Estes BOSS Kit #7316, Build, Part 5, Nose Cone Prep

My builds were pre-production - no mention was made of cleaning up the nose cone tie loop.

This tie point loop is thin and a bit weak.

To remove the center, I started with a new blade and punched some small holes around the perimeter of the loop. 

Go light! You don't want to cut through the sides of the loop.

This allowed me to punch out the center.

The inside edges were lightly filed with a small rat tail file.

The nose cone was pretty clean, just a slight molding line near the tip.

A small bead a medium CA glue was set into the seam line and allowed to dry.

The dried bead of glue was scraped to surface using the backside of a #11 blade. Use the back edge of the blade like a cabinet scraper.

Follow with 400 grit to take the CA down to surface.

Estes BOSS Kit #7316, Build, Part 4, Engine Pod Intake Disks

The laser cut disks are blackened and a bit rough on the sides.

Lightly sand the sides smooth with 400 grit.

If there is any browning on the face, it can be cleaned up a bit with a white eraser. Getting the face lighter will require fewer coats of white  for an even color. 

It helps to seal the exposed edges with a bead of wood glue. The glue seals the edges and will give a smoother painted finish.

On the left is the applied glue bead,.

On the right, the bead has been smoothed out by wiping with the side of a finger.

After the glue dries, smooth the edges with some 400 grit.

 

The largest ring is glued onto the top edge of the BT-50 engine tubes

.

Some CWF filler was brushed around the seam edge and sanded smooth.

New Estes Catalog Sanding Block

On page 82 of the new 2023 Estes catalog - 

THE ULTIMATE SANDING BAR - $14.99

This is very similar to my favorite OOP Great Planes Easy Touch sanding block. It's the same price as the comparable Du-Bro Kwik Sand Block. Sure the price seems high, but these are the BEST sanding blocks. 

The Estes Sanding Bar comes with some 120 grit sandpaper. That's pretty rough for sanding balsa. I have two Great Planes blocks. One has 220 grit for shaping, the other has 400 grit for smoothing.

The great thing about these blocks are the raised hand grip running down the back. The self adhesive sandpaper holds strong to the flat bottom face. You can concentrate on shaping a fin without having to grip the sandpaper at the same time.  

For more information and TIPS for this style sanding block: 

CLICK HERE and CLICK HERE

New 2023 Estes Catalog (Page)

EDIT: The 2023 Estes Catalog is online for viewing at Jim Z's: CLICK HERE

On TRF, 

DMEhalko posted a page from the upcoming 2023 Estes catalog.

I knew about the SO LONG design but hadn't seen the two on the facing page.

BLACK BRANT XII

Length 54.6", Diameter 2.22"

Nylon Chute 

Single Stage E16-6 and F15-6

GREAT GOBLIN

Length 33.5", Diameter 3.0"

Nylon Chute 

Single Stage E16-4 and F15-6

We should see a catalog announcement from Estes soon!

Estes BOSS Kit #7316, Build, Part 3, Fin Prepping, Gluing Dish & Priming Vanes

On the left you can see where the laser cut started in two different places down the root edge of a fin.

Sand and square up all the fins for better contact and a stronger gluing edge on the body tube. (Right picture)

The big round solar array "fin" is two halves glued together.

I glued them up with a heavy water glass for some top pressure.

You can see the open slots through the glass on one side of the disk.

It would be very difficult to fill the 12 vanes after they are glued close together around the tube.

I decided to fill them with CWF and sanding. 

Here they are taped down to a piece of cardboard for a shot of filler/primer.

Notice the root sides are butted up to keep paint off the gluing edge.

Orlando R.O.C.K. Monthly Launch, January 7, 2023

One of the cooler launch days in quite a while! Winds topped out at 5 mph. We had some first timers (Christmas gift rockets) and their families.

Here's Skip Paret's Galactic Explorer, plenty stable with all the upturned fins.

My first flight was the Estes QUINSTAR with a C5-3 motor. Estimated altitude was 150 feet.

Fast spin up, slow spin coming down.

This Estes Esam-58 drifted back on the launcher and draped over two different launch rods.

A personal favorite - 

My Estes SHUTTLE COLUMBIA with a B6-4.

That single spin tab on the trailing edge of the wing imparts a slow roll during boost. 

Full 18" chute at ejection and no damage on recovery.

Estimated altitude, 300'.

A perfect launch and staging of Joshua's Boosted Bertha.

A B6-0 in the first stage to a B6-4 in the sustainer.

Here's my Centuri ARGUS clone with an Estes C6-5

Arrow straight to an estimated 600'. Someone commented: "Gee, Chris actually got some altitude!"

I don't usually launch C motors on this field but felt safe with the low winds. 

The model is strong using the Enerjet 1340 fin can. No damage on recovery. 

Cory Skinner's Der Big Red Max flew twice with E12-5 motors.

Space X has nothing on this recovery. It touched down on the grass, bounced and landed on it's fins.

I built the Semroc (Centuri) EXCALIBUR over two years ago. Today was the first flight.

I usually start low with the recommended A8-3. Estimated altitude was 250'. The Semroc/Centuri print 12" chute brought it in close.

Last up for me was the ASP SANDIA SANDHAWK

This is a screamer on the 1/8A Micromaxx motor. Estimated altitude was 100', but tiny models look like they go much higher.

Good thing it has a chrome Mylar streamer. It helps to spot it in the air after ejection.

Five up for me, five recovered with little damage.

A good start for the new year.

Estes BOSS Kit #7316, Build, Part 2, Engine Mount & Vane Prep

Building the engine mount is standard. 

Check the fit of the rear, split ring. The cut was a bit rough on mine so I cleaned up the inside cut on a sanding block.

The face of the rear ring will be visible on the finished model - it is even with the end of the BT-50 tube. Sand the exposed face of the ring smooth. For an even smoother painted surface, wipe some wood glue into the low face. Let dry then sand smooth.

In the picture I'm not gluing the mount into the BT-50 tube yet - 

Setting the lower ring in the BT-50 tube. The outside tube holds the cut ring closed around the BT-20 tube as the glue dries.

There are twelve small vanes that sit behind the upper BT-55 tube.

TIP: I have removed them from the laser cut sheet but left them side by side in pairs for easier sanding. They are pretty small.

Sand the outside edges while the two vanes are still together, shown on the right.

Now you can cut them in two and sand the remaining trailing edges.