(Contributed- by Moe Bertrand - 03/23/08)

Brief:
Scratch built Estes Mars Lander based on BT-101. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I built this well before t' Semroc Mars Lander was available. Begad! As a Jr. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! High School kid, arrr, matey, I built and flew an original Estes Mars Lander in 1976. After at least one successful flight, t' cool little rocket eventually went by t' wayside and ended up in rocket heaven in t' late 1970s. Aye aye! Begad! By 1989, production o' t' Mars Lander be history but I was delighted t' discover Estes had issued a Mini Mars Lander kit. Begad! I built one and flew it several times…in fact it's still in me current fleet. Aye aye! Durin' one o' me many distinct periods o' BAR activities I discovered JimZ's website…this would have been around 1998 or 1999. Arrr! I eagerly perused his collection o' model rocket plans, matey, amazed that someone had taken t' time and effort t' collect these gems, arrr, arrr, scan them and post them t' t' web. Blimey! T' Mars Lander has always been one o' me favorite classic Estes rockets and Jim had t' plans online. Begad! I decided t' try t' recreate as close as possible a Mars Lander look-alike (not a true clone) so I could once again have one in me expandin' fleet. Blimey! After downloadin' and printin' t' plans, construction began.

Geoffrey Kerbel poses with three Landers for a proposed drag race

Construction:
T' basics:

• A Semroc Mars Lander can be used now that it is readily available.
• Custom "reverse" Mars Lander decals from Tango Papa
• Finishin' materials o' your choice
• Recommended engine: C6-3
• 18 inch parachute with spill hole.

I'm nay sure if t' requisite BT-99 for t' main body was readily available at t' time. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I wanted t' get started so I based me look-alike on t' slightly larger BT-101 which I already had on hand, most likely in t' form o' a "spare" Estes Saturn V kit. This kit also provided me with t' startin' point for makin' t' required centerin' rings. I cut t' BT-101 t' proper length and started workin' on t' other major components. Ya scallywag! For t' two main shrouds and t' other smaller shrouds, ya bilge rat, I used a modest CAD program that made short work o' layin' out t' radii and angular dimensions. I printed t' shrouds on suitable cardstock and as I cut and formed them, arrr, t' memories o' constructin' me original Mars Lander started floodin' in.

T' internal structure was fabricated close t' t' original specs (modified t' me BT-101) usin' readily available Estes components and parts from t' local hobby shop. Ahoy! T' nose cone be obtained online from Balsa Machinin' Service. Begad! T' decals were a different story…I wasn't sure I could find them. Avast, me proud beauty! After t' build was complete (minus any external detailing/embossin' Mars Landers are known for), I decided t' forego searchin' for t' proper decals and just paint t' main body gloss black. Begad! I painted t' landin' legs orange and t' nose cone red. Begad! Despite t' shortcomings o' bein' a true clone, I be quite pleased with me efforts are creatin' a Mars Lander look-alike from scratch.

Fast forward t' mid-2006. For t' last 7 ½ years most o' me rockets and unbuilt kits remained safely packed away through another move, matey, this time t' Arizona in 2004. Well, blow me down! Other interests had put rockets on t' back burner but in mid-2006 I decided t' unpack a box o' rockets. Avast, me proud beauty! That's all it took for me t' get involved in me latest period o' BAR activities. Over t' years, I'd seen rocketry magazine articles about other people clonin' Mars Landers in various sizes. After some internet searchin' (and through EMRR) I found Tango Papa Decals and Tom Prestia's line o' Mars Lander kits. Since I was startin' t' get into high power rocketry, arrr, matey, I smartly ordered Tango Papa's 2x Mars Lander upscale. Begad! What a kit – and what a flyer on an I211W!! I'd also picked up a couple Estes Outlanders and with some after-market decals from Sirius Rocketry I painted and finished them in Mars Lander styling. I even ordered Tango Papa's Mars Lander decal sheets for t' Estes Mini Marz Lander (Ready t' Fly) and did one o' those from me stash o' Mini Marz Landers.

