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  #1  
Old 11-06-2012, 02:52 PM
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Bill Bill is offline
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Default A caution about the Estes STM-012

The instructions say to install the aft centering ring 1" from the rear of the motor tube and the mount with the rear ends of the tubes even.

On mine, the aft ring is blocking the very end of the fin slots. The rear face of the aft centering ring is 1" from the end of the motor tube. I will have to trim a bit from the end of the fin tabs.

Perhaps the instructions should say to install the ring 7/8" or even 3/4" from the end of the motor tube.


Bill
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  #2  
Old 11-08-2012, 08:54 AM
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JumpJet JumpJet is offline
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I took a look at a kit and sure enough I made a mistake when drawing the fins. I neglected to take into account the thickness of the rear centering ring. Dont be allarmed that part of the centering ring can be seen in the fin slot.


Future production runs of this kit will have updated fins. The easiest fix is to modify your fin is shown below. I also noticed that the bottom of the fin over the tube that holds the engine hook in place made contact before the rest of the root of the fin so I took a little more off this area as well.


John Boren
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  #3  
Old 11-08-2012, 10:11 AM
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The motor tube is only 3 1/2" long instead of the expected 3 3/4" long. As instructed, an E motor protrudes 1/2" beyond the end of the tube. A motor hook generally needs around an inch or 1 1/4" to easily flex for motor insertion or removal.

If the instructions simply said to glue the aft centering ring 3/4" instead of 1" from the end of the motor tube, then not only will the ring clear the fin slots by a good margin (to allow for some tolerance of individual builders inaccuracies, such as measuring to the front of the ring versus rear or metric unit conversion), but the hook retainer tube is also moved aft, making your other fin tab adjustment unnecessary. I guess the fin cutting is easier to modify than the instructions? A large stack of instructions already printed?


Bill - amateur kit designer
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It is well past time to Drill, Baby, Drill!

If your June, July, August and September was like this, you might just hate summer too...

Please unload your question before you ask it unless you have a concealed harry permit.

: countdown begin cr dup . 1- ?dup 0= until cr ." Launch!" cr ;

Give a man a rocket and he will fly for a day; teach him to build and he will spend the rest of his days sanding...
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  #4  
Old 11-08-2012, 04:05 PM
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JumpJet JumpJet is offline
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Quote:
A motor hook generally needs around an inch or 1 1/4"



From the end of the nozzle end of the motor to the rear centering ring there is a distance of 1.56" so I guess I met your requirements.

Changing balsa is always easier than changing instructions, plus I needed to shave an extra 10 thousandth’s off the bottom of the fin that makes contact with the tube that holds the engine hook in place.

John Boren
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  #5  
Old 11-08-2012, 08:52 PM
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Randy Randy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JumpJet
I took a look at a kit and sure enough I made a mistake when drawing the fins. I neglected to take into account the thickness of the rear centering ring. Dont be allarmed that part of the centering ring can be seen in the fin slot.
Future production runs of this kit will have updated fins. The easiest fix is to modify your fin is shown below. I also noticed that the bottom of the fin over the tube that holds the engine hook in place made contact before the rest of the root of the fin so I took a little more off this area as well.
John Boren


AWESOME! John, your presence here and your response to Bill is a perfect example how businesses should work and why YORF is a great place and THE forum for low-midpower rocketry. How great is it to have a consumer and a manufacturer rep speak directly and publicly about an issue and get a quick , honest, constructive response.

I know there are a couple of other suppliers that frequent the forums that would also handle issues this way as well but it's nice to see the main player responding in this manner.

If this were the norm for all businesses how much better would everything be?

It's nice to know this kind of thing still happens. Thanks for making my day!

Randy
www.vernarockets.com
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  #6  
Old 04-08-2013, 08:22 PM
bigone5500 bigone5500 is offline
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Any of you guys get any measurements of the fins for this rocket? I sure would LOVE to have them. I also would like to know the lengths of the body tubes and the motor mount.

Thanks.
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  #7  
Old 04-09-2013, 09:52 AM
jetlag jetlag is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bigone5500
Any of you guys get any measurements of the fins for this rocket? I sure would LOVE to have them. I also would like to know the lengths of the body tubes and the motor mount.

Thanks.


Going to buy one is probably your huckleberry...they are cheap enough.

Allen
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  #8  
Old 04-09-2013, 10:20 AM
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Shreadvector Shreadvector is offline
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http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I'm%20your%20huckleberry
That is a bit more obscure to me than "Bob's your uncle".

Quote:
Originally Posted by jetlag
Going to buy one is probably your huckleberry...they are cheap enough.

Allen
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  #9  
Old 04-09-2013, 12:10 PM
jetlag jetlag is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shreadvector
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I'm%20your%20huckleberry
That is a bit more obscure to me than "Bob's your uncle".


Glad you liked it!
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  #10  
Old 04-10-2013, 06:18 PM
bigone5500 bigone5500 is offline
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Bah... You're probably right...

But I sure do like scratch building...

Quote:
Originally Posted by jetlag
Going to buy one is probably your huckleberry...they are cheap enough.

Allen
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