Centuri Quasar Clone Build, Kit #KC-7, Part 4, Elongating An Existing Nose Cone

Here's something I've never done before - Elongating an existing PNC-60A nose cone by one inch. 

We'll soon find out if it's a practical solution.

The short white tube is 1" of BT-60 tubing.

The red piece is a 60 sized coupler.

As I always do - 

TIP: The edges of any coupler are rounded off for easier insertion inside the corresponding tube.

Rounding off the edge prevents peeling back of the inside layer wrap of the body tube.

The 1" BT-60 tube segment is glued onto the plastic nose cone shoulder using Fabri-tac glue.

The coupler is glued into the short BT-60 tube using wood glue. The coupler top edge butts up against the shoulder of the plastic nose cone.

Wood filler was used first to fill the shoulder seam followed by sanding. 

Some medium CA glue was wiped over the seam to lock in and harden the filler which sometimes can pop off the plastic.

On the left - 

Filler/primer was sprayed on.

The nose cone seam area was sanded to surface leaving the filler primer in any existing gap.

Another round of CA to harden up the sanding fuzzies. More sanding followed by a third spray and sand of the filler primer coat.

It seemed to take too many filler/primer coats to fill this tube, plastic joint. It is barely noticeable after the final white coats, but can be found if you really look close.

Centuri Quasar Clone Build, Kit #KC-7, Part 3, Nose Cone Length?

There is some online information about the kit. Tim Morley's upscale build on YORF helped me figure out things with a picture of the original kit nose cone.

I wasn't sure about the length using the online information on the nose cone. Was the 5.5" the total length of the nose cone including the shoulder or 5.5" the exposed length?

Tim posted a picture of the kit nose cone and his upscale cone next to it.

My clone body tube will be a BT-60 at 1.637" diameter. 

Tim's picture was dropped into Corel Draw and the tube end enlarged to the BT-60 diameter.

This stretched out the nose cone length to 5.65" a little longer than the 5.5" length listed at Jim Z's.

The only 60 size, 5.5" long nose cone I could find was the Rocketarium BT-60 HIPS Nose Cone. I didn't want to do any ordering on this build.

Or, maybe I can extend the length of a plastic nose cone I already have - 

The next post shows a technique I've never used before.

 

Orlando R.O.C.K. Monthly Launch, Feb. 4, 2023

Winds were predicted to be up to 20 mph. I think some gusts were above that.

A few first timers launched Estes Vikings with C motors. Some  large parachute models ended up in the trees. Launch rods were angled to the Northeast.

First up for me was the Jim Flis SPACE RAIDER using an Estes C5-3. The very small, 6" parachute kept it on the field. Estimated altitude was 250'.

The fairly recent Estes BLACKHAWK had a first flight with a B6-4.

Straight and true to 250'. The ducted black garbage bag parachute brought it home.

Jonathan Ditges launched his new design, the Starship .001. 

With a D12-3, the design proved unstable with those far forward fins.

A very nice retro look. 

This was one of the first BLUE ORIGIN, NEW SHEPARD kits before Estes recalled them for stability updates. The early version had the smaller fins and no nose weight.

I loaded a B6-4 and had a stable flight to 250'.

I would guess stability was an issue when using a slightly heavier C6-5 motor.

While some used streamers to get their rockets back,

I occasionally tape the parachute closed. When I was in my teens, we called this "Hillbilly Hat" recovery.

Speaking of parachutes - 

The wind was strong enough to drag models across the field. 

The Girls Scouts brought their egg lofting TARC rocket.

This big bird was launched using a F32-6t. One of the two flights landed in the trees.

There were two different R2D2 rockets today.

The original, larger Estes kit seemed underpowered with a C5-3.

The second version, a slightly smaller Estes R2D2 flew stable and true with a C6-3.

The winds prevented many of my flights. What could go wrong with a tiny, dirty, dinged MMX rocket?

Here's my carded Goony ZOOM BROOM. It got as high as 60' with the 1/8 A powered MicroMaxx motor. 

Stable with nose blow recovery. 

Four launches for me today. All recovered with just a balsa ding or two.

Centuri Quasar Clone Build, Kit #KC-7, Part 2, Parts List

Here's the parts list from Jim Z's - Centuri Quasar #KC-7

This clone build had a goal - to use only leftover spare parts! No purchasing, no vendor order. My substitutions shown in italic

                Quasar build at right by Tim Morley, posted on YORF

1 Plastic Nose Cone N/C 5.5"L W/Cockpit Detail 

                Substitute Estes PNC-60H, 4 1/2" exposed, 

                to add 1" of tube

1 Shock Cord SC-18 16" L 

                Substitute 36" x 1/8" elastic

1 Shock Cord Fastener SCF-1 Self Stick 1

                Not needed with Baffle top tie 

 Chute Pack 16" Dia. 

                Substitute ASP Mylar 15" chute

 1 Ejection Baffle EB-16

                 Substitute old Semroc EB-16

1 Body Tube ST-16 7.5"L 

                Substitute Estes BT-60, very close! 

