Estes Saturn V Build - One Small Step At A Time

I've decided to post a build series as I work on the new, 50th anniversary edition, Estes Saturn V. This rocket has been covered before, most extensively and best by Chris Michielssen on the Model Rocket Building blog. If you're building this rocket and want to see real craftsmanship, you definitely should check out his build process by clicking here and following the links to the first post in the series.

I could just build this rocket without doing a whole series on it, because it's been done before by more experienced and skilled builders than myself. But I've decided to write it up for a few reasons.

First, I've been posting photos of builds on my Instagram and Twitter accounts, which is great, but it seems like a waste of this blog space not to write the build up here as well.

Second, this new edition is not merely a re-release of the previous Estes Saturn V. It's a re-design. There are improved wraps, and one or two different parts. There will be some interesting tidbits about this kit in the next episode of The Rocketry Show podcast, which will be out very soon.

Also, rocketeers like reading rocket builds, and I don't post a lot of those. This seems like one people would find interesting.

Besides, I want to show you that you don't need to be afraid to try tackling a challenging build, even if you're not a master rocket builder like a Chris Michielssen. The only way to get to that level is to go for it. If you wait until you're "ready" to "do the Saturn V justice," you'll never build it.

The Dr. Zooch Saturn V, a challenging "ant-scale" rocket

I tackled the Dr. Zooch Saturn V months ago, which, while not as detailed, was a really tough build because of the small parts. It was a rocket I'd been waiting to build until I was "ready" for a long time. Then, when Dr. Zooch went out of business, I decided I needed to just go for it.

Did it turn out perfect? No. But it turned out better than I thought it would, and I learned some things from the build. Mostly, I learned that even if you make mistakes on a challenging build, you're probably going to be happier with your results than you think you will. Most likely, you'll be the only person who'll notice those mistakes, unless you point them out to people, and once you're done building it an are actually flying it, you won't notice them much either.

I've gotten pretty good at building basic sport models which usually turn out the way I want them to. This Saturn V is a much more ambitious project than something like a Der Red Max or Big Bertha, though. But July 20, 2019 - the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing - is fast approaching, and I want to have a Saturn V to fly on that day, so it's time to get building, even if this rocket is more than I've taken on in the past.

I haven't abandoned the Scratch-Built Big Bertha series, by the way. But since I'm doing the Saturn V in little pieces, I should be able to put out short posts on it regularly. Don't worry - the hand-turned balsa nose cone post in the Bertha series is coming soon.

This series isn't meant to be a how-to. In fact, I've deviated from the instructions in a couple significant ways. I don't recommend you do that, unless you understand the principles of model rocket stability and how to make sure your rocket is stable. I won't be sticking to the two motors Estes recommends for flight, so I need to be sure the rocket will be safe when it flies.

You'll notice from the photo at the top of the page that I have two of these. That is, I have two of the 50th Anniversary Apollo 11 release with the bonus Lunar Module static model. I also have one of the previous models which went out of production early last year, as I managed to buy it just before it was discontinued.

While it's true that the Saturn V is an expensive model rocket kit, and retails for around $90, you can find it for less. A number of sites and vendors sell the Saturn V kit at a discount. I got mine from AC Supply, which sells most Estes stuff at 40% off retail. They're around $54 on that site, and by buying two I not only have given myself permission to make a less-than-perfect build, I also got free shipping for purchasing more than $100 of merchandise (I always consolidate purchases on sites that offer free shipping over a certain amount).

I kept watching the tracking information, and for about a week, I was convinced the USPS had lost my package in transit, somewhere in western Massachusetts. Finally, the rockets arrived, and I was beyond excited!

I'll often buy a kit and hold on to it for a long time before I get around to building it. In this case, I want to have the rocket built, painted, and ready to fly by July 20, 2019, the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. As soon as I got a free moment, I started building.

I'll show my first steps in the next post.

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Decisions To Be Made - Mid Power Rockets and Other Kits

As I mentioned yesterday, I have a build pile of 17 rockets, and I'm not sure where to begin.

Truth is, I have a few rocket kits (8 of them) which require a little thought and planning before I begin. All the Estes Pro Series II and the Quest Big Dog (the whole front row, above) are considered mid power rockets. They all take 29mm rocket motors, which can be much more powerful. I want to transition into high power rocketry, and these bigger mid power ones are the key. The construction is not dissimilar from the low power stuff I've been building and featuring on this blog, but it's sturdier and with thicker materials. So this is where I learn.

But I have to decide, among other things, how I'm going to launch them, and therefore how I might alter the kits. These all come with traditional launch lugs for launching from traditional launch rods. But many mid power rockets and most high power rockets tend to use a launch rail these days - a slotted metal rail six feet long or longer, onto which the rocket slides, guided not by a straw-shaped lug, but by a launch button or conformal rail guide.

Cross-section of a T-slot rail and a rail button.
Photo from the CDI Model Rocketry website.

Launch lug vs. conformal rail guide.
Image from Giant Leap Rocketry

The Quest Big Dog is where I'd like to start, and before I do, I definitely need to make a decision, and figure out how to build it.

