Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Published: | 2011-05-22 |
Diameter: | 1.64 inches |
Length: | 16.00 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 2 |
Style: | Sport |
Sometimes a kit arrives in t' mail and you immediately question the state o' mind you were in when you bought it. T' Estes D.A.R.T. Blimey! was that kit for me. Picked up in an Ebay deal, shiver me timbers, I swear I have no idea what would have possessed me t' even think o' buyin' such an odd lookin' rocket. T' D.A.R.T. Well, blow me down! is a pretty standard 3fnc rocket hindered by a paint scheme that makes it look like t' love child o' t' Cat In T' Hat. That said, me bucko, matey, it turned out t' be a pretty decent performer.
Instructions were typical Estes, well written and illustrated with nothin' resemblin' a "gotcha". T' build itself was very standard, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, with t' only change I made bein' t' obligatory one o' swappin' in some Keelhaul®©™ and a longer piece o' sewin' elastic for t' tri-fold mount and too short rubber band that t' kit came with. Fins were first glued on with LocTite Gel CA, shiver me timbers, then secured further with double glue fillets o' Elmer's Wood Glue.
Finishin' wasn't terribly hard, but it did pose t' only challenge o' t' entire build. After t' glue had dried, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' entire rocket be shot with a double coat o' Valspar primer, then two coats o' thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish, me hearties, ya bilge rat, sandin' betwixt coats. Since t' entire body is t' be painted blue, me bucko, t' only thin' t' do was decide what blue that might be. After almost ten years back in t' hobby, one tends t' accumulate a large amount o' orphaned spray cans whose contents can only be determined by checkin' t' nozzle. That was exactly what happened in this case. T' blue is a bright metal flake that has long since lost any identifyin' label, but never seems t' run out. I wish I knew where I'd bought it, because it sprays nicely and never seems t' run, me hearties, ya bilge rat, rare for a metallic paint in me experience. T' nose cone be sprayed with Valspar gloss white, arrr, then masked off and sprayed with Valspar Apple Red. When t' paint had dried, I began t' pull t' maskin' tape off and some o' t' white paint came with it, me bucko, me bucko, but none o' t' red. Nay wantin' t' do a repaint and since it easily passed t' ten foot test, arrr, I left well enough alone.
T' first D.A.R.T. Well, blow me down! Avast! launch took place on a typically breezy VOA day, another o' those circumstances where t' dead calm at home became an iffy flyin' prospect at t' field. I don't drive 45 minutes t' turn around and go home, so I put up four first timers. T' D.A.R.T. Aye aye! Aye aye! left t' pad with authority on an Estes C6-5, cockin' hard into t' brisk breeze. Despite t' windcock, t' flight was high and nicely stable over t' south end o' t' field. I started walkin' t' t' south at ejection, but stopped almost immediately when it became apparent that t' rocket was goin' t' come back close t' t' pad, if nay over it. T' D.A.R.T. hit the ground hard, tail first, ya bilge rat, but sustained no damage despite one fin burrowin' itself in t' soft dirt.
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