Sport Rocketry

SPORT ROCKETRY MAY/JUNE 2017 7 by Everett Stowe When trying to achieve your Level 1, 2, or 3 Certifica- tion flights, the single most common rule of thumb is: Keep It Simple, Stupid (KISS). But then...why? Why not make it as complex and special as your imagina- tion can think up? How about a 1:25 scale, 14-foot tall replica of NASA's Apollo Saturn V rocket? And since the Saturn V had five F-1 motors, let's do a five motor cluster just to make it more fun. You're saying to yourself right now, "This guy is crazy." Right? So, how do we go about building a 1:25 scale Saturn V? I began by spending months searching for technical infor- mation about the Saturn V: exact dimensions, paint schemes, identifying marks, small and large details…these were just some of the items I needed. Once I had gathered enough in- formation, I opened up a graphic design program on my com- puter and began drawing the Saturn V to scale. I ultimate- ly lost count of just how many photographs and drawings I downloaded and analyzed. This was so much fun because there is such an incredible amount of information that you can gather from the Internet these days. Finally the drawings were complete (see Figures 4 and 5). Then construction began. I realized that the airframe was going to be a huge obstacle to overcome. After all, where am I going to find 16"-diameter tubes that don't weigh a ton? Actually it's a 15.84" tube, which further complicates things. I did not want to have to use a high power M-rated motor to launch this beast. So after a lot of looking and thinking, I decided to try to build the tubes myself. I'm in the printing business and so I asked my paper supplier about the thickest card stock that they carry, and they gave me some sample sheets (Cougar 160# Double Thick card stock—made by Domtar Paper Company). I calculated that the circumference of the lower section on my Saturn V would be 49.76 inches. Level 2: Keep It . . . Complex? Saturn V Project

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