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

Of all t' Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Booty line, arrr, me bucko, T' Saturn I SA-5 be t' one that most appeals t' me, ya bilge rat, mainly because it is different from everythin' else. Begad! 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. Avast! I survived t' buildin' o' t' Little Joe LES and actually enjoyed buildin' it so I figured it be time.

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

Construction:

T' first step in t' instructions is t' do some painting. Avast! T' balsa nose cone and transition needed t' be painted white as did t' various body tubes. Avast! Begad! 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, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! An angle be then used t' extend t' lines. Begad! With t' lines transferred, I measured back t' proscribed distance and made a narrow slit for t' engine hook. Aye aye! T' hook was then put into place.

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

After a day o' drying, matey, I took some sandpaper t' t' balsa parts and started t' sand. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' result was fairly smooth and I be satisfied with it. With t' balsa sanded, I now needed t' paint t' parts. Avast! In addition t' t' balsa and the tubing, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! 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. Arrr! 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. They were placed with yellow glue and fillets were run around both sides o' all rings. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rings were also carefully checked t' make sure that they were straigt.

While t' glue on t' rings was drying, ya bilge rat, I turned me attention t' t' spider beams used t' algn t' tanks. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Using t' template provided, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 8 were cut from a sheet o' balsa material. Aye aye! Blimey! White glue was then used t' place them along the lines drawn on t' motor tube. Aye aye! Blimey! In short order, shiver me timbers, all 8 were in place and t' assembly was set aside t' dry.

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

As t' black paint was drying, me hearties, 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, matey, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, in a fit o' idiocy. Blimey! Begad! I went ahead and installed t' lower tube before installin' t' tanks. Well, blow me down! This posed a problem later on but be nay insurmountable. Begad! T' install t' tube, me hearties, I just sanded t' rings a bit and then swabbed some white glue t' t' inside o' t' tube. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' motor mount be slid in until t' aft rin' was flush with t' end o' the tube.

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

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

My mess resulted in some soul searchin' and sporadic depression but Dr. Begad! Zooch came t' t' rescue with t' offer of some more tank wraps. Ya scallywag! O desperately wanted t' PURCHASE t' said wraps but he would have none o' it and insisted on sendin' them t' me. Ahoy! 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. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Lots o' little bits o' glue and paper tankage were left behind.

Dr. Arrr! Begad! Zooch 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, me hearties, me hearties, then it was because I was repairin' things that had broken on other projects, sometimes it was 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. Begad! Then embarrassment started t' take over; I be ashamed t' have left it for so long. Finally, Embarrassment came t' t' for again but this time is was because I had nay gotten back t' work on it. Arrr! By that time, I had t' wonder where I had stashed t' replacements and I was nay about t' ask for a third set after all Dr. Booty has done for me. Avast! 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. I started on t' pre-curlin' this time by takin' out a table cloth while SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED be asleep and foldin' it over until I had a very thick but soft workin' surface. Ahoy! Each o' t' tanks was then set upon it, one at a time, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, as I rolled t' formin' dowel over t' top, pushin' down progressively harder with each pass. Ahoy! This did get t' process started, one o' t' hardest parts t' me, but did nay give t' tanks nearly t' curvature needed.

