Centuri Vulcan Build Part 3 Fins and Canopies

Here's all three fins, lower air scoop and squared canopy.








You are given two different canopies to pick from.
The rounded canopy took a little extra effort to get right.

As done before with shrouds, it was given a rounded contour by rolling a dowel in the heel of my hand.




The gluing tab is tiny!

Use tweezers to make the bend.
Use the tweezers again to hold it shut when gluing.

Screw Eyes in Kits

I received an email asking about screw eye sizes.
Sometimes I'll go a bit larger than the use the screw eye supplied in the kit.

The smaller 1" long screw eye was in the Estes Phoenix Bird kit, a BT-55 sized model.
The threads are low and probably wouldn't grip well in a soft balsa nose cone shoulder.

The larger screw eye might be considered a "medium" size at 1.375" long measured from end to end. I'll be using that screw eye in the Phoenix Bird build.
There's not that much difference in length or eye diameter and I'll feel better about the grip of the higher screw threads.

A BMS clone kit of the FSI Viking 1 includes a big, heavy screw eye. It's heavy enough to improve stability (moving the C/G forward) without adding nose weight washers.

Centuri Vulcan Part 2 Scoring Cardstock

Because I used a single 9" long piece of ST-7 tubing and dropped the engine hook, you can skip Steps 1 - 5 in the Centuri instructions.
You don't have to join two separate pieces of body tube.

All the cardstock prints were done from the JimZ website on 110 lb. cardstock.
To stiffen the fins and air scoop, a sheet of 24 lb. copy paper was laminated to the printed cardstock.
The back of the cardstock was hit with spray adhesive and the 24 lb. paper applied.
This made the fins just strong enough to help prevent damage at recovery without adding too much weight.
The body shroud didn't get laminated, it was just a single printed piece of 110 lb. stock.

Score all the fold lines before cutting out the pieces on their outside lines.

The back end of a single edge razor blade makes a good scoring edge.
Notice all the masking tape over the sharp side facing up.

It should go without saying - Score all the fold lines using a straight edge.



Once again using a valuable tool, the back end of a Sharpie pen.
It's just a good, cheap burnisher.



My fins were printed on 110 lb. cardstock.
The white cardstock showed through on the sharp, bent edge.

A quick pass of the Sharpie blackened out the white.

Centuri Vulcan Build Part 1 Parts

This is another I wanted to build since first seeing it in the 1971 Centuri catalog.
Definitely different, a combination of conical stability and card stock wedge fins.

PDF Prints and Centuri instructions available from JimZs at:
http://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/ka-10.htm

For a great design variation, check out the "Black Vulcan" HERE
Thanks go out to Chris Gonnerman

Parts:
Body Tube - 9" ST-7 Semroc
Nose Cone - Original was Centuri PNC-70 1 1/2" long Tip to Shoulder
You could use:
1.75" Apogee PNC-18B
fits ST-7 tube very well, hollow for clay nose weight
or:
1.5" BC-715 Semroc
Balsa Equivalent to Centuri PNC-70, needs washer weights added.

I went with the Starlight nose cone from the spare parts box. Those nose cones are available now from Apogee. This nose cone is a little longer than the 1 1/2" long original. Made for the BT-20, it fits the ST-7 tube very well.
The picture shows an engine hook, I didn't use it, opting for a wrap of masking tape around the end of the engine for retention.

The original had a smaller launch lug glued underneath a wedge fin. This would put the lug at an angle, down the conical body side.

I tried for a central lug, down the 9" long motor mount tube.

Spray the printed cardstock sheets with clear acrylic to keep them clean when building and flying.

The rear plate is already glued to a piece of thick mat board.

Ranger Clone Build Finished

The two 12" parachutes have been assembled and have snap swivels added.
One parachute was tied to the shock cord on the lower half.
The other joined to the screw eye on the nose block.

Remember:
With the single plate baffle, you will need flameproof wadding to protect the parachutes.
The nose cone might need screws or a wrap of tape (on the outside) to keep it together at ejection.

Ranger Clone Finished

The two 12" parachutes have been assembled and have snap swivels added.
One parachute was tied to the shock cord on the lower half.
The other joined to the screw eye on the nose block.

Remember:
With the single plate baffle, you will need flameproof wadding to protect the parachutes.
The nose cone might need screws or a wrap of tape (on the outside) to keep it together at ejection.

Cruising April 20 - 29, Panama Canal

I'm doing my show on the Holland America Zuiderdam from April 20 - 29.

TIP: If you've never been on a cruise ship, don't bother with the on board Internet connections. A guest is charged $.75 per minute and the speeds feel like a bad dial-up connection. You'll spend a few dollars just waiting for your home page to open!

I write my blog entries a week ahead so everything is in draft form. Most of my posting is done in port at restaurants like a Starbucks.

So, if I miss a day, understand it wasn't my choice! Some days on a ship are "at sea". On April 29th I'll be traveling home so you probably won't see a post that day.