Skill Level 3

The Bucky Jones Space Cadet is a
Sleek Blast from the Past.

Kit Specifications:

Skill Level 3: Average Skills Needed
Length: 36.5" (93 cm)
Diameter: 3" (76 mm)
Motor Mount Size: 29mm diameter
Weight (without motor): 26 oz (744 gm)
Recovery Method: 30" Nylon parachute

ORDER This Kit NOW! Just click on the "Add to my shopping cart" button below.

Pemberton Technologies Bucky Jones Rocket Kit

P/N: 07572
Price: $90.00

Note: There is a $2.00 freight surcharge due to the large size of the shipping carton, and the additional cost of postage.  Additional shipping fees may apply for Hawaii, Alaska and US Protectorates and international orders.

Bucky Jones

Recommended Motors Kit Features Tools Needed FAQs RockSim File Related Items

Pemberton Technologies Bucky Jones - 29mm Motor Choices
Estimated Altitude Predictions (generated using RockSim)
Please click on the motor links below to find pricing and any necessary hardware for using the motors.
Motor Used Manufacturer Comments Altitude
Feet (Meters)
Motor Type Quick Purchase
F62-6T Aerotech Blue flame. Loud. Drill out 1 second of delay.
Use with an optional 24/29mm adapter.
416 ft (127m) Reloadable Use
$14.97
1 pack

18+
F39-6T Aerotech Blue flame. Loud. Drill out 1 second of delay.
Use with an optional 24/29mm adapter.
427 ft (130m) Reloadable
$31.02
3 pack

18+
F42-4T Aerotech Blue flame. Loud. Delay is a little short. 505 ft (154m) Single Use
$42.97
2-pack
Sorry,
Back-ordered
(01/06/12)
F32-6T Aerotech Blue flame. Loud. Delay is long by 1 second. 515 ft (157m) Single Use
$18.18
1-pack
G54-6W Aerotech White flame. Loud. Drill out 1 seconds of delay. 819 ft (250m) Reloadable
$17.11
1 pack

18+
G104-6T** Aerotech Loud, blue flame. Very fast-burning motor, quick off the pad. 857 ft (261m) Reloadable
$17.11
1 pack

18+ | L1*
G53-5FJ Aerotech Huge volume of black smoke. Perfect for the first flight (no delay adjustment). 952 ft (290m) Reloadable
$17.11
1-pack

18+
G77-7R Aerotech Red flame. 1121 ft (342m) Loadable
$26.74
1-pack

18+
G79-7W Aerotech White flame. 1171 ft (357m) Loadable
$26.74
1-pack

18+
G71-7R Aerotech Red flame. 1174 ft (358m) Reloadable
$14.97
1-pack

18+
On permanent hold per Aerotech
G78-7G Aerotech Green flame. 1224 ft (373m) Reloadable
$26.74
1-pack

18+
G76-7G Aerotech Green flame. 1284 ft (391m) Reloadable
$17.11
1-pack

18+
Sorry,
Back-ordered
(12/16/11)
G64-7W Aerotech White flame. Best altitude of the motors we sell. 1308 ft (399m) Reloadable
$17.11
1-pack

18+
H128-10W** Aerotech 307 mph. Drill out 2 seconds of delay. Level 1 Certification required. 1679 ft (512m) Reloadable
$21.39

18+ | L1

Please click on the motor link to find any necessary hardware for using the motors.

1. *Hazmat fee required with these motors

2. **L1 certification required to purchase these motors (click for more info on getting certified).

3. See the video below for help in selecting rocket motors. Rocket motors are sold separately from the kit. If you are unsure which one to pick, start with the one recommended for the First Flight, and then another for a more impressive launch. Most motors listed in this chart are available through Apogee Components. For the many other motors that are not listed here, download the RockSim file to see if it will work in this rocket kit. See also Technical Publication #28 for guidance on selecting appropriate rocket engines other than those listed in this chart. If you don't already have Technical Publication #28, give us a call, and we'll be happy to let you download it free (you have to ask though).

4. Set delays using the Aerotech Delay Drilling Tool or the Cesaroni PRO-DAT Tool.


Pemberton Technologies Bucky Jones Space Cadet.

Flash back with me, if you will, to a time when handsome, brave, wide shouldered, square jawed, homogenized white guys made the universe safe for all mankind. Heroes such as Captain Video, Flash Gordon, Tom Corbett and Buzz Corry came to the rescue every week, thrashing bad guys and thrilling youngsters across the land. From out of that Wonder Bread World we bring you Bucky Jones – Space Cadet! Yes, yet another champion of the stars. From the bulbous nose to its flashy fins and multiple exhaust tubes, Bucky Jones is Super Retro Sci-Fi through and through. Like all spaceships from that era he is gaudy, stylish, sleek and silly enough to give aerospace engineers apoplectic fits.

