Brief:
I have become a big fan of upscale rockets lately. There are some great kits available from Semroc and QModeling. I have built upscale kits from both companies and highly recommend them but wanted to complete an upscale from scratch. After looking at numerous plans and catalogs, I decided to stay simple and decided on the OOP Estes Courier #1911 ('83-'87). The original kit used a BT-20 body tube and my plan was to build the rocket using a BT-60 body tube. This means that my upscale would be approximately 222% larger than the original. I grabbed a copy of the plans from Ye Olde Rocket Plans and started the project.

Construction:
The first thing I did was to get all the measurements to the best of my ability to model the rocket using RockSim. I created a spreadsheet for converting all measurements to the required size. For the fins, I measured the X and Y coordinates using graph paper to be able to upscale them using the Plan Points option in the software. I could not locate an exact match for an upscaled nose cone, so I used something that I thought was close and adjusted the body tube length to get the rocket to the desired overall length (I actually started with a PNC-60AH then switched to a PNC-60NA as you can see in the photos).

Parts:

• 2 18" BT-60 body tubes
• 1 PNC-60NA nose cone
• 1 4" BT-50 motor tube
• 1 Engine thrust ring
• 1 Engine hook
• 2 50/60 centering rings
• 2 1 1/2" x 3/16" launch lugs
• 1 Sheet of balsa
• 1 18" Nylon chute
• 1 Kevlar® shock cord
• 1 Sheet of blank decal paper
• 1 Sunward BT-60 baffle kit

I started by building the Sunward baffle kit and tied some Kevlar® cord to it through some small holes I drilled. I then used epoxy to make sure it was secure. From there I built the motor mount. My plans required to use through-the-wall tabs on the lower fins so I created a fin template (printed from RockSim) from a filing folder to ensure that the centering rings were located at the proper positions on the motor tube. I then used the templates to mark and cut my fins from the balsa sheet. For this rocket, I choose to paper the fins to increase the strength and reduce the sanding process during finishing. Once the fins were completed, I needed to cut the slots in the body tube for the tabs. I tried devise some quick way to do this but ended up just cutting the slots by hand with a hobby knife. I then glued all the parts together to get the unpainted rocket.

Finishing:
I choose to finish the rocket with the same colors shown in the 1987 Estes Catalog. So after filling and sanding, the rocket was painted orange except for the nose cone which was painted black. For the decals, I ordered some sheets of Clear Laser Decal Paper from Aerospace Specialty Products. I converted the Courier decal sheet to the proper size for the upscale and used image editing software to sharpen the image. The decal paper was very easy to work with and I recommend it for anyone interested in creating their own decals.

Flight:
For the first flight I decided to use a D12-5. The rocket launched nearly straight up with almost no wind present. While it was not a very high flight, it was a nice flight and the rocket was still in one piece after the flight. I almost immediately re-launched the with an E9-6. Once again it was a pretty flight with much more altitude.

Recovery:
I was worried about not using any dog barf and that the chute would get charred through the baffle. This was not the case and the baffle protected the chute. The parachute deployed at near apogee and carried the rocket to a safe landing.

Summary:
I really enjoyed building this upscale. I am proud of how it turned out and that it actually flies great. The design of the rocket gives the illusion of being a staged rocket so I plan to build another and make it as such. Thanks to RockSim I already have the plans to do so. I hope this review inspires you to do an upscale of your choosing.