June 13, 2020 Launch
 

A perfect day to fly here in the southern Alleghenies. Sunny, 70 degrees, and calm breezes.
We brought 13 models and made around twenty flights.
Thanks to my wife and brother-in-law and all their fancy camera gear for the great photos and video.

Here's the line up:

R2D2
Big Bertha
2X Challenger 1
Phoenix Bird
Maxi Alpha 3
Aero Dart
HMS Carlisle
Odyssey
X-Ray
Solar Sailer
Blue Bird Zero
2X Javelin
Ranger

First up was my mid 90's reissue of the R2D2 on a C6-3. I've commented on this flight elsewhere this week in timorleys 1301 R2D2 thread. Pretty much everything you don't want to happen, did.
Two igniter misfires, skywriting, low altitude, and a power prang summed up the disappointment.
Not a great way to start the afternoon. I've got some work ahead on this model.

Next was my original Big Bertha from 1978 on a C6-5. A nice, straight flight with moderate altitude. It's overbuilt and heavier than it should be but it works well. Recovery via a chrome mylar chute.

The maiden flight of my upscale Challenger-1 on a D12-5. Perfect flight and recovery... the first time.
On it's second run the nose deployed but not the chute. It tumbled into the hayfield and sustained minor crinkling.
I've had mixed results using nylon parachutes in anything smaller than a BT-70.
Future flights will require a plastic chute.
On the bright side it now looks even more like my original. :)

Another maiden flight: The Estes Phoenix Bird. I upgraded this one to a 24mm motor and used a 3D printed fin can.
Nice roar off the pad and a good straight flight. Gentle descent into the cornfield with no damage.
Second flight was also perfect using the 12" nylon chute from the Challenger-1

Consistent with the R2's performance was my Maxi Alpha 3. This is my only mishap with an E12 to date.
It's always been my go to motor because it's so much more dependable than the E9.
The video of this is spectacular - A 20 inch diameter fireball shot out the top on ignition.
It also shows that the model made it 3 feet up the rod, hung there for a moment, then dropped back onto the plate.
Note the ball peen dent it put in the deflector.
I scored several Executioner kits during Estes' Black Friday sale so I have plenty of parts to fix this.
Fortunately the Balsa nose I got from Carl survived intact.

MVP of the day was my orange Aero-Dart. Perfect flights and recovery four times.

Try thin mill nylon chutes. They fold up like a silk scarf. Top Flight makes them. Also available from Spherachutes. A bit pricier but sewn with individual gores, which can be of different colors. Here are several. They include a small stuff sack.

Another moldy oldie, the HMS Carlisle. Always loved the look of the starship models of the 70's.
I built this in the summer of 1980 during Rocket Week at Camp Sequanota.
Our counselor was a high school science teacher who showed up in an Opel Manta stuffed full of rockets.
He presented our group with an Estes Designers special to share among us. I also built a 7 fin Viking but lost it years ago.
He brought along a silk screen set up and made T-shirts to commemorate the launch.
We spent the week building and then flew on the last day.
The name is derived from my Grandmother's hometown in northern England. She made a trip back there that summer so it was a recurring discussion topic at Sunday family dinners.

I've never had a mishap with this model, ever. Hard to believe that something I built when I was 12 is more reliable than my newer stuff. One of my favorite flyers.

What were the motors on the 4 Aero Dart flights ?