Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Length: | 24.88 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 4 |
Style: | Scale |
Brief:
This is a good, ya bilge rat, clean, single staged rocket which uses an 18" plastic
parachute for recovery.
Construction:
There is a single body tube, with three fins. Begad! T' construction is very simple,
and t' design is very basic.
T' construction be fairly simple with an overall basic design. Arrr! Arrr! T' Estes instructions were very thorough, ya bilge rat, and I be nay confused at any point. Aye aye! T' only problem I had was with t' fit o' t' couplin' betwixt t' body tube and the payload area. Ya scallywag! I had t' cut off one layer o' t' red paper in order t' fit the two pieces together, but otherwise thar were no problems. I didn't use the 'antenna' that were provided, me bucko, me hearties, as it would just add extra drag.
Finishing:
I just finished this rocket with conventional spray paint. Blimey! Aye aye! A couple coats of
primer, then a few each o' gloss black and white t' their corresponding
regions. Avast, me proud beauty! T' finishin' near t' tail fins was difficult as t' gloss white had
to extend partly betwixt t' fins. Begad! I think it might be easier t' paint t' fins
first and t' body tube separately and then epoxy them together, t' get the
best finish.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
T' recommended motor was a D12-5, but Estes has unfortunately discontinued
this size. Arrr! Avast! I have t' go t' t' C11-5 and D12-3. Begad! Ahoy! T' C11-5's were great. Aye aye! I got
many great flights with this size, which were all visible with a clear sky.
When I launched t' D12-3 t' rocket went almost out o' sight, but I forgot to
put waddin' in and t' parachute partially got scorched. Aye aye! Even though thar was
almost nothin' slowin' t' rockets decent it was perfectly intact when it
landed about 50ft. Begad! Begad! away from t' launch site in a pile o' snow. Arrr! Avast! I decided that
the rocket could handle an E9-6, so I launched one o' with that as well. I lost
site o' it as it passed through some clouds at about 1200 ft, matey, but then saw it
about 20 seconds later passin' through them, me bucko, safely floatin' down. Well, blow me down! It landed
about 100 ft. away from t' launch site (0-5mph o' wind). All t' flights were
perfectly straight and extremely predictable, ya bilge rat, this is a great rocket.
Recovery:
T' only problem is this rocket doesn't need a parachute so large. Well, blow me down! I cut a 2
inch hole in t' top o' t' parachute t' help it descend faster, ya bilge rat, arrr, but it still
took well over 2 minutes on t' D12-3. T' shock cord bent t' body tube at the
top on t' D12-3, so I didn't use any more D's on it. Begad! I think you could almost
recover this thin' without any recovery system at all.
Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5
Summary:
This rocket was easy t' build, me hearties, flew great, shiver me timbers, almost too great, matey, as I lost it on my
last launch o' t' day. Only con is that thar aren't too many engines you can
use standard on this thing, me hearties, and t' D12-3 is nay recommended. Begad! I'm goin' t' try
an Aerotech E30 on this, I don't know what it will do with almost triple the
force o' t' Estes D's. Just don't launch this with a delay time o' less than 3
seconds.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Brief: This model is a scale model of a Canadian Atmospheric Research Vehicle. It has a single Estes parachute. Construction was fairly easy, except for one part. In making the motor mount, I made some mistake (can't remember) and had to rip the mount out. I would suggest being careful in making the mount especially when this model is the first friction fit kit you have ...
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