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Sport Rocketry / Scale Models / V-2
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 camo paint job (2009-12-06)
Despite all my rumbing about using masks to create the camo pattern for the Hostile Projectiles V-2, I went a little stir crazy and just started sprayin'.... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2010-1 (2010-01-16)Location: Higgs Farm, Price, MD ( MDRA - ESL-140) Weather: temps in the 40's, light breeze Total flights: Today - 4; YTD - 4 Total motors: Today - 4; YTD - 4 I can not believe I actually got out to ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: EMRR kicks off the New Year (2010-02-01)EMRR is updated ! There are 15 new reviews, including mine on the Hostile Projectiles V-2 . I haven't scoured the site, but the The RockSim Library has new look and some new data and there ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hermes A-1 build plans (2010-08-30)I think I'm going to turn the Semroc V-2 that I bought as part of my 'showing my support' purchase into one of these. At least I'll try. This willl require some serious nose weight. Chances are high ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Review: Hostile Projectiles Delta X-15 (2010-12-29)This is sport scale model of an X-15 variant proposed by North American Aviation. More accurately, it is fantasy scale since this stretched, delta-winged version was never produced. Like the other ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Review: Hostile Projectiles V-2 (2010-12-30)This Hostile Projectiles kit is a sport scale BT-60 V-2 that flies on 18mm motors. The main thing that differentiates this kit is the hand-cast resin nose and tail cones. These are not your daddy's ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 1 Parts (2012-08-02)Here's all the parts from the new re-release of the Estes V2 kit, #3228. The model is designed for D12-3, E9-4 and E9-6 engines. The nose cone and tail cone are blow molded plastic. A premade 18" ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 3 Engine Mount Prep (2012-08-05)In these first three pictures I'm still doing a dry fit of the centering rings, no glue. If you look inside the tail cone at the 2:30 position you'll see a raised mold seam. That raised area ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 4 Fin Slots (2012-08-06)The fin slots don't cut easily. Take your time and use a sharp knife. You might find it easier to follow a pencil line. Set a sharp pencil into the "trough" and draw a line all the way around the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 5 Fin Slots (2012-08-07)I'm going to save the fin slot cut away pieces for a future build. They might make some interesting tunnels or "runways". It's a little hard to see in this picture, The slots at the top of the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 6 Body Tube Seams (2012-08-07)This had to be one of the worst body tubes I've seen in a while. The lower seam is typical of a body tube seam where the Mylar "almost" meets. That's usually the seam you'd fill with slightly ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 7 Nose Cone (2012-08-08)This is the filled nose cone mold seam after final sanding. A bead of medium CA glue was set on the seam and sanded to surface. After sanding the dried glue, what CA was left in the seam is a ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 8 Body Tube Seam Fill (2012-08-09)After sanding down the CWF in the wide body tube seam, some medium CA glue was applied over the filled seam. In this instance, the CA would lock the filler in the seam and ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 10 Fitting the Fins (2012-08-10)With the engine mount dry fitted in place, the thru-the-wall fins were slid into their slots. You can see there is gaps at the root edge between the fin tabs. Note at the rear of the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 12 Fin Rudders (2012-08-11)Using the drawing print, the rudders were marked with pencil Use a new blade and cut off the rudders. Look close and you can see the number "2" on the inside edge of the rudder. All four ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 13 Kevlar Lead (2012-08-12)The instructions have you tie the rubber shock cord through a slit in the upper centering ring. I'd rather use elastic instead of the rubber cord. The rubber would be too close to the ejection ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 14 Gluing in the Engine Mount (2012-08-13)I used a prototype of the upcoming Odd'l Rockets FINTOOL to hold the fins in alignment. Note the FINTOOL centers the engine hook between two fins. There is no glue holding the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 15 Gluing on the Body Tube (2012-08-13)While the first epoxy joint dries, the tube ends were prepped. CA was applied to the inside of the tube ends using a Q-Tip. Sand the edges square with a block. The instructions show CA glue being ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 16 Fin Gluing (2012-08-14)These fins will need a few different glues. The TTW fin tabs were wood to kraft paper tubing so white glue was used first. Glue was applied to the tab root edges, the tabs were ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 17 Launch Lug Gluing (2012-08-15)I thought I'd better plan ahead to be sure the lugs won't get in the way of the diagonal stripes of the White Sands paint scheme. On my Franken Goblin, this wide horizontal stripe had to be ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 18 Interior Tube Reinforcement (2012-08-16)I didn't like that wide seam on the outside or the inside of the body tube. The outside seam was already filled, the inside seam needed a little reinforcement. I've never done this ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 19 Fin Fillets (2012-08-17)The Estes instructions make no mention of fin fillets! You will need them, white glue alone on the TTW fin tabs isn't enough of a bond. In addtion, you'll want to fill the slot gaps. The V2 ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 20 Fin Fillets (2012-08-18)Grey primer filler was sprayed over just the fillet areas. I could see an uneven surface and more filling needed. Two fin root edges required a little more epoxy to widen up ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 21 Cutting 8 Servo Pods (2012-08-18)A template was made so all would be close to the smae shape. The Popsicle stick strip was set over the drawn servo pod outline and cut with a new razor blade. After one master ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 22 Prepping the Servo Pods (2012-08-19)The servo pod area was cut out of the fin template. This was set on the fin being sure the outside edges of the fins were flush. A pencil line was drawn inside the cut out area for equal ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 23 Gluing the Servo Pods (2012-08-19)Use the card stock template again to double check the positioning. It won't take much glue to tack the pods in place, don't glue the template onto the fin. Initially, only four pods were glued on ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 25 Air Vanes (2012-08-21)Small strips of 110 lb. card stock were cut to fit the air vane locations on the fins. The strips were a little less than 1/16" wide, narrower than the fin thickness. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 26 Air Vanes (2012-08-22)Glue the corner vanes onto the strip already in the fin recess. I'm using a razor blade to pick up any white glue that was pressed out. I want the edges to be sharp. Here's how one of the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 28 Cleaning Up The Mask (2012-08-23)You can be careful and there will still be some paint seeping under the mask. This small black tick was pressed back onto the black area of the fin. While the paint ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 29 Mask Results (2012-08-24)Here's a few shots of the finished masks. All in all, results were pretty good. The corners of these two black blocks didn't match as will as I would have liked. I might use a decal stripe to ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 30 Stripe Positioning (2012-08-24)Look back at the Stine drawings and you can see how the diagonal stripes intersect each other. One lays on top of the other to the thickness of one stripe. I used a piece of 7/32" wide Contact ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 31 Stripe Positioning (2012-08-25)After all eight diagonal stripes were in place the 3/8" horizontal stripes were lifted up. The small positioning piece was removed. The diagonal overlaps were cut at the halfway point so the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 30 Stripe Cutting (2012-08-26)Whoops! I missed posting Part 30, yesterday I posted 31. So they are out of order. No biggie - here's #30: Please note: My detail dimensions (width of stripes and postions) are estimations. The ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 32 Final Stripe Positioning (2012-08-27)Remember how the 3/8" wide strip wouldn't fit around the nose cone taper without buckling? The bottom of the strip was smooth but the top half was starting to lift. I decided to cut two thinner ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Finished (2012-08-28)Even with a few snags along the way, I'm happy with the way this one turned out. Lessons learned: It would have been easier to cut (score) the air vane lines into the fin ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: New MMX From FlisKits (2015-01-13)Here's the new MicroMaxx offering from FlisKits, the V2 and V2-WAC Bumper. The BT-5 sized tailcone and nose cone are 3D printed. Check them out HERE [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 1 Removing the Body Tube (2015-05-11)My V2 sat in a tree for weeks after a Orlando R.O.C.K. in November, 2012 . While I gave it up for lost, some club members came back and somehow got it down from the tree! The fins, tail cone and ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 2 New Tube and Roll Pattern Stripes (2015-05-12)The replacement BT-80 tube was cut to size. The seams were filled, the tube primed and sanded. White paint followed. The tube was epoxied to the engine mount and fin can assembly. Stripes were ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 3, Lug Replacement (2015-05-13)A filled and finished white launch lug was cut in two. A razor blade was rolled over the lug while it was slipped over a dowel for support. The paint was scraped off at the lug locations. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 4 Fin Repair (2015-05-14)The leading edge of one fin was chipped out. (I probably should have fixed this before I did the black stripes in the last post.) You could use CWF to fill the void if it were smaller. I ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 5, Rudder Replacement (2015-05-15)Two of the rudders were still on the model after it was taken down from the tree. This told me they weren't glued on as well as I thought. Two more were cut out, filled sanded and painted. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 6, Fin Fill, Level Mask (2015-05-16)A little right and up from the center of the fin is a white Squadron Putty fill. There were two small, shallow dents in the fin. I knew that regular water-based wood filler wouldn't stay in the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: The Big Fix, Estes V2 Fix Part 7, Mask, Black Paint and Finish (2015-05-17)Here's the before picture , how it looked after sitting in a tree for a month. The members of the Orlando R.O.C.K. group trimmed the tree and got it back to me. That was back in ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hostile Projectiles V-2 rebuild, or how to tempt the rocket gods to return the original cone (2015-08-11)At the last NARHAMS launch, the Hostile Projectiles V-2 separated and the cone drifted away. I thought I saw it fall on the near side of a far tree line but my wife thought it went over. I started ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hostile Projectiles V-2 rebuild complete (2015-08-16)Well, you can't find your lost stuff unless you look for it...and I didn't trek up the large hill to search for my lost nose cone. Here is the new nose cone and new paint job. I didn't go for ... [Read More]
