| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2015-07-30 |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
Brief
The Athena is an Estes Skill Level 1 kit produced during the '90s that utilized a plastic fin unit and nosecone. My Athena, originally, built in 1990, was the first craft I launched after a long hiatus from rocketry.
Components
The components are as follows:
- BT-50 body tube
- Plastic fin can
- NC-50 nosecone and insert
- Engine mount components
- 12' parachute, shroud lines and shock cord
- Decal sheet
Construction
Putting together the Athena was very simple. It was one of my first builds and was made easy by the one-piece fin can. During the refurbishment all I needed to do was replace the shock cord and parachute.
Finishing
The Athena came with a set of metallic decals as well as a silver-colored nosecone. I originally opted to forgo the decals and just paint mine white, but when preparing it for flight again two years ago I decided to give it a realistic motif. This was done by painting the nose black, painting a roll pattern on the fin can and applying number and letter decals left over from a model airplane kit.
Flight
Due to losing my first rocket (an Alpha III) because of a small field and a powerful engine, I was careful to use only B engines in my Athena back in the day. I decided to keep with this practice when beginning to launch again, as my local field was quite small. A B6-5 provided significant thrust and the rocket arced nicely before the ejection charge fired.
Recovery
The Athena returned to earth safe and sound with its 12' parachute.
Summary
Simple yet smart-looking, the Athena was a great addition to the Estes fleet. Mine flew just as well in 2013 as it did back in the '90s. No cons with this kit.
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