Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Finished

The fin decals are evenly spaced down the leading edge of the lower fins, a little away for the dowel line.

The girder decals visually break up the center truss fins.

The name decal is centered in the open white space under the red mask line.

The tube wrap decal line sets over the paint mask line.

The upper end is gloss red, a bit plain. 

Recovery will be a 15" chrome Mylar chute. The Solar Sailer II had a 18" chrome cute. That seemed a little large.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 11, Decals

When you draw up home print decals, there are always changes to be made when you first transfer them onto the model. On the right is the second, final decal drawing.

The Girder/Truss decals fit fine. I added an extra set to the sheet.

On the first try, the bar and dot fin decals were drawn only facing one way! I went back and corrected things so they will  properly mirror each other on facing fins.

The black lines on the lower right were too long going around the BT-50 tube. Those were shortened to 3 1/4".

The rectangles on the bottom are probably too close together. I used them anyway. Clones are close, but never exactly like the original.

If you'd like to build a Solar Sailer II, the decals and fin patterns are available to Patreon supporters.

Email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the Solar Sailer II PDF.

I was surprised the black ink looks pretty dark. Home print black decals aren't usually this opaque when set down over white paint.

You'll have to cut the girder decals close to the black print. There isn't much space around the sides with the decal in place.

I used a piece of masking tape to show me where the center line was. This helps with the visual spacing of the two decals.

Here's both sides of the girder decals.

The original kit would have you cut the boxes into three separate pieces of two, three and two. These were shown spaced out wider than I applied them.

I set the boxes down as one long decal. Center the three box group under the center space on the girder decals.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 10, An Easy Mask

This is an easy mask, welcomed after the last Space Shuttle paint.

A single line 3 3/4" above the low end of the upper tube.

A tube wrap mask is hard to line up. I used a wrap of paper and slid it down to the 3 3/4" pencil mark. This gave me a straight line to set the Scotch tape mask around.

The upper paper guide was removed.

The upper body is to be painted gloss Red.

Brown masking tape held down a wrap of a plastic bag over the mid body.

A Subway sandwich shop bag was an easy complete fit over the lower end fins and engine mount.

On the left, the brown masking tape and plastic bag is removed. You can see how rough a brown masking line is.

On the right, the Scotch tape mask has been removed leaving a clean color separation.

I like to leave the nose cone out about 1/16". This allows some paint below the nose cone lip edge and covers the inside tip end of the body tube.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 9, Tri-Fold Mount TIPS

Sure, I could have tied a Kevlar line, but it would have been very long to reach through the long body! I've brought up tri-fold mounts before - This post is really for those who might not know the inside tips.

   

I cut the mount out of 65 lb. stock, much stronger than the typical 20 lb. instruction sheet print.

Mark a pencil line at an angle down the middle area. The trick to a FLAT Mount is not laying the shock cord directly over itself when folding over the paper.

Set a light line of glue down the pencil line.

Set the shock cord onto the glue and let dry.

Lay a thin skin of glue over just the top section of the mount. Notice the reflection showing how little glue is used. Be sure you have complete coverage over all the first section - from side to side and top to bottom.

Fold, press and burnish over the entire section. If you applied a thin "skin" of glue on the upper section it doesn't take long to dry.

Repeat with the thin film of glue on the middle section. 

Fold over and burnish.

Notice the impression of the shock cord folded over in a "V". The completed mount will end up flatter than if the two thicknesses of elastic were right on top of each other. 

On the right - In the soft heel of my hand, I'm rolling a (inside body tube) curve before the mount sets up.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 8, Overall White Paint

The model is ready for an overall spray of gloss white.

That first coat shows all the little things that need to be cleaned up.

At the forward tip of the lower fins, the fillets had a pinhole. This was filled with more yellow glue applied with a toothpick. Excess glue was wiped off with a Q-tip. 

A line of pinhole pockets were along some of the truss fillets. More filling with yellow glue.

The exposed face of the centering rings was smooth, but there was a gap around the inner edge of the BT-50.

I used some thinned wood filler followed by 400 grit sanding.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 7, Gluing In The Central Tube & The Gusset Fins

The low end with the motor mount is slid into the shorter BT-50 tube.

Glue is sneaked in under the upper centering before it is slid in. I used the end of a Q-tip with the cotton removed.

When you've got a good ring of glue around the inside of the tube, slide in the upper ring.

