Winter Projects: whats on your menu...

[Silverleaf]

Thought I'd ask as the season is winding down to fly what your winter projects are, and since I'm doing scratchbuilt projects this winter..heres my todo list:

1) Resin cast all the Estes shuttle and tank parts, and hunt down all the extra tubing so I can keep the last Estes kit # 1284 for reference. In addition, check with Drew Tomko on his Energia-Buran and see what I need to create a copy of it.

2) Start work on the huge Guillows 1/77th scale Space Shuttle, then scratchbuild an external tank and SRBS to match, then make a static display base.

3) Find tubes for a Launch Pad style Nike-Hercules, using the plans as a guide. Decide on a proper way to stage it - since I'm an absolute newbie to electronics/schematics and avoid it like the plague. You say capacitor, I say huh ?

4) Clone a Sandhawk, then a Terrier-Sandhawk and if all goes well, create a Nike-Sandhawk.

That should keep me busy till next winter when i can do it all again..so, whats your plans ?

Cheers,

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by Silverleaf
Thought I'd ask as the season is winding down to fly what your winter projects are, and since I'm doing scratchbuilt projects this winter..heres my todo list:
.....
..so, whats your plans ?

Since I'm moving to Dallas, I plan on flying during the winter.

Other than that:

1. Continuing developing and testing the Sandman series is minimum diameter cluster airframes, testing how far particular building techniques will hold up with upscaling. Present 24mm versions will be tested up through 3 F motors, and 6 E9's with the booster stage. Next version is 3 x 29mm for up through H motors. I'm still betting better than even money that wood glue will be enough.

2. Carbon body tubes in general, using Aerosleeve. In particular a 38mm carbon tube for a minimum diameter sky puncher. All the other parts are waiting.

3. Electronics. Starting with an Ozark ARTS. Then an onboard gyroscope. Then adding two way radio link, Working up towards real time telemetry and --YES-- active guidance.

4. Cold ejection. Pressurized gas or other non-pyro ejection forcing mechanism to go with hybrids. And then getting some hybrids.

5. Trying to figure out how to use 2 through 4 to put together a high performance, edge tech rocket business.

 

[DumasBro2]

Silverleaf:
I want to get that Saturn 1B done and maybe dig out the Guillow shuttle as well. I can maybe help you out with tubes, let me know what sizes you need. I can also help you out with the ET cones as I have turned two set of the already.

 

[dtomko]

R.S.,
I'm hoping I will finish the Buran before winter! The tubing for the Shuttle/Energia is easy to find; I can get measurements and post them over in the E/B thread.
DunasBro2: what size cones have you turned? Are they for the Estes #1284 or in scale with the Guillow's shuttle?
Drew Tomko

 

[DumasBro2]

The cones I turned were for the Guillows shuttle stack ET. I was looking for some pics but I can't locate them right now. (old age creeping in).

-steve

 

[hokkyokusei]

I'm so busy at work that I'll be lucky to build _anything_ - but if I do get any time then the build list looks somthing like:

Two stage HPR rocket - probably 4" booster 2.6" sustainer, but maybe something even bigger with a clustered booster.

New payload and deployment bay for my hybrid airframe.

Scale Black Arrow (been working on this for year with not much to show for it).

...and make a start on the kit pile:

Cosmodrome Vostok
Roachwerks' Little Joe II
British Spacecraft's X-15

...and beta test somthing for one of TRF's many cool vendors.

 

[Micromeister]

Originally posted by Silverleaf
That should keep me busy till next winter when i can do it all again..so, whats your plans ?

Cheers, [/B]

SilverLeaf: What happened to you, I thought you were going to enter Sandmans Little Joe-II... did I miss it somehow?

 

[vjp]

My immediate goal is to finish my rocket glider project (only a few more weeks of good thermalling weather left this season!).

Then, I'll resume work on my Saturn V Skylab project (5 motor cluster), and my second Vostok (1/31 scale, just over 48" tall, to fly on a cluster of 4 E9's and 8 A10-PT's). I'll probably have to get my L1 for the Vostok project, since that will contain over the 125g limit of propellant for "model" rockets. On the other hand, if NARHAMS does a sport scale competition next year, I'll probably just build a 1/41 scale Vostok (about 36" tall) so I can enter that.

