Brief:
Scale, shiver me timbers, 18mm, Parachute Recovery

Of all t' Dr. Booty line, me hearties, ya bilge rat, T' Saturn I SA-5 be t' one that most appeals t' me, me bucko, mainly because it is different from everythin' else. Avast! I'd had it for a while but did nay start on it immediately because I wanted t' get a few Zooch kits under me belt first. Ya scallywag! I survived t' buildin' o' t' Little Joe LES and actually enjoyed buildin' it so I figured it be time.

I know that Dr. Booty packs a lot o' rocket in those little boxes o' his but I be unprepared for just how small t' rocket actually is. Begad! Avast! That does nay detract from t' quality; it is merely an observation.

Construction:

T' first step in t' instructions is t' do some painting. Arrr! T' balsa nose cone and transition needed t' be painted white as did t' various body tubes. I wanted this one t' look good so I pulled out t' Elmer's filler and applied it and set t' parts aside t' dry.

While t' goop be drying, me bucko, I got t' work on t' motor mount. T' motor tube is set up along a butt mounted marking guide t' transfer 8 marks evenly around t' tube. An angle be then used t' extend t' lines. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! With t' lines transferred, I measured back t' proscribed distance and made a narrow slit for t' engine hook. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' hook was then put into place.

T' kit has three centerin' rings. Begad! Well, blow me down! Two have notches t' accommodate t' engine hook at t' aft end and t' other is plain. Ahoy! T' instructions make a point o' sayin' how critical t' distances are. Ahoy! Begad! T' rearmost goes an 1/8" from the end o' t' tube. Blimey! T' forward most goes 5.5" from t' middle tube. Arrr! T' problem be t' location o' t' middle tube. T' text gives 1/4" and t' illustration gives 1/2". Begad! I settled for tapin' t' engine hook in place and postin' a question for Dr. Arrr! Begad! Zooch on TRF. Begad!

After a day o' drying, I took some sandpaper t' t' balsa parts and started t' sand. T' result was fairly smooth and I be satisfied with it. Aye aye! With t' balsa sanded, I now needed t' paint t' parts. Begad! In addition t' t' balsa and the tubing, arrr, 4 small wooden downs and one larger one were set up in t' spray booth and painted a gloss white. Two coats were applied.

I heard back from Dr. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Zooch in short order and learned that t' instructions should say that thar should be a 1/2" gap betwixt t' rearmost centerin' rings. Armed with that bit o' wisdom, I glued t' second rin' 1/2" from t' rearmost and t' third one 5.25 inches forward o' that. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! They were placed with yellow glue and fillets were run around both sides o' all rings. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' rings were also carefully checked t' make sure that they were straigt.

While t' glue on t' rings was drying, I turned me attention t' t' spider beams used t' algn t' tanks. Avast, me proud beauty! Using t' template provided, 8 were cut from a sheet o' balsa material. Aye aye! Begad! White glue be then used t' place them along the lines drawn on t' motor tube. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! In short order, me bucko, matey, all 8 were in place and t' assembly was set aside t' dry.

T' next day, with t' glue on t' spider beams presumably dry, I put t' motor mount assembly into t' booth and shot it with black.

As t' black paint was drying, arrr, I began t' process o' cuttin' out t' LOX tank and fuel tank wraps. These were rolled on a rubber mat with t' formin' dowel t' help t' formin' o' t' tubes.

Also, in a fit o' idiocy. Ahoy! I went ahead and installed t' lower tube before installin' t' tanks. Aye aye! This posed a problem later on but was nay insurmountable. T' install t' tube, ya bilge rat, I just sanded t' rings a bit and then swabbed some white glue t' t' inside o' t' tube. T' motor mount was slid in until t' aft rin' be flush with t' end o' the tube.

IN accordance with some advice from Dr. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Zooch himself, I decided t' try and use live steam t' help t' formin' of t' tanks. Avast, me proud beauty! I set a teakettle on t' boil and left t' little whistle thin' on t' spout in place. When t' water boiled, it channeled t' steam in a stream. Steamin' t' tank cutouts did help t' get them rolled tightly.

Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, although t' steamin' helped, I did nay get t' tanks rolled tightly enough. I also did nay get them straight enough. Well, blow me down! Blimey! When I installed them into position, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, t' result was visually embarassing. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! Worse, they did not completely fit below t' forward centerin' ring. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! I had a helical, ya bilge rat, ugly mess.

My mess resulted in some soul searchin' and sporadic depression but Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Booty came t' t' rescue with t' offer of some more tank wraps. O desperately wanted t' PURCHASE t' said wraps but he would have none o' it and insisted on sendin' them t' me. Well, blow me down! I suppose his havin' just come from a live shuttle launch put him in a good mood.

