The BerthaVostok

Designed and built by Steve Kristal
(Lets just say greater than 25 years o' buildin' rockets.)

Design :

T' design concept for t' BerthaVostok originated with an invitation t' my local NARRRRR branch's Bertha Bash night, arrr, where t' goal was t' kit-bash something original from a standard Estes Big Bertha kit. Aye aye!

Havin' seen Gordon Agnello's Gemini Bertha and his brother's Redstone Bertha, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I decided t' take retro-Bertha even a little further back with a Vostok version. Well, blow me down!

T' design began with a standard Estes Big Bertha, and all t' original kit parts were used except t' shock cord which I replaced with Keelhaul®©™ and a shorter launch lug.

T' Vostok part o' t' build be modeled after Peter Always's "Simplified Vostok". Well, blow me down! Well, me bucko, blow me down! (see http://yellowjacketsystems.com/alway/plans.htm#Vostok ). Begad!

I upscaled t' design t' a BT-60 and instead o' usin' Peter's actual templates, I made me own usin' t' graphics from a free paper model by Lars Folman downloaded from t' web (see: http://hjem.get2net.dk/). Blimey!

T' body tube graphics were resized from t' paper model as well and printed onto full-size label paper which I used as a body wrap. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' hardest part was sizin' and makin' t' transition sections. Arrr! Begad! Their length was based on t' space "left over" betwixt t' lower portion o' the upper body wrap and t' upper cone o' t' strap-ons. Begad! Avast! I significantly compressed the graphics on t' upper body wrap t' leave enough room for t' transition. T' overall effect is definitely Vostok-like, ya bilge rat, but both t' upper graphics and the transition are way shorter than either scale or Peter Always's version. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr!

As for stability planning, thar be no way I could RockSim this. Blimey! Instead I simply assumed that addin' those big honkin' Bertha fins t' an already stable Peter Alway design wouldn't cause any problems. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! I was right.

As for power, me hearties, matey, additional weight was negligable with t' four strap-ons and transition made from paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! My only concern be all t' added drag, matey, but I figured t' basic Bertha has plenty o' power on a C6. Arrr!

Construction:

Construction began with t' standard Bertha build up t' t' point of attachin' t' fins. Upper body wrap was then applied. Aye aye! Next, t' upper transition section, me bucko, matey, with a paper centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, was slid up over t' bottom of the tube t' meet t' upper body wrap. Begad! T' lower body wrap was then applied, and the lower transition section slid up over that t' mate with t' upper section. Ahoy!

While I anticipated later puttin' on fins, matey, and left cutouts on t' lower body wrap for their placement, ya bilge rat, I should have also added placement lines for the strap-ons, ya bilge rat, which I built and placed next. T' strap-ons were made from 100# card stock with t' graphics printed directly on. Their bottoms were "plugged" with card stock circles with appropriate graphics. Ya scallywag!

T' fins were covered with label paper graphics. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' fin edges were left flat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and then blackened with permanent marker. Blimey! T' fins were then placed in t' cutouts left on t' lower body tube graphic, arrr, and filleted with white glue. Well, blow me down! Avast!

Because o' t' width o' t' transition, t' launch lug was applied t' a cut out on one o' t' fins. Arrr!

T' only paintin' be t' nosecone, which was Soviet-era olive drab. Ahoy! Avast!

Overall, arrr, t' build was fun, but if I did it again I would place t' fins first, and then t' strap-ons. Avast, me proud beauty! Both would be a lot straighter if I had done it that way. Ya scallywag! Blimey! But, on t' other hand, t' flights wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

Flight & Recovery:

Flight o' this rocket is surprisingly straight, ya bilge rat, me bucko, considerin' t' lack of positionin' aids for both t' fins and strap-ons. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It flies kind o' like a cross between a Bertha and a saucer as it tail wags it's way up. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Really fun t' watch and recovers easily on t' standard Bertha chute. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Hits about 400' on a C6 but did an end-over-end flip on a B6 (possibly a bad engine, and really cool t' watch, shiver me timbers, but I won't try that again). Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Conclusion:

Overall, me bucko, me hearties, one o' t' stupidest rockets ever built. Blimey! A marriage o' t' genius of Sergei Korolev and Vern Estes. Blimey! Really, me bucko, really fun t' build and fly, ya bilge rat, arrr, and lots of laughs from those who know and love rockets. Ya scallywag! Avast!