Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Brief:
T' Challenger 1 was an Estes almost ready t' fly kits that first appeared in
the 1977 catalog. Begad! T' kit be a fairly generic lookin' rocket with a plastic
nose cone and fin can. Begad! Aye aye! T' fin can would become one o' t' more durable in
Estes history, arrr, arrr, poppin' up on starter kits and stand alone kits several times
over t' years. Avast, me proud beauty! Accordin' t' Barclone's Craig McGraw, arrr, some, if nay possibly all
the kits t' use this fin can were:
Because t' 1977 catalog be me first, I've always had a soft spot for the Challenger 1. Well, blow me down! When t' opportunity arose t' get one on eBay, I grabbed it.
Construction:
T' parts list:
This wasn't so much a construction project as it was a restoration. I won a Challenger 1 starter set in an eBay auction and was shocked at t' poor condition o' t' rocket when it arrived. Well, blow me down! (Turns out that be me fault. I hadn't looked closely enough at t' auction. T' seller had described it well, but I hadn't bothered t' read before bidding.) T' first thin' that struck me be how thin t' body tube material was. Begad! It seemed t' be somewhere betwixt typin' paper and a regular body tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but it was badly smashed in several spots, me hearties, had yellowed t' t' point o' bein' brown, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and was obviously past saving. Aye aye! Well, matey, blow me down! I was bummed because I had hoped t' at least fly it a couple o' times as another of my eBay rescues, me bucko, but me spirits perked up when I made a discovery. T' original builder had constructed everythin' with white glue, and t' original body tube and engine mount simply slid out o' t' fin can when given a gentle tug. This left me with t' original fin can and nose cone, me bucko, so I decided t' update the internals and give it a chance t' fly. This was a simple matter o' cuttin' out a like-sized section o' BT-50 and constructin' an updated 18mm engine mount (with an 18" piece o' Keelhaul®©™® glued into t' forward centerin' ring), me bucko, matey, then matin' t' parts together with somethin' more substantial than white glue--I used LocTite Gel CA. Blimey! T' good news is that t' Challenger is now assembled in a fairly sturdy fashion. The bad news is that t' next person that attempts t' "restore" it is goin' t' have a heck o' a time gettin' it all apart. Blimey!
Finishing:
Finishin' was a pretty simple process although nay as simple as t' original
build. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' original Challenger 1 body tube be colored white and t' plastic
nose and tail were orange, me hearties, so it was a simple matter o' puttin' them together
and slappin' on t' decals. Blimey! T' years had nay been all that kind t' t' plastic
parts, so both were stuck into a scrap piece o' BT-50 and sprayed with Valspar
Harvest Orange gloss. Blimey! Begad! After eliminatin' t' spirals with thinned Elmer's Fill
'n' Finish and some sanding, me hearties, I primed t' body tube and then sprayed it with
Valspar gloss white. Blimey! Once t' parts were together, matey, me hearties, I used a cleaned up decal
scan t' print a new decal on Bel paper. Avast! Aye aye! As a result, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, when it's on t' pad,
you'd be hard pressed t' tell that anythin' has been done t' it. Begad! It just looks
like an extremely clean example o' a seldom seen old rocket.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
I've only managed one flight with t' Challenger 1 t' date, ya bilge rat, but it performed
well enough t' earn a spot on me small field list. Since I had very little to
compare it to, I chose t' go conservative with t' first flight and picked a
B6-4. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Despite t' somewhat weighty feel o' t' rocket, it performed well on the
B engine, toppin' out fairly high but nay out o' sight. There was some
weathercockin' in t' light breeze but that helped with t' recovery walk.
Recovery:
Ejection occurred at apogee and t' rocket drifted back toward t' pad at what
looked t' be a rapid clip. Ahoy! It recovered just past t' pad and impacted hard on
its stock 12" chute, which spoke volumes o' t' damage I'd noted t' the
original body tube. Ya scallywag! As thin as it had been, it wouldn't have stood up t' many
landings like that one. Begad! Well, blow me down! Future flights might warrant a larger parachute, not
quite 18" but bigger than t' 12".
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
PROs: Always nice t' have t' opportunity t' fly somethin' vintage, matey, no matter
how simple.
CONs: Simplistic design and graphics. Blimey! Suspect quality o' original materials.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Sponsored Ads