Brief:

T' Semroc Space Shuttle is a faithful reproduction o' an old (OOP) Centuri kit that was introduced in 1971. Ahoy! Arrr! Blimey! It is a close approximation t' t' original full-scale model. Ya scallywag! All fins and rings are precision laser-cut balsa and sturdy fiber. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! T' plastic nose cones are replaced with much lighter balsa reproductions.

Construction:

T' instructions are well written and easy t' follow with clear drawings for t' most o' t' 53 steps. Arrr! For a small model this kit can take a lot o' time dependin' on what you want t' do.

All o' t' parts are good quality includin' t' balsa wood. Ya scallywag! I decided t' coat all t' balsa fins with CA, which took time.

A friend had told me that Golden Mediums GAC 100 Multi-Purpose Acrylic Polymer was good for fillin' balsa by spreadin' it on with a stiff piece o' plastic like and old credit card. Ahoy! Aye aye! I tried this material, but I’m nay sure that it helped that much. After paintin' most o' t' balsa grain has disappeared on t' both nose cones and t' orbiter fins, but some grain can be seen on t' booster wings.

I decided t' hollow out t' nose cones, shiver me timbers, but t' instructions do nay call for this procedure. Arrr! I later found t' model t' be unstable in flight, but it is hard t' believe that this amount o' balsa could equal all t' lead weight that I later added. In order for t' pop-pod t' work correctly t' glider nose cone must be glued in.

Conceivably, t' nose cone on t' booster could be left unglued for booster flight trimming. Avast! I did nay want t' gap t' show, arrr, so I glued both nose cones t' their body tubes. Ahoy! Avast! Steps 7 through 10 establish t' location o' t' wood dowels on t' booster for attachin' t' orbiter. Well, blow me down! Begad! Follow these steps closely. Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

Especially, follow Step 10, matey, which states that t' pieces must be within 1/16” o' t' specified locations. Later, me hearties, me bucko, after paintin' I found that I had t' sand and trim some o' theses parts with an X-acto knife t' make them fit properly. I put a small silver mylar adhesive strip on t' aft motor mount tube under t' engine hook. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! This should be done just before Step 18.

Step 19 turned out t' be t' most difficult for me. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I followed t' directions in Step 19 and put a small amount o' wood glue in t' top end o' t' engine tube and proceeded t' slide t' thrust rin' (motor block) down t' t' engine hook. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! However, me hearties, t' glue had soaked into t' body tube and t' thrust rin' actually tipped over in t' process and hung up. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Luckily, I had a long stick available in t' workshop. Ahoy! Blimey! I put t' stick through t' opposite end o' t' body tube and pushed t' thrust rin' out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Needless t' say, arrr, t' next time I repeated this step, me hearties, I used a wood dowel and placed t' glue down by t' engine hook before I slid t' thrust rin' into place.

Finishing:

This shuttle concept reminds me o' t' Monogram plastic models that Willy Ley, a German rocket scientist, help advertised back in 1958. T' model consisted o' a large winged booster on t' bottom and a winged orbiter vehicle on top.

T' booster had a bright red color. Avast! T' Semroc directions show a yellow orbiter on top o' a white booster, which is probably consistent with t' original Centuri configuration. Avast! I was taken t' makin' an orange orbiter, probably from me recollection o' seein' some Bell X-1 models painted orange. Ya scallywag! I used t' old Rustoleum rust colored primer, which be very difficult t' cover with t' new Krylon gloss pumpkin orange that came out about a year ago.

After 5 coats or more I succeeded in coverin' t' primer with t' Krylon orange. Ahoy! T' coverin' power o' t' Krylon be nay good and it had a tendency t' be transparent. Ahoy! T' booster and orbiter weights from t' instructions are listed t' be 1.5 oz. Ahoy! and 0.5 oz., respectively. Begad! My painted and finished booster and glider weights turned out t' be 2.5 oz. Begad! Arrr! and 0.5 oz., respectively. Aye aye! I did nay use all t' Semroc decals and preferred t' use some different decals that I had in me inventory. Arrr!

Flight:

T' first flight with an Estes C6-3 proved t' be unstable and t' Shuttle fishtailed badly without gainin' much altitude. Arrr! T' altitude was only about 50 feet and t' motor pod ejected on t' ground. Aye aye! Only one fin was broken and it was easily reattached with super glue gel.

T' second flight be again with a C6-3, matey, but this time I epoxied about 0.5 oz o' lead weight behind t' forward bulkhead on t' motor pod. I bought t' lead weight at a fishin' tackle store. It comes in a coil and is referred t' as No. 1 3/16” hollow. Well, matey, blow me down! This time t' shuttle took off t' about at an altitude o' 20 feet and flew vertical t' t' ground. Again, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' motor pod ejected on t' ground and one fin broke off and be easily reattached.

For t' third flight with a C6-3 I added about another 1 oz. o' weight. Begad! This time I epoxied a wooden dowel as a boom t' inside o' t' motor pod. Well, blow me down! Since I had hollowed out t' nose cone o' t' orbiter, I had room t' move t' lead weight forward. Begad! Well, blow me down! I also noticed that t' orbiter was a little bit loose on top o' t' booster, so I added some balsa shims that removed t' wobble. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! On this flight t' Shuttle flew straight and had enough altitude about 120 feet t' eject t' motor pod. Begad! T' booster did glide for a very short distance before landing, me bucko, but t' orbiter did nay glide very well. Ya scallywag!
Care needs t' be taken in flyin' away from spectators, because t' pod does fall fast. Aye aye! I am now plannin' t' attach a small 8” square parachute t' t' pod. Also, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I am plannin' t' next launch with an Apogee D10-3, arrr, which be t' same size as t' Estes C6-3. Ya scallywag!