Juno I PMC tips from rec.models.rockets


I pulled these references from the rec.models.rockets newsgroup and from the newsgroup archives. The tips are in chronological order and have been edited a bit. I haven't built mine yet, so I can't vouch for any of these tips...

BTW, although the kits (and lots of references) refer to this launch vehicle as the Jupiter-C, it is more properly called the Juno I.


From: jsvrc@rc.rit.edu (J A Stephen Viggiano)
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 16:10:46 GMT

In article <3ifsu5$1tnd@ns1.CC.Lehigh.EDU> row0@Lehigh.EDU writes:
> Next I just bought a "GLENCO" Jupiter C
>and would like to stuff a tube and wg mount
>in it; to launch and recover the thing.
>If anyone has done this , would greatly appreciate
>any do's or don't. Using the SWAG technique
>I was thinking along the lines of a B or C
>size wg's and using 1/16 thick styrene or
>clear plexi-glass to redo the fins.

The tub (the whizzmo at top just under the Explorer satellite) is hollow. Stuff it with lead shot or solder. Put some modeling clay in the top of the transition, which winds up being the nose cone. Then you shouldn't need any additional fin area.

I used Quest T-30 tubing as my stuffer. It fit nicely. The hole at the aft end is just right for an 18mm Propellant Actuated Device. I cut a notch for the engine hook with a 3mm (1/8") paper hole punch.

Recovery was on two chutes: one for the booster, and one for the nose section. Any snapback at ejection would have been painful, so I avoided it altogether this way.

I flew it on an Estes C5-3 (nothing like living dangerously, eh?). I suspect it would fly quite nicely on an Aerotech D21, though not one of the ones with the monolithic casings.

The tub has broken off mine. I had used cyanoacrylate to attach it to the transition. This and the Explorer satellite are the weak points in the model.



The NAR Technical Report Plastic Model Conversion by Ken Brown has an article by Scott Clement detailing the conversion steps for the Glencoe kit. It uses extra fin area instead of nose weight to achieve stability.

This report is available from NARTS, PO Box 1482, Saugus, MA 01960.