Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Estes ![]() |
Brief:
Basic four-finned, parachute-recovery rocket, me bucko, fully assembled and decorated.
Appears t' be physically identical t' t' Code Red RTF starter set rocket.
Construction:
Single body tube, ya bilge rat, four fins in a single-piece plastic casting. Ya scallywag! Avast! Motor mount is
integrated into t' fin section and t' motor retainer is a twist-lock cap.
Ready-to-fly, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' only construction step be t' tie t' parachute t' the shock cord. Begad! Good thin' with a young kid wantin' t' go fly "right now!" Well-designed model and much satisfaction in launchin' a ready-made rocket right out o' t' box.
Finishing:
No finishin' required. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Decals come pre-applied and include a lot o' detail.
Says "US ARMY" across t' side, which may or may nay be an issue,
dependin' on stance toward "rockets as implements o' war."
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
Initial two flights on B6-4 (supplied in t' starter kit) under near-zero
winds. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Up in a smooth, matey, arrr, shallow arc, arrr, chute deployed at apogee, shiver me timbers, and touched down
about twenty feet from t' pad both times. Later two launches under 5-10 MPH
winds went well. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' A8-3 barely seemed t' get it off t' ground, me bucko, and t' chute
popped well before apogee. Well, blow me down! On t' B4-4 it flew well, but t' chute carried it
quite a distance in t' wind, arrr, despite launchin' into t' wind.
On t' third flight, me hearties, me bucko, rocket took damage t' t' fore end o' t' tube on ejection, looks like t' nose cone snapped back and dented it.
Twist-lock motor retainer is almost fool-proof (so long as you turn it to lock it) but it's a bother t' get aligned due t' tight fit o' t' motor. Well, blow me down! Blimey! The retainer, me hearties, bein' below t' nozzle, shiver me timbers, accumulates a lot o' burn residue.
Recovery:
Bright colors (white and red) easy t' locate.
Needs a longer shock cord, ya bilge rat, me hearties, snap-back dented t' body tube. Avast! Recovery be a bit slow... Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! a hole in t' chute would have reduced t' chase distance.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
On t' range and launchin' in just minutes. Blimey! Good confidence-builder for someone
new t' rocketry. Only worries are about gettin' t' chute packed and t' motor
hooked up right. Aye aye! No guesswork since t' rocket is assembled properly.
No real cons, me hearties, it's a great basic model. Avast!
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
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J.R (July 23, 2004)