The BerthaVostok

Designed and built by Steve Kristal
(Lets just say greater than 25 years o' buildin' rockets.)

Design :

T' design concept for t' BerthaVostok originated with an invitation t' my local NARRRRR branch's Bertha Bash night, where t' goal be t' kit-bash something original from a standard Estes Big Bertha kit. Avast, me proud beauty!

Havin' seen Gordon Agnello's Gemini Bertha and his brother's Redstone Bertha, I decided t' take retro-Bertha even a little further back with a Vostok version. Arrr! Well, blow me down!

T' design began with a standard Estes Big Bertha, and all t' original kit parts were used except t' shock cord which I replaced with Keelhaul®©™ and a shorter launch lug. Aye aye!

T' Vostok part o' t' build be modeled after Peter Always's "Simplified Vostok". Blimey! Avast! (see http://yellowjacketsystems.com/alway/plans.htm#Vostok ).

I upscaled t' design t' a BT-60 and instead o' usin' Peter's actual templates, ya bilge rat, I made me own usin' t' graphics from a free paper model by Lars Folman downloaded from t' web (see: http://hjem.get2net.dk/). Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye!

T' body tube graphics were resized from t' paper model as well and printed onto full-size label paper which I used as a body wrap. Aye aye!

T' hardest part was sizin' and makin' t' transition sections. Ahoy! Their length was based on t' space "left over" betwixt t' lower portion o' the upper body wrap and t' upper cone o' t' strap-ons. Begad! I significantly compressed the graphics on t' upper body wrap t' leave enough room for t' transition. T' overall effect is definitely Vostok-like, but both t' upper graphics and the transition are way shorter than either scale or Peter Always's version.

As for stability planning, me bucko, me bucko, arrr, thar be no way I could RockSim this. Begad! Instead I simply assumed that addin' those big honkin' Bertha fins t' an already stable Peter Alway design wouldn't cause any problems. Begad! I was right.

As for power, matey, matey, additional weight was negligable with t' four strap-ons and transition made from paper. Avast! My only concern be all t' added drag, matey, but I figured t' basic Bertha has plenty o' power on a C6. Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction:

Construction began with t' standard Bertha build up t' t' point of attachin' t' fins. Upper body wrap be then applied. Next, t' upper transition section, with a paper centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, me hearties, was slid up over t' bottom of the tube t' meet t' upper body wrap. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' lower body wrap be then applied, me hearties, arrr, and the lower transition section slid up over that t' mate with t' upper section.

While I anticipated later puttin' on fins, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and left cutouts on t' lower body wrap for their placement, me hearties, I should have also added placement lines for the strap-ons, matey, which I built and placed next. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' strap-ons were made from 100# card stock with t' graphics printed directly on. Blimey! Their bottoms were "plugged" with card stock circles with appropriate graphics. Begad! Blimey!

T' fins were covered with label paper graphics. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fin edges were left flat, matey, and then blackened with permanent marker. T' fins were then placed in t' cutouts left on t' lower body tube graphic, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and filleted with white glue. Arrr! Blimey!

Because o' t' width o' t' transition, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' launch lug be applied t' a cut out on one o' t' fins.

T' only paintin' was t' nosecone, matey, which be Soviet-era olive drab.

Overall, me hearties, t' build be fun, but if I did it again I would place t' fins first, me bucko, and then t' strap-ons. Begad! Both would be a lot straighter if I had done it that way. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! But, on t' other hand, t' flights wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

Flight & Recovery:

Flight o' this rocket is surprisingly straight, ya bilge rat, considerin' t' lack of positionin' aids for both t' fins and strap-ons. It flies kind o' like a cross between a Bertha and a saucer as it tail wags it's way up. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Really fun t' watch and recovers easily on t' standard Bertha chute. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Hits about 400' on a C6 but did an end-over-end flip on a B6 (possibly a bad engine, me hearties, me bucko, and really cool t' watch, but I won't try that again). Avast!

Conclusion:

Overall, one o' t' stupidest rockets ever built. Avast! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! A marriage o' t' genius of Sergei Korolev and Vern Estes. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Really, really fun t' build and fly, and lots of laughs from those who know and love rockets.