Get ready to spend a few days on this kit. The builder cuts those cool 'exhaust tubes' and the canted aft body tube using a hobby knife with a brand new, sharp blade. It's not hard, but it takes patience. We know a lot of you will want to get right to the flying part, and that's great; if you assemble it, do some sanding and filling, and then paint it, the kit will look spectacular and fly straight. Your Bucky Jones will impress the bobby socks off every other flyer on the field. Pemberton recommends building this way in the "destructions".

For our display rocket (see photo at right) I did all the sanding, filling and final paint of the exhaust unit, then did the final assembly. This results in a gorgeous rocket. When you sand and fill the exhaust tubes inside and out, the resulting showpiece leaves fellow fliers amazed. One of the guys we showed Bucky to at our last launch just said, "Beautiful. Where can I get one?"

It is actually an easy to build kit. For example, the destruction step you may spend the most time on is cutting the exhaust tubes and canted body, and doing the prep work for painting. The tube cutting destructions are very clear. You'll find yourself flying this model after just a couple days of cool build time.

 

Bucky Jones on Pad

 

Check out Bucky's smaller, genetically identical brother, Little Bucky, too. Bucky Jones

F and G Motors are Perfect for this Kit

Most of the motors listed above are reloads, which cost less per flight than single-use motors. With altitudes depending on which F, G, or H motor you use, you have great options for altitude, loudness, amount of smoke, and color of flame.

I cannot think of a better kit to do a Level 1 Certification with, because you get officially welcomed into the exclusive realm of high-power rocketeers, but you do it with style. When you do your Level 1 Certification with the Bucky Jones, you get to step up to an H motor; you might want to bring binoculars, though, because Bucky flies to extremely high altitudes on an H.

I love this kit! It's big, sleek, fun, and no one will ever mistake it for some other lesser kit. It flies perfectly, too. You might expect it not to fly straight up, with the asymmetry in the fins, but it goes bullet-straight. The horizontal recovery rigging works great, too.

Bucky Jones

Styling Cues

Pemberton does creative things with the visual impact of this kit that most rocket companies won't even consider. The swept fins are so radical they put this kit in another league altogether from the standard mid-power kit. The typical kit designer would give up on them before even drawing them because, typically, fins this long with this many curves are weak and break easily upon landing. Pemtec solves this problem by using extremely strong fin material, and then setting up the recovery system so the rocket comes down horizontally on a harness, eliminating even the possibility of damaging the fins.

An interesting build step is the addition of 2-part expanding foam inside the body where the fin tabs go. We highly recommend using foam when building Bucky. It's a lightweight engineering solution to a heavyweight problem: how to provide enough structure to keep those cool fins attached. 2-part foam is a standard build technique in high power rocketry, and this is the perfect kit to try it on for the first time.

Bucky Jones Rocket. Imagine flying this into deep space.

Why is this a Skill Level 3 Rocket?
There are only three steps in the rocket that require more than basic building skills. These are cutting the canted body tube and exhaust tubes, slotting main body for the fins, and some extra time sanding and filling. With bigger (heavier) motors, you may need to test the Bucky Jones and add nose weight until it's stable. It takes a little extra care and patience to build the wire hanger motor retention. Otherwise, construction is straightforward.

Some construction requires epoxy adhesive. This can be messy and cause an allergic reaction in some people. Adult supervision and wearing rubber gloves is recommended when working with epoxy.

The Bucky Jones is a big rocket that uses heavy wall tubes. It also has substantial interior lead and epoxy nose weigh to provide added stability. While the tubes and weight don't make the rocket any harder to assemble, extra safety precautions are required when a rocket this big is flown. Patience and acquired flying skills to know when and where NOT to fly are just as important as quality construction techniques.


Bucky Jones Space Cadet Kit Features
Super Strong Plastic Nose Cone - Made from polyethylene plastic, this heavy-wall nose cone can really stand up to any amount of abuse you might give it. The 11.2 inch exposed length is just one feature. It has a molded-in shock cord attachment, and a 1/4 inch steel eyebolt can be added (recommended). A Truly Sleek Nose Cone
Premium Body Tube - The body tube is a quality piece, with small spirals so they finish quickly. It's thick walled for those high power flights. Thick, high-power body tubes

Exhaust Tubes - There are two BT-20 tubes you cut into the funky, retro 'exhaust tubes'.