Rich's Rockets: Building the ASP V-2 (part 1) (2016-11-01)Back in 2013 I bought a Semroc V-2 kit. This was one of their “X Kits”: a bag of parts intended to replicate as closely as possible a classic kit, in this case the Estes K-22 V-2, with no ... [Read More]
Rich's Rockets: Building the ASP V-2 (part 2) (2016-11-24)At the rate I’m starting here I’m going to need all those months before May, but start I have. I haven’t argued with the instructions much. I did file a notch in the larger ... [Read More]
Rich's Rockets: Building the ASP V-2 (part 3) (2017-05-06)So… obviously I’ve been taking a break from rocketry, mostly. I’ve been more occupied with other things. Went to a few club meetings, missed a couple. Haven’t launched ... [Read More]
Shroudlines: Upgrading the Estes V2 (2017-06-21)A while back there was a wave of activity on the NAR Facebook group about painting V2's. I posted a picture of an Estes V2 that I had modified for a contest a few years ago. Well, flash forward to ... [Read More]
Blast From The Past: Launch Date: 3 September, 2018 - Model Rocketry Is Alive And Well In Castle Rock, CO !! (2018-09-04)I recently had the pleasure of meeting a fellow old-timer model rocketeer who lives right here in the Castle Rock area - Mr. Jim Gazur. Jim was heavily involved in model rocketry back in ... [Read More]
Rich's Rockets: Syracuse Rocket Club launch: Restabilized (2019-10-05)I don’t seem to be under a curse any more. This morning it was chilly. There were reports of frost to the north, the first since last spring. Not that cold where we were but mid 30s °F. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Part 1, Parts (2019-12-06)The Semroc V2 is a clone of the old BT-55 Based Estes V2 kit. It looks like the Semroc V2 kit has been discontinued. ASP now offers a BT-55 V2 kit along with 13mm and 24mm engine kits. I first saw ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Part 2, More Parts (2019-12-09)On the left is one of the "scale" sized fins I had cut and shaped earlier. These smaller fins require an additional 1/2 oz of nose weight in addition to the washer weight at the nose cone! I'll be ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Part 3, Fin Shaping (2019-12-10)Here's the larger semi-scale fin. If I were to use the smaller scale size fin, Semroc recommends an additional 1/2 oz. of nose weight along with the washer weight held in place by the screw eye. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Part 4, Fin Shaping and Servos (2019-12-11)A flat diamond file was used to do a final squaring up to the sand line. After all four fins were shaped, the remaining black ink is sanded off. The X-Kit supplies the narrow fin servos laser cut ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Part 5, CWF Balsa Fill (2019-12-12)The nose cone and tail cone shoulders weren't sharp. Here I've brushed some CWf over the shoulder edge. While it is wet, it is quickly pushed into the body tube and turned. Let this dry and then ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Semroc V2 Build, Finished With Decals (2020-01-08)I was waiting to tag these "47"s onto another decal print, they certainly wouldn't take up a whole sheet. I printed these at the bottom of the upcoming Excalibur build decals. TIP: This is a ... [Read More]
Greg Smith's Blog: Building resumed... (2020-03-01)I've resumed building the 7.5" V2 with a 75mm motor mount. I applied the fin fillets last night: I still need to seal the exterior and sand it smooth. I've had Aeropoxy Light in my ... [Read More]
Greg Smith's Blog: Great success!! I liiiiiiike! (2008-05-04)I've had a bad streak of luck in the last few months: In February I made a mistake setting the timer on a two-stage project (how sweet is the dude in that picture!) and crashed my ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Stupid pre-coffee thoughts (2009-01-12)Why do I add dashes where they don't belong and leave them when they do? Fireball XL-5 vs. Fireball XL5 and V2 vs. V-2. In internet communications, smileys should be a valid form of punctuation :) ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V2...oooops (2009-01-29)May 30, 1947 El Paso and Juarez were rocked Thursday night when a runaway German V-2 rocket fired from the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico crashed and exploded on top of a rocky knoll three ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: The V-2 Bumper WAC has a diamond anniversary (update) (2009-02-24)On February 24th, 1949, a two stage V-2 'Bumper WAC' launched from White Sands, New Mexico became the first documented rocket to reach space. It attained an altitude of 244 miles, well above the ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2009-1 (2009-03-21)Location: Old National Pike Park, Mt. Airy, MD ( NARHAMS ) Weather: up to 48 degs, wind calm to mild, sunny to overcast Total flights: Today - 10; YTD - 10 Total motors: Today - 10; YTD - 10 The ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hostile Projectiles (2009-10-03)The title sounds