(Contributed - by Bill Eichelberger - 02/09/06)

Brief:
This project be started with t' intent o' puttin' t' legendary Centuri Taurus more in line with t' way I had imagined/remembered it back in t' late '70s. Well, blow me down! While clonin' t' Taurus recently, one thin' I was surprised about was t' rocket's size relative t' t' Centuri Super Kits.

In short, I had expected t' Taurus t' be quite a bit bigger than it actually was, arrr, but t' size o' t' components and t' subsequent dry-fit told t' real story. Avast, me proud beauty! With this project I set out t' change all that. Aye aye! Usin' parts from BMS, me hearties, Red Arrow Hobbies, FlisKits, arrr, and Thrustline, I scaled up t' Taurus up so that it could claim it's rightful place as one o' t' Super Kits. (In me mind at least, and when you get down t' it, shiver me timbers, me hearties, what else matters?)

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BNC-70AJ nose cone (BMS)
• 2 TA-6070 transitions (BMS)
• 3 BNC-20B pod cones (BMS)
• 3.7" T-70 upper body tube (BMS)
• 9.5" BT-60 center body tube (Red Arrow)
• 13.2" T-70 lower body tube (BMS)
• 3 6.6" BT-20 pod tubes (Red Arrow)
• 3 x 18mm cluster motor mount for BT-70 (Thrustline)
• 36" length Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• 36" length 1/8" sewin' elastic shock cord
• BT-60 sized ejection baffle (FlisKits)
• 1/8" balsa fin stock
• Medium screw eye
• Large snap swivel
• 18" nylon parachute (Thrustline)
• decal

Construction began when t' BT-70 tube, ya bilge rat, transitions and cones arrived from BMS. I immediately started t' work hollowin' out t' transitions with me Dremel tool. Ahoy! I managed t' get two fairly decent lookin' holes with t' Dremel while at t' same time stirrin' up enough balsa dust t' make t' front steps looked like they'd been hit by a sudden snowstorm o' talcum powder. Aye aye! When t' hollowin' be finished, I dry fit t' collected parts together. T' result be pretty much what I had hoped for: a Taurus sized along t' Super Kits.

At this point I assembled t' Thrustline 3 x 18mm cluster engine mount. T' holes on this mount are laser cut and t' tubes slip in without any trouble whatsoever. Ahoy! T' fit is firm, matey, and t' best part is that thar are no holes t' stuff with t' messy glue and recovery waddin' mixture that I've used on me other clusters. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Another advantage be t' unit's great looks, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, which are almost too good t' consider coverin' up with a body tube. Well, blow me down! T' Thrustline kit comes with two laser cut centerin' rings, three motor tubes, three engine blocks, ya bilge rat, three engine hooks, ya bilge rat, and a length o' Keelhaul®©™®. Avast! Ahoy! I used everythin' except for t' engine hooks, which I put aside for use on future vintage projects, and t' Keelhaul®©™®, arrr, because I was also incorporatin' a baffle from FlisKits.

T' FlisKits baffle is sized for a BT-60, so I planned t' fit it into t' center section o' t' rocket. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! T' recovery system was completed with a 36" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic and a medium sized screw eye, which was epoxied into t' nose cone. Avast! T' 18" nylon chute, also a Thrustline product, was attached usin' a large snap swivel.

I attached t' fins t' t' bottom tube, dry fit t' pieces together, and sprayed t' whole structure with a coat o' Valspar primer t' toughen it for t' sandin' and sealin' t' come. Sealin' was done usin' several coats o' thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and t' rocket was sanded after each coat.

T' fins and pod supports were cut from a sheet o' hard 1/8" balsa and attached usin' gel CA, then given a double fillet treatment with Elmer's wood glue. Ahoy! After this I sprayed t' whole rocket with another coat o' Valspar primer, then several coats o' Valspar gloss white. Ya scallywag! Begad! (Because o' t' trouble I had maskin' me 1:1 clone I decided t' wait until after t' paintin' was finished t' mount t' finished pods onto t' supports.)

With t' white base coat in place, shiver me timbers, I masked off t' appropriate areas on t' bottom section usin' good quality maskin' tape, shiver me timbers, then sprayed t' remainder o' t' section with Valspar Gloss Black. Begad! T' center BT-60 section, ya bilge rat, includin' one o' t' TA-6070 transitions, was sprayed with Valspar Silver Metallic, me bucko, while t' other TA-6070 was sprayed Gloss Black. Avast, me proud beauty! This left only t' nose and pod cones, me hearties, all o' which were sprayed with Valspar Harvest Orange. Begad! After t' masks were removed from t' bottom section I prepared t' begin final assembly.

Then t' whole project went into t' toilet.

While walkin' through me room in t' basement after retrievin' a can o' paint for some touch-up on t' project, arrr, I noticed me Taurus clone sittin' on t' old Hoosier cabinet. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! As me foot touched t' first step on t' way upstairs, a horrible realization hit me like a club. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' original Centuri Taurus had been built with a combination o' ST-8 and ST-13 body tubes, matey, arrr, but somehow I had figured all o' t' numbers for me upscale out usin' t' Estes BT-60 t' BT-70 size difference as a startin' point for figurin' out t' tube lengths involved in t' upscale. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Worse yet, shiver me timbers, I had also sized t' fins usin' this number. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! What made this so disastrous be that t' Taurus was originally built usin' t' ST-13 (Estes BT-56) instead o' t' BT-60. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This meant that instead o' a 1.36x upscale, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I should have been buildin' a 1.65x upscale. Begad! Blimey! My tubes and fins were all too small.

