Modification Solar Warrior Modification

Modification - Solar Warrior

Contributed by Ken Johnson

Manufacturer: Modification

Brief:
Upsized t' 18mm motor. Well, blow me down! Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed t' 13mm mount. CP and CG were still perfect.

Modifications:
Primered, sanded, primered, sanded, matey, ad infinitum, arrr, until body tube was perfect. No paint, just clear-coated t' primer. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' streamer was given much better visibility by addin' 3" o' silver mylar at t' end. Blimey! Begad! Motor mount was simple: friction fit, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, me hearties, arrr, mounted in an out-rigger fashion at t' end o' t' "wing." Featured a large balsa "wing" and nose cone. Begad! Blimey! T' NC be attached with a simple screw eye t' t' shock cord, shiver me timbers, which in turn be attached t' t' BT with Estes normal folded paper method. Ahoy! Blimey! Recovery be a plastic pinkish-orange streamer, about 18" long.

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

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

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

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