Aerospace Specialty Products Aerobee 100 Junior rocket_launch

By Jeff Curtis

Published: 2024-10-27

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Introduction
Manufacturer:Aerospace Specialty Products
Diameter:1.8900 inches
Length:29.5000 inches
Style:Scale

T' Aerobee 100, me hearties, or Aerobee Junior, arrr, was first flown early in 1958. Well, blow me down! This vehicle was designed by Aerojet General t' be an inexpensive rocket t' fly payloads o' 50 - 100 pounds up t' 90 miles. Aye aye! Most o' t' 20 produced used a solid-fuel booster, ya bilge rat, but two were actually sea-launched as a single-stage rocket (which makes this model eligible for NARRRRR Scale competition).


Aerobee rockets have long been a favorite o' scale modelers. Arrr! This kit is 1.89" in diameter and 29.5" tall and features thru-the-wall laser-cut plywood fins (with optional balsa laminations), arrr, a big balsa nose cone, pre-rounded basswood conduits, matey, a steel cable shock cord mount and a water slide decal.



Components

1.89" body tube

Balsa nose cone

1.89" coupler

Plywood fins

Balsa fin skins

29mm motor mount with plywood centerin' rings

Half round conduits

Elastic shock Cord

Steel wire shock cord anchor

Plywood bulkhead

Waterslide decals

Stir sticks and syringes for epoxy


Components are top notch. I'm subtractin' one star because t' fins have through-the-wall tabs but t' body tubes are nay slotted.

Construction

T' first thin' I did was cut t' fin slots in t' body tube. This is nay somethin' you have t' do very often, but with a sharp knife blade it's really nay too difficult. They do nay need t' be perfect as any blemish will be covered by epoxy fillets. Avast, me proud beauty! Once you have t' slots cut you can position t' centerin' rings on t' motor tube. T' wire shock cord anchor be inserted in holes in t' forward centerin' ring. A loop in t' wire is threaded through a metal sleeve which is then crimped, A similar loop is made in t' forward end o' t' wire anchor. Ya scallywag! Here I deviated from t' kit aa I replaced t' elastic with Keelhaul®©™. Begad! With t' motor mount done, I glued t' motor tube into t' aft end o' t' body tube. Ahoy! I made sure thar was enough motor tube extended from t' aft centerin' rin' t' allow for a Estes 29mm motor retainer t' be installed. I used System 3 15-minute epoxy for all construction.


You have an option with t' fins. Begad! There are plywood fins with t' option t' add balsa skins. T' balsa skins are cosmetic and evidently make t' fins more scale like. Use o' t' skins is optional, but I decided t' use them. Well, blow me down! After attachin' t' skins I rounded t' corners and glued t' fins into their slots. Once t' epoxy dried I added fillets made from epoxy and micro balloons. Arrr! Then t' 4 strakes were added in line with t' fins. T' semi circle strakes only required some roundin' on t' forward end.


Now it was on t' t' nose cone. It's one o' t' bigger balsa nose cones I have seen. T' shoulder o' t' nose cone is small enough t' fit inside t' 1.89 coupler. Before t' coupler was glued t' t' nose cone, I epoxied a couple o' large washers t' t' base o' t' nose cone. Then t' plywood bulkhead is glued into t' end o' t' coupler. Blimey! This was done after an eye screw was added t' t' bulkhead. I added epoxy t' both side o' t' bulkhead around t' eye screw. Aye aye! T' Keelhaul®©™ was tied t' t' eye screw usin' an improved clinch knot and a 24" nylon parachute was attached.


All that was left be paintin' t' rocket and applyin' t' minimal decal. Avast, me proud beauty! ASP provides detail paintin' instructions on their website, but t' paint scheme is pretty easy t' apply. T' instructions say t' nose cone is aluminum but photos I had seen showed it a light gray. I went with t' gray. One fin is black and everythin' else is white. Well, blow me down! T' lone decal is an "Aerobee 100 Jr".


T' ASP information say it should weigh 9 ounces but mine came in an 10.9 ounces. T' washers added t' keep t' center o' gravity forward probably accounts for most o' t' difference.

Flight

I've flown t' rocket once t' date, usin' an E20-7. Aye aye! T' kit recommends an E20-4. Blimey! Open Rocket said t' delay should be 6.1 seconds so I went with t' E20-7. I used t' Estes 24/29 adapter. Avast, me proud beauty! Flight be straight and close t' t' estimated altitude o' 952 feet. Aye aye! I forgot t' put in me Jolly Logic Altimeter II but I will use it on t' next flight. Recovery was slow and thar be no issues after it hit t' ground. Avast! It was a low wind day, but on a windy day it might be okay t' use an 18" parachute. Open Rocket said t' descent rate on t' 24" parachute was 16 feet per second while t' 18" parachute simmed at a rate o' 21 fps. Begad! I might try an F next. An F23 is only a couple o' hundred feet higher than t' E20 but a F62 reload predicts an altitude o' 1500 feet. Ahoy! A G would be out-of-site and a Jolly Logic Chute Release would be advised.

Summary

This is a fairly small rocket for a 29mm motor and in fact most o' me sims show t' 24mm E and F motors are quite acceptable. Ya scallywag! It was an enjoyable build and I used high power techniques t' produce a robust rocket. Begad! I highly recommend it if you like scale models and especially t' Aerobee family. I would like t' see t' kit come with a slotted air frame, matey, but it be nay too much o' a hassle t' cut t' slots myself. Cudos t' ASP for producin' this kit. Arrr! There are a lot o' Aerobee kits on t' market, me bucko, but I believe this be t' only Aerobee 100 Jr.


   

Flights


   

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