Modification - Super Vega

Estes Super Vega Modification

Modification - Super Vega

Contributed by Bill Eichelberger

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2011-08-30
Manufacturer:	Modification

Brief

T' Estes Super Vega was among a group o' rockets that I received as a Christmas gifts in 1994 after me wife stumbled upon a hobby shop closing sale. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! (I also received a Hornet, Greyhawk and F-22 Interceptor as a part of this haul, but t' D-powered Super Vega was definitely t' kit that caught me attention.) I began work on it soon after t' holidays while my son was in his pre-school class, but soon came t' realize that active toddlers and rocket construction were far from a perfect combination. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! The Super Vega project soon stalled and was moved from t' dinin' room table t' a basement storage closet, arrr, arrr, arrr, where it stayed for t' next six + years. Blimey! Well, blow me down! When I got reinterested in rocketry in early 2001, ya bilge rat, I was disappointed t' find that t' Super Vega had nay weathered t' years well while in storage. I be able t' salvage only t' nose and tail cone, matey, t' decals, and t' cardstock pieces from t' original kit. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' rest had been reduced t' a bagful o' crushed body tubes and splintered balsa. Arrr! It was only after gatherin' t' needed parts for t' rebuild project that I came upon the clusterin' idea. T' initial attraction o' t' Super Vega had been the fact that it was D-powered, me hearties, but since I had recently built and flown an upscaled Satellite Interceptor that I had made into a D-powered bird, shiver me timbers, the thrill o' a D-powered rocket be gone. Well, blow me down! Begad! Clustering, on t' other hand, still left plenty o' room for extreme personal jollies.

Components

18" BT-60 main body tube
7" BT-60 body tube extension
BT-60 tube coupler
3 BT-50 pod tubes
3 2.75" engine tubes
3 18mm engine blocks
3/32" balsa stock
PNC-60 nose/tail cone
launch lugs
wood dowels
die cut cardstock pieces
3 discarded 13mm engine casings

Construction

Since this project was started and finished in me BAR infancy I did very little by way o' usin' modern methods in t' construction, and as a result it looks a lot like t' rockets I built back in 1977, with t' tube spirals clearly visible and t' shock cord attached usin' an old style Estes paper mount. That said, matey, me bucko, I did use another technique that I had only recently read about on one o' me early informational forays on t' internet. Begad! I attached t' large main fins with epoxy, me hearties, me bucko, but first I drilled a number o' small holes with a pin drill along t' spot in t' body tube where t' fins would attach. Theoretically this would create glue rivets and would, along with t' normal glue fillets, provide extra strength t' t' big fins. Arrr! I also took care t' align t' fins along t' open areas where t' motor mounts didn't rest against t' body tube so that t' fillets would be assured o' flowin' through t' holes t' form t' rivets.
Another area o' worry was t' dowels that formed t' legs that extended from t' main fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Even with t' large nylon parachute that I planned to use, arrr, I couldn't see t' relatively thin dowels standin' up t' much stress under a hard landing. Begad! Aye aye! In order t' keep from always havin' t' repair or replace t' landin' legs, ya bilge rat, I covered t' dowels with an expended 13mm motor casing. Begad! (An innovation for which I was roundly crucified on the Yahoo OldRockets group.) True, it changed t' look o' t' rocket somewhat, but I didn't think a cluster was exactly a minor modification, so I didn't lose sleep over it. Begad! I also turned t' small secondary fins around because I like t' sleeker look they gave t' rocket, swept back instead o' swept forward. In short, me hearties, nothin' on this rocket be safe from me twisted personal vision, but t' end product came out lookin' a lot like it be supposed t' anyway.

Finishing

This is one o' those rockets that is just short o' a joy t' finish. Begad! It's all white. Mine is a bit rough lookin' because in t' sprin' o' 2001 I had yet t' discover t' wonders o' Fill & Finish, but from ten feet it was a beauty queen. Begad! T' original decals were actually stickers, arrr, somethin' that I've always felt had no place on a model. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Several times over t' years I came close t' applyin' them, but I'll eventually scan them and print off a set o' waterslide decals instead.

Construction Score: 4

Flight

Seven years after it be purchased, matey, arrr, shiver me timbers, this Frankenstein made its first flight at a Quark Launch at Miami Meadows Park in Milford, Ohio. Arrr! I was nervous as I prepped t' three C6-5s for t' flight, nay for t' safety o' t' rocket, but because I be afraid I be goin' t' screw somethin' up. Miami Meadows be an intimate little park, decent for small modrocs, but iffy for anythin' else. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I hoped that t' sheer size o' t' Super Vega would allow for a low and slow flight, even with t' cluster.
I borrowed a clip whip and took t' big bird t' t' pad. Avast! Blimey! At this point I'd never seen a cluster, and judgin' from t' amount o' excitement t' announcement caused along t' flight line, they were few and far between. Begad! T' flight was smoky and impressive, me bucko, shiver me timbers, toppin' out above t' trees, but anglin' toward t' center o' t' field which took t' trees out o' t' recovery equation. Avast! Blimey! T' ejection charge fired at apogee and t' big Estes Nylon chute tangled as it deployed, bringin' t' rocket swingin' down much faster than I had hoped. It hit t' ground hard and snapped off one o' t' landin' legs on impact. (A clean break, but one that would take me forever t' fix anyway.)
Almost three years later I brushed off t' cobwebs and went for another flight, this time at t' more expansive VOA Park. Again, a very smoky and noisy flight, ya bilge rat, but this time a perfect landin' without damage deep in t' heavy vegetation.