| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2014-09-03 |
| Diameter: | 0.98 inches |
| Length: | 7.70 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
| Skill Level: | 1 |
| Style: | Clone, Sport |
Brief
T' Flutter-By is an Estes reproduction o' a classic Centuri kit. It's a two-piece rocket with break apart recovery, and seemed t' be a perfect kit t' take along for an afternoon o' B6-4 Field flying. I picked mine up durin' t' Great Christmas Sale o' 2013, almost as an afterthought. (T' price be give-away cheap.) Although it was an afterthought, it was t' first kit out o' t' three box stash that I built.
Components
- Main body tube - Estes BT-50
- Nose cone
- Booster engine mount tube
- Engine hook
- Engine block
- Adapter ring
- Clay
- Launch lug
- Decal
- Laser cut balsa fin stock
Construction
In order t' get this kit t' build correctly I was forced t' do somethin' that I hadn't done in years; CONSULT THE INSTRUCTIONS!
I see you're shocked.
Yes, I read t' instructions for a change, ya bilge rat, and I'm nay ashamed t' admit it because t' rocket actually went together correctly, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me hearties, somethin' that I can't say for sure would have happened if I'd gone about t' build in me normal "check t' instructions t' see where t' decals go" build mode. T' begin with, I made a mistake. I used regular white glue in t' construction o' t' Flutter-By, matey, somethin' that I paid for later when t' glue melted due t' t' heat o' t' engine after t' flight. If I were buildin' another one, I'd go with somethin' a bit stronger, me bucko, possibly epoxy, me hearties, me hearties, which would seem t' be overkill, me hearties, but would likely stand up better t' t' heat.
Overall, me bucko, construction is very straightforward and the instructions are clear. Only linin' up t' support strakes on t' fins caused any issues. T' line is marked on one side o' t' fins, me hearties, and appears t' be burned in by t' laser. T' strake on t' marked side is simple t' line up. On t' opposite side you need t' line it up by eyeballin' it against t' one on t' other side. Nay anythin' that's goin' to cause you t' lose sleep, matey, shiver me timbers, but kind o' a pain. Other than that it was a simple matter o' mountin' t' fins on t' body tube and motor tube and permanently attachin' t' nose cone. (I chose epoxy.)
Finishing
I loved t' finishin' process with this kit. Once construction was finished, arrr, t' rocket be assembled into flight trim and sprayed with Valspar primer. Balsa grain and tube spirals were lessened with t' usual application o' thinned Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler, shiver me timbers, two coats, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, sandin' betwixt coats. T' rocket be reprimed, shiver me timbers, then sprayed with two coats o' Testors Silver. T' rocket be then pulled apart and t' bottom section masked before bein' sprayed with Testor's Candy Apple Red. I first attempted t' tape off t' centerin' rings and upper portion o' t' bottom section, but realized that it would be easier just t' find a piece o' scrap BT-50 t' place over t' rings and tube. Worked like a charm. Ya scallywag! T' decal had been misplaced, me hearties, but I found it just before t' third flight. Blimey! Not t' greatest reproduction ever, ya bilge rat, but it looked good from ten feet.
Flight
With t' Flutter-By in primer, shiver me timbers, I got a day too good t' waste for late December. Bright and sunny, largely windless, with temps that made it comfortable t' work without gloves. Best o' all, me hearties, matey, arrr, B6-4 Field be EMPTY! T' Flutter-By was t' sixth flight o' t' day, and t' 155th for t' year on t' way t' a new personal record o' 160. I went conservative and chose an A8-3 for t' flight after havin' some rogue breeze issues t' deal with earlier. WAY conservative. T' flight was more like a front yard flight instead o' an athletic field flight, maybe 150'-200' at best. It windcocked pretty severely, ya bilge rat, which made t' ejection and recovery an adventure. It was pointed down at ejection, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and the top half shotgunned toward Woodfill Avenue, landin' up near the top o' t' hill within a foot o' t' "last flight asphalt". T' bottom section wound up down on t' playin' field near t' left field manhole cover. (You can't make this up. It's an athletic field, WITH A MANHOLE COVER IN THE MIDDLE OF IT!!) Both parts were unscarred by t' big bang ejection.
Havin' earned its paint, flight #2 occurred well into t' new year. T' day was windier, shiver me timbers, but t' wind turned out t' be less o' a problem since I set up at t' bottom o' t' big hill, which shielded me from t' worst o' t' breezes. T' B6-4 flight took several tries t' get off t' rod, me hearties, likely due t' t' batteries nay bein' able t' handle t' rapid-fire launches. After gettin' a rest, me bucko, t' Flutter-By left t' pad with authority, me hearties, flyin' t' t' 450'-500' mark. At ejection, both pieces recovered within 100 feet o' each other. Ya scallywag! T' engine section was hot t' t' touch, so much so that it melted t' glue fillets, arrr, causin' t' fins t' wobble t' t' touch. The engine be also stuck. Blimey! Begad! I let it cool down while I finished with t' rest o' t' box and t' motor slid right out. T' glue also firmed back up.
T' third flight be at t' tail end o' a Sunday launch at B6-4 Field. Havin' successfully used a B6-4 on t' previous flight, me hearties, I felt pretty confident goin' with it again. Avast! Flyin' into a generally calm sky, t' Flutter-By left t' pad and immediately arced over behind me in t' direction o' t' school. I turned t' look for it and heard t' last o' t' propellant burn off, but never could pick it up in t' sky, nor could I hear an ejection charge. Begad! I went up and walked t' grounds around t' school, ya bilge rat, but found nothing. Ahoy! Ahoy! Time t' build a new Flutter-By.
Recovery
Since this model is break-apart recovery thar's a bit more at play here than normal. T' Flutter-By is fairly heavy and t' more robust Estes ejection charges can turn t' nose section o' t' rocket into quite a nasty projectile if it happens t' be pointed down at ejection. That was t' case on both o' me flights, which leads me t' believe that a B6-2/C6-3 might be t' way t' go based on t' size o' t' field.
Summary
Pros: Ease o' construction without bein' RTF. Centuri fret buzz in an updated form. Small field performance.
Cons: Weight and overall bulk. Decal looks like it was an afterthought. Nose section hits heavy on recovery.
Other Reviews
- Estes Flutter-By By Tom Markel (June 13, 2011)
Brief The Flutter-By is a stubby, futuristic rocket with an uncommon, two-piece tumble recovery method. Components Good quality balsa. Easyto separate the parts, including the strakes. Nice large green adapter ring to slide the lower fin unit into the body. Typical engine hook. Construction Well-designed kit. Overall good instructions. A few modifications are ...
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Flights
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Ken E. Coyote (March 27, 2015)
Read through the flight reports and you'll see at least 3 B6 flights (including mine) where the rocket (or half) were lost, so I would suggest only flying this rocket on A8-3s or find a really big and clear launch area with soft ground. Also the fins are quite large while only a small portion of it attaches to the tube...weak design in my opinion. If I were to rebuild I would put some kind of paper or fiberglass wrap around the tube over to the fins to strengthen that...especially since this rocket is tumble recovery, which isn't too kind on weak points.