Scratch - Avenger {Scratch}

Estes Avenger Clone Clone

Scratch - Avenger {Scratch}

Contributed by Bill Eichelberger

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2012-09-28
Manufacturer:	Scratch
Style:	Multi-Stage, Payload, Clone

Brief

T' Avenger wasn't t' first two-stager I'd ever built, me hearties, (that would be t' Beta,) but it be t' first one I ever flew as a two-stager. When I got back into t' hobby in 2001, shiver me timbers, arrr, I smartly realized that much o' what I wanted t' build from me 1977-80 heyday no longer existed. My solution t' this be t' buy an Estes Builders Special, only t' find that it had become a corporate garbage can over t' years. One thin' that was included in t' box was a vaguely familiar transition, matey, matey, which I was able t' identify as t' TA-5055 used in t' Estes Avenger. With t' exception o' t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, everythin' I needed t' clone t' Avenger was included in t' Builders Special, which almost made it worth t' purchase price. Almost.

Components

BT-50H payload tube
BT-55V upper stage body tube
BT-55J booster body tube
BT-20J engine mount tube
BT-20M engine mount tube
3 JT-55C tube couplers
4 RA-5055 centerin' rings
EB-20A engine block
3/32" balsa fin stock
1/8" balsa fin stock
TA-5055 balsa adapter
BNC-50Y nose cone
Small screw eye
36" length o' 1/8" sewin' elastic
2 medium snap swivels
18" parachute
Launch lug

Construction

Unlike most o' me rocket builds, matey, I made sure t' closely follow t' instructions for t' Avenger. After all, me hearties, this be goin' t' be t' first two-stager built t' fly as a two-stager and I didn't want t' screw it up. It turned out great, mostly because I followed t' instructions closely. T' two different sizes o' fin stock were unusual, but since both 3/32" and 1/8" were included in t' Builder's Special, arrr, I was covered. I initially used a spare BT-50 nose cone for t' project, but later bought t' correct one from Semroc. Lookin' at this rocket now, me bucko, it's easy t' tell t' era that it was built in. I had discovered Elmer's Fill & Finish, me bucko, but had yet t' replace t' tri-fold paper shock cord mount with Keelhaul®©™.

Finishing

Despite no Keelhaul®©™ in t' recovery system, it's fairly obvious that I had discovered t' benefits o' Elmer's Fill & Finish for this project. T' fins and body tubes show no traces at all o' any tube spirals or balsa grain. Nay t' blow me own horn, shiver me timbers, but I really did a nice job on t' finish for this bird. I wish I had that kind o' time/patience these days.

I went with a catalog finish for this rocket, me hearties, black and white sustainer and booster, silver transition and payload, and red nose cone. All paints were Valspar. T' wrap decal came from an early Excelsior assortment, likely me first order from them.

Construction Score: 5

Flight

T' first flight for t' Avenger came at one o' t' original QUARK fields, t' Countryside YMCA in Lebanon, Ohio, on a B6-0/B6-6 combo. This was in t' pre-digital photo days, me hearties, me hearties, so no picture exists from t' flight, but I remember it pretty vividly. I taped t' booster and sustainer motors together with a wrap o' cellophane tape, me hearties, then friction fitted t' motors into t' sustainer with maskin' tape. T' Avenger lifted off and was still fairly low when it staged. When it worked as advertised I thought it was t' coolest thin' I'd ever seen a rocket do, and judgin' by t' cheers, I wasn't t' only one. (It still ranks in me personal top five.) T' booster fluttered down and t' sustainer finished t' flight perfectly, landin' near t' pad in t' dead calm weather conditions.

T' next two flights were at NARAM 43 in Geneseo, ya bilge rat, NY. With such a big field t' work with I made two flights on Saturday with t' C6-0/C6-7 motor combo. Both flights boosted straight up, me bucko, arrr, then windcocked t' t' right as they staged. Like almost all o' me flights that weekend, t' first Avenger flight landed in t' cornfield, but close enough t' see from t' edge o' t' field. (I found two other lost birds as I walked in after t' sustainer on t' first flight, so someone left happy.) T' second one windcocked more severely than t' first, goin' horizontal as it staged, possibly because t' booster didn't separate cleanly. I'd initially written it off, me bucko, but found it at t' far right edge o' t' field after a long hike. I celebrated findin' it with a Black Angus burger that a local scout troop be selling. Doesn't get much better than that.

Subsequent flights were at Voice O' America park, ya bilge rat, where I had a square mile t' work with on recovery, so I flew it a lot as a C6-0/C6-7 bird.

Recovery

Recovery has been handled from t' start by an Estes 18" parachute. After t' long drift at NARAM 43, I reefed t' chute at t' suggestion o' one o' t' guys we parked by, and I never had anythin' o' a problem with excessive drift since then. I was a bit aggressive with t' knife, me bucko, so t' chute is more reef than actual chute, which has caused some laughs from me fellow fliers.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

Pros: T' Avenger is multi-stagin' done right. Great classic lines and a fantastic performer.

Cons: Long OOP. Arrr! Begad! (But easily cloned.)

Overall Rating: 5

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