Sport Rocketry

I wanted to recreate the exciting launch of the Saturn V so I decided to also build a Launch Platform and Launch Umbili- cal Tower (LUT). The LUT was made entirely out of foam board with LUT section images printed on card stock and spray mounted to the foam board. The LUT section images were printed by permission of Michael Burke; he created a wonderful file for printing a 1:100 scale LUT on cardstock...I just resized it up a little! Figure 19 shows my completed 1:25-scale Saturn V on its launch platform/LUT next to my 1:48-scale Saturn V and launcher. If I had the time and resources, I would have built the launch umbilical tower out of basswood sticks and cre- ated a more realistic model. But my at- tention went to the Saturn V. I used a rail for launching and had this bolted into the launch platform. The launch platform also had a setup for attach- ing the LUT to keep it from being blown over by winds (as long as they are not too strong). I also have two 38mm canisters built into the launch platform that are ignited at T-8 seconds and T-5 seconds for flame and smoke buildup before the launch. We use the official NASA Jack King Apollo 8 count- down and play it on the loudspeakers starting at T-3 minutes. This adds to the excitement of watching a realistic Saturn V launch. The launch platform has the patches from all of the Apollo Moon Mission flights. I have these same patches on the coupler that slips into the parachute chamber that holds the two sections together I wanted to remind people that this is a celebration of all the Apollo Moon Mission Flights. Inside the bottom section of the Saturn V, where the motor mounts are, I decided to also add the patches of the flights of Mercury and Gemini (visible in Figure 17). After all, it took all of these successful flights and astronauts to get us to the moon. Not to mention the over 400,000 people that worked on the entire program. Future projects: I also built and fly a 1:12-scale Mercury Redstone, and I have plans to build a 1:12-scale Mercury Atlas and also a 1:12-scale Gemini-Titan. As you can see, my interests are in the American manned space pro- gram. Now I'm waiting to see when NASA will launch the SLS...???? None of this could have been pos- sible without the fantastic help of my club members at SoAR (Southern Area Rocketry). SoAR is the NAR chapter in Georgia. Joining SoAR and the NAR was the best thing I ever did for my interest in space and rockets. I created a logo for my project and put some thought into it. The ten stars in the sky to the left of the Saturn V are for the ten Apollo Saturn V manned missions—Apollo 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 that took us to the moon. (Apollo 7 was flown on the Saturn 1B. I haven't built one of those...yet!) Three stars to the right of the Saturn V on the patch are for the three astronauts that died in the Apollo 1 fire: Grissom, White, Chaffee. In conclusion, do you think it is worth it to "Keep It Complex"? I do, and it was so much fun doing it. So...go challenge your- self! 18 MAY/JUNE 2017 SPORT ROCKETRY (Above) Figure 20. My 1:25 Saturn V Project patch. Photo by Kevin Boyd

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