GUEST's OPINION:
12/06 - "This is one of my favorite rockets. So far I have built and flown two, a 4x 18mm cluster and a 24mm. I am amazed at how many ways it can be modified. I still find it hard to believe Estes took it out of production. I may have to order some custom cut body tubes from BMS and some Fat Boy nose cones and build a few more!" (K.J.H.)

GUEST's OPINION:
01/06 - "I love Fat Boys. They are fun to build, slow, low, and very reliable. Everybody should have at least one in their fleet, and then buy a second to try a Mod, too. See “2Fat” review for my two-stage D12-0/E9-4 Fat Boy mod which is also a great flier." (G.H.G.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/05 - "I have nothing but praise for the Fat Boy. I love the fact that there is some fitting of parts and craftsmanship required to build this rocket. I guess that I am “Old School”, but I believe that a big part of the experience is in the building of (not just flying) the rocket. I have flown my Fat Boy a few times now and I love it. I took the time to carefully widen the fin slots and fit the fins so that the tabs on them reached the motor mount tube. I then filleted them and coated them with thin CA. They have survived several hard landings on asphalt unscathed. I built mine with the 18mm motor mount. I coated the inner body tube with thin CA because I planned to fly it with the AT 18mm RMS. I had the opportunity to fly it on a D13-4W this past weekend. It was spectacular. The sound was terrific and the altitude incredible. The Cub Scouts that were with me were very impressed. I can’t wait to get it out and fly it again!" (R.C.B.)

GUEST's OPINION:
05/05 - "Great kit to convert to high power. It is not difficult and is a great intro to fiberglass, adding custom motor tubes, etc. See my comments under Helpful hints below to easily fly it to 3000' or more. Always surprises the crowd on a high average impulse motor (e.g., F52 Blue Thunder) and gets applause!" (A.M.)

GUEST's OPINION:
05/05 - "I am designing one that will fly on a 38mm smokey sam GCTI G79. Should fly to 2000'" (J.R.)

GUEST's OPINION:
08/04 - "Very nice design. Very impressive take-offs, especially for the younger set. My five year old LOVES this thing! Works best for me with a C65 engine. My only real complaint about it is that it needs a real nylon chute and not the chintzy plastic standard Estes deal." (P.W.M.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/04 - "I too had trouble with poorly fitting fins. Never could get the fins to stay on this rocket. The first few flights were somewhat enjoyable, but the kit is now in my junk rocket pile. Would be a great kit if the fins and tube slots were better designed." (K.W.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/04 - "First, I hate preslotted tubes. The fins were not the right size and did not reach the engine mount for anchoring. After modification and some fighting with and a REALLY thick fillet the fins were secured. No complaints for the remainder of the build. Painted metallic blue with a big Spongebob Squarepants sticker on it with upstretched hands. Flights are very beautiful and one of my favorites. C6-3's are best but either port a hole in the chute or use a smaller one. On a really hot day we have witnessed this rocket actually gaining altitude in a thermal and had to chase it over 700 yards in only 1-2MPH breeze, even with slight weather cocking!" (J.F.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/03 - "Fun Rocket. Modified and put a 24mm mount in and added weight to the nose cone. Also replaced shock cord with 1/4" nylon and used a nylon chute. Flew great on a D12-3" (S.K.)

GUEST's OPINION:
06/03 - "Fun rocket. I painted mine with textured barf green paint and stenciled "TOOL" on the side of it. TOOL was one of those dramatic types - slow launches, low arcs, and a parachute from hell. A tad drifty. We fired him a few times with a B6-4 and got brave enough to switch up to a C6-7 (MD parks are small). The flight was flawless, right up to the point where TOOL sailed into the woods..." (J.F.)

GUEST's OPINION:
10/02 - "Without a doubt one of my favorite Estes rockets, but I have had an abnormal amount of trouble with the shock cord burning in half during ejection. When constructing this rocket I replace the furnished shock cord with Kevlar® and haven't had any more trouble. Whatever you do .... don't try this rocket with an "A" engine .... my son did and it was a disaster - funny, but a disaster." (B.Z.H.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/02 - "When I opened my Fat Boy the fins were die-crushed and not die-cut. I modified them a bit and then found that the engine mount centering rings were warped. I placed them on a hard surface and ironed them (steam setting) then place about six books on them for two days. Only then were they straight enough to install. Even after all of that, the fins still needed a lot of trimming to fit between the two rings. I give the kit a 3 for construction. J.R." (J.R.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/02 - "I, too, love short squat rockets. Instead of a 24 mm motor mount (29 mm must be insane), I opted to put in a 3 motor mount unit. I can launch my Fat Boy with 3 B's, 3 C's, 2 C's, 1 D21. A variety of possibilities. Just make sure you plug the unused motor mounts if you use less than 3! Because of the added motors, I have added weight to the nosecone. If one really wanted, they could use two different nose cones (with and without extra weight) depending on the number of motors used. Also, I use a homemade piston ejection system which works great. No need for wadding yet. I love this rocket enough build another one using the 24 mm motor mount. A single 18 mm Fat Boy seems almost disappointing once you build up." (C.E.D.)