I occupied some o' me time waitin' for t' wraps t' come in by tryin' t' remove t' old ones. Arrr! It was a mess. Aye aye! Lots o' little bits o' glue and paper tankage were left behind.

Dr. Begad! Booty sent t' wraps as promised and then this project sat and waited...and waited...and waited some more. First it was because I was clearin' away other things in progress, ya bilge rat, then it was because I was repairin' things that had broken on other projects, me bucko, sometimes it be t' intimidation or rememberin' what t' original wraps had looked like after I had abused them so and then realizin' that I did nay want t' commit t' same crimes again against what IS a nice little kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Then embarrassment started t' take over; I was ashamed t' have left it for so long. Ahoy! Finally, Embarrassment came t' t' for again but this time is was because I had nay gotten back t' work on it. Ahoy! Aye aye! By that time, I had t' wonder where I had stashed t' replacements and I be nay about t' ask for a third set after all Dr. Begad! Booty has done for me. Blimey! Then they turned up and I got back t' work.

I carefully cut out t' 4 LOX tanks and then cut out t' 4 fuel tanks. Arrr! I started on t' pre-curlin' this time by takin' out a table cloth while SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED was asleep and foldin' it over until I had a very thick but soft workin' surface. Each o' t' tanks was then set upon it, me hearties, one at a time, ya bilge rat, as I rolled t' formin' dowel over t' top, pushin' down progressively harder with each pass. This did get t' process started, shiver me timbers, arrr, one o' t' hardest parts t' me, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but did nay give t' tanks nearly t' curvature needed.

From there, matey, matey, I turned back t' steam. Aye aye! I held each wrap over a pot o' boilin' water t' give it some flexibility. Ahoy! Each wrap was t' placed around a wooden dowel and held in place with monofilament line and tape. T' dowel was significantly bigger than what be needed; I intended t' do this in several steps. All o' t' wraps fit onto a single 4' dowel and were then exposed t' t' stream again and set aside t' stiffen up.

T' next day, t' wraps were removed from t' larger dowel. Ya scallywag! They had indeed acquired a healthy curve but the radius o' t' curve was still more than I wanted t' deal with. Blimey! I would have t' repeat t' process with a smaller dowel. T' entire process be repeated, this time usin' a dowel only slight larger than t' one that would ultimately be used t' form them at t' correct size.

When t' wraps came off o' t' smaller dowel, shiver me timbers, they were much tighter. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I crossed me fingers and hoped I would get it right this time.

My amended tank rollin' procedure began with placin' a small piece o' cellophane tape in t' middle o' the innermost part o' t' tank. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I wanted just enough t' adhere t' t' formin' dowel for long enough t' get t' rolling started. Ya scallywag! T' wrap be then rolled around t' dowel and pulled tight. Arrr! Arrr! T' process o' pullin' it tight gave me more "unrolled" material t' wrap. Begad! A light skin o' white glue was screeded across t' backside o' t' tank wrap and t' excess material was rolled around t' dowel. While this be goin' on, arrr, I tried t' carefully make sure that t' tank was rollin' straight. Arrr! Before t' glue could grab, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I gripped t' rolled tank in t' left hand and used a pair o' pliers t' grip t' formin' dowel with t' right. T' dowel be then twisted t' tighten t' roll and t' wrap be held in place like that until t' glue gripped. Begad! When t' glue on a tank had dried, I again gripped t' tank with t' left hand and t' dowel with pliers with t' right and then worried t' tank back and forth as I pulled on t' dowel. This sheared t' tape and let me extract t' dowel. It also produced a tightly wrapped tank. This slow process be repeated on the course o' about 2 weeks until I had all 8 tanks.

Cleanin' out t' garbage from t' previous tanks had also been a long affair conducted over t' months o' the hiatus. Eventually, I got it t' where t' new tanks would fit and was happy that t' innards would never be visually inspected too closely. One o' t' LOX tanks was chosen as t' first victim and laid into place on some white glue that had been applied t' t' central tube and t' remnants o' t' spider beams. That went well enough that I placed a fuel tank next t' it. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I then noticed that, although t' tanks fit, shiver me timbers, they wanted t' let their forward ends poke out past the forward bulkhead. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Positive pressure was needed t' keep them in place as they dried. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I took a strip o' aluminum foil and wrapped it around t' tanks, pullin' it tight t' apply t' desired amount o' pressure and then taped it t' itself to keep from marrin' t' tanks. It was set aside t' dry overnight. Begad! T' next day I followed t' same procedure addin' 2 more tanks and wrappin' them with foil t' hold them in place. By this point, ya bilge rat, things were lookin' hopeful enough that I placed t' remainin' 4 tanks in one sittin' and set it aside t' dry. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! When I peeled back t' foil. Ahoy! Blimey! All t' tanks were within bounds.

