LM Shroud Done

We’re building the stack from the bottom up. Most recently, I’ve completed the LM shroud transition, atop the S-IVB. Next up will be applying the SM wrap. The rocket is starting to look like a Saturn V! There’s a long way to go yet, but with the CM atop the SM tube, even without the […]

Mis-aligned Wrap!

Oops. I mis-understood one of the alignment instructions. It was plenty clear: I merely blew it. The S-IVB has two wraps to model the ribs, one on the forward end of the stage, one on the aft end. There’s a tunnel cover that stretches between them (overlapping each). So, the alignment mistake—about 20° off, rotated […]

Are the Wraps Just Old?

I applied the S-IVB transition wrap this evening. It cracked. There was a little stress on the wrap, tangentially, in order to keep it tight. The CyA created a few cracks in the forward (small) edge. (Side note: I probably should have just glued this wrap down to the paper transition with canopy glue. I’m […]

Of Rings and Sealing Wax

Well, no sealing wax: just sealing thin CyA. The large tube (S-IC, Interstage, S-II) is done, except for touch-up, masking, and painting. It’s on to the S-IVB now. First step is to build the transition between the S-II and the S-IVB (big tube and third stage). This requires building a centering ring-couple set between the […]

Fin Fairing Wraps, and Manufacturing Tolerances

Finally: the fin fairing wraps are attached! Unfortunately, some of the manufacturing tolerances are a bit loose. None of the wraps seemed to extend quite as far as I’d expected. It’s just a bit of extra craftsmanship to get things looking reasonably good, but it would be nice if the parts were made to better […]

STB-1

I’m working to determine the limits of indirect staging (sometimes known as gap staging): how far apart can the booster and sustainer motors be, and still get reasonably reliable ignition? I built STB-1 (Staging Test Bed #1), pushing the first stage out to about 40 cm, staging an Estes D12 to a B4. The first […]

Peeling Warps

After all that work to get the wraps down well, it’s time to peel up a few small sections. Some of them are at the gaps between edges of a wrap, and in some of these I didn’t go nuts trying to get those edges down, knowing that a tunnel cover would run over that. […]

Time for Tunnels

Time, finally, to get the tunnel covers shaped, smoothed, primed, and glued. And the launch lugs. And, and, and. I’m glad to be back working with something other than those wraps!

Minor Snag: Nose Cone Interference

A minor snag on Krystal, at least slightly anticipated. The pod nose cones interfere slightly with the booster main body tube. I thought this might happen: I probably should have just built a shim onto the pod in the design. I caught this flaw during test fit, before gluing the pods to the booster, so […]

Krystal Update

I mentioned this rocket called Krystal that I’m building, in Display Nozzles and Other Distractions and The Joys of Tools. For details on the rocket, see its section on the Rocketworks Web site. Painting is now almost complete. The final color scheme has a red body, gold fins with a few red highlights, black pod […]