From there, arrr, ya bilge rat, I turned back t' steam. I held each wrap over a pot o' boilin' water t' give it some flexibility. Avast! Each wrap be t' placed around a wooden dowel and held in place with monofilament line and tape. Begad! Blimey! T' dowel was significantly bigger than what was needed; I intended t' do this in several steps. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Blimey! They had indeed acquired a healthy curve but the radius o' t' curve was still more than I wanted t' deal with. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I would have t' repeat t' process with a smaller dowel. T' entire process was repeated, me bucko, 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. Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! I wanted just enough t' adhere t' t' formin' dowel for long enough t' get t' rolling started. Ahoy! T' wrap was then rolled around t' dowel and pulled tight. T' process o' pullin' it tight gave me more "unrolled" material t' wrap. A light skin o' white glue be screeded across t' backside o' t' tank wrap and t' excess material was rolled around t' dowel. While this was goin' on, I tried t' carefully make sure that t' tank was rollin' straight. Before t' glue could grab, me hearties, 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. Well, blow me down! When t' glue on a tank had dried, ya bilge rat, 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. Ya scallywag! This sheared t' tape and let me extract t' dowel. Avast! It also produced a tightly wrapped tank. Begad! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Eventually, shiver me timbers, I got it t' where t' new tanks would fit and be happy that t' innards would never be visually inspected too closely. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! One o' t' LOX tanks be 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. Aye aye! That went well enough that I placed a fuel tank next t' it. I then noticed that, although t' tanks fit, me hearties, they wanted t' let their forward ends poke out past the forward bulkhead. Aye aye! Blimey! Positive pressure was needed t' keep them in place as they dried. Begad! Blimey! I took a strip o' aluminum foil and wrapped it around t' tanks, ya bilge rat, me bucko, pullin' it tight t' apply t' desired amount o' pressure and then taped it t' itself to keep from marrin' t' tanks. Aye aye! It was set aside t' dry overnight. Blimey! Blimey! T' next day I followed t' same procedure addin' 2 more tanks and wrappin' them with foil t' hold them in place. Ya scallywag! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! By this point, things were lookin' hopeful enough that I placed t' remainin' 4 tanks in one sittin' and set it aside t' dry. When I peeled back t' foil. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! 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, arrr, me bucko, it still had no thrust ring. That is accordin' t' plan because t' instructions at this point called for somethin' I had nay seen before. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' thrust rin' be t' be mounted from t' forward end. Ahoy! A long swab was used t' put a rin' o' glue into place and then t' back o' t' swab was used t' force t' thrust rin' into place along t' top o' the engine hook.

A centerin' ring, 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 be glued into place near t' top o' t' CR at t' top o' t' tanks. Ya scallywag! It be also generously filleted since it would eventually be hidden. Begad! When that glue had a chance t' stiffen up some, t' shorter length of white body tube be fitted over t' centerin' rin' and glued flush with t' rin' right behind it. Ya scallywag! Avast! It too was given a generous fillet on t' inside.

T' large paper transition was located on t' wrap sheet and cut out. Aye aye! A small amount o' white glue was used to join t' rin' at t' mark and it be 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.

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

Meanwhile, me hearties, matey, matey, t' body tube that had been glued t' t' coupler had a wrap t' be applied. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It be 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. Avast! The bottom o' t' body also had a wrap t' be applied. Blimey! 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. I saw a few places that needed a little more paint and gave it a shot. T' Wal Mart paint I was usin' dries fairly smartly t' t' touch so I be soon able t' take it back t' t' bench and remove t' masking. Ahoy! 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. Blimey! Begad! 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! A steel ruler was then used as a guide for t' razor knife as all eight were cut out. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Because I figured that paintin' t' fins after installation would be a nightmare, me bucko, I went ahead and filled them with Elmer's filler and set them aside t' dry. At t' same time, matey, 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. Each one comes as two pieces called, logically enough, me hearties, t' inner and outer wraps. Well, blow me down! I cut t' pieces for one o' t' nozzles out and curled them around t' edge o' a pair o' scissors. T' ends were then glued together. Begad! When t' pieces were dry enough t' hold together, me bucko, t' outer band was slipped over t' inner band and glued in place at t' bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' process be then repeated with t' other 4 nozzles.

After havin' more than a few days t' dry, me bucko, matey, I sanded t' fins down and be pleased with their smoothness. They were then sprayed with Kilz and sanded again. Ahoy! 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. Avast! Well, blow me down! They were cut out and glued t' t' fins with a dab o' white glue.

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

Some Scotch tape was used t' mask off t' areas on t' fins that were supposed t' remain white and t' some black acrylic be used t' paint t' black areas. Begad! As usual, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I would have been greatly concerned if I had nay gone through t' same experience with t' Zooch Discoverer Thor. Ahoy! I learned then that the hare-brained scheme t' make them look better really does work, arrr, matey, although they do look worse before they get better. Begad! Begad! Some strips o' thread were cut t' length as indicated in t' instructions. Ya scallywag! CA was then used t' tack t' end o' t' thread to t' nozzle at t' junction betwixt t' upper and lower parts. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I Started at t' seam. Ahoy! T' nozzles remained in that state for several weeks until I turned t' them again. Begad! 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. Ahoy! For some reason which escapes me now, I used white glue t' do this. I tried t' get t' spacin' as even as possible and only progressed very little each day. Avast, me proud beauty! By t' time the excess be trimmed at t' top, they were lookin' really bad. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' appearance started t' improve dramatically when I brushed some acrylic aluminum paint onto t' nozzles.

