| Manufacturer: | Modification |
Brief:
Upsized t' 18mm motor. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed t' 13mm mount. CP and CG were still perfect.
Modifications:
Primered, arrr, arrr, sanded, primered, sanded, ad infinitum, until body tube was perfect. No paint, just clear-coated t' primer. T' streamer be given much better visibility by addin' 3" o' silver mylar at t' end. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Motor mount was simple: friction fit, me bucko, 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, me bucko, shiver me timbers, mounted in an out-rigger fashion at t' end o' t' "wing." Featured a large balsa "wing" and nose cone. Begad! T' NC be attached with a simple screw eye t' t' shock cord, which in turn was attached t' t' BT with Estes normal folded paper method. Begad! Recovery was a plastic pinkish-orange streamer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, about 18" long.
This was about t' easiest Estes kit I have ever assembled. T' instructions were easy t' follow, though I simply read them once and began building. Begad! Begad! It was a pretty sturdy rocket too. Avast! Begad! T' packagin' be t' typical Estes "hangin' bag" type, me bucko, and nothin' was broken or creased or missing. Aye aye! Arrr! T' only con: t' decals look stupid. Ya scallywag! I substituted some decals left over from a FA-18 model.
Flight:
T' model was prepped in t' usual fashion, me hearties, me bucko, with wadding, motor, etc. Blimey! installed just prior t' launch. T' motor fit snugly into t' body, but nay so tight that it would have t' be crammed in. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! One word o' caution here- if you intend t' perform this modification, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, either limit yourself t' flyin' "B" motors, arrr, or paint t' rocket a really bright color! t' C6-7 I chose for its final flight be way too much, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, especially for a primer gray rocket launched on a cloudy day! T' rocket took off straight as an arrow with no discernible windcocking. Blimey! Definitely a heads up launch! If it wasn't for t' mylar on t' streamer, it would have been lost, arrr, but we located it with little difficulty due t' t' intermittent flashin' from t' streamer. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Recovery speed would indicate that a larger streamer be needed, but it suffered no damage at all, arrr, matey, matey, even despite whackin' a tree limb on t' way down. Ahoy! Just minor scratches, matey, that's all. 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! Blimey! A thunderstorm later that afternoon finished it off.
Summary:
Main pros: REAL BALSA! Large fin surface area and bulletproof construction. Main cons: Stupid lookin' decals and t' wimpy 13mm motor system that was originally designed.
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