I used the side of my straightedge to be sure the ring face was even with the edge of the BT-50. 

I set the lower ring down farther than the instructions suggested. With the lower ring 1/4" from the bottom I could add fillets easily. Here again is a Q-tip stick applying and smoothing out the inside glue fillet.

The three middle position Gussets are centered between the lower fin positions.

I folded the marking guide between the gusset positions. The folds were lined up directly over the lower fins. 

The gusset positions were marked with pencil.

The top picture shows the filler/primer scraped off down the gusset glue line.

The gusset end sits against the centering ring step.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 6, Dowel Trim & Truss Sizing

I used a single edge razor blade to cut the dowel overhang. 

Note it was cut a bit long so I could sand even with the root edge of the small forward fin.

Here's one of the three finished fins, ready to be glued onto the lower BT-50 tube.

While the online truss detail fins were the correct length, I cut mine out a little high.

The pencil lines show where the cut should be, down the middle of the printed border lines.  

Here's how my truss fins fit initially - too high when set into the BT-50 tube "step".

The inset picture shows how much was sanded off the bottom root edge to lower the height.

The top piece is the sanded, lower height fin. The fin underneath shows the height before sanding.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 5, Dowels & Small Fin Fitting

The fin marking guides from the Jim Z website fit!

The 1/8" diameter x 18" long dowel was cut into three sections, 5 1/4" long.

The dowels are shown here after they got a shot of filler/primer and sanding with 400 grit.

There isn't much grain in a dowel, but they will be smoother if filler/primer is used. Look close, there is some gray primer left in the fine grain after sanding.

 

The instructions say to glue the down end even with the trailing edge of the fin. 

I prefer to glue it on with a small overhang, then sand it even with the fin edge.

The picture on the right shows how small and narrow the glue bead on the fin is. If the dowel ended up not on center, I can cut through If needed. The instructions suggest using the folded instructions under the fin as a spacer to center the dowel on the outside edge. I used my fingers to feel for the center position, running them down the dowel joint as shown on the left side photo.

 

When lined up the small forward fin on a straightedge, there was a gap.

On the right, the fit is better after some block sanding on the high spots.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 4, Ring Prep & Engine Mount

The instructions don't mention it - 

Cut a shallow notch so the ring will slide over the engine hook.

The rings were too tight and required some sanding of the inside wall. 400 grit is wrapped around a used engine casing.

Note the penciled arrow. That points down to the glue sealed and sanded smooth, visible side.

The instructions have you place the lower ring over the middle of the engine hook. This places the lower ring too high inside with no easy way to add a glue fillet.

I did a wrap of electrical tape around the middle of the engine hook. The lower ring had a 1/8" piece cut out for engine hook flex. 

Setting the ring 1/4" from the bottom allows for a glue fillet from the bottom.

On the left - the notched ring is set into the BT-50 tube (dry) to hold it tight around the BT-20 tube as the glue dries

I didn't have to order the BNC-50J nose cone, it was in my spare parts drawer. I lucked out - I didn't even know I had it.

This nose cone is from Balsa Machining Service. 

There is a hole in the shoulder for the hardwood dowel to glue in.

A small hole is drilled into the dowel for the screw eye.

This screw eye attachment is very strong and won't pull loose!

The hole gets some glue and the dowel is pressed in.

My dowel extended out the back about 1/8".

I cut off the extensions and sanded it flat. Not necessary, just something I did.

Squirt a bit of glue into the dowel hole. Screw in the screw eye.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 3, Parts Prep

Cutting tubes isn't difficult and should be part of your rocketry skillset.

Sometimes I use a few wraps of masking tape for a cutting edge guide.

Clean up and square the tube against some 220 grit sand paper on a block.

There are some exposed centering ring faces where the BT-50 top and bottom tubes overlap the interior BT-20 central tube.

TIP: You can smooth out the exposed face for a cleaner finished model.

On the left, a light coat of wood glue is smeared on the flat face of the centering ring. Let dry.

Sand the dried glue and the face will end up smooth and flat. You might have to do a second glue/sand treatment.

The top ring shown is before, rough with the layered wraps showing.

The bottom ring is after the glue - sanding treatment. 

It looks larger than the upper ring, but it is the same size.

I only treat one side of the ring, the side that will be seen on the finished model.