like a description of some of my projects, but it is actually the name of a new kit vendor . Their one current offering is the V-23 Bomber Manned Rocket but a standard V2 ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: What to do with MLAS numero dos? (2009-11-11)I've been away from the Dungeon and my rockets, but have been pondering what to do with my Quest MLAS #2. All options will include a lightly glassed cone to make it sturdier and easier to ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Monday stuff (2009-11-16)1. Watched Atlantis STS-129 launch on NASA TV. 2. As best I could, I recreated the MLAS nose weight that I used on-site and weighed it. It came up to 0.3 oz.. I found ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Breaking news: the Dungeon is bombarded by Hostile Projectiles (2009-11-22)While I was gone for the weekend, my order from Hostile Projectiles arrived! I got both the V-2 and the Delta X-15. Here are my initial impressions. I'll start with the reason I ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hostile Projectiles update (2009-11-24)Here is the V-2, flight ready and waiting for primer. I ended up laminating the fins with paper since I couldn't get the fin template off the balsa. The instructions have you attach the ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 status (and other stuff) (2009-11-29)Well, a little sanding and a re-coat did the trick. Trying to sand the base of the cone actually lifted all the primer. I sanded the exposed areas good before the re-priming. My ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 status (and nuttin' else) (2009-11-30)It was raining so no additional painting happened. So, I took a photo. [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Scale scratch builders may want some Unwanted rocket drawing sets (2010-01-18)The Unwanted Blog , among other things, is the front for a commercial enterprise that offers drawings of various aerospace subjects. The latest is Space Drawing set 22: V-2 rocket ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: Slave labor and the V-2 (2010-02-23)Dora and the V-2 Or why I don't think Von Braun is a hero. [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: A reminder from NASM: We have lots of cool stuff (2010-03-19)Check out their Trajectories of Space Flight post. Includes several of my favorites including the V-2. [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: So, you want to sea-launch your V-2? (2010-03-25)Well, apparently, so did the Germans. Scott Lowther has an interesting blog post on the ?Prüfstand XII? (?Test Stand 12?) concept. His post includes some background/history and ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: New X-37B OTV details and graphic (2010-04-18)Clark Lindsey gives latest scoop on the upcoming X-37B flight. The update is short so I quoted the whole thing. And swiped the new NASA/ULA graphic. Leonard David reports again on the ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: A Thursday twofer - the Falcon HTV-2 also launched yesterday (2010-04-23)The first Minotaur IV Lite launch vehicle roars into the skies above California carrying DARPA's Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 on April 22, 2010. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Falcon HTV-2 (partial) results (2010-04-24)Spaceflight Now reports that the Minotaur-4 'Lite' deployed the HTV-2 at more than 20 times the speed of sound. However, contact was lost around 9 minutes after liftoff. After d ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: USAF Lost Contact With It's New Mach 20 Hypersonic Glider During Test Flight (2010-04-27)Launched from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. on April 22, the unmanned HTV-2 was planned to cross the Pacific and impact the ocean north of Kwajalein Atoll in the first of two flights to demonstrate ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2010-5 (2010-05-15)Location: Central Sod Farm, Centreville, MD ( MDRA ESL-144) Weather: sunny, high 70's, windy Total flights: Today - 12; YTD - 33 Total motors: Today - 12; YTD - 33 The day started badly - the Beltway ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Paul is gone, but won't be forgotten (2010-05-23)Gone to Aridzone, that is. Yesterday, Warthog and Mrs. W. hosted a nice going away party for our rocket buddy, Paul. They covered all the food groups: grilled meat, BBQ, sausage ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: EMRR update with my reviews and a new contest! (2010-06-03)Today's EMRR Update includes reviews of my Odd' Rockets Birdie and Wedgie . One has a goofy formatting error but the gist should be clear - these are cool kits. And you can always look at ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: ROCKETS Magazine, June 2010 (2010-06-15)What's inside: Review of an Estes Saturn V complete with scale gantry; Pt. 5 of Black Magic Missile Work's electronics series; Rocket girl Haley Allen; Launch report from the Phoenix Missile Works ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Coming in Ballistic (2010-07-26)Coming in Ballistic , originally uploaded by jurvetson . The sad demise of Steve Jurvetson's big V-2.1. Click through for a bigger view and the action sequence, including the digging that ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: 9 out of 10 cats prefer carbon (2010-08-19)"Like my bike and car body, it looks best unpainted? I was very excited when the boxes arrived today. I was on the rebound after losing my big V-2 and decided to go for the other extreme, p ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2010-10 (2010-08-21)Location: Old National Pike Park, Mt. Airy, MD ( NARHAMS ) Weather: overcast, mid 80's, humid, wind 5mph Total flights: Today - 12; YTD - 90 Total motors: Today - 14; YTD - 