Brief:
A new member showed up at our launch one weekend with a MaxTrax (EST1434), a new starter set from Estes that included an altimeter payload. He had flown it once before and it had claimed an altitude o' over 700 feet on a C6-5. Begad! When he flew it at our launch, matey, he used t' other included motor, me hearties, a B6-4, and it registered over 350 feet. T' shock cord separated, but after some repairs carried out by some o' our other members, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' bird flew again that day. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

At t' time, ya bilge rat, few on-line vendors even listed t' MaxTrax, matey, and those that did had it marked as "overdue" or "not released". T' flyer in question found his at a local Meijer, and as I had t' go get cat grub that evenin' ("uh ... Ya scallywag! Begad! yea, ya bilge rat, cat food, that's t' ticket"), matey, me bucko, I stopped by the new rocket display at me local store, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me bucko, and thar one was. Arrr! Avast! T' price was a stunnin' $21.99 (list is $39.99 and t' cheapest I saw it on-line was ~$28), me bucko, so I snapped it up.

Modifications:
Recovery systems, me bucko, ya bilge rat, as noted below.

Construction:
T' altimeter is housed in a black styrene capsule that fits into t' body tube. Begad! On t' other end is a foam rubber nose cone tip that fits over t' molded "thumb" o' t' altimeter bay. Avast, me proud beauty! Despite claims t' t' contrary, me hearties, two 1.5 V calculator button cells for t' device are included. Well, blow me down! A nice touch. Mine were Vinnic model L1154, though t' more common silver oxide models 357 and A76 would last longer. Only one is required so t' other is a spare. Begad! Avast! A very nice touch. Arrr! T' install t' battery, t' capsule's rubber tip and two tiny, ya bilge rat, me bucko, deeply recessed Phillips head screws must be removed and t' halves folded open. T' battery fits in a molded holder in t' "thumb" with a flip-away upper clip, me bucko, and the altimeter is in t' body.

T' electronics are a custom PC board with a single chip covered in carrier material. Begad! T' board also mounts t' on-off switch, LCD display and shock sensor. Avast! Ya scallywag! Off-board be t' ejection-detect switch that is held open by t' body tube, shiver me timbers, matey, and closes when t' motor charge separates t' capsule from t' rocket. With only three movin' parts and minimal wiring, matey, matey, t' device promised t' be relatively durable. Aye aye! I was a bit worried that ejection gasses might enter the bay though t' two switch openings, but I've yet t' see any evidence o' that.

As I had designs on this little gizmo for some other birds, I wanted the thin' back, so I modified t' MaxTrax carrier rocket extensively before its first flight. Well, blow me down! I added a length o' 300# Keelhaul®©™® and upgraded t' elastic t' 1/4 inch from t' included 1/8th inch wide junk. I also replaced t' included pre-built 12-inch plastic chute with t' same size Rogue nylon unit, and added an HSPP-4Y Medium HeatShield from Pratt Hobbies. T' altimeter capsule is supposed t' recover by streamer, but as our launch site is surrounded by tall grass, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I added a large snap-swivel t' t' elastic and hooked it t' that. Ahoy! Blimey! Total dry weight after t' modifications was three ounces even, matey, and with an estimated drag coefficient o' 0.573, ya bilge rat, I predicted the altitudes found in t' estimated performance table below.

Estimated Performance

As Estes only requires you t' assemble t' pad, insert t' included battery and attach t' parachute t' t' shock cord, me hearties, t' assembly o' t' bird in stock configuration is pretty easy. Aye aye! Begad! As it is likely t' fail after just a few flights, though, I'd only rate this bird a 2 on t' Essence scale for assembly, arrr, needs improvement.

Finishing:
T' bird is a standard Estes BT-56-based RTF, with quick-change motor mount and the new two-lug one-piece launch guide. Arrr! T' shock cord is attached though a hole in t' body tube t' this, makin' for one o' Estes' worst mounts ever, and that's sayin' something. T' body wrap is a nice silver holographic sticker, so the bird will be easy t' see in t' air, arrr, and overall, t' rocket is a rather good-lookin' example o' t' RTF genre. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' launch system is Estes' standard Electron Beam, in all black.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' bird nine times in me configuration, on five B6-4s and four C6-5s. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I didn't get an altitude readin' once. Ahoy! I called Estes and they said that the reason t' thin' wasn't workin' was because I had it tied t' t' parachute. I reconfigured me MaxTrax back t' t' way Estes intended it t' be, swappin' out the 12 inch parachute for a 9 inch version. Ahoy! I flew her on t' recommended motors again, me bucko, with t' followin' results.

Fearin' that t' unit I had was defective, I broke out me back-up MaxTrax and flew it for t' last three flights. Well, blow me down! T' ejection sense switch on this unit was intermittent, arrr, ya bilge rat, and it took a little adjustin' t' get it t' work consistently. Ya scallywag! T' two readings I got from it were just as bad as t' ones from the first unit, ya bilge rat, and this capsule be lost in only moderately tall grass on the third flight. Ahoy! Two o' us saw right where it came down, but we gave up after thirty minutes o' searching. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' bird itself survived its repeated flights without damage.

This is how I think MaxTrax works. T' ejection sense switch starts an internal timer, which is stopped by t' shock switch when t' unit hits the ground. T' assumed descent rate is then multiplied by t' elapsed time to determine t' altitude. If t' shock switch is activated prior t' touchdown (the capsule does tumble pretty badly, me bucko, t' streamers did nay keep either o' my units pointed straight down), shiver me timbers, t' altitude will be low. If t' shock switch isn't activated at touchdown (as it will nay be when tied t' a parachute), no altitude will be displayed. If t' capsule does nay fall at t' assumed descent rate, me bucko, me hearties, t' altitude will be erroneous. Avast! While t' idea behind t' MaxTrax is ingenious, it just doesn't work in practice, shiver me timbers, at least nay t' way Estes has implemented it.

Recovery:
T' bird is over stable and does have a tendency t' weathercock. Begad! Ahoy! At 2.5 ounces in stock trim, me hearties, me bucko, t' B6-4 is late, but t' C6-5 is nearly perfect. These are the only two Estes motors you can fly in t' stock bird, though, me bucko, limitin' the altimeter t' two general altitudes, somewhat boring. Aye aye! If it worked, that is; the values I got from me two units just aren't believable. Begad! Well, blow me down! I'd rate t' flight characteristics o' t' MaxTrax a one on t' Essence scale, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, needs a lot of improvement.

Flight Rating: 1 out o' 5

Summary:
When I initially saw MaxTrax, me bucko, I imagined all t' kids that would be usin' it for their school science projects. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Once I got some experience with t' thing, shiver me timbers, I realized that thar were goin' t' be a whole lot tearful young scientists and frustrated Dads this year. Twenty-one flights on an RTF has got t' be some kind of record, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but I'm afraid that me MaxTrax's durability be due t' me preemptive mods. Aye aye! Ahoy! Given t' overall quality o' t' bird, poor altimeter design, limited flight scope and ensuin' high possibility o' disappointment, I'd rate the MaxTrax a 1½ overall on t' Essence scale, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, needs drastic improvement.

Overall Rating: 1 out o' 5