1 Launch Lug LL-3 1/8" x 3"L 

1 Balsa Sheet BFM-10 3"W x 12"L x 3/32"T 

3 Body Tube ST-5 3"

                Substitute Estes BT-5, same as Centuri ST-5 

3 Ramjet Nose Cones N/C Fits ST-5 

                Made from old balsa cones, tapered dowels, 

                couplers and tubes            

3 Ramjet Tail Cones N/C Fits ST-5  Plastic 

                Made from old balsa cones and Bic Pen barrel

1 Paper Shroud N/C ST-16 to ST-10 2.44 L

                Print from payloadbay.com - BT-50 to BT-60 

2 Centering Rings CR-1016 ST-10 to ST-16

                Substitute light ply 50/60 rings 

1 Sleeve Tube HTC-16 1.5"L 

                Substitute Estes JC-60C

1 Engine Tube (Intermediate) ST-10 4"L 

                Substitute BT-50 tube

1 Thrust Ring TR-7 

                Substitute Estes AR-520            

2 Centering Rings CR-10 ST-7 to ST-10 

                Substitute Estes AR-2050

1 Engine Tube ST-7 3"L

                Substitute Estes BT-20            

1 Engine Lock EL-1

                Substitute Estes EH-2

1 Corrugated Strip N/C 1 Decal Sheet N/C

                Substitute Chrome Monokote Trim

Centuri Quasar Clone Build, Kit #KC-7, Part 1, Decal Development

There are some Centuri logos online, but the edges are fuzzy.

The images may have been scanned. Each time it is copied, the edges get more distorted.

On the online available logo shown above - 

Notice the oval border ends are squared off. The Centuri name isn't sharp. 

On my upcoming clone build, I needed the Centuri name in a reversed black, without the oval.

This required a two hour re-draw in Corel Draw.

The lower logo (above) has been cleaned up. I even corrected some subtle letter spacing.

The Centuri Quasar (Kit #KC-7) decal sheet was interesting.

The top logo is my re-draw of the original.

The lower logo found on the decal sheet was condensed, not the normal full width.

Here's another logo on the kit name decal.

That white reversed Centuri logo in the black oval is narrower than normal.

The Red Quasar name is the closest I could find. It is not the original font.

A note on the Centuri logo:

Don't ask me for the logo files. I do not own the rights for distribution.

The Quasar decal sheet will be available to Patreon supporters for SINGLE BUILDS ONLY. The decals with logos are not available for commercial kit production.

Centuri Quasar, Kit #KC-7, Background

The Quasar was introduced in the 1971 Centuri catalog.

A "Classic Space Ship Design!"

My Mother liked this one, she said: "It reminds me of the old Buck Rogers rocket."

The fin pod tubes had vacu-form ram-jet tops and bottom nozzle inserts. The same pieces were used in the Centuri SST Shuttle-1 kit. 

I won't be using vacu-formed or molded resin parts. I know Sirius Rocketry has them available, that'd be an easier way to go. I'll be assembling them from pieces and parts - old school. This build will be a "close" clone.

The first catalog colors were an overall white with two red fins. Later, Centuri recommended painting the body silver. I'll be home printing decals so the main body will be white. Home print decals are somewhat translucent, the red decals don't look very good when set over silver paint.

The Centuri "punched plate" style baffle was new and included in the Quasar, Centurion and Long Tom kits.

The more complex Estes "Ducted Ejection" (forward, back, forward) baffle was included in the new Bandit model first shown in the 1972 catalog.

From the NAR Facebook page, 

Glen Swanson posted a possible design influence:

"A conceptual drawing of an air-breathing boost vehicle. Turbojet engines are located in the body of the vehicle and the three pods. The first stage may be detached, as shown in the upper portion of the illustration, landed and used again. GE Electric, 1960."

I have to wonder if the Centuri Quasar inspired the more recent Estes Protostar. 

The fins have similar curved leading and trailing edges. The Quasar ramjet tube style engine pods have been replaced with three Alien Invader nose cones.

New Estes Blue Origin Changes - Follow-up

I received three new Blue Origin, New Shepard builds for Estes yesterday.

I had already built two of the original, first kits. Changes have been made. I was curious what the stability changes were. 

The nose cone gets one pat of clay weight. 

A single clay pat typically weighs around .25 oz. 

Inside the nose cone, the top surface is fairly flat. Time will tell if the clay stays stuck to the top wall.

The fin span is wider now.

Measured from the root edge to the outside edge, the fin is 2 3/32" wide or 2.10".

The leading edge height is the same, 2 3/32" from top to bottom.

I have to wonder with the nose cone diameter  wider than the BT-60 body tube - 

Is the airstream spread out by the nose cone and splayed outside the smaller fins?

I would think the first (smaller finned) model could fly fine with a B6-4 motor. It might be unstable with the heavier C6-5 motor.