GUEST's OPINION:
02/02 - "On my 3rd one, First one I built stock flew ok but not very high only about 250feet on a C6-5. 2nd one I modified to take 24mm motors, flew nice on the D's and pretty high on the E's and held together nice. 3rd one a made with 29mm mount and plywood fins and flew outta site on a G. It landed about 1000 yard from the launch pad with no injures waiting for the next nice day to launch it again." (M.Q.)

GUEST's OPINION:
10/01 - "I have seen the Fat Boy fly three times, and in all three flights, the rocket weather-cocked. So I agree with the review about that. If you are building this rocket, be sure to align the fins properly. The Fat Boy is very sensitive to mis-aligned fins." (A.S.)

GUEST's OPINION:
10/01 - "My son and I have built two Fat Boys so far and both are outstanding. One is stock and the other was modified to hold the Estes D Engine using the D Engine modification kit sold separately by Estes. With a D125,it's a blast. Much faster take off than a C and more violent. We had already opted for a 1/2 inch shock cord and made it two feet long...no shreds and no ripped chutes. Burned chutes were an initial problem even with the C and we tried some different fixes. We found that using "flame retardant" tissue available at craft stores works great (it's heavier than the Estes stuff and cheaper) even though it's heavier. The extra weight is not a problem with the D engine! We have another Fat Boy in the package and a bunch of the new Estes E motors. We plan on lengthening the body a bit for stability. We'll let you know on this one..." (J.F.D.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/01 - "I, too, have had stability problems with the Fat Boy. Adding clay to the nose didn't seem to help much. Someone at a recent launch suggested that because of the blunt nose and large diameter, a quicker liftoff was called for. So I loaded the little fella up with a D-21 and let 'er rip. That was the ticket! A beautiful straight-up flight, and way up there, too. Not recommended for a small field!" (G.B.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/01 - "I agree with the review. The Fat Boy is great fun. Especially on C5-3's. One problem I had, I couldn't find the paper shock cord mount on mine. But on the top ring of the motor mount there is a slit. This reminded me of the shock cord mount on the Big Daddy. So I used this. It is much stronger than the paper one." (unknown)

GUEST's OPINION:
02/01 - "I think this is one of my most favorite rockets I've flown this rocket twice. The first time it landed retty hard. That time the fins were jarred loose. Then on the same night (stupidly) I flew it again that time it knocked 2 of the 3 fins on the rocket. When I got home I hurried to fix it. The fins that fell out had broken inside the motor mount so I just filleted the remaining fin material on the body tube. I also noticed the parachute had been badly burned by the ejection gases. Now I'm afraid to fly it again it just might break apart in flight." (N.A.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/00 - "This is a very fun rocket to build and fly. I resisted the temptation to upgrade my Fat Boy. I find its slow liftoffs and low flying speeds entertaining. This is a terrific small field flyer, I fly mine out of a small school field all the time and it always comes back. The kids who tend to show up to spectate like its looks. And adults find its somewhat comical appearance non-threatening. This is a big plus in rocket-unfriendly New Hampshire. I put a decal of South Park's "Cartman" on it and got a ton of laughs and positive comments at the July 10, '99 CMASS launch. This bird makes friends everywhere it goes! Buy this rocket, you'll be happy you did." (D.S.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/99 - "I too own an Estes Fat Boy that I have launched several times. I personally like the C5-3 engine better than a C6-X for this rocket. I also recently bought a second Fat Boy for the sole purpose of going to a 24mm/29mm engine mount. As far as the problem with the large holding area for the chute, I tend to use a few extra squares of recovery wadding for my larger diameter birds to prevent the chute malfunctions/meltdowns." (M.P.)

