Ye Olde Rocket Forum - View Single Post - Centuri Long Tom Question

Quote:

Originally Posted by rraeford

I recently acquired a Centuri Long Tom that was built in the early 1970s. The fins on the sustainer are thinner than the fins on the booster. The booster fins are 3/32" thick and the upper stage are 1/16". I cannot find any documentation to verify that this is how the kit was originally made. The fin scans I see on JimZ indicate they are both 3/32" but it also shows that the fins were diecut on two different sheets so it's possible they were two thicknesses. Does anyone have a kit they can look at (or in) and verify this one way or the other? The Semroc fins are set up so there are two booster and two sustainer fins on each sheet so they are the same.

Thanks.

Upper stage 1/16" fins is authentic.

Not sure why a different thickness was used on the upper stage. Less drag, but for a sport model such as this, not sure that would really be a concern. I would have preferred thicker fins on that upper stage to withstand a bit more landing shock; that thin stock is more lickely to splinter upon landing, even under chute recovery.

I did paper my booster fins on this kit, even though they were thicker stock, to withstand a bit more landing shock when it tumbled back to the ground after staging.

Earl