Astute readers and those with good memories will realize that even after all t' months o' construction on this beast, matey, it still had no thrust ring. Avast! That is accordin' t' plan because t' instructions at this point called for somethin' I had nay seen before. Arrr! T' thrust rin' was t' be mounted from t' forward end. Aye aye! A long swab be used t' put a rin' o' glue into place and then t' back o' t' swab be used t' force t' thrust rin' into place along t' top o' the engine hook.

A centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, me hearties, smaller in diameter than t' ones previously used, was test fitted around t' motor tube and found t' fit just fine. Avast, me proud beauty! It was glued into place near t' top o' t' CR at t' top o' t' tanks. Well, blow me down! It be also generously filleted since it would eventually be hidden. Blimey! Avast! When that glue had a chance t' stiffen up some, t' shorter length of white body tube was fitted over t' centerin' rin' and glued flush with t' rin' right behind it. Begad! It too was given a generous fillet on t' inside.

T' large paper transition was located on t' wrap sheet and cut out. A small amount o' white glue was used to join t' rin' at t' mark and it was then slipped over t' upper body tube and settled into place t' serve as a transition from t' tops o' t' tanks t' t' smaller diameter BT. Begad! Blimey!

T' nose cone had long since been painted white along with t' short piece o' body tube it fit within. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' cone be glued into place in t' tube. Ya scallywag! T' bottom half o' this tube be supposed t' remain white but t' upper half along with t' cone needed t' be painted black. Ahoy! With that in mind, t' lower half was masked off t' protect it from t' black paint. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' cone assembly was then taken t' t' spray booth and shot with a few coats o' black. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It remained thar to dry.

Meanwhile, t' body tube that had been glued t' t' coupler had a wrap t' be applied. It was cut out and then carefully wrapped around t' bottom portion o' t' tube. A light coatin' o' white glue was used t' make it adhere. The bottom o' t' body also had a wrap t' be applied. Begad! Ahoy! It too was cut out and glued t' t' lowest o' t' BTs.

As I let t' wraps set up, shiver me timbers, I went t' check on t' black paint on t' nose cone assemble. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I saw a few places that needed a little more paint and gave it a shot. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' Wal Mart paint I be usin' dries fairly smartly t' t' touch so I was soon able t' take it back t' t' bench and remove t' masking. Arrr! T' freshly painted NC assembly was then glued to t' balsa transition.

T' rocket has two styles o' fins, both o' which need t' be cut from t' provided balsa. Templates are provided for both. T' templates were cut out and then placed against t' balsa and their outlines were traced with a pencil. Four o' each were needed. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! A steel ruler was then used as a guide for t' razor knife as all eight were cut out. Because I figured that paintin' t' fins after installation would be a nightmare, ya bilge rat, I went ahead and filled them with Elmer's filler and set them aside t' dry. Blimey! Arrr! At t' same time, I installed t' eyescrew in t' base o' t' transition and secured it with some yellow glue.

T' engine nozzles on this kit are all built up out o' paper wraps. Ya scallywag! Each one comes as two pieces called, ya bilge rat, logically enough, t' inner and outer wraps. Aye aye! I cut t' pieces for one o' t' nozzles out and curled them around t' edge o' a pair o' scissors. Ahoy! T' ends were then glued together. Blimey! When t' pieces were dry enough t' hold together, t' outer band was slipped over t' inner band and glued in place at t' bottom. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' process was then repeated with t' other 4 nozzles.

After havin' more than a few days t' dry, I sanded t' fins down and be pleased with their smoothness. They were then sprayed with Kilz and sanded again. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' fins then received 2 coats o' gloss white.

T' wrap sheet came with 8 little pieces t' be cut out and glued t' t' forward root edge o' t' fins and serve as fairings. Begad! They were cut out and glued t' t' fins with a dab o' white glue.

When t' fairings had dried, t' process o' applyin' t' fins began. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! They alternate betwixt large and small and are aligned with t' grooves betwixt t' tanks. A double glue joint o' white glue was used and 2 were done at each sitting. Aye aye! Blimey! There was quite a bit o' time betwixt sittings but eventually all t' fins and stub fins were in place. When in place, I used Tightbond Moldin' and Trim glue t' run fillets on each o' them.