GUEST's OPINION:
07/99 - "I agreed with reviewer. A great Beta Rocket good for someone's 2nd or 3rd rocket. I never wanted to own it because it is short, but after reading so many posts about it and how everyone puts in a 24/29 or bigger engine mount in it, I decided to give it a try. The rocket is deceiving at least for me. Being short, I expect it to take off fast but with it's high drag coefficient and it is a little heavy (over 3ozs); she has a nice slow lift-off before screaming at the end of a C6 burn. Being very wide (3"), I found it hard to protect the chute also. All 3 times I flown it, I have had melted sections in the chute. I use cellulose wadding and a combination of cellulose and Estes tissue. Next time I will try to wrap some Estes' tissue around the chute. If anyone at Estes' is reading reintroduce the Centuri baffle for this kit and increase the price by a $ 1.00. My only problem was this was the first time I use Elmers FnF to fill the fins/fillets/ and body tube spirals. I use it straight. So on the first flight(C6-3) it became unstable, flew horizontal a few feet before righting itself and went straight up. I thought I had a CATO, propellant not completely burnt but I inspected the engine and no residue was left. So I epoxy some split shots into the nose cone and 2nd and 3rd flight were straight with some weathercocking. In the end I can see why people love it but do me a favor buy two, one for "STOCK" C6 power and one for 24/29 or whatever motor you will use. She really does give a pleasing flight on the C6 engine. I like to try the C5 and see how she flies." (J.P.)

GUEST's OPINION:
"Great Kit. I installed a 24mm engine mount in mine and have successfully flown it many times on Estes D12 engines. I made no other modifications to the kit. The 5 second delay seems just about right. I have tried a 3 second delay and the chute tends to shred. On the 7 second delay the rocket falls a long way before ejection but the chute held together. My rating is 5 out of 5 because it is fun to fly and durable." (D.T.H.)