118 This was a great day ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Iran's version of German V 1 (2010-08-22)Iran's version of German V 1 , originally uploaded by Douglas606 . I obviously don't support such things politically, but this would be an interesting scale subject for those who like the V-1 ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Sport Rocketry, September/October 2010 (2010-08-24)As you see from the attached photo, the headliners in this issue were TARC and NSL. I especially liked the NSL reports, which included a lot of nice photos. Two that stood out were night ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hermes A-1 - first iteration (2010-08-31)Photo - check. Ruler - check. As-built Semroc V-2 - check. Mash this stuff up and shove it into RockSim. And this is what you get. Since the Hermes A-1 is not based on ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Rocket heredity (2010-09-07)I think this is where I got my rocket genes! My dad's outfit, circa 1947. Via the Ft. Bliss Monitor : The 1st Anti-Aircraft Guided Missile Battalion was organized at Fort Bliss in ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Already antsy to launch, building is in the doldrums (2010-09-25)A mere week after ESL-148, I'm already itching to launch. My October launches are still up in the air and the prospects of missing them is fueling the itch. I have NARHAMS and then Red ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Hermes A-1 - measure once, scale once, cut once (2010-09-26)I went ahead and started the Hermes A-1 kitbash. I looked back at the spreadsheet that I made to guesstimate the dimensions of the fins and decided it is good enough. I'm sure these ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Variations on a theme (2010-10-09)TRF just opened a new forum section for rocket Galleries . These are organized by kit type (e.g. Fliskits Deuce's Wild! ) or scale subject (e.g. V-2 ). The latter will include all ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Rocket launch probabilities (2010-10-15)I was looking forward to this weekend's NARAMS launch but it looks like life has gotten in the way. P L =0. I also feel bad for the rest of the club because the weather report is saying the ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Shaping Tool TIP (2010-11-29)Here's one of the best balsa shaping tools available. I first used an emery board in the 1970s when forming airfoils on the Estes V-2 fins. In the instructions, it was suggested for fin shaping. ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Another X-37B video (2010-12-03)This one shows the FLIR landing video and some of the post-processing. I went ahead and quoted the text included with the video. I found the video link on the ParabolicArc . The U.S. Air ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Review: Mini V-2 (2010-12-31)My Mini-V2 (2nd from left) is a semi-scale model based on BT-50 tubing. I was motivated to build this V2 after seeing plans for a BT-20 version that appeared in the January 1989 issue of American ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Mega Review: A Semroc Flood! (2011-01-23)This post covers several from my Semroc Fleet: Gee'hod SLS Sky Hook Recruiter Space Probe LAUNCH Missile Gee'hod This is the latest in Semroc's line of Groonies (Grown-up Goonies). Inspired by ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Review: Powered FLICS (2011-01-29)When I read that Hans "Chris" Michielssen had converted a Quest FLICS rubber band powered rocket to MicroMaxx power, I immediately gave it a try. I too have had a stash of these freebies with no ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: A big V-2 history post (2011-01-31)The images below document a V-2 launch circa 1950. They were part of an article in the October 1950 issue of National Geographic, which was written by Clyde T. Holliday. Mr. Holliday ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: The Liberty - Frankenstein rocket (2011-02-08)ATK and Astrium (an EADS Company) are teaming to respond to NASA's Commercial Crew Development-2 (CCDev-2) procurement. I grabbed this diagram from R2K . As shown, their Liberty rocket is a ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: An Ariane 5 Rocket Sits Ready To Launch On Pad 3. On Top, ATV-2 Johannes Kepler. (2011-02-14)It's all systems go in Kourou for the launch of ATV-2. Let's hope the weather is not a factor. It is the rainy season there. It's important to the STS-133 Space Shuttle Discovery mission that the ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: ATV Johannes Kepler operating flawlessly. After a spectacular launch viewed from the ISS (2011-02-17)ATV Johannes Kepler was launched today at 22:50:55 CET by an Ariane 5 to dock with the ISS ESA?s second Automated Transfer Vehicle, was launched today evening from Europe?s Spaceport in Kourou, in ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: X-37B OTV-2 to launch tomorrow (Saturday, March 5th) (2011-03-04)Since there isn't much to say besides the new date/time, I'm merely republishing yesterday's post. The OTV-2 space plane is slated to launch tomorrow from the CCAFS atop an Atlas V. The launch ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: X-37B OTV-2 is is orbit...at least we think it is (2011-03-06)We'll have to wait for official confirmation from the unofficial amateur sat-watchers, but it sound's like the X-37B is in orbit. [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Amateur sky-watcher day (2011-03-10)Today, I spotted two interesting stories about the cosmic beings known as amateur skywatchers (aka astronomers and sat-watchers). The first comes from the Bayourat's Twitter stream via ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Countin' my chickens before they hatch