Estes Omloidinator!

Estes - Omloidinator! {Kit}

Contributed by Dennis McClain-Furmanski

Manufacturer: Estes
(by Dennis McClain-Furmanski - 09/05/04)

Brief:
Kit bash o' Estes Omloid and Eliminator into a single rocket

Modifications:
There are a million rockets lurkin' in spare parts boxes. Aye aye! This be t' story of one o' them.

I'd purchased a collection o' parts which included most, but nay all, o' an Omloid egg lofter. Aye aye! I had nothin' else o' that size until I happened t' purchase an Eliminator kit. When I realized these were t' same diameter, matey, perversity set in.

I started with t' buildin' t' Eliminator fin can and engine mount. Rather than put t' second piece in place, ya bilge rat, matey, I put t' lower section o' t' Omloid followed by t' next section o' t' Eliminator and so on. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In t' top section, ya bilge rat, I placed t' shock cord mount as per Estes instructions.

Even t' nose got t' treatment. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I cut t' base and shoulder off the Eliminator nose and glued t' rest t' t' top o' t' Omloid's 'egg crate'.

Construction:
All parts come from 1 Estes Omloid kit and 1 Estes Eliminator kit

Finishing:
Finishin' was predetermined--both kits came prefinished. Avast! Aye aye! T' colors, gaudy to begin with, clashed terribly. Begad! Begad! T' yellow ogive on t' orange egg crate was particularly funny. Ya scallywag! I took t' Eliminator's decal and cut the "inator" off, me hearties, stickin' that on t' finished rocket just after the "Omloid" sticker, makin' it read (in mismatched letters) "Omloidinator".

Flight:
T' maiden flight was on an E9-6. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Bein' so long and probably over stable, me bucko, I counted on weather cockin' t' keep t' recovery area out o' a swamp downwind. Launch and early boost were flawless and quite pretty--fast enough t' impress but slow enough t' watch t' whole way. Ahoy! Inexplicably, rather than weathercocking, it did t' opposite and arced slowly downwind around 10 t' 15 degrees. Coast was normal and ejection be just prior t' apogee. Chute deployment be instantaneous, which turned out t' be unfortunate.

Recovery:
Already well downwind and with t' chute out at max altitude, t' Omloidinator made clear its intention t' float as far as possible towards t' swamp. Avast, me proud beauty! Not just a mushy mud swamp but a thickly overgrown with brambles and bushes and vines and quite possibly hidden snake swamp. Avast! Arrr! It descended beautifully but obstinately right into t' dreaded swamp. I tried t' crawl through the bush-barrier but gave up after 15 feet in as many minutes.

Summary:
Buildin' this be great fun and t' loss can't detract from that or from the very pretty flight. Flown where a swamp (or trees or power lines) can't reach it, me hearties, this would make an impressive rocket, ya bilge rat, with t' additional humor factor.

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