Estes Sea-Dart

Estes - Sea Dart {Kit} (1901) [1983-1984]

Contributed by Casey Smith

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. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It is a single stage rocket with standard parachute recovery. Begad! Blimey! It was only in t' 1983 and 1984 catalogs. Avast! Blimey! They are gettin' harder t' find. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This was t' second rocket I ever had.

Construction:
T' kit comes with t' main body tube, matey, a long motor tube, and 12 fins and 4 strakes. Aye aye! It has a plastic nose cone and a molded plastic aft unit. Ahoy! It has t' standard cardboard centerin' rings and a unique nose. It comes with t' older Estes elastic nylon shock cord and mylar parachute. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! It also has an engine hook.

Estes Sea Dart Estes Sea Dart

These were t' typical Estes directions, very easy t' follow. T' rocket is very easy t' put together, ya bilge rat, it is a level 2 kit. Ahoy! T' toughest part o' t' whole rocket be t' paint scheme. Ya scallywag! Begad! I built t' forward and aft sections seperately, and then glued them together. Avast! It be a lot easier t' paint and t' build this way. Avast, me proud beauty! I did use 5 minute epoxy for t' building, matey, as I plan t' have it for a long time. Avast, me proud beauty! I coated t' ends o' all t' tubes with CA for strength, as well as t' fins. Arrr! Arrr! I did nay add spruce edges t' t' fins, as I will nay be flyin' it that much, me bucko, and increased t' size o' t' chute.

Finishing:
PRO - Straight forward finishing, arrr, t' toughest part is removin' t' balsa grain. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! No real surprises here.
CON - T' aft fins are prone t' break on hard landings. Begad! You may want t' change t' Basswood on them. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Also, don't fly on windy days and you can increase t' size o' t' 12 inch chute t' 18 inches. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Oh, and it is OOP by t' way, matey, I have 5 so I decided t' build one. Ahoy! Blimey! It looks real nice finished.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I used a C6-5 on t' first flight, it went loop-de-loop into t' pavement. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I guess I needed nose weight. Begad! Also, had a very small zipper. 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. Arrr! Aye aye! T' original still flies great with no nose weight.

Recovery:
Classic Estes recovery, works great. Begad! T' original rocket motor tube burned through after 11 years and 63 flights. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! I added a coupler and put it right back together.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love this kit, it is one o' me all-time favorites. Begad! It looks real good, and is somewhat a challenge t' build. Begad! Aye aye! It also is nay a kit you see everyday, so it gets noticed. Well, blow me down! T' main con is they only made it for 1 year 17 years ago!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

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