Are you saying that the Estes plastic 29mm retainers fit inside the Star Orbiter body tube w/out modification?
Star Orbiter - Should I or shouldn't I?
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Only if they've changed the design.....
This is the aft end of my currently active Star Orbiter (the one used to do the Sierra Blanca challenge at NSL 2017).
In fact one has to be careful not to have one of the ribs on the retainer cap in line with the launch lugs.....
This is the aft end of my currently active Star Orbiter (the one used to do the Sierra Blanca challenge at NSL 2017).
In fact one has to be careful not to have one of the ribs on the retainer cap in line with the launch lugs.....
Don Allen
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No they don't. I should clarify this - I utilize the retainer screw-on cap for the sustainer if I want to fly it single stage, but DO leave it off for the booster. The epoxied threaded part of the retainer does remain on the sustainer and the booster fits right over it. I thought about just using retainer spring clips for both sustainer and booster but dry-fitting parts showed me everything could fit but I would have to leave the screw-on cap itself, off, for the booster. I do put a F engine block in both booster and sustainer so nothing can slide forward, and friction tape the nozzle end of the sustainer so it's a tight fit.
Works like a charm.
I tend to mod kits with 29mm motor tube foremost in mind and I can always use a 24/29 mm adapter if I want to use D/E engines.
I have learned from experience to paint the boosters bright red or orange. Where I live in Southern Colorado, we have lots of free open space but there is the desert plant chamisa, which grows very high and you can lose boosters in it quickly. Low shrub or pasture land is not that easy to find in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado.
I wouldn't want to hunt for rockets in the chamisa either..... 
(I grew up in New Mexico so I can certainly visualize what this might be like).
Your method for staging the Star Orbiter, with that bit of clarification, sounds like it would work very nicely.
(I grew up in New Mexico so I can certainly visualize what this might be like).Your method for staging the Star Orbiter, with that bit of clarification, sounds like it would work very nicely.
Don Allen
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I wouldn't want to hunt for rockets in the chamisa either.....
Your method for staging the Star Orbiter, with that bit of clarification, sounds like it would work very nicely.
I'm saving up the cash to get the Jolly Logic Chute Release as chasing rockets that deploy chutes at 2100+ feet isn't a lot of fun. I do put spill holes in the chutes and that helps a lot.
I've done 3 variations on the Star Orbiter. One is over 5 feet long and CAN be triple-staged (but not without the JLCR being used first).
I'm itching to try it AFTER I get the JLCR.
Yes, the Chute Release really changes how you can do things. I fly the Star Orbiter with one aboard all the time now.
Apologies for awakening a dead thread, but it’s of interest to my next project.
My SO is my favorite rocket in my flying fleet and I’m looking to construct a booster for LDRS. The only problem is that I installed the screw-on motor retainer when I constructed it as a single-stager, not anticipating that it could cause the problems that prevent easy two-stage conversions.
Currently looking at a minimum-length booster or slightly longer, with the motors taped together.
I’m likely to fool around in OpenRocket and use it to help me measure and plan everything out, but this is also the kind of thing that would benefit from some additional expertise.
Things I’m currently thinking about:
The placement of my second centering ring. I want to have it be part of the mount but I also don’t want to make inserting the fin tab impossible.
Fin chord. The OpenRocket file I have says they’re over 12cm long, my measurement of them in the balsa stock come out to 11.8. Then again, I haven’t checked out the high-quality one from @K'Tesh , so that’s likely next on my to-do list. I’ll also need to figure out how this affect’s the motor’s placement in the booster. I’d hate to have to cut the fins, I feel like I’ll need that area for stability.
Weight, obviously. Maybe I can get around this with a piston launcher but I also feel like making one and getting it ready to use will have to wait until next season.
My SO is my favorite rocket in my flying fleet and I’m looking to construct a booster for LDRS. The only problem is that I installed the screw-on motor retainer when I constructed it as a single-stager, not anticipating that it could cause the problems that prevent easy two-stage conversions.
Currently looking at a minimum-length booster or slightly longer, with the motors taped together.
I’m likely to fool around in OpenRocket and use it to help me measure and plan everything out, but this is also the kind of thing that would benefit from some additional expertise.
Things I’m currently thinking about:
The placement of my second centering ring. I want to have it be part of the mount but I also don’t want to make inserting the fin tab impossible.
Fin chord. The OpenRocket file I have says they’re over 12cm long, my measurement of them in the balsa stock come out to 11.8. Then again, I haven’t checked out the high-quality one from @K'Tesh , so that’s likely next on my to-do list. I’ll also need to figure out how this affect’s the motor’s placement in the booster. I’d hate to have to cut the fins, I feel like I’ll need that area for stability.
Weight, obviously. Maybe I can get around this with a piston launcher but I also feel like making one and getting it ready to use will have to wait until next season.
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