Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 0.74 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Sport |
Brief:
The Estes Wizard is a basic 18mm rocket but it's a very fast and high flying
rocket.
Construction:
The kit came with 8.75" of BT-20, a launch lug, engine block, shock cord,
streamer, a plastic nose cone and die-cut balsa to make fins.
The Estes Wizard is extremely easy to make, especially since the motor is friction fit so you just need to glue in the engine block. The model uses the traditional Estes three-fold shock cord mount which did lead to some damage when flying, more on that later.
I did make a small oversight whilst building and didn't set the fins further up the body tube so on my model the root edge of the fin is at the end of the tube, I was building it late at night!
Finishing:
This rocket is pretty easy to finish, it's a good one to practice your
finishing techniques on and does look pretty sleek if you use primer etc.
I wasn't too keen on the original paint/decal scheme but I put them on anyway only to take them off and repaint following a bit of reconstruction after a few flights.
Overall I think that the construction is a little simple but it is ideal if this is one of your first kits.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
I've flown my Wizard 4 times now, three of them were on a B6-4 and another on a
C6-7. The flights are very fast and also very high, almost 500m (according to
the packet) on a C motor. But this high flight can also be quite useful to
check the wind at altitude so that other rockets don't drift too far.
Recovery:
The streamer included in the kit
was bright orange but I had some Mylar for streamers lying around that I wanted
to use so I put that in instead (the same length and width as the original
streamer.) The Mylar made tracking quite easy and I was able to see the
streamer even at the apogee of my C motor flight and follow it all the way
down.
I did have a small problem with the three-fold shock cord mount on one flight, it burnt through right at the mount and the rocket came down in two bits, although surprisingly landing within 30' of each other. Once home I tried to remove the mount but ending up messing up the inide of the tube and still having the mount in there. So I cut the rocket in half and added a new section of tube with a coupler to replace the bit I cut off. Then a few coats of primer and a new coat of metallic blue paint.
Summary:
Overall I feel that this rocket is a little too easy to build but would be
quite good for beginners to home their skills with. The flight is very fast and
high but this adds an extra challenge to the rocket.
Overall Rating:
4
out of 5
A very easy kit to build, good price. The hobby store I go to sold them in the bulk pack and put it on the shelf so it it was even cheaper :) Components Engine Spacer Engine Block Body Tube Launch Lug Shock Cord Mount Tube Marking Guide Streamer Shock Cord Nose Cone Nose Cone Insert Blasa Fins Decals It seems like a lot, but ...
Brief: One of very few good Estes little minimum diameter rocket kits. Construction: The kit includes: 8.75" of BT-20 EB-20 NC-20,plastic ogive 3 balsa fins 1" x 18" streamer ~18" of shock cord Construction was easy taking about 2 hours. You could do it in half an hour with cyanoacrylate (CA). No problems here. Motor retention is ...
This guy is a good starter's rocket, as it is easy to build, fun to fly, and yet it presents more of a challenge than the "ready-to-fly" kits. The instructions were easy to follow with basic sketches to depict just about every step. I felt that no special measures needed to be taken during assembly -- just follow the instructions! Finishing: I find the best way to finish small diameter ...
Upon becoming seriously involved as a BAR in the spring of 2001, I went looking through local hobby stores, hoping to find that some of my favorite rockets from my early years were still available. The Wizard, a high flying minimum diameter rocket, turned out to be the sole remaining holdover from my original fleet. Included in the kit: 1 - 8.65" BT-20 (BT-20B) 1 - Engine block ...
This is truly a great beginner's rocket. I picked it up, being a BAR, to get myself back into the rocket building world. I built mine exactly by the instructions. When preparing for flight, I find it sometimes difficult to pack the streamer so that it ejects with no problem. If I were to build another, I would tie a length of Kevlar to the engine block for use as the shock cord. This way, there ...
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B.L. (November 1, 1999)