Estes Maxi Alpha 3 flight gone bad....

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Leo

Leo

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OK, so I am doing what I've been doing for over 30 years.

Fly a simple model rocket... no thrills, no spills.... so I thought!

MA3_FAIL.jpg


Yep, it was the owners fault!

Nomatter... poo happens...

To keep as much of the original rocket as possible I striped only that what couldn't be repaired.
I got a spare body tube and cut it out to make it fit to the original body tube:

MA3_Repair_1.jpg


I then filled in the gaps and gave it grey primer...

MA3_Repair_2.jpg


and then white primer. Next I masked off the lower decal and gave the body tube 3 coats of white paint:

MA3_Repair_3.jpg


Voila... Body tube repaired :) I also needed to paint a new nose cone because the original was completely cracked up.

MA3_Repair_4.jpg


She will be back in the air at NSL 2015 :)
 
Had the same thing happened to mine- glad you could repair yours, it looks great!

Nate
 
Excellent repair work!

It looks like you have two pieces of launch lug glued to the stuffer tube and notches in the forward centering ring to match. What are those for?

It also looks like you "splinted" the stuffer tube. I'd say that might be a good mod for this rocket in general. I've had two MAIII rockets develop atherosclerosis of the stuffer tube for some reason. I don't know if it is hot gases or what, but the tubes start to pinch in a bit and create a restriction. I'm thinking that reinforcing the tube during the build might help with that.
 
Leo said:
I didn't pay attention and used a plugged motor
facepalm.gif
Click to expand...

Oops...

I've had a few mishaps with the MAIII. It flies great on E12 and D12 motors, but is a little underpowered on E9's. I like the E9 for some cool slow flights, but you don't want to combine a MAIII with an E9-6 and a breeze --- 3, 2, 1, weathercock, cruise missile, LAWNDART!!!
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Excellent repair work!

It looks like you have two pieces of launch lug glued to the stuffer tube and notches in the forward centering ring to match. What are those for?

It also looks like you "splinted" the stuffer tube. I'd say that might be a good mod for this rocket in general. I've had two MAIII rockets develop atherosclerosis of the stuffer tube for some reason. I don't know if it is hot gases or what, but the tubes start to pinch in a bit and create a restriction. I'm thinking that reinforcing the tube during the build might help with that.
Click to expand...


Here you go: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?53754-Maxi-Alpha-3-(in-pieces)

The yellow tube was necessary to repair the crumpled stuffer tube.
 
That's a bummer, but sometimes repairing rockets is actually as enjoyable as building them.
 
Leo said:
I didn't pay attention and used a plugged motor
facepalm.gif
Click to expand...

Well, I guess if you fly rockets for 30 years, at some point, everything is going to happen sooner or later...

Just think, it is like all of the fun of building a new rocket, without the expense of actually buying a new kit! Win-win, in a way, I'd say!
 
Good job on the repair. I picked up one of these about a month ago, haven't started it yet. Any gotchas on it? I'm debating ditching the plastic fin unit (never been a fan of those) and laminating some balsa through wall fins and then replacing the bottom BT. But then, maybe I'll build it stock. My problem is I have too many projects to work on. I just two days ago picked up a Semroc Cherokee D kit and I have several others to either start working on or finish. I have an Outlander, a Semroc Trident, and a Sirius Interrogator to finish and an Estes V2, a Semroc Little Joe II, a Semroc Mars Lander, and the Semroc Cherokee D to start working on. Too many projects, too little time!:grin:


Mike
 
MikeCr said:
Good job on the repair. I picked up one of these about a month ago, haven't started it yet. Any gotchas on it? I'm debating ditching the plastic fin unit (never been a fan of those) and laminating some balsa through wall fins and then replacing the bottom BT. But then, maybe I'll build it stock. My problem is I have too many projects to work on. I just two days ago picked up a Semroc Cherokee D kit and I have several others to either start working on or finish. I have an Outlander, a Semroc Trident, and a Sirius Interrogator to finish and an Estes V2, a Semroc Little Joe II, a Semroc Mars Lander, and the Semroc Cherokee D to start working on. Too many projects, too little time!:grin:


Mike
Click to expand...


Wow, you do have a lot of projects lined up!

The plastic fins can be a pain, but they are also part of what makes the kit so easy to slap together in one afternoon. I've started using epoxy to fillet the fin roots. First, rough up the plastic roots a bit with sandpaper and do the same for the cardboard where the fin roots contact it. That will make the fins more durable.

