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Yes, this was inspired by this thread https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?134141-Saturn-1B-1-23-Upscale It's great reading and highly recommended.
Having just finished my Level 3 I was looking for inspiration, and this was it. It will be close to the same size, and I'm starting at a very similar point, but there will be some differences and that's why I'm starting this thread.
The basic design will be the same. I'll have an inner structural airframe, and an outer "scale" airframe. I'll be using 3" mailer tubes for the fuel and oxygen tanks, and a sonatube as a mandrel for my exterior airframe.
My mailer tubes aren't exactly 3" OD. This makes mine slightly larger at 1/22 scale instead of 1/23. It does make my sonatube diameter more appropriate. I will be using some CF, but the outer airframe of the S-IVB stage will be fiberglass. This will allow me to use my Altus Metrum TeleMetrum flight computer and tracker without worrying about the RF opaqueness of CF. I also have a 3D printer, so that will affect both my construction methods and detailing. I also have the advantage of seeing what someone else has tried!
Don't expect frequent updates. This is a long term build. I travel a lot for work and I have to work around that. I'm also trying to spread the cost out over as long a period of time as is practical.
So let's get at it!
Having just finished my Level 3 I was looking for inspiration, and this was it. It will be close to the same size, and I'm starting at a very similar point, but there will be some differences and that's why I'm starting this thread.
The basic design will be the same. I'll have an inner structural airframe, and an outer "scale" airframe. I'll be using 3" mailer tubes for the fuel and oxygen tanks, and a sonatube as a mandrel for my exterior airframe.
My mailer tubes aren't exactly 3" OD. This makes mine slightly larger at 1/22 scale instead of 1/23. It does make my sonatube diameter more appropriate. I will be using some CF, but the outer airframe of the S-IVB stage will be fiberglass. This will allow me to use my Altus Metrum TeleMetrum flight computer and tracker without worrying about the RF opaqueness of CF. I also have a 3D printer, so that will affect both my construction methods and detailing. I also have the advantage of seeing what someone else has tried!
Don't expect frequent updates. This is a long term build. I travel a lot for work and I have to work around that. I'm also trying to spread the cost out over as long a period of time as is practical.
So let's get at it!
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