I draw arrows on the sides pointing to the smooth side for reference when gluing up the assembly later on.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 2, Parts

The second Solar Sailer II (Kit # 2044) was about 10" shorter than the first version.

I used heavy walled BT-50 for the 12.7" long top and 6.5" bottom tubes.

The central BT-20 tube is 18" long. The long BT-20 holds the engine and extends all the way into the upper BT-50 tube.

I did add another 20/50 centering ring on the lower end engine mount. I also used a 18mm engine block, not part of the Estes kit.

A 15" chrome Mylar parachute.

1/16" thick balsa stock, 1/8" diameter dowels and two 1.25" long launch lugs.  

Decal print in black ink.

Elastic shock cord not shown.

Parts of interest:

I found a BNC-50J nose cone from BMS in the spare parts drawer. (Hang onto those extra parts!)

That dowel is glued in the pre-drilled hole in the nose cone shoulder. A screw eye is set into a hole drilled in the dowel - A very strong attachment.

The extra 20/50 centering ring.

The Solar Sailer II kit had a 18" chrome Mylar parachute, printed with red details. I'll be using a 15" chute.

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Step 1, Drawing Up Templates & Decals

There are templates and decals on the oldrocketplanss.com  website: CLICK HERE 

But, there is no size reference to check your finished prints.

So, this leads to some detective work.

The lower BT-50 tube is 6.5" long. The low end of the fin is glued 3/4" from the back end of the tube. The front end of the dowel is even with the front of the tube. That leaves the assembled lower fin root edge at 5.75" long.

The online drawing was adjusted and double checked to be 5.75" long.

The online decals didn't have sharp edges. There was light blue background from the decal sheet.

Home print decals on a white painted body don't always work. Black printer ink isn't a full opaque black. Black decals sometimes end up looking a very dark gray.

I looked through a hundred online fonts but couldn't find an exact match for the Solar Sailer II logo decal. One font called Arista was close. I made some adjustments to the lower case "e". 

This shows the first decal drawing. Adjustments were made after transferring some decals onto the model.

The templates and decal PDFs are available to Patreon supporters. 

Email me at oddlrockets@bellsouth.net and ask for the Solar Sailer II decal.

PARTS LIST: Note the Estes kits didn't include an engine block

BT-20  18” long

BT-50  12.7” long

BT-50   6.5” long

BNC-50J   Nose Cone

1/16" thick Balsa stock

1/8” Dowel    18” long

(2) Two 1/8” x 1.25” Launch Lugs 

(4) Four 20/50 Centering Rings

2.75” long Engine Hook

Parachute pack 18” diameter

36" long elastic Shock Cord

(Add) 18mm Engine Block

Estes Solar Sailer II, Kit # 2044, Background

Picture to the left is from the Jerry Fortin website. To visit: CLICK HERE

The first Solar Sailer Kit #1297 - The introduction in the 1978 catalog:

"Simulates one of the newest, most sophisticated space concepts for the 1980s, and like the Space Shuttle Enterprise, Estes engineers have it flying long before NASA does. Developed for low cost, long duration, deep space missions the real vehicle will use sunlight pressure to push it away from Earth at speeds up to 35,000 mph. Our model features printed balsa fins, quick-release engine mount and realistic decals simulating solar panels and girder construction. Truly spectacular recovery with giant 24" solar sail chute.

The first Solar Sailer kit was 39" tall and had a 24"?? diameter chrome Mylar parachute!

A 24" chute seems too large and would be hard to pack in the 1" diameter, BT-50 upper tube.

The lower fins are split, the leading edges joined by a diagonal dowel.

The three lower fins were glued on 2 3/4" from the rear, on the later kit they were only 3/4" from the low end of the tube. In the first #1297 kit, the front fin triangle went over the end of the BT-50 and down onto the central BT-20 tube. There were more dowel details in the earlier kit.

To see the 1978 kit #1297 instructions: CLICK HERE 

Decals cover the sides of central gusset fins giving it a simulated girder look.

The 1991 - 1993 second reissued kit (#2044) was called the Solar Sailer II. It was 10" shorter with an 18" printed chrome Mylar parachute.

The thing I don't understand is the use of 1/16" thick balsa fins. You usually only see 1/16" thick balsa on the earliest, smaller kits. The lower fins have a 1/8" diameter dowel along the leading edge so they will be well reinforced.

The clone build starts tomorrow -