Estes - Star Seeker

Estes Mini Tri Pak (Star Seeker) & 2x Upscale Clone

Estes - Star Seeker

Contributed by Steve Lindeman

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Published:	2014-06-25
Manufacturer:	Estes

Brief

Detailed & ready for clear coat

This will be a twin review. Begad! Arrr! T' first is a clone o' t' Star Seeker, one o' three rockets that came in t' Estes Tri Pack (0866) [1983-1990]. Aye aye! I built t' original three rockets back in '84 and really liked t' Star Seeker t' most but it got lost after me 2nd divorce so I decided t' brin' it back from t' grave so t' speak. Begad! T' second part will be a review o' its 2x upscaled big brother.

Components

For t' Clone:

1- BT-5 (4" long)
1- BNC-5 (2 1/4" long hand made)
1- Small Screw eye
2- Small Washers (for nose weight)
1- 1/16" x 18" Elastic Cord
5- Launch Lugs (1" long)
1- Small Sheet 1/16" Balsa (for cuttin' out fins)
2- Toothpicks (cut t' 1 1/4" long)
1- Sheet Printer Paper (for decals)

For t' 2X Upscale:

1- 1" dia. Ya scallywag! tube (that I salvaged from somewhere) cut t' 8"
1- Hand made NC (4 1/2" long)
1- Small Screw eye
1- 1/8" x 36" Elastic Cord
1- Small Fishin' Swivel
1- 12" Yellow Nylon Drag Parachute
4- BT-5 Tubes (2 1/2" long)
1- BT-20 Tube (2 3/4" long) for engine mounting
1- Engine Hook (from Estes)
2- CRs (hand made)
5- Engine Stop Blocks (hand made)
1- 3/16" Launch Lug
1- Small sheet 1/8" balsa(for makin' t' fins)
2- Wood dowels 2 1/2" long (cut from a large stick o' incense)
1- Sheet Printer Paper (for decals)

Construction

So here it is, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, end o' July and I started this project after t' 4th o' July Holidays. My original plan be t' do a side by side build o' t' two rockets and nay bother with a write-up but as often happens t' me I started t' clone on a whim (more like boredom) and had it finished and started on t' upscale before I thought t' grab t' camera. T' second one I had planned on buildin' with a BT-60 in mind. Well, blow me down! Blimey! That all changed after goin' over t' numbers and lookin' at what tubes I had in stock.

I cloned t' 1st from t' plans on JimZ's web site (http://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/est0866.htm) and followed t' instructions except for step 4. Aye aye! Blimey! Here I deviated from t' plans and installed a standard tri-fold paper mount with 1/8" elastic instead o' t' rubber that Estes uses. Ahoy! Ahoy! Two other changes that I made were t' make me own balsa nose cone (again I should have taken pictures) in place o' t' plastic one that came with t' original kit and t' add a spare orange plastic streamer (which was nay easy in so small a rocket). I added t' streamer because I remember me original one breakin' off a win' after hittin' t' ground hard from a high flight on an A10-3T.

Star Seeker Clone

Now on t' t' 2x Upscale.

I'm nay goin' into t' build for this one in this review. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! If you want t' read t' complete build for this one, shiver me timbers, click on t' link below.

http://www.rocketreviews.com/estes-star-seeker-clone--upscale.html

Finishing

T' paintin' be done in standard prime, sand, prime, shiver me timbers, sand, me bucko, light prime then 2 coats o' Krylon gloss white. Begad! Decals were then downloaded and run through Windows Paint t' clean up and size, me hearties, then after printin' them out on standard paper they were clear coated. Ya scallywag! I then cut them out and attached them with a glue stick. Begad! Avast! Rocket be then given a coat o' Krylon Clear Gloss t' seal on decals. Well, blow me down! Finally t' finished rockets received 2 coats of Dupli-color's Clear EFFEX spray paint t' give them some sparkle.

Glamour Shot With Little Brother

Construction Score: 5

Flight

On 5-17-10 I finally got out t' fly these two with a couple o' t' guys from H.U.V.A.R.S. Avast! at a club launch in New Hudson, MI. First up was t' Star Seeker clone on an A10-3T. Blimey! Aye aye! Temp. was in t' upper 50's with winds betwixt 5-10 MPH. Ahoy! Begad! Waited for a lull then gave t' count down and hit t' fire button. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Rocket smartly tried t' vanish from sight but was able t' track it t' apogee where ejection charge fired. T' streamer I added did nay unroll but rocket fell at a slow enough speed that it landed with no damage. Blimey! Avast! Will have t' decide now if I want t' leave t' streamer in or not.

Star Seeker clone on pad 2

Star Seeker recovery (Note that streamer is still rolled up)

Next up was t' 2x upscale. Due t' t' smaller size field than I be hopin' for and t' wind pickin' up a bit I decided t' limit maiden flight t' just t' core motor with only a B6-4. Avast! (Note: In case you didn't read t' build for this one, it has an 18mm main motor mount and four 13mm mounts in t' win' tips.) Great boost with rocket almost vanishin' in t' sky just like its little brother. Heard the pop at apogee and saw t' chute eject.

2x Upscale in 5...4...3...

Recovery

Parachute ejected but it seemed t' have a problem and would nay open properly. Ahoy! Rocket came down hard and suffered heavy damage. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Recovery showed why parachute malfunctioned. About 8" above t' end o' t' BT t' shock cord was melted t' t' parachute in one tiny spot. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! As for t' rocket itself t' right win' was ripped off but in one piece. Avast! T' left win' however was ripped lose but nay off but had t' wood dowel on t' win' tip broken off. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Will require some work t' repair but nothin' that can't be fixed. Will be flown again. Hopefully with all five motors.

Star Seeker 2x upscale recovery

Flight Rating: 4

Summary

Both t' clone and 2x upscale were fun and easy builds that nay only look great but fly great. Avast! I still want t' try t' 2x upscale with all five motors but after seein' damage from maiden flight I'm havin' second thoughts as t' if it can handle them with t' extra weight. Begad! Well, blow me down! Will have t' try a couple more single engine flights for t' 2x upscale for recovery system tests before goin' all out with all 5 motors.

Overall Rating: 5

Comments:

Steve Lindeman (July 13, 2014)

On a whim decided to go for it and tried again on 07-05-14 at J.M.R.C. club launch at M.I.S. in Brooklyn, MI. with all 5 motors but wouldn't launch. LCO said it was showing a short so took it back to the table and rewired it. Second try showed the same results. Gave up. Whip clips worked fine on previous two flights with my triple clustered "3D MD" so don't know why I started getting a short. May have to redo whip clips.

A8-3 in core & 4 A10-PT's in wing tips

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