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  #1  
Old 07-23-2013, 03:16 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Default Estes Astro tube length?

Hello All,

Tonight I was looking at the online "plan scan" of the Estes Astro kit, #1937 (see: http://plans.rocketshoppe.com/estes/est1937/est1937.pdf ). What is the length of its BT-20 body tube? If it is--as I'm guessing--the same length as the body tubes in the Estes Viking and Wizard kits (9" long, if memory serves), either of them could be kit-bashed to make an Astro, since all three rockets use the same BT-20 plastic nose cone. Its simple yet attractive decal sheet could also be easily "Excelsiorized." :-)

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
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  #2  
Old 07-23-2013, 05:40 AM
bguff bguff is offline
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I measured it at 8 and 5/8". Sounds like you could trim the 9" tube.
Bob
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  #3  
Old 07-23-2013, 09:17 AM
jetlag jetlag is offline
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BT-20B, 8.65 inches.

I think.....

Allen
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Old 07-23-2013, 09:35 AM
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I thank you both very much for your replies! The 9" tube length I had in mind was for the Centuri Viking (which they also sold to Scouts as the Akela-1); the body tube of the later Estes Viking (as I recall from ones I had) seemed a bit shorter. I don't think Estes created a new tube length for the Astro (they reused/reuse existing-length tubes as much as possible), so it's likely that the Astro used the same BT-20B that is used in their Viking and Wizard kits.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
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Old 07-23-2013, 02:38 PM
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dlazarus6660 dlazarus6660 is offline
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In the future, someone post a list of all the dimensions of all the Estes kit B/T and N/C and part #'s. I use to have it handy but now I can't find it since my computer reboot.
Found it and it was John Brohm. N/C are in a seperate list.

http://www.psc473.org/howto/EstesTubes.pdf

http://www.psc473.org/howto/EstesNoseCone.pdf
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Old 07-24-2013, 01:34 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dlazarus6660
In the future, someone post a list of all the dimensions of all the Estes kit B/T and N/C and part #'s. I use to have it handy but now I can't find it since my computer reboot.
Found it and it was John Brohm. N/C are in a seperate list.

http://www.psc473.org/howto/EstesTubes.pdf

http://www.psc473.org/howto/EstesNoseCone.pdf
Thank you! I've looked at them myself in the past (that was "a computer or two ago"), but I couldn't remember where I'd seen them. I have e-mailed both links to myself for reference.
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
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Old 07-25-2013, 02:16 PM
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One other consideration is the Astro's fin thickness, which isn't indicated in the kit's instructions. The fins' appearance in the kit insert illustration (and the *lack* of any instruction to sand their edges round) -seems- to suggest that they may be 1/16" thick (the similar-size fins of the Estes Mark [Kit #K-2] were 1/16" thick); what do you all think?
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR
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Old 07-25-2013, 08:34 PM
bguff bguff is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blackshire
One other consideration is the Astro's fin thickness, which isn't indicated in the kit's instructions. The fins' appearance in the kit insert illustration (and the *lack* of any instruction to sand their edges round) -seems- to suggest that they may be 1/16" thick (the similar-size fins of the Estes Mark [Kit #K-2] were 1/16" thick); what do you all think?


I'm measuring 3/32". If i had to round to a 16th", i'd say 1/16th".
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Old 07-26-2013, 04:13 AM
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blackshire blackshire is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bguff
I'm measuring 3/32". If i had to round to a 16th", i'd say 1/16th".
Did you measure off the kit insert image using a scale in a graphics program, or do you have an Astro kit (or a built one) whose fin thickness you measured? I'm not being "inquisitor-ive," < :-) >, I'm just curious. For swept fins like those, I do prefer 3/32" over 1/16" balsa (as in the Alpha kit) due to its greater durability. Also (speaking of the Alpha's fins):

Looking at the Astro's fin pattern, it looks a lot like (an) Alpha fin pattern (there have been several similar yet perceptibly different variations of the Alpha's fin planform over the decades). It's enough to make me wonder if the Astro, which was only in production for a very short time (just a year or two, if memory serves) [CORRECTION: it was in the Estes catalog from 1985 to 1991, although that's still a relatively short production "life"], was a SPEV (Spare Parts Elimination Vehicle) kit that was created to use up all of the last of one particular Alpha fin planform, to create space for the "successor" Alpha fins (maybe when they replaced old die-cutters?).
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050
http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511
All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Last edited by blackshire : 07-26-2013 at 04:27 AM. Reason: This ol' hoss done forgot somethin'.
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  #10  
Old 07-26-2013, 05:06 AM
bguff bguff is offline
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Measuring the kit. Not sure how else i would do it.
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