Modification Solar Warrior Modification

Modification - Solar Warrior

Contributed by Ken Johnson

Manufacturer: Modification

Brief:
Upsized t' 18mm motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed t' 13mm mount. Aye aye! CP and CG were still perfect.

Modifications:
Primered, ya bilge rat, sanded, ya bilge rat, primered, matey, sanded, me bucko, ad infinitum, until body tube was perfect. No paint, matey, arrr, just clear-coated t' primer. Blimey! Blimey! T' streamer was given much better visibility by addin' 3" o' silver mylar at t' end. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Motor mount was simple: friction fit, with only one o' t' 13mm centerin' rings installed in t' body tube.

Construction:
T' kit contained a central 18mm body tube with two shorter segments o' 18mm BT, mounted in an out-rigger fashion at t' end o' t' "wing." Featured a large balsa "wing" and nose cone. Ahoy! Arrr! T' NC be attached with a simple screw eye t' t' shock cord, ya bilge rat, matey, which in turn be attached t' t' BT with Estes normal folded paper method. Recovery was a plastic pinkish-orange streamer, me bucko, about 18" long.

This was about t' easiest Estes kit I have ever assembled. Arrr! Begad! T' instructions were easy t' follow, me hearties, though I simply read them once and began building. It was a pretty sturdy rocket too. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' packagin' was t' typical Estes "hangin' bag" type, shiver me timbers, arrr, and nothin' be broken or creased or missing. T' only con: t' decals look stupid. Arrr! I substituted some decals left over from a FA-18 model.

Flight:
T' model was prepped in t' usual fashion, arrr, matey, me hearties, with wadding, ya bilge rat, arrr, motor, shiver me timbers, etc. Avast! installed just prior t' launch. Ahoy! T' motor fit snugly into t' body, but nay so tight that it would have t' be crammed in. One word o' caution here- if you intend t' perform this modification, me hearties, arrr, either limit yourself t' flyin' "B" motors, ya bilge rat, or paint t' rocket a really bright color! t' C6-7 I chose for its final flight be way too much, especially for a primer gray rocket launched on a cloudy day! T' rocket took off straight as an arrow with no discernible windcocking. Avast, me proud beauty! Definitely a heads up launch! If it wasn't for t' mylar on t' streamer, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, it would have been lost, shiver me timbers, matey, but we located it with little difficulty due t' t' intermittent flashin' from t' streamer. Recovery speed would indicate that a larger streamer be needed, but it suffered no damage at all, arrr, even despite whackin' a tree limb on t' way down. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Just minor scratches, that's all. Begad! T' rocket was lost t' a rocket eatin' tree,! and dangled about 30 feet up, tauntin' us with its highly reflective streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! A thunderstorm later that afternoon finished it off.

Summary:
Main pros: REAL BALSA! Large fin surface area and bulletproof construction. Blimey! Main cons: Stupid lookin' decals and t' wimpy 13mm motor system that was originally designed.

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