Nice! I've never heard of one going together so fast. I might just have to design something more complicated just to keep you in line....
Nice! Where is that kit from? I've seen the Cosmodrome one, but that seemed smaller.
This will be a neat one to watch!
Love that kit, but recovering the top section nose down can cause issues depending on what it lands on. My last flight landed on asphalt and tore up the nose cone.
I found that coating the top in epoxy does help to lessen the road rash. A very light weight cloth should help too.
Okay, I am in on fiberglassing the top part of the NC only. If it looks like I start finding a bunch of other stuff to glass in a few posts, please talk me
away from the West Systems. Found a few mins to make slots for aft booster and lug standoffs.
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Since you are building a Vostok you might be interested in some of the history. There is a great series of eBooks you can get from the NASA site for free. They are all very well written and give great insight to the Russian space program. It was written by Boris Chertok who started working as an apprentice electrician and ended up as the control system engineer for the R-7 missile, which we know today as the Soyuz. All four books in the series are a great read.
https://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/rockets_people_vol1_detail.html
IIRC volume 3 dealt with the manned space program. It was the largest, and also probably the most difficult to read, just due to the it jumping around a little in time. Still a good read.
Unfortunately I couldn't find a way to stuff any bigger of a chute in, there's barely enough room for the 35" and 24". My last flight (years ago) found the one surface rock in the entire field. Let me know if you need a replacement.
Use the 'Booster Body Tube' marking guide on the templates to get the location of the conduits. I think it's 155 degrees from the fin, but I'm pulling that number out of memory. Extend the conduit line all the way up the booster. Start with the 3/8" x 3/32" x 6" balsa and form it as in figure 19. Epoxy to the conduit line 1/4" above the gap between the two out booster body tubes. Glue the 1/8" x 3/32" balsa to the forward end of the lower conduit. This one will extend past the top of the shroud. Cut off the extra (save). Install the nose cone (do not glue). Place the remaining piece on the nose cone and bevel the end so that it creates a flush joint with the lower piece. Cut a 3" piece of the remaining 1/8" x 3/32" balsa and glue to the nose cone. Once dry, remove the nose cone (need to epoxy the booster on first, then install the nose cone).
Looks correct. Trying to remember why I don't say to cut the booster at the BT/Shroud interface.... possibly that the balsa I used was flexible enough to make the bend on it's own. Remembering what I did last week can be a challenge, never mind 15 years ago . If it helps, but it at the seam or even just score the back side.
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