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

Modifications:
T' Estes Big Daddy is a short, shiver me timbers, me hearties, matey, fat rocket. Well, blow me down! With this bein' t' case, me hearties, ya bilge rat, matey, thar be a large volume in t' interior o' t' rocket that needs t' be filled with waddin' t' protect t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! I am always lookin' for ways that I can reduce or eliminate t' use o' wadding. I had heard o' a similar modification bein' done on a Estes Fat Boy, matey, arrr, 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. In order t' do this, ya bilge rat, I swapped out t' motor mount that be supplied with t' kit with a BT-50 tube that be slightly longer than t' main body tube. Aye aye! T' hole in t' base o' t' nose cone was enlarged by first drillin' it out and then usin' an hobby cutlass t' enlarge t' hole until it cleared t' extended motor mount. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' rest o' t' construction went rather easily, ya bilge rat, as it just followed t' instructions provided with t' kit.

Flight:
Preppin' t' rocket is a breeze, matey, I stuffed some dog barf waddin' into t' motor tube, arrr, so that I would reduce t' chance o' meltin' t' nose cone with hot ejection particles. 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. Arrr! Blimey! T' rocket launched slowly and ejection was at apogee. Begad! Begad! Blimey! This is a nice small field rocket. Avast! Avast! Blimey! T' parachute opened and t' Big Daddy was lowered slowly t' t' soft grass o' t' baseball field. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! 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 was some residue in t' nose cone but no evidence o' melting--success! Blimey! I also noticed that t' motor mount be bent. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Then I noticed t' Estes "smile" on t' nose cone. Blimey! Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! What I believe happened be since t' parachute be loosely packed, it opened immediately, causin' t' nose cone t' stop motion while t' shock cord be stretched, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Since thar be plenty o' room in t' rocket thar should nay be an issue storin' t' extra length o' shock cord. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This extra length should eliminate t' problem.

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