It be about t' time that t' last nozzle was painted that I realized that I had forgotten t' turbo pumps. One o' t' provided dowels was cut t' provide 4 pieces o' t' required, short length. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! T' gummy ball is then smoothed into t' nozzle t' create t' "Illusion" o' t' pump. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! 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". Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then tried t' glue t' rod onto t' nozzles with t' Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue directly. That worked, ya bilge rat, and since t' stuff is thick and holds its shape, I was able t' sculpt t' "illusion" if you squint just right and your camera does nay have a macro setting. Applyin' some more aluminum paint helped as well.

Most kits have little or nothin' t' show for their aft end. Well, blow me down! This one wants t' make t' aft end look good. Accordingly, shiver me timbers, t' wrap sheet contains a disk t' be cut out and applied t' t' aft centerin' ring. T' piece was cut out and then t' central circle was removed t' fit around t' motor mount. Arrr! Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! T' bases are indicated on the piece as are t' connections t' t' turbo pumps. Ya scallywag! Little puddles o' Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue were applied where t' nozzles were t' be located. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Arrr! 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". Well, blow me down! Ahoy! There are a lot o' them. Aye aye! I started with t' ullage motors cut from t' provided doweling. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Four pieces were cut into 1/8" segments and then had an angle sanded into one end. Avast! 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. Avast! I figure I cut 8 t' get four. Begad! They were placed with Titebond Time and Moldin' glue.

Next up came t' retro rockets. Ahoy! Blimey! These were provided precut and shaped and, me bucko, me bucko, 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. I used the Titebond t' place these as well.

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

"I'll try and un-stuck you. First cut t' FOUR antennas from t' wrap sheet. Begad! Note their proper location on t' S-1 stage. Begad! Ahoy! Run a bead o' white glue along t' long edge o' t' antenna. Begad! 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. Avast! Allow to dry. Begad! DO NOT cut t' antennas in half- if you have already cut tham in half, glue t' halfs back onto a piece o' paper- allow t' dry and then cut t' whole piece off again.

Good luck... we're all countin' on you."

His message was enough t' clarify things for me. Ya scallywag! I cut out t' panels, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I read it as 3-3/8" t' first time and cut t' first one too short. Aye aye! These too were placed with Titebond. Ya scallywag! 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. 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. Ya scallywag! A template provided for this purpose was cut out and t' standout was cut from some scrap balsa. Ya scallywag! T' leadin' edge o' t' standoff had a bevel sanded into it and then Titebond Trim and Moldin' glue was t' fix t' standoff t' t' lug. 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 was t' attach a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® t' t' upper centerin' rin' but I forgot. Ahoy! 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 was t' touch up some of t' white paint on t' various protrusions. I used white acrylic and a fine brush t' apply paint t' t' scuffed parts, t' glue and t' unpainted retros. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! With that, 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. When I got t' t' launch field, I found that a 12" nylon would nay fit and I did nay have any smaller ones on hand.

A week later, me hearties, I decided t' celebrate me birthday and Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Zooch's recovery from t' swine flu by tryin' again. I installed a 9" nylon chute and then started thinkin' about a motor. Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! When t' thrust ended, matey, though, it still continued t' coast on momentum but slowed down smartly and began t' fly a bit less straight. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! Ejection occurred perfectly at apogee while t' rocket was horizontal. Avast! Blimey! T' chute deployed and it began its drift downward t' land nay too far away, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Begad! For that reason, shiver me timbers, and because o' me distaste for barbed wire fences, I felt pretty confident about tryin' t' next flight on an A6-4. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I loaded it up and took it t' t' pad accompanied by looks o' incredulity from those who had heard me motor choice. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' boost actually went pretty well. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' rocket flew up and it flew straight. Begad! Arrr! I didn't even really have any complaints about t' altitude. It was t' coast phase that really stank. Avast! T' rocket decelerated smartly and started headin' down. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' problem be it kept goin' down. Ya scallywag! 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. As best I can tell, ya bilge rat, ejection occurred about 5 feet above the ground. This accomplished several things. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, most importantly, it did get t' bright orange chute out so that I could easily find t' rocket when I stopped crying. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Fortunately for me, t' ground was very soft due t' rain and thar was no damage at all. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I did, however, 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. Aye aye! Rollin' t' tanks, in particular, me hearties, matey, was a difficult task for me. That said, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! It's a good product and t' service and support from Dr. Ya scallywag! Begad! Zooch 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/