Estes Astron Sprint XL

Estes - Astron Sprint XL {Kit} (007224) [2013-]

Contributed by Ken Hubal

Construction Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Published: 2013-06-18
Diameter: 1.64 inches
Length: 22.80 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 2
Style: Sport

Brief

A skill level 2 competition design with elliptical fins, parabolic nose, matey, and tailcone. Arrr! Designed t' fly on C11, arrr, D12, and E type motors.

Components

T' kit contained high grade balsa fins which required very little filling, shiver me timbers, a very well made molded plastic nose and tailcone. Begad! Aye aye! T' nose was a definite improvement over other Estes kits as thar be very little seam that needed t' be filled prior t' painting.

T' tailcone be attached t' t' bottom o' t' nose cone and required cuttin' t' separate, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, a feature that I feel Estes can and should do away with.

Construction

As for buildin' t' kit, it took less than an hour t' accomplish usin' 5 minute epoxy.  T' instructions were absolutely worthless with mislabelin' o' one part. Estes REALLY needs t' improve t' quality o' their instructions included with their kits!!

All o' t' parts fit together well with very little t' no sandin' required.

Finishing

Finishin' t' kit be simple and straightforward. T' supplied decals were O.K. but I've seen and used better. Blimey! As mentined previously, t' balsa fins had a fairly tight grain which required little finishin' t' achieve a smooth surface. Blimey! Begad! Paintin' be easy as t' paint scheme is simple.

Construction Score: 3

Flight

A C11 is more than sufficient for flyin' this model. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! A D12 will require a decent sized flyin' field. Well, blow me down! Avast! An E9 will most likely risk loosin' t' rocket and is far too much power for this model.

Flight prep is easy. 

Recovery

T' supplied parachute worked well and recovery was easy when usin' a C11.  A D12 will require a larger field and an E9 is simply too much power for this very lightweight model. Ahoy! Unless you can easily track it from launch t' recovery, I would nay suggest t' use o' an E9 motor.

Flight Rating: 3

Summary

T' only con against this product be t' poorly written instructions that came with it.  As was stated earlier, ya bilge rat, thar be a part that is mislabeled.  This could be a serious problem for t' novice builder.

Estes really needs t' rework t' way their instructions are written and pay more attention t' t' typographical errors!  As a veteran o' t' hobby, I see this as a serious problem that Estes needs t' address!

 

Overall Rating: 3

Flights

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