Brief:
This is an upscale o' t' classic Estes kit, t' USS Andromeda.

Construction:

• 4" Tubes: LOC Kraft
• 3" Tubes: PML Phenolic
• "Conduit Dowels": 74" 1/2" Oak Dowels
• "Conduit Stand-Offs": 3/8" 7 ply bud Nosen
• Main Fins: 1/2" 12 ply
• "Ram Tube" fins: 3/8" 7 ply Bud Nosen
• Ram Tubes: 4" LOC Kraft
• Small outboard fins: 1/4" 5 ply Bud Nosen

I didn't do a very good job documentin' t' construction. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I didn't think of it until I was deep into t' project. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I downloaded t' original plans from Jim Z. Aye aye! There was a problem with t' scale when designin' t' parts. T' 4" tubin' scaled out t' 4.16x while t' 3" tubin' scaled t' 4.10x. Ahoy! Begad! Most of the rocket be designed usin' t' 4.16x scale. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Some o' t' parts had t' be 4.10x while I compromised in some places usin' 4.13x. Blimey! This kept t' whole package as proportionally close t' t' original as possible. Blimey!

I waited until t' last possible moment t' chose t' motor size. Begad! I even painted most o' it before choosing. Begad! T' reason for this was weight. Arrr! I wanted to know t' exact weight o' t' finished rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' large fins will experience a great deal o' torque durin' t' initial thrust. Aye aye! I wanted t' choose a motor that would have enough power for a safe flight, arrr, but nay so much that t' g force would tear it apart. Aye aye! Each step o' t' way me thoughts were t' keep it as light as possible without sacrificin' strength. Arrr! Blimey!

It was a challenge makin' t' main fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Ellipses can be hard t' upscale without pluggin' multiple coordinates into a CAD program. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' guys in the engineerin' department have been busy, matey, so I opted for an easier way out. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I printed t' plans from Jim Z onto clear overhead projector paper. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I measured the root o' t' fin and placed that dimension on a piece o' draftin' paper. Begad! Blimey! I then projected t' image onto t' draftin' paper so that it lined up with the upscale dimension on t' paper. Avast! Blimey! T' projector was squared and leveled several times. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then simply traced t' projected image onto t' paper, me hearties, cut it out, and traced it onto t' wood.

T' three rings on t' fin can act like exterior centerin' rings. Begad! Countin' these, ya bilge rat, t' main fins are mortised with 7 centerin' rings. T' 3" tube goes all t' way t' t' bottom so thar is only 1/2" o' fin "through t' wall". Ahoy! I tried t' compensate by ID fillets & epoxy rivets. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' entire ID o' t' 4" tube is coated with epoxy and t' CR/fin joints have 1/4" o' epoxy poured on them, all sides. All epoxy betwixt t' 4" and 3" tubes are 2 hour slow cure. Begad! In all, the fins are attached with 9 oz o' 2 hour epoxy. Another bit o' security was several (probably 30 or 40 in each fin) 1/4" deep 1/16" holes drilled into t' fin roots t' act as epoxy rivets. Arrr! Well, blow me down!

T' small outboard fins are attached with four 2 1/2" long 1/8" diameter oak pins. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Each pin goes through t' main fin and into each fin 1". Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! 2 hour epoxy here too. Begad! Again, another bit o' security was several 1/8" deep 1/16 holes drilled into t' fin roots t' act as epoxy rivets. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty!

T' conduit dowels were secured t' t' main fins with a kind o' mortise and tennon thing. Begad! T' depth o' t' mortise is about 1 /1/2". Blimey!

I just had t' throw this in for good measure: Nay countin' any internal fillets, t' total length o' t' fillets on this puppy is 41.6 feet. Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

Finishing:
Finishin' t' rocket was one o' the more difficult tasks. Well, blow me down! T' majority o' t' "decals" were made form Super Monokote. Jim Z made some upscale "paint masks" for me. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! At first, I tried t' rubber cement/paint mask thing. Ya scallywag! Begad! What a disaster! T' paint bled like a stuck pig. Begad! Arrr! So I 86'd t' paint mask idea and cut out t' decals with orange Monokote underneath. Blimey! T' white was done t' same way but I used sticker material. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' paint was Rustoleum satin black.

T' three "coolin' rings" were painted white in t' '75 & '76 Estes catalogue. Arrr! They were painted black in t' '77 through '82 catalogues. Well, blow me down! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I opted t' paint them white t' add contrast in t' area. Arrr!

Flight:
Well, arrr, I sent t' Andromeda up on a J350. It left t' pad with authority and flew perfect. Avast! Begad! It arched over at apogee and t' deployment came out perfectly timed. Well, blow me down!

Recovery:
Wait... Avast! What's this? T' chute is tangled! T' darn thin' backward slid all the way in at a pretty good clip. Aye aye! (That's what 16 pound rockets do ya know.) It hit the ground with a thud. Begad! Nay pretty. Begad! With me heart stopped, and me stomach in my throat, I told me self "its only a rocket, right?" I am in the process o' rebuildin' it right now and should have it ready t' fly again at the May 11 NEPRA launch. Well, blow me down!

Summary:
Wow! this be much more work then I had anticipated.

Other:
Upscalin' old Estes kits is a great way t' build HPR and remember your youth at the same time. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Here is a video. It's a bit big at 2.3 megabytes.