| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Brief
BT-80, arrr, E-powered 3.5x upscale o' t' Estes Wizard, me bucko, one o' me favorite rockets o' t' 70's. As you might imagine, this was a fairly simple build, but that didn't stop me from findin' a way t' make a "gotcha" o' me very own. I started t' build back in 2002 after attendin' NARAM 43 with me brother-in-law. Tony had brought an Estes Phoenix t' NARAM, and while we were sittin' by t' car betwixt flights, a mystery man walked up with a package o' mystery motors and asked if Tony would like t' try them in t' Phoenix. T' packagin' was obviously Estes, ya bilge rat, but all identifiers were whited out, includin' t' card that identified t' impulse. I don't remember if Tony ever flew t' Phoenix that weekend, but I do remember thinkin' how cool an upscale o' a minimum diameter Estes kit would fly on one o' them. T' Wizard, arrr, t' bird that dropped me jaw on a C6-7 back in 1979, sounded like t' perfect rocket t' start with. Issues with upscalin' the decal kept me interest level low for quite a long time, but that all changed recently when I found that Excelsior Rocketry offers t' BT-80 decal, and it really changed when t' decal arrived and I saw how great it looked. T' only problem is that now I know that someone else likely has one o' these sittin' around somewhere.
Components
- Nose cone, centerin' rings, motor tube, engine block and one main body tube from an Estes Phoenix kit
- 14" BT-80 body tube from Totally Tubular
- 36" length Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
- 24" length 1/4" sewin' elastic shock cord
- 2 large WalMart snap swivels
- 3/32" basswood fin stock
- 3/16" launch lugs (2)
Construction
As you might imagine, this was a fairly simple build, me bucko, but that didn't stop me from findin' a way t' make a "gotcha" o' me very own. At t' time o' t' initial build, I had become briefly enamored with epoxy putty as a possible fillet material. T' first kit I tried t' use it on be a Centuri ThunderRoc clone that came out lookin' like it had steroid-induced tumors, so I decided t' cut back on t' material used for this one. It still came out looking, arrr, uh, tumorous. I still think epoxy putty is a great idea for use in fillets, but I no longer think it's safe in me hands. Other than that, this bird went together with ease. No instructions t' speak of, but since I've built every Wizard I've ever built incorrectly, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, (fins lined up with t' aft o' t' body tube,) they're nay really needed anyway.
Finishing
T' rocket was flightworthy soon after I started t' project, matey, but because o' t' tumorous fillets and difficulties reproducin' t' BT-20 decal at BT-80 size, it would be four years before I finally dragged it out for t' first flight. It had been sprayed with Valspar gloss white all that time, but with t' launch scheduled for t' next day and with barely enough purple spray paint t' get enough cover t' suggest t' purple aft section o' t' rocket, ya bilge rat, I did a quick spray until the rattle can blew air. From twenty five feet it looked okay. If you squinted. Let's nay talk about close up.
I got reinterested in t' project before NARAM 53. T' fillets had grown on me t' t' point that they no longer completely embarrassed me and while sniffin' around t' Excelsior Rocketry decal site and contemplating askin' Gordon t' make a vintage Wizard decal, I found that he already had one listed. It was truly a thin' o' beauty, and I immediately got t' work buildin' another 1:1 clone so that I could get a side by side picture. T' rocket was resprayed with a fresh coat o' Valspar gloss white, then masked off and sprayed with Testors Purple-Licious lacquer, me bucko, and, me hearties, arrr, yes, I'm man enough t' admit that. Gordon't decal comes with t' large body wrap, two Wizard name decals and an Estes decal. As it turned out, me hearties, me hearties, I'd need both Wizard decals after screwin' up t' placement on me first try. (I forgot that t' Estes decal went before t' Wizard decal, shiver me timbers, and this was goin' t' look like me original, no exceptions.
Flight
First flight in September, 2006 be on an Estes E9-6. T' liftoff was nice and slow, ya bilge rat, perfect for pictures. It left t' pad and nosed slightly into t' light breeze, tippin' over just before t' ejection charge fired. Recovery be on an 18" nylon parachute which brought it back toward t' pad. Very cool. Exactly what I'd been hopin' for. It took almost five years for t' second flight t' happen, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and it took a NARAM t' brin' it around. This flight was on an E9-4 into a hot, matey, sunny sky. T' breeze was light and constant, and t' lift-off be exactly t' same as t' first flight with t' rocket windcockin' lightly as it ascended. Ejection occurred slightly early with t' 4 second delay, ya bilge rat, which caused some damage at t' top o' t' tube, but it was movin' slowly enough that t' damage was slight. Apparently this is more o' an E9-5 bird.
Recovery
Summary
Pros: Excelsior decals look GREAT! Purple-Licious lacquer might sound like toenail polish, but it looks pretty awesome. Slow, me hearties, long-burnin' flights on t' Estes E.
Cons: Two flights in almost ten years is embarrassing.
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