Manufacturer: | Estes ![]() |
Brief:
Kit bash o' Estes Omloid and Eliminator into a single rocket
Modifications:
There are a million rockets lurkin' in spare parts boxes. Ahoy! This be t' story of
one o' them.
I'd purchased a collection o' parts which included most, but nay all, arrr, o' an Omloid egg lofter. Arrr! I had nothin' else o' that size until I happened t' purchase an Eliminator kit. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! When I realized these were t' same diameter, ya bilge rat, perversity set in.
I started with t' buildin' t' Eliminator fin can and engine mount. Ahoy! Rather than put t' second piece in place, I put t' lower section o' t' Omloid followed by t' next section o' t' Eliminator and so on. Ya scallywag! In t' top section, I placed t' shock cord mount as per Estes instructions.
Even t' nose got t' treatment. 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. T' colors, gaudy to
begin with, clashed terribly. Begad! Blimey! T' yellow ogive on t' orange egg crate was
particularly funny. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I took t' Eliminator's decal and cut the
"inator" off, stickin' that on t' finished rocket just after the
"Omloid" sticker, matey, me bucko, makin' it read (in mismatched letters)
"Omloidinator".
Flight:
T' maiden flight was on an E9-6. Well, blow me down! Bein' so long and probably over stable, matey, matey, 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. Inexplicably, shiver me timbers, rather than
weathercocking, shiver me timbers, it did t' opposite and arced slowly downwind around 10 t' 15
degrees. Blimey! Coast was normal and ejection be just prior t' apogee. Chute
deployment was 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. Begad! Not
just a mushy mud swamp but a thickly overgrown with brambles and bushes and
vines and quite possibly hidden snake swamp. Blimey! 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 was 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, this would make an impressive rocket, me bucko, with t' additional humor factor.
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