For extreme builders (like me), these can be sanded and prepped inside and out, painted with final paint, then assembled for an incredibly good looking back end.

Exhaust Tubes

Plywood Centering Rings - These 1/4" thick 5-ply centering rings are a thing of beauty. They provide plenty of heft for G and H motors and they fit perfectly, so they don't need sanding. The motor tube is 29mm, so you are set up to fly high from the get-go.

Bucky has a unique wire motor retainer that works great with the sleek exhaust tubes.

Strong Centering Rings.
Quality Recovery Hardware - You get a monstrous 10' shock cord of 9/16" tubular nylon. The mount system on the inner body tube is a deceptively simple, inexpensive, yet strong Kevlar® and epoxy design that works great. Tubular Nylon
A Great Parachute - 30-inch diameter rip-stop nylon cloth parachute. A kit this big, you have to have a cloth chute for the extra durability; and you get one! You could almost jump out of a perfectly space liner with this chute. Nylon Parachute
Plywood Fins - Bucky's main fins have always been laser cut. The little, swoopy canards used to be hand cut by the builder, but now they too are laser cut. This results in great consistency and tremendous strength. The 1/8" thick material is very tough and excellent quality. With through the tube mounting and the recommendation for filling the fin can with 2-part foam, this is one tough beauty. Curves.
Here's a great build idea - Epoxy doesn't stick to the inside of plastic nose cones very well and can come loose, upsetting the stability of the rocket. My recommendation is to drill two 1/4" holes, put a dowel through as shown, then epoxy your nose weight. It takes some extra smoothing, filling, and sanding effort, but it makes for a much more positive retention system for the nose weight. Nose weight with dowel

Tools needed to assemble this rocket kit:

  • Pencil
  • Ruler
  • Masking Tape
  • Hobby Knife
  • Dremel tool
  • Finishing Supplies like paint and sandpaper.
  • Wood Glue or 5-Minute Epoxy

To Launch This Rocket Kit, You'll Also Need:

  • Rocket Motors (Not included with this kit - See the motor selection above)
  • Launch Pad (see below for suggestions) & Launch Controller (Not included with this kit)
  • Recovery Wadding - Disposable | Reusable

Frequently Asked Questions about the Bucky Jones kit:

Q. What launch pad should I use to launch this rocket kit?

A. Since this is a big rocket, you'll need very stable launch pad. We offer the Aerotech Mantis Launch Pad and the Estes Porta Pad-E.
Mantis Estes Mid-Power Launch Pad

Q. What launch controller can I use to ignite the motors?

A. We offer two different controllers that can be used for mid and high-power size rockets. The Aerotech Interlock and the Pratt Hobbies GO-BOX Controller.
Interlock Launch Controller Estes e-launch controller

Q. Where can I get the 2-part foam for building the fin can?

A. We recommend talking with local rocketeers in your area to find a source closest to you. You can find a list of clubs in your area by clicking here.

Q. How do I go about getting High Power Certified?

A. Click here for more information on getting Level 1 certified.

Q. I need help selecting motors. What should I do? Can you teach me how to select them myself?

A. Watch this YouTube video - How to Select Model Rocket Engines

We encourage you to learn the proper motor selection technique. Please watch our YouTube video that will walk you step-by-step through the process
Pick your own motors - Part 1

Download the RockSim design file for this kit. Click Here to download.

To see how the Bucky Jones rocket looks and performs with in each motor configuration, download rocket design file now (click here). This file can be opened with the FREE demo version of RockSim (click here). This kit is included as one of the sample designs that comes with the demo software. Both Windows and Macintosh versions are available.

What is a RockSim Design file?

The RockSim software gives you a lot of information about the flight characteristics of this rocket: how high, how fast, where it will land, how will it react to wind, etc. The "design file" is intended to save you time. All the parameters (size, shape, weight, fin design, etc.) of this rocket have already been entered into the RockSim program, and saved as an electronic database file. You can just open it up in your copy of RockSim and start loading different rocket motors to run launch simulations. It's fun and educational to see the rocket zoom skyward, even before you built it. For more information about RockSim and to download a FREE 30-day demo version, click here.


Related Items and Optional Accessories That Go Great With This Kit:

Rouse-Tech High Power Monster Motors

We've added all the big reloadable motor casings to our line-up. Plus, we've organized things to make it easier for you to pick and find the right casing for your big project.

Rouse-Tech Monster Motors
Cesaroni Reloadable Rocket Motors

Cesaroni (also known as CTI) is a manufacture of reloadable rocket motors. These motors are made in the standard diameters, so they will fit into your current fleet of rockets without having to do any further modifications.