FLY (2011-03-18)The literal count is one, one Ballistic Chicken. But what I was getting at in the title is that I have laid out and prepped my rockets for tomorrow; and I even built a couple of reloads. Last ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2011-01 (2011-03-20)Location: Price, MD ( MDRA ESL-154) Weather: partly cloudy, low 50's, wind 0 - 5 MPH Total flights: Today - 11; YTD - 11 Total motors: Today - 21; YTD - 21 I left very early under the light of the ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Review: Hermes A-1 (2011-03-22)This review explains how I converted a sport scale Semroc V-2 xKit to a Hermes A-1. Construction The following parts are required: One Semroc V-2 xKit, using the scale fin option 3/32” balsa stock ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Compendium of V-2 footage (2011-03-25)RocketryPlanet has posted seven videos of German and U.S. V-2 launches . [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: There Are Five Vehicles Competing To Succeed The Space Shuttle (2011-04-23)By Frank Morring, Jr. Washington U.S. spacecraft engineers with federal funding will pursue at least five different ways to replace the space shuttle in the next few years, from capsules that ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Daedalus static build (2011-04-24)I haven't seen any sport rocketry activity from Steve Neill and Hostile Projectiles for some time (here are reviews of my HP builds: V-2 , Delta X-15 ). Most of his recent blog activity has ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Full scale V-2 model (2011-04-25)Rocketry Planet posted an article on a full scale V-2 model that was built for the Classic Fighters Airshow at Omaka Airfiel, New Zealand. The article describes the V-2 'flight' in the future ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Full scale V-2: Built to burn? (2011-04-26)One RP reader smells gasoline. Figuratively, of course, he wasn't there AFAIK. I just find it a shame that people would spend the effort to build such a cool prop and feel they had to burn it ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: A cooler, albeit smaller, Big V-2 (flight 3) (2011-04-26)_MG_0028.jpg , originally uploaded by Nick DeBrita . Built to fly! 480 lbs; Predicted alt: 9,000' Motor: 60,000Ns (mid-'P') PS - 'Smaller' in the title somewhat cryptically refers to my previous ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: V2 on P power (2011-04-26)TORD [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: "Make This Your Year To Ride The Rocket"! (2011-05-02)"Make This Your Year To Ride The Rocket"! , originally uploaded by paul.malon . Timewarp! This Oldsmobile ad seems to have been inspired by my banner, which was inspired by my Big V-2 History ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Links and nuttin' but links (2011-06-04)In no particular order: Here's a Flickr album on the flight of the the Copenhagen Suborbitals' HEAT 1X-Tycho Brahe flight: - Mission 2011 . And more HEAT 1X-Tycho Brahe videos, via Clark ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 on the USS Midway (2011-06-26)USS Midway , a photo by Kemon01 on Flickr. Click thru for a few more shots. [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 on the USS Midway (2011-06-26)USS Midway , a photo by Kemon01 on Flickr. Liked this shot more... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: More about my home made cones (2011-07-29)Hope this inspires the scratch builder and odd-rocketeer in you. Clockwise, starting with the big gray one: 5.5" dia., made from two sizes of floral foam cones, glassed with a plastic ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Virtual tour of the NMUSAF (2011-07-30)The National Museum of the United States Air Force has a nice virtual tour . You can find their V-2 in the WWII area, second button from the top in the far left (display # 030). [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Falcon HTV-2 is on-track updated (2011-08-11)DARPA was giving some mission status via Twitter and reports that they lost telemetry after the HTV-2 successfully entered the glide phase about 30 minutes ago. The attached graphic depicts the ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: HTV-2 Collects Only Nine Minutes Of Data Before Communications Are Lost (2011-08-12)Source: DARPA We don't know what happen but the HTV-2 collected unique data during several phases of the flight. DARPA attempted to fly the fastest aircraft ever built. The Agency?s Falcon ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: NASA's Current Program Called An "Embarrasment" By Neil Armstrong! "The Space Program To No Where" (2011-09-22)WASHINGTON — Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, told lawmakers Thursday that the end of the space shuttle era has left the American human spaceflight program in an ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: X-37B OTV-2 update (2011-10-03)Space.com notes that, as of last week, OTV-2 had been in orbit over 206 days on its way to its full 270 day mission. Although its mission is still top secret, the Air Force will say that it is ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Army hypersonic success (2011-11-17)Space.com reports that the Army's AHW (Advanced Hypersonic Weapon) had a flawless first flight, streaking across the Pacific at "several times the speed of sound." To be considered hypersonic, that ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: The Dungeon's Top Ten of 2011 (2011-12-27)In no particular order.... Early in the year, I completed transferring reviews from the old EMRR (see the My Rocket Reviews Page ). I transferred (and updated) all but eight and, while I ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Reader stars and interesting links (2012-02-02)More Winter? Punxsutawney Phil Sees His Shadow , Live Science - I wonder what 6 more weeks of winter means when you hardly have had any already? My prognostication is that we'll have 9 ... [Read More]
