviper1]

I had the same wrinkeling problem on Apogee Saturn 1B and on th bottom third of my Centuri Thunder Roc.

That aside this is one awesome build you have going. I am verey impressed and a little jelous of you skill.