Because I had this rocket as a kid, and was looking for interesting ways to use up my Estes Designer's kit, it brought back memories of flying this rocket as a 'youngster'. I very seriously doubt that the one I had back then was built as well, or as accurately, but I always did like the way it flew. I thought the payload section on it was kind of lame, because I wasn't into torturing bugs, or animals with my rockets, nor cleaning up the potential mess that could result, so in this version, I opted to leave that out, though it could certainly be added later if desired.

In trying to dig up my childhood, I had my Mom look for my old rockets in some of her hidden storage spots, but there was nothing there. I believe that this rocket, along with my helicopter blade-less Helio Copter were lost when I moved once. I had long since lost the booster (or burnt it through, I'm not sure, I don't remember) so I figured it was just better to re-build it. Knowing now what I didn't know then certainly made the difference with the construction quality. The fins are actually 120° apart, and they extend straight out from the body tube, which is a plus. They are also straight this time. The most time consuming part of this was actually trying to find the proper dimensions and proportions of the original. I had drawn one in AutoCAD (love that program) and it looked about right, but once I found some reference I realized how far off I really was.

This wasn't meant for high power or anything, so it's just a straight estes kit without the supplied materials all nice, and pre-cut. Kind of boring, I know, but it brings back fond memories of chasing rockets at El Mirage, and Glamis when I was younger.

This rocket is super-simple. There isn't much about it that is complicated, or even difficult. My biggest challenge was determining the original size of all of the components. Fortunately, the person that supplied Jim-Z's site with the plans for this rocket, went the extra step, and not only scanned the un-cut fin sheets, but also gave a length for all of the un-named components. In theory, you can use Estes' part numbers, referenced with my Estes Body Tubes page in the Data section on this site, but that doesn't always equate very well.

Once all of that information is gathered, you simply cut your fins, sand them to match, round the leading edge of each (remember, three of them are mounted backwards) and glue it all together. Then it's just a bit of fitment adjustment, and some paint, and you're done. I did NOT however, follow Estes' indications for how long the shock cord needs to be, and I used some of my stock from Joann's Fabrics of 1/8" wide elastic. I made my shock cord about 4 times the length of the sustainer's body, just to make sure that the nose cone won't stretch it all the way out, and then snap the nose cone back into the body tube upon ejection. For smaller rockets, this can get fairly excessive, so use that as a general rule of thumb, and think not of mass, or length, but of the possible inertia stored in the nose cone when it is separating. If your nose cone is heavier, and you are using elastic, you may want to use more elastic, but a featherweight nose cone can use much less, because air resistance will help slow it down, and absorb some of that energy before the shock cord comes into play.