Glad you started this build. What size engine do you plan on flying it with?

I'll configure it to accept a single E or D casing.

Now the wraps. AFTER making 1:1 cardstock repros of the wraps (just in case) I tape the kit's original wrap sheets to my cutting mat for slitting the joining edge. Taping the stock down almost completely eliminates the possibility of drifting off the line during the slit. I wish the "Vixen" was here to cut the curves--she has better eyes than I do. :cool:

3rd stage foundation wrap is first. This one can be flawed--since it's an underlayment.

LADIES, PREPARE TO SWOON!!

Using the curling tube left over from a Quest X-30 kit, I rollform the foundation wrap upon my Herculanean thigh and then butt together the straight edges and tape it with Scotch delicate surface blue tape.

STOP PANTING!

The initial fitting is too loose, so I slit another .030" from the edge and rejoin it. The fit is better now. Keeping mindful of the alignment line, I use Aleene's Tacky Glue to mount the foundation wrap to the 3rd stage BT and coupler because it won't soak the paper and cause it to wrinkle or pucker the way Elmer's or Titebond can.

I'll leave the assembly inverted overnight and let the adhesive dry. The 3rd stage now has "good bones"!

Time for a Scotch and an IPA. Have a safe journey to NARAM 55. Good night. TBC

So I cannot sleep and just had a wild idea...

What if four pieces of clear tubing are slit, spread open somewhat and glued around the fairings so that they extend past the engine bells? They can serve both as clear fins as well as protecting the bells, fairings and scale-sized fins upon landing.

Or am I just dreaming?


Bill

Awesome...Im building one now as well

Excellent! A #2001?

I don't know. The finished model has a VERY heavy flight weight as it is and achieves only 100 feet (and in most cases, less.) I think adding more weight that far down would be "poking the tiger".

> I wish the "Vixen" was here to cut the curves--she has better eyes than I do. :cool:

Yep, Verna does all the really tedious cutting for us. I think women are just better at it than men, smaller fingers, hands, not as shaky.

Randy
www.vernarockets.com

So you're coming from the angle of using a clear, removable set, over the stock fins, as a way to protect them at touchdown?

Randy
www.vernarockets.com

An engineering teacher taught us to always have a notebook next to the bed to jot down any ideas we may get overnight. In this age, that notebook is this computer and this forum the paper...

The Saturn V is notorious for being underpowered on a D12. And marginally stable. So using an E12 or any 24mm central within a cluster of four smaller motors or moving the motor further back from the stock location to facilitate flying with the engine bells are all asking for pain.

The idea is to add four clear tubes as tube fins for added stability, with the added benefit of landing protection.

I did ponder on some ways to make them removable before I dozed off.


Bill