Comrades:

I thought I'd share a quick project with you: my Very Large Alpha. After buying a Mega Red Max and buying the parts for the new Big Red Max, I got to thinking what else could be easily upsized using genuine Estes parts on-line. So the body tubes are Pro Series 3" as is the coupler. Estes doesn't sell it in long enough lengths to do the Alpha without a coupler so I chose to put the coupler at the bottom and sand the ply rings to fit inside. The 3:1 nose cone is the Big Daddy cone. Fins are hand-cut 1/8 birch ply with 1/16 balsa skins on either side. The skins don't go through the wall, but the fins are glued to the 29mm motor tube. Rings are from JBassham on eBay.

The upscale is 3.074. There's some more clean-up and final fitting before I glue it all together, but I think you can see where it's headed.

First picture shows the whole thing mocked up next to my old Alpha.

Second picture shows the through-the-wall fins into the coupler with the locking ring.

Last picture shows the cap ring in place that will have triangle stock to further lock in the fins. The idea is to build it up to this point including the motor tube and then carefully add the long upper tube last.

This isn't a rush project, but I'll share more pictures as we go along.

Attached Thumbnails

     

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NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7