Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Published: | 2013-09-27 |
Diameter: | 2.50 inches |
Length: | 46.25 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 5 |
Style: | Sport |
Part o' t' Pro Series II line o' 29mm mid power kits, arrr, t' Ventris is a payloader with a larger diameter paylod bay and stylish curved fins. Ahoy! I liked t' look o' it and found t' enlarged payload bay interestin' and wanted t' build one, received as a birthday present and waited less than a fortnight t' get cracking.
T' Pro Series II kits are all bagged. Begad! Blimey! It had stood up t' shippin' fine without any damage.
Centerin' rings and Fins were o' good quality, only a quick sand on t' plywood fins t' get them smooth. Avast! Avast! Blimey! T' nosecone and transition didn't have huge amounts o' flash and all t' tubes were o' good quality. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Slightly more tubes than I am used t' from an Estes kit (two lower body tubes with a coupler, matey, an upper body tube and motor mount) but all good firm paper tubes. I am nay bothered about spirals and this was very subtle on these tubes.
Nice Ripstop nylon parachute, me bucko, t' now standard 29mm motor retainer all I liked.
Plus a couple o' meters o' half inch elastic and a big cutout 3-fold shock cord attachment point finished it off.
Only Decal in t' kit be a "Estes Pro Series II" one. Avast! Ahoy! While I like t' stock look I am nay bothered as I generally don't apply many decals.
I be racin' t' get this built durin' a short period when both me girls were napping, ya bilge rat, so I didn't have a huge amount o' time t' document with pictures and even forgot t' do t' internal fillets!
I pretty much ignored t' instructions, but I did use t' green rin' Estes have supplied t' line up tbe centerin' rings correctly, this be very useful and I liked t' attention t' detail. Ya scallywag! I built t' entire model with yellow glue as I like it, me hearties, except for a dab o' epoxy at t' end.
I put two centerin' rings either side o' t' fin tabs and left t' third one off t' use it in a zipperless modification. T' centerin' rings were tight on both t' motor and body tubes, but I didn't sand them as t' tighter t' better for keepin' it solid with minimum extra weight. I didn't put in a thrust rin' as I plan t' use Cesaroni reloadables o' various lengths. Aye aye! I tied a 10 foot length o' kevlar t' t' motor tube and through t' upper centerin' rin' t' avoid usin' t' Estes 3 fold method.
I am buildin' t' model t' break apart at t' coupler in t' aft section, and used t' third centerin' rin' on t' top o' t' coupler t' stop t' kevlar from zipperin' t' body tube. Blimey! Aye aye! I have nay tried it before and we will see how it works.
My first issue with t' kit (beyond t' shock cord and attachment) be that if you put t' transition and nose cone into t' payload thar be almost no room left for anything. Avast! I want at least a mobile phone in thar for camera and trackin' so I trimmed off t' top o' t' transition t' give myself more volume, shiver me timbers, howvever t' lower end o' t' transition is pierced. I realise this will have all t' laundry betwixt t' motor and this hole but t' stop any pressure passin' through and poppin' off t' nosecone I sealed it with a bit o' scrap balsa from t' launch lug standoffs.
I then fitted and glued t' fins, ya bilge rat, and tied t' elastic t' t' lower part o' t' transition and glued t' transition into t' "upper-lower body tube" (if that makes sense) and t' payload tube.
T' elastic and kevlar I tied t' a steel curtain rin' I have lyin' around for this sort o' thing, shiver me timbers, and attach t' parachute t' t' rin' as well. Avast! I will add some permanent waddin' as well before flying.
T' fins went on well and lined up easily.
After that I realised I had forgotten t' add internal fillets but t' rocket is feelin' pretty solid and I think I will get away with it especially with TTW tabs.
I then scored t' inside o' t' retainer body with a craft knife, ya bilge rat, and epoxied it into place. I had a little run into t' motor tube but saved it with finger soaked in meths and added that t' t' aft fillet I built up below t' retainer so t' epoxy puddled around t' centerin' rin' and t' base o' t' retainer.
T' standoffs I thought were very interesting. Avast! I discarded t' lugs as we tend t' launch this size rocket from rails in t' UK and will be addin' buttons onto t' standoffs. Blimey! They are very simply two pairs o' thin standoffs that you glue together t' make a much more sturdy attachment for t' launch guides. Aye aye! I used an aluminium angle and drew a line, then glued these on. Begad! Once everythin' was dry and set I will add t' rail buttons.
My daughter be squawkin' through t' monitor so I washed up and went t' get her.
Rocket will fly unfinished as t' weather is nay on our side for even a quick base coat before t' launch is due, but apart from t' lack o' decals I can't see any problems finishin' t' rocket as you like.
Only deductions for t' kit are personal like nay wantin' purely elastic shock cords in mid/high power rockets, and nay wantin' t' use waddin' and t' lack o' space in t' upper section (I reckon you might struggle even t' get a cackle fruit in thar if that was your goal!) .
Otherwise very happy with t' quality o' t' product and ease o' build.
First flight was on a F120 Vmax. Blimey! Aye aye! Boost be dead straight up t' about 600 feet, deployment was good except for an overly tightly wrapped parachute refusin' t' unfurl. This led t' a "helicopter" recovery bein' called on t' flight line as t' nomex and t' wrapped chute came down with t' rocket orbiting. Arrr! Nosecone dug about two inches into t' soft field and absolutely no damage. Avast, me proud beauty! Several comments on a good flight and be probably sixty feet from t' pad.
It was pointed out that t' only drawback with me deployment point is that t' charge from t' motor may fire t' parachute up into t' body tube and wedge it. Arrr! However it was pointed out that if you were usin' electronics in t' payload bay this would be t' best place for t' break.
I do however have t' add t' that t' launch lugs had started t' split away. Begad! I am less keen on these, a single thick block would have been better.
Picture is o' t' second (ill-fated) launch
Recovery suffered from human error but I had no problems with t' materials. Arrr! Was able t' come down with a furled chute without damage into t' fields.
This is a decent quality kit for mid power 29mm engines. Blimey! T' retainer, decent finstock and design are all good, ya bilge rat, and t' rocket will be stable on pretty much anythin' you want t' put in it.
Only small gripes would be for t' standoffs t' be improved, matey, me hearties, and t' lack o' space if you don't remove t' endpiece o' t' transition or nose cone.
A note o' caution however - read below.
The Ventris is one of the first four rockets released by Estes as part of their new Pro Series II mid-power collection. While all are great looking birds, the Enerjet-esque lines of the Ventris were the clincher when it came time to make the choice of which bird would be my 50th birthday present. Components Plastic nose cone Payload section Main body tube ...
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Bas Dickson Leach (September 28, 2013)
Sorry, the additional comment was meant to read that built stock (or even slightly lighter than stock) you shouldn't try and get too excessive on the motor. The second launch was on a Blue Streak H255. This reached the speed of plywood during boost and one of the fins shredded, ripping apart the back end of the rocket. This caused drag separation of the rest at very high speed. A pro would be that the chute almost stood up to this, only losing a couple of attachment points, and pretty much everything except the motor mount tubes was recoverable.
Complete user error! But it looked good off the pad!