The Big Dog has a lanch lug which is sized for a rod no bigger than 3/16 inch, which is a pretty thin rod when you go up to an F or G composite motor. But rail buttons are best attached by screwing them through the airframe into a supporting piece of wood - often right into a centering ring, which in larger rockets are usually made of plywood. But the centering rings for the Big Dog are made of thin black fiber, so that's not an option. I'd need attach a small piece of wood on the inside of the body tube to act as an anchor. The airframe for this rocket is 1.92 inch in diameter, and I can't get my hand inside that, so I don't know how I'd get anything inside there.


Then there's the issue of making a launch rail. Most rocketeers seem to favor something called 10/10 slotted rail from an Indiana-based company called 80/20. They do, however, have thinner, metric rail, and there's a company which makes mini-buttons to fit a rail of that size. Now, I like the idea of smaller buttons and a thinner rail - I probably won't need anything huge for quite some time. But I don't know how common mini-buttons are, or when you'd need to upsize to a larger button and rail. If I only build a couple smaller rockets, is it worth building a mini-button rail, or do I need to go for the bigger ones?

From rail-buttons.com, home of the 25 cent rail button

So, there's that - what size rail do I want to use? Apart from that issue, there's also the question of building a rail launch pad. I've seen a few instructions online for simple pads - this one from the Apogee Components newsletter is pretty simple and cheap, but only points straight upward - you cant tilt it downward to load the rocket or to adjust your launch angle to compensate for the wind. Here's another good, cheap one which looks great - relatively simple and cheap to build, but the instructions are hard to follow for a n00b like me, and I had to Google a few things to figure out what the parts mentioned were. Metal nipple?? What is THAT?? I think it's a plumbing thing...

In the book I've mentioned many times, Make: Rockets: Down-to-Earth Rocket Science by Mike Westerfield, there's a low power launch pad which uses a drill chuck to hold a rod. It's adjustable, and takes whatever size rod you want to put in it. I think I could modify that to take a heavier load. If you look at that picture above of the rail, you see it has a hole down the middle. I think this can take a metal rod, but I have no idea what size - the manufacturer's website doesn't have that information - at least not where I could find it.

I really want to start building those mid power rockets - especially the Estes Leviathan, a huge, fat rocket (by my standards). And especially the Estes Ventris. And the Partizon... OK, I want to build all of them.

But I do have other rockets to build, which I guess I could start in the mean time. First, there's the Cosmic Explorer. I love this rocket - it flies so straight!

I got three more of them at the Estes holiday sales, and want to hack or bash the kit to take a larger, E-sized motor. But I'm procrastinating on that one. It has through-the-wall or TTW fins, and I'll need to trim them a bit to make them fit properly.

At less than 5 bucks a pop, how can you not get three??

I have a couple of simple, Skill Level 1 rockets I probably wouldn't have bothered with if they weren't so cheap - the Estes Monarch and Hornet. Now that I have them, I have to admit, they are cute. These simple rockets might be a good next step, just to keep me working. But I want to build something bigger or more interesting.

Next, the Reflector.

This is a payload-capable rocket, and the one used in this Instructables on adding a camera. I have the rocket and the keychain camera, but now that I have it, I'm nervous about taking the camera apart.

Then there's the MIRV.

This is a very strange rocket, not only because of its shape. It's a two-stager. The first stage flies on one single motor, as you'd expect. But the upper stage splits into three separate rockets each flying on their own motors!

This is why I wish Chad were around more often. He's the only friend who I think would find this truly fascinating. Unfortunately for me, he's now splitting his time between Bloomington and a theater company in the Adirondacks.

Finally, there are a couple of rockets I'm excited about, but intimidated by.

The Dr. Zooch Saturn V.

This "ant-scale" model is pretty complicated. Chris Michielssen does a beautiful job with his, but it requires some real finesse and dexterity to make it look nice. And that's the only reason I'd want to build this one. I'm nearly there, but... Making those "engines" is gonna take some patience and skill.

Finally, there's something special - the Red River Rocketry Blue Shift.

The Blue Shift, from Red River Rocketry - the last of its kind?

What's special about this rocket is that it's no longer in production - and this one right here might very well be the last one of its kind.

I first saw the rocket on Apogee, and thought it looked cool, and put it on my wishlist. But soon I discovered that Red River Rocketry no longer makes kits. I scoured the web to find one, and found two - from eRockets, through Amazon. I bought the second to last one - and it was lost by the postal service. I had to file for a refund through Amazon, and ordered the very last one.

This is just another rocket, but it's nice looking, has a few features I haven't built yet - and it's the very last one! I want to do this rocket justice, and not screw it up, which is why I haven't started on it yet.

I'm tempted to build it and not fly it - tempted, but of course, I will launch it. That's what rockets are for!

Still, somewhere out there, either in the back of a truck, in some other person's apartment, in a landfill (let's hope not), or in some postman's house is one more of these. Let's hope it's OK.

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