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
05/05 - "I have always loved this rocket, and a couple of years ago modified one to run on 29mm reloadable motors--the motor tube goes almost to the nosecone and is mounted on 1/8 inch plywood. I coated the body tube with 2 thin layers of fiberglass/epoxy and used stock fins coated with thin Kevlar®/epoxy, mounted through the wall to the motor tube. I coated the INSIDE of the nose (to keep the outside finish smooth and pretty) with Kevlar® & epoxy, and filled about the top 1/4 of the nose with a bunch of old nuts I had laying around, pouring epoxy to cover the nuts. This makes the rocket very stable. I usually leave 2 of the shroud lines (out of 6) disconnected so it is a combination 'chute/streamer recovery. This works perfectly--it returns close to the pad and doesn't drift. And it provides enough drag so there has been no damage from several launches. For recovery, I use a 4' x 3/8" Kevlar® shock cord (it actually wraps loosely around the motor tube) with a 12" nylon chute protected by a small Nomex® "hanky" all stuffed into the nose. The recovery parts I had left over from another high power project. The rocket was designed to handle motors up to H, but I'd be afraid of losing it! The best flights are on an F52-8T and go well over 3000'. On a perfect day I might try a G, but usually F. I fly this rocket every club launch and it ALWAYS gets applause from the crowd!" (A.M. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
12/04 - "I decided to modify the motor mount on this rocket so we could get some altitude out of it (built it for my 4 year old son). I bought the Estes D & E motor mount kit and installed it into the Fat Boy. You need to be careful when building the engine kit since its instructions have different spacing for the centering rings and those fins won't fit right. Anyway, I built the motor mount for a D motor (can always shove an E into it if we want to), then installed it and the fins as per the Fat Boy kit instructions. I used epoxy for all construction on the kit to make it stronger." (D.S. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
06/04 - "Im not sure if its the wide body tube on this rocket, but I've lost 2 'chutes on it on C launches that melted. Don’t slack up on the Dog Barf, and if you can, get a ripstop or mylar parachute for it..." (O.A. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
01/04 - "Three ideas on recovery. #1 - use a 12" ripstop nylon chute. More durable, cheaper than Estes replacements and 12" cuts down on drifting. Look on ebay. #2 - Get some bigger elastic for your chute cord at a fabric store. Way cheaper and much stronger. #3 - Instead of the paper chute mount, I cut two small horizontal slits (just big enough for your elastic to run through) in the body right about where the paper mount goes. Thread your elastic through these slits. Tie a knot inside the bottom slit and pull the excess elastic cord outside the tube, then put the cord back into the body through the top slit and run it to your chute/nosecone from there. Fill in any gaps around the slits with Elmer’s and you're good to go. Fat Boy is my favorite rocket. GOTS to get me another one and modify it for D & E power!" (J.P. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
12/03 - "I haven't had any problems with the shock cord or the chute. I used a Kevlar® cord from a Quest kit. When I luanch it, I use 5 or 6 pieces of wadding....Every flight has been picture perfect so far..." (J.R. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
06/03 - "I have two Fatboys. The first one flies on a 3x18mm cluster. I had to add a fair amount of nose-weight for stable flight. I replaced the balsa fins with 1/8" plywood, but the rocket is otherwise stock. The rocket weighs 8oz. fully loaded, and flies great. Triple ejection charges are tough on the recovery system. I had the shock cord mounted thru the front centering ring, and it burned thru. This is a tough little rocket, as it suffered no damage from the fall. I have found that using two slightly damp Brawny paper towels for wadding solved my chute and shock cord burning problems. This rocket has seven flights to it's credit. My second Fatboy sports a 3x24mm cluster. Motor retention is handled by a stud and nut mounted in the center of the cluster. I tossed the stock fins and made some replacements from .062" G-10 fiberglass. I extended the motor tubes so I could fly it on Estes "E" motors as well. This took up space for the recovery system, so I had to cut-out the bottom of the nosecone to make some more room. Like my first Fatboy, I needed to add nose weight. This rocket weighs 12oz. fully loaded. It's going on its maiden flight tomorrow." (J.A.M. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
02/03 - "This kit can be easily converted to "D" power. When I got this kit I knew I didn't want to put a little 'ol "B" or "C" engine in it. With the big body tube and large engine mount rings I thought hey, I'll just buy a "D" size tube and cut the motor mount out to accommodate it. Make sure it is centered as much as possible. Then I reinforced it with plenty of glue. That's it. I even used the launch lug that came with the kit. I did a test flight just this last weekend to make sure it was stable. It was awesome!! Must have reached about 800' on a D12-7. Have fun and be careful. All in all a really fun kit." (T.B. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
02/03 - "One of my club members showed me his solution to packing and protecting his chute this weekend. He created a "parachute tube" by gluing a bt-50 against the upper CR. The parachute and shrouds are put into this enclosed area and the ejection charge blows the nose cone, which pulls the parachute out of it's tube. This idea is something I'm going to incorporate in my future projects." (K.J. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
02/03 - "I find the Fat Boy body tube allows too much room for the ejection charge to work it's way up to the parachute unless I use a ton of wadding. Rather that going through that much wadding every launch, I lengthened the engine mount with a 2" piece of cardboard body tube that's the same diameter as the engine mount, then attached the top centering ring to the end. I did this on my latest Fat Boy before assembly. Essentially, I added 2" to the mount - shrinking the amount of space between the nose cone and the mount. I also attached a piece of Kevlar® string to the top ring, then attached the shock cord to that. It works perfectly, and now I only use 3 or 4 squares of wadding. No burned 'chutes so far!" (S.P.P. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
04/01 - "The idea of using aluminum cupcake cups as a protective device for the parachute was truly inspired. We used the technique in all six of the Fat Boy launch attempts made this weekend and the chutes performed without a hitch." (B.E. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
04/01 - "Really like my Fat Boy. I overcame the chute-melt problem by laying two flat layers of wadding right over the motor tube hole and then several wadded sheets on op of that. I also wrap the chute, shock cord in a diaper of wadding material. I did modify the building by throwing away the little shock cord that was supplied, and replacing it with 1/4 inch heavy duty elastic cord which I mounted directly to the top of the centering ring. Fun rocket to fly." (T.B. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
04/01 - "As far as the problem with the large holding area for the chute, I extended the motor tube a few inches & added a top centering ring. Also moved the shock cord mount to the top centering ring. Now I put my 12 inch chute into this internal tube with a little wadding behind it and wala no more burnt chutes. I did this after building my Fat Boy. The better way would be using one long motor tube to do this when building the kit. The added weight up top seems to make it fly straighter also." (D. )

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
02/01 - "When I was putting my Fat Boy together, I saw the potential problem with getting the chute out without melting. I added about 2' additional shock cord, mounting it in the front engine mount ring with a small machine screw-eye double knotted. I also glued a piece of BT-60 cut in half lengthwise over the motor mount tube to deflect the heat to the sides. It may help a bit, but it still was a chute eater, the final solution being to make a small aluminum foil "cup" which fits the body tube very loosely. Put in a sheet of wadding folded to quarter size, then the cup, then a couple of sheets balled up loose, then the chute without folding it. Just put the spill-hole logo in 1st, and stuff the shroud lines and shock cord in the chute. I've flown it like this going on 10 times on the same chute (12" works good and I still have the rocket). The rocket stays close enough that picking up the aluminum foil cup while retrieving the rocket is easy. While writing this, I had an idea I should share. Aluminum cupcake liners ought to be perfect for the Fat Boy. I'll have to try that next time out. My sons and I fly on a small town park field, and this is one of the few of our collection we can fly regularly on C power. (We like big, "low" performance rockets, lots of smoke, fire and noise, and we can still find them after it's over)" (S.M. )