Bayourat Aerospace Blog: Mensch in the Moon: The Lost Story Of Abe Silverstein (2012-02-19)This article was first published by Jewish Ideas Daily ( http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/ ) and is reprinted with permission. Right now there are two Americans aboard the International Space ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: What's new with Estes in 2012? (2012-02-22)This morning Model Rocket Building discussed the new Estes 2012 catalog (pdf) that just appeared on their site. Most of the new stuff that interested me has been discussed here and I'm sure ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Feed reader stars, tweets and other interesting links (2012-03-06)Booms ...brought to you via High Power Rocketry (and the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center at New Mexico Tech. Year anniversaries: Fukushima (March 11), X-37B OTV-2 (March 5). ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Feed reader stars, tweets and other interesting links (2012-04-01)Why we love to fear dragons - Cosmic Log - I posted this because I just watch the finale if Season 1 of Game of Thrones . Season 2 starts tomorrow. That show really needed dragons. ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: German V-2 Nosecone on Ebay? (2012-04-17)Any experts out there know if this is real or not? It looks really thick and heavy for a nosecone, not sure what I am looking at here! On Ebay "Extremely rare WW2 V2 nose cone, the first 16 inches ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Links roundup (2012-04-23)Falcon 9/Dragon Launch Delayed One Week - Parabolic Arc Graupel alert! - DCist - before this Spring, I had never heard of graupel. More info in coming out about Planetary Resources in ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Missile defense, then and now (2012-05-16)This morning, Modern Mechanix features an interesting article by Willy Ley: Missile vs. Missile, A rocket expert looks at our chances of withstanding a missile invasion (09/1947). &nb ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2012-4 "Lucky 13" (2012-05-26)Location: Old National Pike Park, Mt. Airy, MD ( NARHAMS ) Weather: mostly sunny, hot (96 on the field!), wind 0-5 mph Total flights: Today - 13; YTD - 30 Total motors: Today - 13; YTD - 36 Motors ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: X-37B, OTV-2 has returned from its 15 month mission (2012-06-16)[Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Links roundup (2012-07-24)today in 1950: 1st rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. The rocket was a Bumper 8, a German V-2 captured after WWII go.nasa.gov/OWjKLz — NASA History Office (@NASAhistory) July 24, 2012 ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 2 Engine Mount Prep (2012-08-03)Step 1 has you glue the engine mount together. I was reading a build on RocketReviews.com by Steve Lindeman: http://www.rocketreviews.com/estes-v-2-3228.html He thought one centering ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 9 Camo and Paint Ideas (2012-08-09)Here's the G. Harry Stine V2 drawing from an old NARTS Plan Program: www.oldrocketplans.com/narts/GERMANV2_102.pdf This is the paint pattern I hope to do. ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Estes V2 Build Part 11 Semi Scale Fin Shape (2012-08-10)From the G. Harry Stine scale drawings, I enlarged the scale fins to the same root edge length as the kit fins. For stability, the kit fins are wider than actual scale. "Stacking" the fins ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: V-2 rocket footage (2012-09-03)[Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Links roundup (2012-09-03)V-2 rocket footage , High Power Rocketry (9/3) Live Hangout with me at RocketFest! , Bad Astronomy (9/3) - Fundraiser for Huntsville's US Space and Rocket Center - Rockfest Check out T.I.'s ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-2 photo of the day (2012-09-09)White Sands, NM 1946 [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: A change of direction for The Dungeon (2012-12-13)I won't bore you with all the whys and wherefores, but I have decided to take this blog back to its roots. The Dungeon began as a place to talk about my projects and to document my launches. And, I ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: The Dungeon's Top-10 for 2012 (2012-12-22)I see Chris Michielssen posted his top ten for 2012. So, I see no reason to wait to post mine: 1. Space Shuttle Discovery buzzes Washington DC . 2. Discovery and Enterprise nose-to-nose at ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: NJRick's Dr. Zooch Lifting Body Shuttles (2013-01-02)Rick Teklits (NJRick on the Rocketry Forum) posted some pictures of his Dr. Zooch CRV Lifting Body Shuttle builds. "....last year I bought Dr. Zooch's Space Shuttle and much to my ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Big photo dump! (2013-01-06)I haven't been blogging but I have been harvesting photos. Since this isn't general rocketry or space news, my previous self-imposed rules don't apply. So, here are some retro-futuristic cars, ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Ten military testing videos (2013-03-28)From German V-2 failures to a robot dog tossing cinder blocks, Jalopnik presents The Ten Most Unbelievable Military Testing Videos . You can argue the 'most' and the 'unbelievable' but they are ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: My first issue of High Power Rocketry (HPR) Magazine (2013-06-17)I just found my very first issue of HPR magazine (pictured). I had previously posted about the first