Some Scotch tape be used t' mask off t' areas on t' fins that were supposed t' remain white and t' some black acrylic was used t' paint t' black areas. Avast! As usual, me hearties, I tried very hard t' burnish t' tape down well but thar was still some leaking.

T' paper nozzles that had been constructed looked fairly sickly at this point. I would have been greatly concerned if I had nay gone through t' same experience with t' Zooch Discoverer Thor. Avast! I learned then that the hare-brained scheme t' make them look better really does work, although they do look worse before they get better. Ya scallywag! Some strips o' thread were cut t' length as indicated in t' instructions. Begad! CA was then used t' tack t' end o' t' thread to t' nozzle at t' junction betwixt t' upper and lower parts. Aye aye! I Started at t' seam. Aye aye! T' nozzles remained in that state for several weeks until I turned t' them again. Ya scallywag! Then it was a process o' slowly windin' t' thread around t' upper portion o' t' nozzle and tackin' it down with glue as I went. For some reason which escapes me now, me hearties, I used white glue t' do this. Aye aye! I tried t' get t' spacin' as even as possible and only progressed very little each day. Well, blow me down! By t' time the excess was trimmed at t' top, they were lookin' really bad. Begad! T' appearance started t' improve dramatically when I brushed some acrylic aluminum paint onto t' nozzles.

It was about t' time that t' last nozzle be painted that I realized that I had forgotten t' turbo pumps. Ya scallywag! One o' t' provided dowels was cut t' provide 4 pieces o' t' required, short length. Arrr! T' Zooch method for puttin' t' pump on involves gummin' up some glue, rollin' it into a BB and applyin' it t' t' end o' one o' t' rods. Ahoy! T' gummy ball is then smoothed into t' nozzle t' create t' "Illusion" o' t' pump. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I tried doin' this with Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue and smartly realized that that I did nay have enough recreational pharmaceuticals t' pull off the "illusion". Arrr! Begad! I then tried t' glue t' rod onto t' nozzles with t' Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue directly. That worked, and since t' stuff is thick and holds its shape, I be able t' sculpt t' "illusion" if you squint just right and your camera does nay have a macro setting. Ya scallywag! Applyin' some more aluminum paint helped as well.

Most kits have little or nothin' t' show for their aft end. Avast! This one wants t' make t' aft end look good. Accordingly, t' wrap sheet contains a disk t' be cut out and applied t' t' aft centerin' ring. Ya scallywag! T' piece was cut out and then t' central circle was removed t' fit around t' motor mount. Begad! T' piece was then applied t' t' rear centerin' rin' with white glue and alignin' t' four nozzle bases with t' four stub fins.

T' graphic on t' aft cutout helps t' properly locate and place t' four nozzles. T' bases are indicated on the piece as are t' connections t' t' turbo pumps. Arrr! Little puddles o' Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue were applied where t' nozzles were t' be located. T' nozzles were then pressed into place and t' a further dab o' t' Titebond was dropped down t' bell o' t' nozzles and t' pieces were set aside t' dry.

When I returned t' t' project, I was still unhappy about t' black paint that had seeped under t' masking. Ya scallywag! A brush and some white acrylic were used t' make t' situation slightly less egregious.

One o' t' joys and complexities o' this kit is in all t' little details tacked on under t' general headin' of "protrusions". Blimey! There are a lot o' them. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I started with t' ullage motors cut from t' provided doweling. Avast, me proud beauty! Four pieces were cut into 1/8" segments and then had an angle sanded into one end. Aye aye! Arrr! T' process o' cuttin' cost me a few pieces which flew off never t' be seen again and holdin' them while sandin' with a pair o' pliers cost me a few more. Arrr! I figure I cut 8 t' get four. Aye aye! They were placed with Titebond Time and Moldin' glue.

Next up came t' retro rockets. Avast! Arrr! These were provided precut and shaped and, unless I miss me guess, are formed from t' top ends o' t' higher end wooden toothpicks o' t' type that have a little groove cut around t' top. Avast! I used the Titebond t' place these as well.

T' rocket has 4 little antenna panels found on t' wrap sheet. Their location is indicated on t' instruction sheet but their orientation was nay clear t' me. Blimey! I asked Dr. Booty t' clarify t' situation for me and he did so promptly with t' followin' message:

"I'll try and un-stuck you. Begad! Begad! First cut t' FOUR antennas from t' wrap sheet. Note their proper location on t' S-1 stage. Avast! Run a bead o' white glue along t' long edge o' t' antenna. Blimey! Stick it t' t' stage bridgin' t' gap betwixt t' white tank and t' black tank with t' white tank on t' LEFT and t' black tank on t' RIGHT. Aye aye! Allow to dry. Well, blow me down! DO NOT cut t' antennas in half- if you have already cut tham in half, matey, shiver me timbers, glue t' halfs back onto a piece o' paper- allow t' dry and then cut t' whole piece off again.

