| Manufacturer: | Modification |
Brief:
Upsized t' 18mm motor. Ahoy! Simplest modification I've ever performed; just never installed t' 13mm mount. Arrr! CP and CG were still perfect.
Modifications:
Primered, sanded, me bucko, primered, sanded, shiver me timbers, ad infinitum, matey, until body tube was perfect. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! No paint, just clear-coated t' primer. Aye aye! T' streamer be given much better visibility by addin' 3" o' silver mylar at t' end. Blimey! Begad! Motor mount was simple: friction fit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' NC be attached with a simple screw eye t' t' shock cord, shiver me timbers, me bucko, which in turn be attached t' t' BT with Estes normal folded paper method. Blimey! Recovery be a plastic pinkish-orange streamer, about 18" long.
This be about t' easiest Estes kit I have ever assembled. Ahoy! Blimey! T' instructions were easy t' follow, me bucko, though I simply read them once and began building. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It was a pretty sturdy rocket too. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' packagin' was t' typical Estes "hangin' bag" type, and nothin' was broken or creased or missing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' only con: t' decals look stupid. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I substituted some decals left over from a FA-18 model.
Flight:
T' model be prepped in t' usual fashion, with wadding, motor, etc. installed just prior t' launch. Ahoy! T' motor fit snugly into t' body, but nay so tight that it would have t' be crammed in. One word o' caution here- if you intend t' perform this modification, ya bilge rat, 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. Aye aye! Aye aye! Definitely a heads up launch! If it wasn't for t' mylar on t' streamer, me hearties, it would have been lost, but we located it with little difficulty due t' t' intermittent flashin' from t' streamer. Well, blow me down! Recovery speed would indicate that a larger streamer be needed, me hearties, but it suffered no damage at all, even despite whackin' a tree limb on t' way down. Ahoy! Just minor scratches, that's all. Well, blow me down! T' rocket be lost t' a rocket eatin' tree,! and dangled about 30 feet up, tauntin' us with its highly reflective streamer. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! A thunderstorm later that afternoon finished it off.
Summary:
Main pros: REAL BALSA! Large fin surface area and bulletproof construction. Aye aye! Arrr! Main cons: Stupid lookin' decals and t' wimpy 13mm motor system that was originally designed.
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