Brief:
A modification t' t' Estes Big Daddy t' use much less wadding.

Modifications:
T' Estes Big Daddy is a short, me hearties, fat rocket. Aye aye! Ahoy! With this bein' t' case, me hearties, thar be a large volume in t' interior o' t' rocket that needs t' be filled with waddin' t' protect t' parachute. I am always lookin' for ways that I can reduce or eliminate t' use o' wadding. Aye aye! I had heard o' a similar modification bein' done on a Estes Fat Boy, me hearties, me bucko, so I decided that this be t' perfect kit t' try it on.

T' modification consists o' extendin' t' motor mount so that it extends into t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! In order t' do this, I swapped out t' motor mount that was supplied with t' kit with a BT-50 tube that was slightly longer than t' main body tube. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' hole in t' base o' t' nose cone was enlarged by first drillin' it out and then usin' an hobby knife t' enlarge t' hole until it cleared t' extended motor mount. Ya scallywag! T' rest o' t' construction went rather easily, arrr, as it just followed t' instructions provided with t' kit.

Flight:
Preppin' t' rocket is a breeze, I stuffed some dog barf waddin' into t' motor tube, so that I would reduce t' chance o' meltin' t' nose cone with hot ejection particles. Blimey! T' parachute be loosely dropped into t' large cavern that is left in t' body, and a motor was installed. T' launch was on a D12-5. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' rocket launched slowly and ejection be at apogee. Avast! This is a nice small field rocket. Well, blow me down! T' parachute opened and t' Big Daddy was lowered slowly t' t' soft grass o' t' baseball field. Ahoy! Aye aye! I must say that I do like t' slow liftoffs and noise this combination produces.

Recovery:
When I recovered t' rocket I noticed that thar be some residue in t' nose cone but no evidence o' melting--success! I also noticed that t' motor mount was bent. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Then I noticed t' Estes "smile" on t' nose cone. Begad! What I believe happened was since t' parachute be loosely packed, it opened immediately, ya bilge rat, causin' t' nose cone t' stop motion while t' shock cord was stretched, then t' body o' t' rocket was catapulted into t' nose cone.

I have since lengthened t' shock cord t' four times t' length o' t' stock cord. Ya scallywag! Since thar be plenty o' room in t' rocket thar should nay be an issue storin' t' extra length o' shock cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! This extra length should eliminate t' problem.

Summary:
Overall this was modification was a success as thar be no evidence o' meltin' in t' nose cone and preparation o' t' rocket uses a minimal amount o' wadding. Begad! T' other problem is totally unrelated and should be solved with t' longer shock cord.