Good luck... Arrr! Blimey! we're all countin' on you."

His message was enough t' clarify things for me. Arrr! Aye aye! I cut out t' panels, folded them and glued them in place with Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue.

3 dowels had t' be cut t' a length o' 4-3/8" t' serve as pipin' betwixt t' tanks. Well, blow me down! Unfortunately, me hearties, I read it as 3-3/8" t' first time and cut t' first one too short. These too were placed with Titebond. Aye aye! Three shorter pieces o' dowel were cut t' be applied as ductin' a little higher up on t' rocket.

T' launch lug was t' be cut into two pieces. Ya scallywag! T' bottom piece was t' be mounted in pretty standard fashion in the crook o' a fin but t' upper one needed a standoff t' fit on t' transition. A template provided for this purpose was cut out and t' standout was cut from some scrap balsa. Blimey! T' leadin' edge o' t' standoff had a bevel sanded into it and then Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue be t' fix t' standoff t' t' lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' upper and lower lugs were then glued into place usin' a length o' rod t' keep them aligned.

My original intention with t' shock mount be t' attach a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® t' t' upper centerin' rin' but I forgot. Avast! Avast! For that reason I went ahead and fixed a trifold but added a length of Keelhaul®©™® anyway.

T' final step be t' half year odyssey o' this poor rocket bein' mistreated at me hands be t' touch up some of t' white paint on t' various protrusions. Ya scallywag! I used white acrylic and a fine brush t' apply paint t' t' scuffed parts, t' glue and t' unpainted retros. Arrr! With that, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me hearties, I intended t' fly it on t' weekend.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
My first outin' with t' SA5 ended without a flight because o' lack o' a chute. I normally substitute nylon chutes for plastic ones. Avast, me proud beauty! When I got t' t' launch field, ya bilge rat, I found that a 12" nylon would nay fit and I did nay have any smaller ones on hand.

A week later, I decided t' celebrate me birthday and Dr. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Zooch's recovery from t' swine flu by tryin' again. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I installed a 9" nylon chute and then started thinkin' about a motor. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Dr. Booty is usually pretty vague on such matters except for explicit instructions nay t' "wimp out on an A." I decided t' go with a B4-4 and set it up on t' pad.

It took off well and flew straight t' a pretty respectable altitude. Aye aye! When t' thrust ended, though, matey, shiver me timbers, it still continued t' coast on momentum but slowed down smartly and began t' fly a bit less straight. Ejection occurred perfectly at apogee while t' rocket be horizontal. Arrr! T' chute deployed and it began its drift downward t' land nay too far away, although it had t' bad sense t' land on t' opposite side o' a barbed wire fence.

T' rocket performed really well on a B4. Ya scallywag! For that reason, me hearties, and because o' me distaste for barbed wire fences, arrr, I felt pretty confident about tryin' t' next flight on an A6-4. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I loaded it up and took it t' t' pad accompanied by looks o' incredulity from those who had heard me motor choice. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' boost actually went pretty well. T' rocket flew up and it flew straight. Ya scallywag! I didn't even really have any complaints about t' altitude. Arrr! It was t' coast phase that really stank. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! T' rocket decelerated smartly and started headin' down. T' problem be it kept goin' down. Avast! I have no reason to think t' 4 second delay was inaccurate but if sure seemed like an A6-12 while at t' same time t' earth's acceleration field seemed t' approximate that o' Jupiter. Begad! As best I can tell, ejection occurred about 5 feet above the ground. Blimey! This accomplished several things. It accelerated t' nose cone givin' it a deeper penetration o' t' ground, shiver me timbers, it broke up t' aerodynamic shape so that t' body did nay hit quite as hard and, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me hearties, most importantly, ya bilge rat, it did get t' bright orange chute out so that I could easily find t' rocket when I stopped crying. Fortunately for me, t' ground was very soft due t' rain and thar be no damage at all. Ahoy! I did, ya bilge rat, however, me bucko, have t' persuade t' nose cone t' let go o' t' mud.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket took much more effort than I expected. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Rollin' t' tanks, in particular, was a difficult task for me. That said, me hearties, I did learn a lot and I enjoyed puttin' it together.

It flew well also. Ya scallywag! It might even have done OK on an A8-3 but that's nay somethin' I'm plannin' on trying. Begad! It's a good product and t' service and support from Dr. Booty are excellent.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
Persons interested in followin' this rocket can find its service life documented here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23694991@N03/collections/72157617582604204/