At some point, one o' t' legs on t' Dark Lander separated at t' internal rubber hinge but it was still flyable. In July 2006 t' Lander took flight again at a park launch with a couple o' friends. Begad! Arrr! It may have been this launch that I first referred t' it as t' Dark Lander. Arrr! Geoffrey had an original Mars Lander he flew that day as well. Arrr! He mentioned he'd managed t' do some internal repair work on his Mars Lander. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Apparently, t' white glue construction on t' bottom o' t' rocket was pretty easy t' get into t' perform t' repairs. I wasn't sure me Lander would be so easy t' operate on, shiver me timbers, so I neglected tryin' t' repair t' gimpy leg on mine for at least another year. Ahoy! Sometime in 2007 I got brave with t' hobby knife and carefully cut around t' lower centerin' rin' and gained access t' t' insides. T' fix be easy and in no time t' Dark Lander be back together and sittin' correctly on all four legs. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I've since flown t' Dark Lander a couple more times alongside me Semroc Mars Lander I picked up at NARAM-48 in Arizona. Ya scallywag! In February 2008 Geoffrey and I tried a triple drag race but me Dark Lander was t' only one t' initially leap off t' pad. T' other two eventually launched but t' drag race didn't happen t' way we wanted it to. At an earlier launch we did successfully drag race t' Semroc Mars Lander and Geoffrey's original. Arrr! Aye aye! At t' various launches, folks have commented positively about t' different look o' me black Mars Lander, but it be about time I did somethin' abut t' "naked" look.

In early 2008 I contacted Tom Prestia at Tango Papa Decals and explained me situation. Well, blow me down! I asked him if he was willin' t' do a "reverse" set o' his standard Mars Lander decals. Begad! I was hopin' t' get a true negative image o' t' original decal colors but t' best Tom would do was reverse t' various black portions t' white and/or red. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I accepted his offer and in due course he sent t' reverse decals as part o' a larger decal order. Avast, me proud beauty! One look at t' awesome decal sheet and I decided somethin' was wrong…they were too big! I got on t' phone with Tom and discussed t' problem – he had indeed accidentally printed his 1.6x upscale decals in reverse and sent those! He agreed t' do t' correct sheet and I told him I would just keep t' 1.6x set and maybe do a 1.6x Dark Lander some day usin' his kit.

So, as o' March 18, 2008 me once-naked Dark Lander finally has some spiffy clothes on. T' reverse contrast looks really cool on t' Lander and now that I've finally decaled it, me hearties, I'll finish paintin' some o' t' details like t' landin' pads and shock absorbers and fabricate t' two antennae and install those, matey, too. Aye aye! After nearly 9 years, me bucko, I think it's about time because it sure looks good among all o' its brothers sittin' on me shelf. Avast, me proud beauty! Most recently flew it on 23 March 2008 on a leftover C5-3. Great boost and ejection. Swingin' a bit on recovery and impacted a bit hard, me bucko, ya bilge rat, crackin' one o' t' legs. Blimey! Easily repairable.

Flight:
Durin' this time period I found a rocketry group in Sacramento (SARG – Sacramento Area Rocketry Group) and decided t' join and attend a launch. Avast! I packed up some rockets and launch supplies and headed east from me home near Travis AFB. T' launch site was about an hour drive and I arrived at t' college campus launch site in mid morning. Arrr! Aye aye! I signed in and filled out launch cards for me rockets. Ahoy! Avast! I took few, if any, arrr, photos durin' t' launch but I did manage t' shoot some video. Begad! I think t' Lander first flew on an Estes C5-3 and it performed perfectly. Aye aye! I attended at least two SARG launches in late 1999 before packin' up t' rockets for me USAF transfer t' Illinois in early January 2000.

Summary:
Pros:

• At t' time (1999) this be a reasonable way t' recreate t' Mars Lander from scratch.
• Challengin' build - a good way t' deviate from t' 3- or 4FNC rockets.
• Garners attention at t' pad - great drag race bird!
• Looks great on t' display shelf.

Con:

• Very challengin' build - nay for t' first time scratch builder.

Other:
- Try t' build your Mars Lander(s) with a removable bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! By now (2008) this is probably pretty commonplace but back in t' day it was probably an option overlooked by many (includin' myself.)