issue of my subscription, but this is one I bought off-the-shelf a few years earlier. I got this ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: My flyable fleet (2013-10-10)After seeing ~1/10 of Dave Bucher's huge fleet on Facebook, I thought I'd snapshot mine, which consists of a paltry 233 birds. First sort criteria is a column that's not showing, breaking the list ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Semroc is closing...nooooooooooooo (2014-03-10)Chris Michielssen reposted this from YORF (of course, there is a similar thread on TRF ): Semroc Fans, I am sorry to say that we will be closing the company. After my father’s death ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: Tampa TTRA Launch, March 15, 2014 (2014-03-17)I don't make the drive over to the Tampa TTRA launches very often. I had a show that evening in nearby Davenport, Florida. TTRA only has three working LPR pads. If the Scouts show up, those three ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-104, a bit late for April Fools Day (2014-04-03)A V-104 is what you get when you mix a V-2 with an F-104 Starfighter. (Refer to the attached photo) On top is one of the pods from my rekitted F-104 Starfighter. On the bottom is the rocket being ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: V-104: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (2014-04-06)Well, I finished painting the fins and attached them with...hot melt glue. I had a hard time bonding to this plastic when the F-104 was an F-104 so I thought I'd try something new. I figure the ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Launch Report 2014-4 (2014-04-19)Location: NARHAMS, Mt. Airy Weather: max temp. in high 50's, a few high clouds, gusty winds to 15mph Total flights: Today - 13; YTD - 28 Total motors: Today - 14; YTD - 33 Motors by class YTD: ... [Read More]
Model Rocket Building: 3D Printed V2 on TRF (2014-07-19)MrBill2u Posted this on TRF. Now 3D printing gets very interesting - "There is a member of these forums by the name of Raygun who has a shop set up at Shapeways for 3D ... [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: Titan IVA-20 Accident Investigation Board Summary (2014-10-31)Even the best rockets fail from time to time. http://fas.org/spp/military/program/launch/titan_iv-20_sum.htm [Read More]
High Power Rocketry: What a difference 150,000 km makes! (2015-01-28)NASA / JPL / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / Emily Lakdawalla Dawn's view of Ceres on January 25, 2015 (animation) This animation is composed of 20 images gathered over a period of ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Its a rainy day... (2015-06-27)It's raining, I had to get up early to meet our paving contractor and my current project is waiting on Stickershock23 (decals will be here Monday!). I am not really in the market to spend money on ... [Read More]
Rocketeer's Corner: My NSL project... (2016-02-15)At the end of May/beginning of June of each year, HARA and the Music City Missile Club (MC squared) hold our biggest annual launch, Southern Thunder. However, this year it's going to be different; ... [Read More]
Rocket Dungeon: Classic V-2 OOPS! (2016-03-02)http://froggy2nite.tumblr.com/post/140309398924/enrique262-v-2-vergeltungswaffe-2-rocket-test [Read More]
Rocketeer's Corner: Pics from Saturday's launch... (2017-10-01)Duane's Estes Make-It-Take-It leaves the rod on an A8-3 (Click to enlarge). Saturday's launch did not just involve the TARC Geezers; quite a few other folk joined us at Pegasus, many bringing ... [Read More]
Rocket N00b: A Conversation with James Duffy - Scale Modeling, FAI Competition, and More (2020-09-07)James Duffy on the cover of Sport Rocketry Magazine, published by the NAR. Episode 6 of The Model Rocket Show podcast is up, and I really loved this conversation. I chatted with James Duffy ... [Read More]
Rocketeer's Corner: Estes culls the herd... (2021-02-14)The 2021 Estes catalog is now out - there are some pretty cool things in there, like an upscale, 24mm powered Mars Snooper (super excited about this!), a rather strange looking addition to the Space ... [Read More]
Rocketeer's Corner: Of rockets and Girl Scout cookies... (2021-03-28)A couple of weekends ago, Duane and I flew a few rockets at Pegasus field. We were both needing a launch fix, and Duane was eager to try out the new wireless launch controller he's building for ... [Read More]
Rocket N00b: Estes V2 Motor Mount with an Alternative Shock Cord Anchor (2021-12-09)I'll get back to the Super Big Bertha in the next post. For now, here's more progress on the Estes V2. The forward centering ring has a slit for the rubber shock cord to pass through. ... [Read More]
Rocket N00b: Estes V2 vs. Spacemonkey Models - Comparing Two Scale Fins (2021-12-27)I got out a fin set for the Spacemonkey Models V2 static model kit to use for reference. Here is the fin compared to the Estes version after I modified the fins. The scale is almost ... [Read More]
Rocket N00b: Estes V2 - Fins On! (2022-01-12)Fins are on the V2, and it's looking good! Wood glue worked. Even the fin with the slight gap between the tab root and the motor tube is attached - but only just. There is a bit of wiggle. The ... [Read More]
Rocketeer's Corner: Sunday afternoon launch (2022-02-10)Girl scouts watch as the rocket they prepped heads skyward (Click to enlarge) . The John Paul II TARC teams had scheduled a TARC practice for this past Sunday, which provided a perfect excuse for ... [Read More]
Blast From The Past: Launch Date: April 10th, 2023 (2023-04-11)After over five months of chronic cold, snow, ice, and wind, this week's weather conditions along the Colorado Front Range have finally been suitable for flying model rockets. A massive high ... [Read More]
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