| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Diameter: | 1.33 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Estes ![]() |
| Style: | Scale |
Brief:
This is Estes representation o' t' British surface t' air missile used in t' Falklands war in 1983. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Well, blow me down! It be only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Blimey! Avast! They are gettin' harder t' find. This was t' second rocket I ever had.
Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, a long motor tube, matey, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Arrr! Ya scallywag! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Avast, me proud beauty! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. Begad! It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Arrr! It also has an engine hook.
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These were t' typical Estes directions, me hearties, very easy t' follow. Begad! T' rocket is very easy t' put together, ya bilge rat, it is a level 2 kit. Ahoy! Blimey! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, and then glued them together. Arrr! Blimey! It be a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Aye aye! Blimey! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, matey, as I plan t' have it for a long time. I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, as well as t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, ya bilge rat, arrr, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, me bucko, and increased t' size o' t' chute.
Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, ya bilge rat, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. Ya scallywag! You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Ahoy! Oh, and it is OOP by t' way, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. It looks real nice finished.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, matey, me bucko, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. Ahoy! Ahoy! I guess I needed nose weight. Begad! Also, ya bilge rat, had a very small zipper. Ya scallywag! I added about 1/2 ounce nose weight and now it flies great! I guess t' epoxy added more weight t' t' aft than I thought. Ahoy! T' original still flies great with no nose weight.
Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, shiver me timbers, works great. Ahoy! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. Avast, me proud beauty! I added a coupler and put it right back together.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
I love this kit, matey, it is one o' me all-time favorites. Begad! Avast! It looks real good, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. Begad! Avast! It also is nay a kit you see everyday, so it gets noticed. Avast! T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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