MODIFIED GOBLIN

Was thinking about modifying an Estes Goblin on my drive to work today. I already have one that I built a while back that flies awesome but I screwed up the Engine Mount slightly. The glue seized up before I could get it fully inserted inside the Body Tube. It still looks and performs great but I was thinking of rebuilding. Then I thought why not modify...

Modifications:
 - Double length of the BT55 Body Tube
 - Expand the Fins by adding curved areas (retain original angels)
 - Extend the Fin color with Body Tube Conduits.
 - Upgrade to E Motor
 - Parachute Recovery?
 - 3/16 Launch Lug

Materials:
 - Goblin Kit
 - BT55 Tube
 - BT55 Coupler
 - Balsa Wood Sheet(s)
 - Balsa or other wood strips
 - Longer Motor Mount Tube
 - Motor Retainer (or E Motor Clip)
 - 3/16 Launch Lug
 - Parachute with Spill-Hole?

RED NOVA & ESAM-58 Double Build

With the loss of 3 rockets during the last Bond Park Rocket Day and the potential family launch in a few weeks I decided to do a double build. Not sure if the cousins are going to have rockets to fly so I wanted to make sure my fleet is large enough so everyone can launch. I am in the process of building a Red Nova and Esam-58 at the same time.

They are very similar in size and build so the process does seem to be going very well in tandem. At this stage the Engine Mounts and Shock Cords have been attached to the BodyTtubes. What is left is Fin sanding and attachment, fillets, sealing and painting.

Deciding on a color selection is always hard and fun at the same time. To be honest sometime I fall asleep thinking about it (which is better than thinking and stressing about work or other things).

Did some quick mock-ups in Word and right now I'm thinking...

RED NOVA

...I guess more like Yellow Nova

ESAM-58

EPIC II Complete

Didn't take any pictures of the progress, just the finished product.

With this model I decided to take the extra step to seal the balsa wood. I used Elmer's Wood Sealer. The Apogee Components video suggested sealing prior to gluing to the body tube. I debated back and forth on this and finally decided to seal after gluing. The main reasoning was that the fins were so thin I couldn't get a wire into them to hold them during application or drying without causing damage. I think I made the correct decision and the application and sanding went smoothly. To be honest I enjoyed the sanding portion even though it seamed to take forever.

My wife has family visiting in about a month and I am trying to coordinate a trip to the field for the cousins. Excited to hopefully launch my first 2 stage rocket.

Wood Filler

Took another cue from Apogee Components after watching their Sealing & Smoothing Balsa Fins video. I am going to try using Elmer's Wood Filler to seal the balsawood fins on my next build. Probably going to be the Epic II.

Ebay Purchase - ROGUE VOYAGER

I'm not always a fan of buying rockets over the internet. I purchased a Goblin off Amazon that had some tube crushing which I assume was from shipping. Even though it was packaged in a corrugate case, the shipper they used was just large enough for the kit and the case corrugate was very low strength. I was able to smooth out the tube and after panting it was unnoticeable but it still bothered me.

 

I took a chance on eBay. A seller had several discontinues models and the Rogue Voyager (Estes 7223) with it's multiple tubes really grabbed me. A asked a few questions ahead of time about warped or damaged fins and of course crushed tubes. $14, free shipping and free returns; I thought it made sense to give it a chance.

So glad I did. The seller was awesome. Quick response to questions, fast delivery, package properly and exactly as described in new condition.

Now the problem is what rocket to purchase next.

Rocket Day - Bond Park October 2019

Another Rocket Day at Bond Park and it was eventful. Two rockets were lost and another was damaged.

The first launch was my Crossfire ISX. I didn't compensate properly for the wind and it was snagged just at the edge of the tree line. Kinda bummed because it had a nice dark green and black color scheme.

Towards the end of the event I lost my Amazon to a tree after overcompensating for wind. My son really like the Amazon because it was big and had a sporty orange and black color scheme (I opted not to use the hokey large sticker).

Funny, because the Crossfire ISX and Amazon were the first two rockets I built after restarting this hobby. The Amazon became one of my favorites, because of its size take-offs were dramatic and was fun to watch come down with it's large parachute. Both came together in the Tandem X launch set.

The showboat of the day was my son's Flip-Flier. It was the most exciting one to watch come down. We had no issues with the parachute catching during ejection. Thinking I may need to look into some more helicopter recovery systems. We were so excited about launching and watching it that I didn't take any pictures. Maybe next time I can get a video of the recovery.

Another highlight of the day was the first launch of my Nike-X.

The final launch was the my Hi-Flier. The first launch about midway through the day resulted in a partial crack in one fins. I repaired it with some superglue and decided to put in a C motor. Since I had already lost two rockets why not a third. We were able to recover it but the fin ended up splitting all the way through and the piece was lost.

RIP

BOND PARK

OCTOBER 19, 2019

 

CROSSFIRE ISX

AMAZON

HI-FLIER

As we were packing up a boy and his mother came up to ask us about the hobby. I gave them a run down of the what model rockets were, how to get started and what they would need to buy for repeated launches. I took a 'card' out of a packaging of motors so they would have the Estes name to do some research.

 

Flip Flyer Build

To replace the recently lost Power Patrol my youngest chose the Flip Flyer. I turned it into a money learning experience and had him put $2 towards the purchase. He brought is wallet (which is actually a small metal piggy bank) and he handed the cashier the coins with the understanding that he would get the rocket in exchange for the money.

This was a quick and easy build. Just had to be careful with the glue on the pins that allow the blades to pivot. I think this will be a fun rocket for him to launch.

I did notice that the parachute my catch on the coupler during ejection but I think that clever wadding placement will handle that issue.