Modification Solar Warrior Modification

Modification - Solar Warrior

Contributed by Ken Johnson

Manufacturer: Modification

Brief:
Upsized t' 18mm motor. Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed t' 13mm mount. Blimey! CP and CG were still perfect.

Modifications:
Primered, ya bilge rat, sanded, primered, arrr, sanded, ad infinitum, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, until body tube be perfect. Aye aye! No paint, just clear-coated t' primer. Arrr! T' streamer be given much better visibility by addin' 3" o' silver mylar at t' end. Blimey! Aye aye! Motor mount was simple: friction fit, with only one o' t' 13mm centerin' rings installed in t' body tube.

Construction:
T' kit contained a central 18mm body tube with two shorter segments o' 18mm BT, mounted in an out-rigger fashion at t' end o' t' "wing." Featured a large balsa "wing" and nose cone. Arrr! T' NC was attached with a simple screw eye t' t' shock cord, ya bilge rat, which in turn be attached t' t' BT with Estes normal folded paper method. Recovery was a plastic pinkish-orange streamer, shiver me timbers, about 18" long.

This was about t' easiest Estes kit I have ever assembled. T' instructions were easy t' follow, ya bilge rat, though I simply read them once and began building. It was a pretty sturdy rocket too. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' packagin' was t' typical Estes "hangin' bag" type, and nothin' was broken or creased or missing. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' only con: t' decals look stupid. I substituted some decals left over from a FA-18 model.

Flight:
T' model be prepped in t' usual fashion, with wadding, motor, me hearties, etc. Arrr! Aye aye! installed just prior t' launch. Begad! T' motor fit snugly into t' body, me bucko, but nay so tight that it would have t' be crammed in. Well, blow me down! One word o' caution here- if you intend t' perform this modification, me hearties, either limit yourself t' flyin' "B" motors, or paint t' rocket a really bright color! t' C6-7 I chose for its final flight was way too much, especially for a primer gray rocket launched on a cloudy day! T' rocket took off straight as an arrow with no discernible windcocking. Definitely a heads up launch! If it wasn't for t' mylar on t' streamer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, it would have been lost, me hearties, but we located it with little difficulty due t' t' intermittent flashin' from t' streamer. Blimey! Recovery speed would indicate that a larger streamer was needed, but it suffered no damage at all, even despite whackin' a tree limb on t' way down. Well, blow me down! Just minor scratches, arrr, that's all. Well, blow me down! T' rocket was lost t' a rocket eatin' tree,! and dangled about 30 feet up, matey, matey, tauntin' us with its highly reflective streamer. A thunderstorm later that afternoon finished it off.

Summary:
Main pros: REAL BALSA! Blimey! Large fin surface area and bulletproof construction. Arrr! Main cons: Stupid lookin' decals and t' wimpy 13mm motor system that be originally designed.

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