Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
The Zorch is me personal version o' t' Estes S.P.E.V., havin' come t' be as a result o' a trip through t' junk pile in me shop. It uses parts from one previously flown and damaged classic, me bucko, from a never completed scale project, arrr, a damaged piece o' tubing, and an orphaned nose cone. T' only new parts in this bird are t' Keelhaul®©™ and t' centerin' rin' that I used t' mount it.
As I noted earlier, this project be literally a junkpile before I started construction. There's a very good chance that t' only part o' this bird t' ever be used again would be t' nose cone. I be in t' midst o' cleanin' me shop and refurbishin' some o' t' older members o' me fleet. I had an Astron Avenger that I built back in 2001 after findin' t' transition in an Estes Designer's Special. T' Avenger was a great bird, ya bilge rat, matey, but was showing serious mileage. One particular area o' concern be t' BT-50 upper section that had been damaged by contact with a fin after one o' t' Estes shotgun ejection charges. Since the tube be glued to the transition and I was usin' a generic PNC-50 anyway, I opted t' replace t' entire payload section with parts I'd bought at NARCON from BMS. I almost threw out t' old tube and transition, but realized that I could save a good portion o' t' BT-50 by cuttin' t' damaged part away. I started tryin' t' come up with another design for t' shortened section before it occurred t' me that with a touch o' the Dremel, it could be the lower section o' a whole new bird. Lookin' around t' shop I found a partially crushed length o' BT-55, a PNC-55AC with no clear ancestry, ya bilge rat, and a set o' fins that I'd misplaced after cuttin' them out for a project out o' Peter Alway's Scale Bash. Puttin' all o' this together resulted in t' finished Zorch. All I had t' do was sand t' paint off o' three spots on t' old transition for t' fins, matey, hollow out t' transition with me Dremel, and fit a 2050 centerin' rin' at t' old bottom/new top o' t' transition so that I'd have an anchor for a piece o' Keelhaul®©™.
I sprayed t' completed rocket with a coat o' Valspar primer, me bucko, then gave t' fins and upper section o' BT-55 two coats o' thinned Elmer's Fill & Finish. After sandin' t' rocket got another shot o' primer. I settled for me fallback red, ya bilge rat, white and black color scheme, once again using Valspar paint that was left from other projects. I'll eventually print up a simple decal with t' rocket name. I'd put a picture o' a Zorch on it, but since as far as I know me Grandpa made t' word up, arrr, I don't have any idea what it would look like. (T' Zorch was somewhere in t' human midsection, but Grandpa be always vague as t' t' exact location. Spleen, kidney, colon; all o' them seem t' be in t' general area, arrr, but none would exactly look good as a rocket decal.)
I finally got this bird flown at NARAM 53 in Lebanon, me hearties, Ohio. I was surprised t' find that I had built this with t' potential for E9 flights, me hearties, but didn't have t' nerve t' try it on an E9 in front o' a NARAM crowd. I went with a C11-7 and a spacer, arrr, which be just perfect for t' field and conditions. T' Zorch left t' pad with authority and on a dead straight path. It arced over at apogee and be on t' way down when t' ejection charge fired, but it be still movin' slowly enough t' avoid a zipper. Recovery was handled by a parachute that I'd bought off o' Ebay a long time ago. T' black and white checked chute both looked and performed well, me hearties, and I plan t' keep it as a permanent part o' T' Zorch's recovery arsenal.
Pro's: Recycled parts design. Impressive performance.
Con's: Bears a resemblance t' an FSI Sprint. Sue me. If I meant for it t' be a Sprint clone, me hearties, I'd have built a Sprint clone, as evidenced by t' Vikin' 5 clone I had damaged by a CATO at NARAM.
Grandpa would be proud.
Sponsored Ads
Dick Stafford (August 4, 2011)
LOL, Zorch is the nickname of my best childhood friend.