If you ditch the fin unit, which also includes the aft and middle centering rings, and you also get rid of the lower BT, you are replacing a lot of the rocket.
 
ThirstyBarbarian said:
Wow, you do have a lot of projects lined up!

The plastic fins can be a pain, but they are also part of what makes the kit so easy to slap together in one afternoon. I've started using epoxy to fillet the fin roots. First, rough up the plastic roots a bit with sandpaper and do the same for the cardboard where the fin roots contact it. That will make the fins more durable.

If you ditch the fin unit, which also includes the aft and middle centering rings, and you also get rid of the lower BT, you are replacing a lot of the rocket.
Click to expand...

I picked up some centering rings at the same hobby shop in Minnesota that I got the Cherokee D kit and I already have some BT80 tubing and plenty of balsa for the fins. I also build model airplanes, I buy balsa in bulk! I don't know, maybe I'll just build it stock in order to be able to build it quick since I have so many projects to complete. My problem is even though I have plenty of time to build in the winter because I'm too much of a wuss to do anything outside in the Wisconsin winter, I just never seem to get much done! Yeah, I think I'll just build it stock. I really want to get my newly acquired Semroc Cherokee D kit put together for the next launch which is coming up weekend after next.

Speaking of Semroc, what exactly is happening with them? I understand there was some death/illness in the family and heard something about someone stepping in and taking it over, E-Rockets was it? When I was at Hub Hobbies in Little Canada a few days ago I didn't expect to find much but they actually had quite a few Semroc kits on the shelf. I don't know if these were left over from before or what. I'm a huge fan of Semroc having built many of their kits. I have a Centurian, a Centaur 2 stage, a Laser-X, an SLS Laser-X, an SLS Javelin, an SLS Hustler, I did one of the Sky of Gold Scouts and got the signed certificate from Vern and Gleda Estes, I had a Lil Hercules (never put a big motor in a small rocket!), and I had a Mars Lander that I flew many times until it's demise launching it in a bit too much wind. But I have another Semroc Mars Lander kit to replace it with. I hope they're able to continue. I really enjoy building them because I am definitely a BAR. My first rocket in the late sixties I'm pretty sure was a Lil Hercules. and I built a Scout for my science project in the 7th or 8th grade a few years later.


Mike
 
MikeCr said:
I picked up some centering rings at the same hobby shop in Minnesota that I got the Cherokee D kit and I already have some BT80 tubing and plenty of balsa for the fins. I also build model airplanes, I buy balsa in bulk! I don't know, maybe I'll just build it stock in order to be able to build it quick since I have so many projects to complete. My problem is even though I have plenty of time to build in the winter because I'm too much of a wuss to do anything outside in the Wisconsin winter, I just never seem to get much done! Yeah, I think I'll just build it stock. I really want to get my newly acquired Semroc Cherokee D kit put together for the next launch which is coming up weekend after next.

Speaking of Semroc, what exactly is happening with them? I understand there was some death/illness in the family and heard something about someone stepping in and taking it over, E-Rockets was it? When I was at Hub Hobbies in Little Canada a few days ago I didn't expect to find much but they actually had quite a few Semroc kits on the shelf. I don't know if these were left over from before or what. I'm a huge fan of Semroc having built many of their kits. I have a Centurian, a Centaur 2 stage, a Laser-X, an SLS Laser-X, an SLS Javelin, an SLS Hustler, I did one of the Sky of Gold Scouts and got the signed certificate from Vern and Gleda Estes, I had a Lil Hercules (never put a big motor in a small rocket!), and I had a Mars Lander that I flew many times until it's demise launching it in a bit too much wind. But I have another Semroc Mars Lander kit to replace it with. I hope they're able to continue. I really enjoy building them because I am definitely a BAR. My first rocket in the late sixties I'm pretty sure was a Lil Hercules. and I built a Scout for my science project in the 7th or 8th grade a few years later.


Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, I would probably go stock on the MAIII. It's a quick, easy build, and you already have the kit. My typical modifications are a longer shock cord and a nylon chute with swivel and quick link, plus the epoxy fillets I already mentioned.

Another cool thing you can do if you already have some BT80 is to make a removable payload bay. You need the BT80 that you already have, a coupler, a bulk plate that you can make from a few layers of your balsa or some thin ply, and an eyebolt --- very easy. You can fly the MAIII stock without the payload --- 33" tall. Or pop in the 14" payload for a big 47" rocket that can still fly on D12 or E12 (E9 is only good in perfectly calm air, no wind).
 

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