BOTHELL, Washington USA — Rocket Vision has introduced the long-awaited flying 1:17 scale model of the Pegasus-XL Booster. The Pegasus is the first of the company's Space-Now line, which models cutting-edge private sector space technology. The model, which has a non-spiral phenolic airframe and injection-molded plastic components, is available exclusively from RocketVision.

The Pegasus marks several landmarks for Rocket Vision:

• First of the Space-Now line
• First of our models to be designed using computerized solid modeling techniques
• The most complex tooling of any Rocket Vision kit
• The heaviest of Rocket Vision's kits, weighing in at 3 lbs. (Grymm, the next-heaviest is a comparatively light 1 lb.)

The mid-body wing fairing presented a significant challenge to Rocket Vision's engineering team. Kevin Reed, Pegasus Project Lead, commented, "Although the kit is ‘sport scale,' the model is close enough to the original rocket's configuration that we reproduced many of the same aerodynamic effects Orbital Sciences had to deal with to make their prototypes fly correctly as rockets. Where Orbital was able to use active guidance, we had to use passive aerodynamic techniques for our solutions. It was a challenge that took many iterations to solve.”

Final solutions to these challenges came from Kimberly Harms, who was contracted by Rocket Vision to conduct final test flights. According to Harms: "There were very interesting problems during the flight testing phase of the Pegasus. Unlike the real Pegasus, the model is not launched at an altitude where the atmosphere is no longer an issue. As a model it must be launched from the ground vertically.

"The major problem was that during vertical launch the wing acted to induce both asymmetric drag and lift. We flight tested various configurations before we achieved a good flight profile. The solution we used was to cant two of the lower fins at an angle that, thinking of the Pegasus as an airplane, induced a nose down force. To do this we built a prototype with adjustable rear fins. Changing the angle of the rear fins was not something that we approached lightly as we didn't want it to detract from the scale aspects of the airframe. During a series of flight tests we found the best angle that resulted in a nominal flight. Happily, the angle used does not significantly change the look and feel of the model airframe.”
Rocket Vision's Pegasus will make a strong impression at any launch. It stands 38.70/0 tall, has a 2.880/0 airframe diameter, and the center wing has a 14.850/0 diameter. The three rear fins create a footprint of 8.70/0. The model comes equipped for 24mm propulsion and the recommended motor is a Flight-Star G55-5, which will produce flights of 900-1000'.

URL: http://www.rocketvision.com