Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 3.00 inches |
Length: | 19.00 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 2 |
Style: | Sport |
19" LG X 3" Dia
24" Parachute
24mm Motor Mount - D12-3 & 5 recommended
This is a great sport flyer that builds very quickly. If you upgrade the parachute to a quality nylon chute you have a very versatile companion for your Aerotech 24mm RMS!
Construction: 4
My kit is a pre-release beta kit so it did not come in the standard Estes packaging - just a basic plastic bag. All parts were present & accounted for. The heavy North Coast 3" body tube & nose cone are top quality. The balsa used in the fins was also of good quality and harder than many recent Estes kits have used.
The instructions were very clear and leave no doubt as to the proper assembly. If you have built a skill level 1 kit you'll have no problem with this bird. If it were not for the 24mm motor this kit would surely have been skill level 1. The kit uses precut slots for the "thru the wall to the mount" fins. This makes building a snap! Be sure to apply fillets as described in the instructions - especially if you plan on using composite E & F motors.
Since I planned on flying this rocket on F motors, I made a couple of minor modifications. The kit comes with a pre-assembled 24" plastic parachute and standard Estes paper shock cord mount. Both of these components are fine for flying on the recommended D12 motor but should be upgraded IMO if flying hotter motors. I used a length of Pratt Hobbies Kevlar® line, epoxied to the wall of the BT for a shock cord anchor. I substituted a spare 18" nylon chute I had in my rangebox supplied 24. I also added approx. 3/4 oz. of clay to the nose to offset the weight of the RMS F reload.
The basic color scheme for this rocket is black with a yellow tip on the NC. Red & Yellow decals with the kit name really make an eye catching rocket on the pad.
Flying: 4
This rocket follows the usual prep procedure. I used cellulose insulation for wadding. To ensure retention of my RMS case the motor hook had a wrap of masking tape applied. I flew this at a club launch in December on a very large field so I didn't even fly it on the D12. The F24-7 reload was perfect! The Firestar igniter lit the motor without hesitation and the rocket boosted straight to about 800'. The parachute deployed perfectly and rocket was recovered without incident. Even with an 18" chute the Big Daddy was in no hurry to land. Future flights on F motors will be done with a 14" LOC nylon chute but the 18" will be used on D & E motors.
Summary:
I really enjoyed building and flying this rocket. It's construction is very straight forward and can easily be ready to paint in an evening. Like the Fatboy, this airframe has many possibilities - 29mm, cluster, staged, etc. Use your imagination and have fun!
Overall Rating:
This project was an upgrade of the typical Big Daddy to a 29mm mount with fiberglass reinforcement to the fins and lots of nose weight with a funky flame job. Modifications: This is an old style Big Daddy I ran across for $15 which sure beats the heck out of the regular retail price of ~$30 or whatever it is. So first up is the MMT. I used 30 minute epoxy because that’s what I ...
Short, stubby, and fun rocket. Flies on Estes D engines. Unfortunately I think it was just discontinued because it was not in Estes' 2005 Catalog. The rocket made its debut in the mid 1990s. At the time, kits were being made with a 4/6 sided box with a bag. This one was no exception. It had: 1 Nose Cone 1 Fat body tube 1 24mm Motor tube 1 Sheet of balsa 2 Centering rings ...
In keeping with my likes of "stubby" rockets, I decided to build three more that were around three inches in diameter to compliment my 2.6" and my 4" collection. So, I set off to get a LOC Onyx, a RocketVision Grymm, and the Estes Big Daddy. See my 3" Stubby Rocket Comparison Page The Estes Big Daddy qualifies as a "stubby" rocket because it is 19" long and has a 3" diameter giving it a less ...
single stage, 24in. parachute, 24mm motor mount, 3/16 launch lug This is a standard Estes kit. It utilizes TTT (through the tube) fin mounting for the four balsa fins. One three inch paper tube is the body tube with a 24mm paper tube for the motor mount. The nosecone is a large plastic one with the standard Estes shock cord attachment loop. Two cardstock centering rings are included. The ...
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T.T. (July 1, 1999)