 

[Silverleaf]

Steve,

Sounds great. I'll be starting on the 1/77th Shuttle in the next few weeks, in between doing beta testing for a couple new games, one in which I'm helping with developement and the like.

By chance, do you happene to remember the base diameter of the ET and SRB cones ?

I ask only because I'm curious what size tubing the project will take. Maybe 6 inch diameter for ther ET ?

SilverLeaf: What happened to you, I thought you were going to enter Sandmans Little Joe-II... did I miss it somehow?

Enter his Little Joe? Umm, I did finish the kit, and created the launch platform for it, which is part of a static display. The Little Joe 2 could fly off the complex itself, but I decided 400 hours of work on the pad wasn't worth a large melted mess in 10 seconds. lol

You can find final images here by clicking on the Little Joe 2 Launch Pad Complex:

https://scale-rocketry.tripod.com/id5.htm

 

[DumasBro2]

Scott,
The SRB's are Aerotech 1.6" tubes. The ET figures out to 4.3" IIRC. The tube I'm using is 4.2" with 2 wrqpw of 6 oz. glass and 1 wrap of 2 oz. About as much as I wanted to put on there without making a brick out of the tube.

-steve

 

[DumasBro2]

Excuse the fat finger typo please.

 

[Chilly]

My project $$ will be equally split between kits, electronics, and larger motor casings. I'm training in a new job so there won't be a lot of time for building this winter anyway. I plan to get a Terrier booster for my MiniBBX, and a Binder Stealth or BSD Thor to certify L2 in the spring.

 

[dtomko]

Not that I have time for this, but I have one of the Estes foam shuttle orbiters. I worked it out a while ago that a 3" tube would work for an Energia core if the shuttle were converted to a Buran, so that would be a tad bigger for a shuttle ET. I think it's about 1/96 scale. I have the figures worked out at home somewhere.
DT

 

[Stymye]

Depending on how much I have to put in at work,
I plan to build a cluster Estes Sat V and build the TLP- Rim 67a

When estes releases the canadian arrow , I would like to build a fleet of the different German V-rocket variants, including the A-9/A-10 version, possibly with a working top stage.

I definately plan to have a scratch L2 ready for next spring as well.

 

[GL-P]

a G altitude attempt

finishing my DW

finishing my minimum diameter 38mm rocket

 

[JStarStar]

I think for me the winter is gonna be a Saturnalia.

I've got the Saturn Press Saturn V kit down in the shop ready to get started. Dr. Zooch Saturn I kits coming in the mail. Might also pick up the Zooch S-IB and Saturn V.

Then, around midwinter, I'll get busy on my Estes Saturn V kit (still sealed in the box downstairs.) My 1969-model Centuri Saturn V looks terrific on display, but I'm a little leery of launching that one again. Too much history invested in that one to see it crash if anything goes wrong. The new version, I just bought on eBay a few months ago, if it goes boom, it's no biggie!

I also have an Estes Saturn IB kit in my closet, that would give me a matched set of 1/100 Apollo-Saturns.

Then, I'll get going on scratch-building 1/100 versions of the Gemini-Titan, Mercury-Atlas and Mercury-Redstone, and do up real-scale versions of the Alway-design 1/100 Vostok, and adapt them to the Voskhod and Soyuz versions.

My ultimate goal is to have a complete 1/100 scale collection of every manned spacecraft - Vostok to Shuttle to Long March-Shenzhou - and then launch them in sequence at a demo.

 

[Missileman]

My winter project is to finish my summer projects
Sandman LJII,
Cosmodrome Vostok,
TLP/Apogee/scratch Nike Hercules.
If and when I get those done I want to start on a 6" Jayhawk.

 

[RocketboyG80]

Same here missileman, I have to finish up those projects that I only half finished this summer. Problem is I can't paint 'til spring which always makes me crazy. Once I get that stuff out of the way. I want to make a 29mm to 29mm two stager. I'm still working on the design though. Figuring out where to place the timer and where to run th wiring is a where I keep getting hung up. But that is what study halls at school are for.

 

[TheRadiator]

1) Finish my still-built Estes Saturn V
2) Get my Roachwerks Little Joe II looking righteous
3) Scratch out a BT80 version of Binder Design's California Kid
4) Reduce my gigantic painting and unbuilt piles by a drastic percentage

and a project that is not so rocketry-related is building a newer, faster, stronger B18B1 engine for my Acura. Time to go AutoX-ing!