Cesaroni Pro-X motors
Aero Pack Engine Retainers

Want to hold in your rocket engines securely without using tape or other unsightly methods? Then they Aero Pack retention system may be what you're looking for. There is a retainer available for all the common high power tube sizes that we carry (LOC, Blue Tube, and Fiberglass), as well as for the mid and high-power rocket kits on this web site.

Engine Retainers

Motor Mount Adapters

These adapters allow you to put a smaller diameter motor into a rocket that has a motor mount tube up to two sizes larger. This is a great way to save money by putting a smaller motor in a big rocket.

Motor Adapter
Sky Angle Parachute Deployment Bags

A deployment bag is a device to help ensure that parachute inflates properly and in the correct order. It forces the lines to completely stretch out first, and then the canopy is released so that it can properly inflate. It also minimizes the loads on the suspension lines to prevent tears, and it gives additional protection from the heat of the ejection charges. If you're doing high power rockets, you really need this extra insurance to make your project a success.

Sky Angle Parachute Deployment Bags

Parachute Swivels

Ball bearing swivels for attaching your parachutes to help reduce risk of twisting and line entanglement.  Come in 3 sizes - 200lb, 300lb and 500lb

Parachute Swivels

Quick Links

Use Quick Links to quickly attach and detach components of your rocket.  Great for connecting parachute shroud lines and electronic or payload bays to shock cords and swivels or replacing lost quick links in your Tender Descender.

Quicklink

Nomex Wadding

While not required, this would be a useful addition to this kit. If you don't use a heat shield, you'll have to use disposable wadding to protect the parachute from the heat of the ejection charge. And for a large diameter kit like this, it will take a lot of disposable wadding.

Nomex Wadding

Shock Cord Protectors

While not required, this would be a nice upgrade to most high power rockets. A shock cord protector prevents the shock cord from getting too scorched by the ejection charge.

shock cord protector

Sunward Nomex Ground Cover Blanket

Provide a bit extra fire protection to the grass under the launch pad with the 5-by-5 foot nomex blanket.

Nomex Blanket

Epoxy Clay

While it has a 1,001 uses around the house, it works great on rockets to make super-strong fillets where the fins attach to the rocket. Better than regular epoxy because it stays in place and doesn't ooze all over the rocket. So you can get perfect fillets on all your fins, without having to do them one at a time.

Fix-It Epoxy Thumb

AltimeterOne

See how high your rocket flew! This is the one altimeter you'll use in all your rockets because it does not require a separate payload bay. It is far more durable than any other altimeter because it is encased in ABS-plastic. It also is the first inexpensive altimeter to have a LCD screen that displays the altitude that the rocket reached during flight. Better get two, because your friends are going to steal this out of your range-box!

AltimeterOne rocket altimeter

Entacore's AIM USB Altimeter

This is a programmable dual-event altimeter with data recording capabilities. That means that after the flight, it not only beeps out the peak altitude, but you can download the data into your computer so you can get a plot of altitude versus time. Great for determining the parameters of your rocket's flight.

Entacore AIM-USB altimeter

G-Wiz Flight Computers

The ultimate in flight control for large and expensive rocketry projects. These onboard flight computers control when the flight events (like staging, parachute ejection) occur during the trajectory. Uses both barometric and accelerometer sensors to get the most accurate determination of the rockets altitude and orientation, so it provides extra reliability to control the flight. Available with or without data recording capabilities.

G-Wiz Flight Computers

Model Rocket Design and Construction

This 328-page book contains a gold-mine of information on building model rockets. When you get this book in your hands and start flipping through the pages, the very first thing you'll notice is that it is stuffed full of illustrations and pictures. The reason for this is that pictures is the perfect way to make complex subjects easier to understand. Even youngsters will be able to grasp the concepts in this book because of all the illustrations. Because of this, the book makes a great gift for your student that has an interest in rocketry.

Model Rocket Design & Construction Book
Modern High Power Rocketry 2

The most extensive book ever written about "how to build LARGE high power rockets." Recommended for all modelers getting ready to take a jump to those bigger and more powerful rocket engines. It takes you step-by-step in the process of how to prepare for Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 high power certification.

Modern High Power Rocketry

Actual Customer Comment:
"The package and contents arrived in great shape and quicker than I expected.  I used the components I ordered this past weekend in the tryouts for the US team of the International Space Modeling championship to be held in Spain in August 2008.  I made the team, thanks in part to the quality Apogee parts I used in my models.  Thanks." -- John