Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 1.64 inches |
Length: | 30.25 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Sport |
Brief:
This is a new Skill Level 1 kit from Estes designed t' fly on t' new C11 motors. Avast! It is a tall, BT-60 based 3FNC design with through-the-wall fins, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and a 24mm motor mount.
Construction:
T' kits parts were all in excellent condition. Begad! T' BT-60 has 3 slots on one end o' t' tube for t' TTW fins. Aye aye! Die cut fins were high quality, me bucko, as were all t' other parts. Elastic shock cord be longer than expected, ya bilge rat, but still a bit short. Begad! Arrr! Nose cone was excellent w/o any flashing. Avast, me proud beauty! Bonus: A BT-60 t' BT-55 plastic transition piece comes attached t' t' nose cone, but is nay needed in t' kit. 18" parachute is pre-assembled.
T' instructions & assembly were very straightforward and clear. Ahoy! Construction was easy, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and took little time. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a cool lookin' kit which was fun t' build with me 2 year old daughter (who picked t' kit out at t' store). Avast! T' TTW fins fit extremely well, and went on w/o a hitch. Avast! No special tools or techniques were needed. I did a mod on t' shock cord usin' Keelhaul®©™ strin' around t' motor mount, and runnin' it up t' body, finally tyin' it together with t' elastic shock cord. Ahoy! T' motor block instructions are intended t' accommodate t' standard 24x70mm "D" motor casing, and can be easily modified t' accept t' larger (94mm) "E" engines, me bucko, which is how I did it.
Finishing:
Finishin' was standard stuff, although I let me chief construction assistant be t' director o' finishing. Blimey! I primed t' kit (after fillin' a couple tube grooves), then painted it gloss white. T' remainder was done w/ markers by me daughter in whatever color she chose. Begad! Its quite a sight! :). T' 'normal' fill/prime/paint would be straightforward for this kit.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
It flies nicely on C11-5's. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I used that twice as I was usin' a small field. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Straight boost t' about 400 feet, matey, shiver me timbers, with deployment just past apogee. Arrr! Blimey! T' 18" chute is probably a bit big if you're usin' a D or E engine. Aye aye! Blimey! A D12 would do nicely. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! An "E" would send this out o' sight. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! (much like it does t' a modified Blue Ninja).
Recovery:
Pros: C11's make for fun flyin' on smaller fields. Begad! 18 chute is good for that. Keelhaul®©™® mod should keep cord burnout away for a while.
Cons: Use 12" chute for bigger motors.
Overall, t' kit flies nicely and recovers easily.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
A fun t' build, sturdy, big rocket (for skill level 1) that can be a great afternoon project. Also can be modified for t' more adventurous. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Another outstandin' point: Its fairly inexpensive. List is about $12. With me Michael's 40% coupon, shiver me timbers, arrr, this only cost be $7. Ya scallywag! Its worth every penny. Avast, me proud beauty! Let t' kids paint it! Its a nice big canvas for it!
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Your basic rocket design: body tube, nose cone, three fins, engine mount, and parachute. It is basically and upscaled version of the Alpha. The kit consists of: 2 12" BT-60 body tubes with one pre-cut for TTW fin mounts 1 Tube connector for BT-60 1 5" BT-60 nose cone 1 1/8" thick balsa sheet w/ die cut fins 2 1" long x 3/16" diameter launch lugs 2 cardboard centering ...
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A. (November 13, 2002)