Saturn V Tips
-or-
No Problem; Each Real Saturn V Only Lasted One Flight

by Larry Baskett, LUNAR #151

Saturn V development studies. (GIF 15KB)

My dad and I built our Saturn V (an Estes #2001 model) about a dozen years ago, and it is a veteran of about that many flights. The following tips come out of that experience. Changes in the new kit may render some of the details obsolete.

The escape rocket tower is extremely prone to cracking off at its base. Mine has broken off almost as many times while handling the model as while landing after a flight. Re-gluing it is not a big deal, but there is another way. A fix that worked with my Estes mini-motor Little Joe II, which has the same capsule, is to rig the escape tower like a spring-return hood ornament.

Here's how it works: build the escape rocket tower separately before you assemble the capsule. Attach elastic bands or small springs to the legs of the tower >through< the tower mounting holes on the capsule. I used small bits of piano wire to make the attachment. When you're done with this step, the tower should sit in place on top of the capsule cone with the ends of the elastic/springs loose inside the cone. Then attach the loose ends to the base of the cone such that the elastic bands or springs are taut when the base of the cone seats in place. Now you've got yourself a classic '69 hot rod with a snazzy streamlined hood ornament.

Take care in packing the parachutes. I didn't think it was a big deal until I had a hairily late parachute deployment at last December's launch. There's so much room in the BT-101 that you can pack the 'chutes nice and loose, but as with any large two-piece parachute recovery model, the trick is to make sure the parachutes on the lower section deploy. Pack the upper section parachute into the tube first, then set the lower section's parachutes on top before stacking on the upper section. This way the upper section's parachute pulls the others out on ejection. Also, be generous with wadding because there are plenty of places for burning pieces of fuel to go in that spacious tube. A nice finishing touch in that regard is to wrap each parachute individually with a couple of wadding squares. As for setting up the launch pad, be sure the rod is vertical or pointed just slightly >downwind<. If you launch this beastie on a D12-3 for a nice low-and-slow flight (as I would recommend), any substantial weathercocking makes for a heart-stopping flight. In addition, make sure you use a launch rod standoff so that the base of the Saturn V is a few inches off the blast plate. I let it sit right on the plate once and rediscovered, as the prez astutely pointed out while my rocket sat smoking on the pad (no worries, Jack!), the phenomenon known as Bernoulli lock. This is the condition where the high-speed exhaust rushing out from between the fin shrouds creates a nice low pressure area at the base of the rocket, 'locking' it to the pad. It makes for one scorched rear end, at least on the inside.

I hope anyone building and flying a Saturn V can benefit from my mistakes. Despite the abuse the one my dad and I built has taken, it still looks great, especially in flight. Construction is complex but not overly difficult, and the results are well worth the time and effort. May your next moon mission be as successful as the real ones.

Information date: Mar. 16, 1999 lk