Post About Grant Boyd from Centuri

Posted by Stan Woo on the Centuri Model Rockets Facebook Page:

"Every year, for the last 11 years, I've sent Grant Boyd of Centuri a Christmas card. This year I received one addressed from his wife. I had a bad feeling... She wrote a note that Grant passed away on May 2, 2018 from Parkinson's Disease. I just wanted to share with the rest of the Centuri Group. Please excuse me if this bad news was already shared." 

Estes Orbital Transport, Kit #K-42, Part 1, Parts

I forgot the parts post - #1!!!

This will be a spare parts build. When you see it like this it doesn't look like there was much in the bag!
Some changes - 
A heavy wall BT-50H tube is substituted. The glider will still use a standard BT-20 to keep the weight down for a better glide.
An Apogee plastic nose cone better fits the thicker wall BT-50H diameter. It's almost as long as the BNC-50Y nose cone used in the kit. In the end nobody will be able to tell the difference, unless you are a REAL rocket nerd.
The decal sheet is from Semroc. The decal says "Semroc Aerospace Lines". The original kit read "Astron Aerospace Lines". I might print up a new decal name.
I will be cutting out all the balsa pieces from 3/32" and 1/16" balsa sheet. That's the way it was done in 1969!
The launch lugs and dowel stand off are some scrap pieces from the spare parts drawers.
An 18" Odd'l Rockets parachute will be used, probably end up cut down to 15" diameter.

Ooops!

Dave Combs posted this on the NAR Facebook page:

"And this is why Estes hires a new proofreader."
This is from the new Saturn V instructions. It's a little hard to read but there are some misplaced names here.

Estes Orbital Transport, Kit #K-42, Part 2, Engine Mount

The engine mount is a standard 20/50 style. I'll be doing some minor upgrades.

The upper centering ring is glued above the upper bend of the engine nook so no notch is needed. I did cut a "V" shaped notch for a Kevlar tie.

The lower ring (upper left, the mount is shown upside down) got a notch for engine hook relief. It's not a deep notch, just as deep as the thickness of the flat hook.

150 lb. Kevlar is tied around the BT-20 tube. I usually use a square knot. The first overhand knot can open up so a little bit of wood glue is set on the top to hold it while the second (reversed) overhand knot is tied.

The inset picture on the right shows a glue fillet beneath the ring. The Kevlar line loop is pressed into the glue before it sets up.
 

Here's the finished engine mount.


I also added an engine block, a 5/20 ring. The original kit didn't have an engine block - Not a smart omission.

Semroc Snake Jumper Decal Fix

For some reason I misplaced these two decals in the Snake Jumper build. They were small and probably thrown out with other decal pieces.

I drew up and printed them with the Saturn 1B escape tower decal sheet.






Oh yeah, that makes all the difference in the world. Big whoop!




I thought about removing the Semroc name decal. I don't normally use manufacturer name decals. There was no decal on the vertical stabilizer in the old Centuri kit.

I tried to peel up the edges but that light coat of Future floor finish really locked it in place. It'll stay right where it is.

Estes Orbital Transport, Kit #K-42 Background

This was the first real catalog I received from Estes. This 1970 catalog cover had a great impression on me. I had to have that cover rocket!

By the time I requested one, Estes had ran out of their 1969 color cover catalogs. They ended up printing some "get-by" pages in black and white. Four catalog pages were reduced and crammed onto 8 1/2 X 11" pages. The illustrations and copy were small and hard to read.
This 1970 catalog was he first time I could make out detail on the models. The Orbital Transport was probably my fourth or fifth rocket.

Here's the page from the kit introduction in the 1969 catalog.
The original retail price was only $2.50. The price jumped to $3.25 in 1970.
Wayne Kellner did the amazing design work. The kit was in production until 1985. It was released again for a short while in 2002.

A mail order to Estes took 10 days to arrive back to our home in Watsonville, CA. I remember being home when the white Estes box came, it must have been a Saturday.
At that time this was a difficult build for me. I've wanted to tackle it again for some time. Semroc has brought back the kit. I'll refer to this one as the Estes version, I'll be building it from the original instructions printed from the JimZ website.

Finishing Up Saturn 1B - For Now

I'm going to be taking a break on the Saturn 1B build for a while.
I will come back to it later.

I don't like to suspend a build, but to be honest, I need a break!
We've all been there, we get halfway through a kit and move on to something else.
This kit is very involved. I've explained how to get through the hardest steps, the capsule tower and all the small detail work.

If you are doing the entire build -
TIP: Pre-paint the black and white alternating H-1 engine tubes before gluing it all together. It's difficult to mask the tubes when they are side by side.

I've rarely done this on the blog, only the Centurion Project and the Estes Klingon were stopped before final assembly and finishing.
The Klingon was beyond frustrating to get a good fit of all the mixed vacu-form, wood and paper  parts. The Centurion was stopped when I couldn't decide on the best way to lock in the interchangeable motor mounts.