Thanks Tim. Good to know about prices. And true on his busy schedule. His decals are really terrific. And he will do custom work. I had him enlarge the Estes Orbital Transport decals and they were incredible.

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Thanks Jeff,
I finally got my Combi Hand Plane out and tried it again (the hand plane recommended by John Boren.). I did not try to plane to final profile, but got close. Then finished with sanding block.

John and Joe, thanks too for your compliments!

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Neal, I bought my first 24/40 RMS a little before I built my Phoenix. Since screw-on retainers weren’t around, I built the Phoenix with two engine hooks, since the aft closure had two recesses on it. I was worried it might kick out. I flew that Phoenix on E11J, F12J, E18W, F24W, E28T, and F39T reloads. I think it’s maybe my favorite RMS. I don’t recall ever using an Estes D12 in the Phoenix.

You are right about the noise. A friend introduced me to composites. He had found an E30 in a hobby store and we went out to try it. I was shocked at the noise, and the acceleration off the pad. I was hooked!

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

Did those changes on the aft end require much nose weight to keep the CG at the original point?

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Paul,

I may need to add a bit more, since the aft end is beefier than my original. I’ll check before I fly it. And at the rate launches have been cancelled here due to fire bans, that may be sometime in 2021.
I’ll need to load up one of my 24/40 RMS to install, and then check balance point.

__________________
Lee Reep
NAR 55948

Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor
In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold!
Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp

I've built, flown, lawn-darted, lost, and submerged a few Phoenixes over the years. One thing that was common to all of the builds was that I put a "switchback" type ejection baffle (Semroc EB-807) in all of them to eliminate the need for the amount of wadding needed to fill a BT80.

__________________
Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

4 out of 3 people struggle with math.

Chemically, alcohol IS a solution.

NAR# 94042
SAM# 0078

Estes Phoenix was the first Phoenix I built as a kit and remember it as being one of my favorite rockets to build and fly. It flew well on a D12-3 with a little bit of extra nose weight.

Since returning to the hobby I felt that I needed another one but refused to pay the asking price. Last year Estes had a black Friday sale that included the executioner. I picked up a couple of these kits and decided to use one to build my phoenix. Everything you need is in one kit except some wood. Like the OP, Back in my youth I experienced the issue with lower fins breaking off and the lower body tube denting in and decided to fix it.

I initially picked up a set of fins from ERockets. They still sell them by the way, but ultimately decided on Basswood for strength. I built the kit using most of the stock Executioner parts but added plywood upper centering ring because I had one. Fins were then cut from Basswood and I added alignment tabs to the upper fins and went TTW to the motor tube on the lower fins. The bottom 4 inches of the body tube where the lower fins attach also received a coupler for extra strength. It was installed using a fair amount of epoxy so the bottom of this thing is stout. A 24mm Estes screw on retainer was used as well.

I used some additional Basswood to make a baffle out of the stock coupler and added Kevlar and elastic for recovery. All of this extra weight moved the CG back almost 3 inches and required 3oz of nose weight to bring it back.

Completed without motor mine sits right at 13oz so it's way too heavy for a D12 motor but flies well on the E12-4. For fun I like to put it up on the AT E20-7