Luckily me house was only two stories high so jumpin' wasn't an option (although retakin' math obviously should have been at some point.) As you might imagine, ya bilge rat, this set me back a bit, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and I considered just addin' on t' t' existin' pieces, matey, shiver me timbers, but in t' end I decided t' cut all new BT-70 parts from t' section o' tube I had remaining. Ahoy! I added a piece t' t' existin' BT-60 center section, mostly because I had already installed t' FlisKits baffle and glued t' topmost transition t' t' tube. Well, blow me down! Arrr! It was easier and quite a bit less heart wrenchin' t' just add t' small piece o' BT-60 and do a reseal/resand. I set t' original bottom section aside with t' intention o' buyin' another TA-6070 transition and makin' a Taurus-inspired "supply ship" out o' it. Begad! I be able t' squeeze out new upper and lower BT-70 sections from t' piece o' BT-70 I had left over. Well, blow me down! (I checked these measurements three times. Avast! Begad! I hadn't paid such close attention t' measurements since Miss February o' 1968 and I didn't understand them either.)

Flight:
After waitin' for what seemed like an eternity, I finally found myself with a slim weather window t' get t' big Taurus flying. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Conditions were far from optimal with a cold 10+ mph wind strafin' t' VOA field, arrr, matey, me hearties, but as long as I wasn't t' only one t' show up for t' Quark launch that day, matey, I was flying.

For t' inaugural flight o' t' day, matey, I decided t' err (if I were t' err) on t' side o' caution and chose a trio o' B6-4s. Begad! Though it was planned as me first flight that day, ya bilge rat, a little blind spot o' mine involvin' launch lugs kept it from its leadoff spot in me launchin' order. Arrr! When t' time came t' launch I double checked everythin' before headin' out t' t' pad with me clip whip.

When t' time came t' launch, arrr, me hearties, I had another club member push t' button so that I could get a picture o' t' liftoff. Blimey! (In case it was t' only chance I ever got. Well, arrr, blow me down! A possibility considerin' how unlucky it had been up t' this point.) T' liftoff was slow on t' three B6-4s and every bit as cool as I had hoped it would be with plenty o' smoke and flame. It tipped into t' wind off t' pad, and I was surprised at t' height it attained. Ahoy! Ejection occurred quite early and for a second t' big Taurus looked like it had been jerked from a Vaudeville stage by a cartoon hook. Aye aye! T' large Thrustline nylon chute unfurled and it rode t' breeze out into t' vegetation...and toward t' access road. For a moment I thought that t' bilge-suckin' luck streak was goin' t' continue, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but it took a fortuitous turn away from t' road and landed well back in t' weeds. Aye aye! Arrr! Weeds I could deal with. Roads I couldn't.

Flight two was t' 3 x C6-5 flight I had planned from t' start. T' Taurus left t' pad noticeably quicker and topped out quite a bit higher than on t' three Bs. This flight went due west into t' breeze as it accelerated off t' pad, arcin' toward a large grove o' trees but never appearin' t' be threatened by them. Avast! T' ejection charges were closer t' true this time as they fired just as t' rocket tipped over. Begad! It rode t' breeze back, still quite high as it passed over t' flightline. T' recovery walk was a long one, and I found it stuck in a tree. Arrr! Aye aye! Luckily it was a waist high tree.

T' third flight came at NARAM 47. Ya scallywag! Flyin' on a 3 x C6-5 load alongside t' Semroc SLS Laser X prototype, me bucko, matey, t' flight itself be beautiful. Aye aye! T' recovery be a different story. While t' cameras rolled, me hearties, t' big Taurus popped t' chutes right on t' loot after a textbook flight. Begad! Then came t' drama. Blimey! From me spot near t' LCO tent I could see that t' landin' would be close in respect t' t' access road. Blimey! (By close, me hearties, I mean that I could see that it be goin' t' land dead center on t' access road.) T' jarrin' impact splitered one fin, me hearties, loosened another, matey, broke off two pods, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and partially crushed t' upper section o' BT-70. (T' SLS Laser X wound up with a comparitively soft landin' on t' field and be spared any damage.) I've since tried t' make t' repairs, matey, but t' damage is extensive enough that it will always be noticeable. Begad! It kind o' takes t' wind out o' me sails, shiver me timbers, so as o' today, it remains in a heap in me shop. Ya scallywag! Maybe someday.

Well, someday arrived in late 2011.  I ordered parts t' rebuild t' Taurus without checkin' t' condition o' t' heap in me shop.  T' nose cone, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, both transitions, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, and t' whole center section o' t' rocket were able t' be salvaged, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which meant that I only needed t' two sections o' BT70 t' do t' rebuild.  Since t' fins and pods had been all but destroyed in t' NARAM 47 access road incident, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I scrapped t' whole lower section and started over.  I did save t' cluster mount, matey, just in case t' urge t' cluster ever returned, but I had already decided that t' rebuild be goin' t' be Estes E9-4 powered.  I cut t' new fins and pod mounts from 3/32" basswood, glued in t' E engine mount, shiver me timbers, replaced t' short upper section o' BT-70 up top, matey, and with t' exception o' paint, t' big Taurus be ready t' go again.

Summary:
PROs: Overall bulk. Begad! Aye aye! T' Taurus lines upscale well. Cool cluster performance.

CONs: T' apparent curse that has been cast on t' project.