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About Airplanes & Rockets

Kirt Blattenberger, Webmaster - Airplanes and Rockets

Kirt Blattenberger

BSEE - KB3UON

My Engineering Web: RF Cafe

Carpe Diem! (Seize the Day!)

Even during the busiest times of my life I have endeavored to maintain some form of model building activity. This site has been created to help me chronicle my journey through a lifelong involvement in model aviation, which all began in Mayo, MD ...

Airplanes And Rockets Copyright 1996 - 2026

All trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other rights of ownership to images and text used on the Airplanes and Rockets website are hereby acknowledged.

My Main Modeling Websites

Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) - Airplanes and RocketsAcademy of Model Aeronautics

Tower Hobbies logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Tower Hobbies

Horizon Hobby logo - Airplanes and Rockets

Horizon Hobby

Sig Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Sig Mfg

Brodak Manufacturing - Airplanes and Rockets

Brodak Mfg

Semroc Saturn 1B Rocket

Saturn 1B build in progress - fins attached (September 2019) - Airplanes and Rockets

Saturn 1B build in progress - fins attached (September 2019)

Semroc Saturn 1B Kit Parts - Airplanes and Rockets

Semroc Saturn 1B Parts from the Kit

All the Saturn 1B kit parts - Airplanes and Rockets

All the Saturn 1B kit parts.

The Estes Saturn 1B rocket is another model that I really wanted to have as a kid, but never could justify spending the money. In those days, I launched everything that I built, so I could not see spending a huge amount of my paper route money only to take the risk of destruction due to the parachutes not deploying properly or maybe an engine malfunction. I had launched enough rockets to know that the probability of something going wrong was directly proportional to the cost and time spent building. Instead, I stuck mostly with models that cost no more than about $3 (in 1960s-1970s dollars).

This Saturn 1B model is next in my rocket building queue. The Saturn 1B was one of the Saturn V's predecessors and was used as the launch vehicle for the first few Apollo missions - manned and unmanned. It was a 2-stage rocket with a cluster of 8 engines in the first stage.

After watching eBay auctions for the Estes Saturn 1B end north of $200, I pretty much gave up hope of ever snagging one at a reasonable price. Estes stopped making the kit years ago. Fortunately, the Semroc company is selling an identical clone version that I can afford at around $60.

Estes 1971 Model Rocketry Catalog - Pages 42 & 43Estes Saturn V building instructions Building Instructions

 

Specifications: Price = $16.50

Length = 43.5" (110 cm)

Body Diameter = 3.938" (100 mm)

Weight = 9.9 oz (280 grams)

Saturn 1B build in progress - sandable primer sprayed on components (June 2019) - Airplanes and Rockets

Saturn 1B build in progress - sandable primer sprayed on components (June 2019)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a list of my other rocket models.

 

 

Posted March 11, 2019