Estes Air Commander Build

Right. I only did one stage at a time so that I could use both fin guides on one set of fins.

mjmcneese said:

Right. I only did one stage at a time so that I could use both fin guides on one set of fins.

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Okay I gotcha. :bangpan: Bummer, I had really good results with that method.

Don't get me wrong! This method WORKED for me. But, I think I had a bigger challenge than most because my foamcore looks like it was hacked on by a blind guy with a chainsaw on a windy day.

Gonna try 200 grit on these hardwood strips. I think it'll look quite a bit better if those strips have rounded edges, too.

Here are some pics of the progress I've made today.


The hardwood strips came out pretty nice. Filleting done. You might notice that I ended up NOT rounding the edges. The consensus from the wife was that it looks like I really took a lot of time to just make a slight rounding towards the end of the strips so that they match up with the fins. Considering that a compliment, I left them alone.


My son checking my work on the transition from the strips to the fins.


The assemblies after one light coat of Krylon Primer. I already see a few spots that need sanded or filled.

I have a couple spots where the filleting has pit holes - like there was a bubble or something. Thought I worked it in pretty good from both directions. Nothing major to report - typical sanding and filling, another coat of primer, and then color sometime this weekend.

Hello all,

I, too, am currently building the Air Commander. I finally finished prepping and sanding the main BT fins today and glued them on. They are drying as I type. All I've got left is attaching the hardwood strips and then I'm off to painting.

I've got a question about flying this rocket. In the picture on the packaging it shows the fins from the first and second stage do not line up. The first stage fins are basically midway between the second stage fins. On all the photos in the instructions it shows the fins from each stage lining up together. Can I fly it either way?

I only just got back into rocketry for the first time since I was a kid so I'm still learning. This is my fourth build and my first beyond skill level 1. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to launch any of them yet. Los Angeles, or California for that matter, is not the best place for this hobby :-/

EDIT: I guess if they aren't aligned the launch lug would get in the way, although I might be able to place that differently as well.

should be able to put them just about any way you want. I've got an old supernova, and I have flown it dozens of times, some lined up, some not, but usually unlined up, with the rear booster inverted.

LAKingsGeek said:

I've got a question about flying this rocket. In the picture on the packaging it shows the fins from the first and second stage do not line up. The first stage fins are basically midway between the second stage fins. On all the photos in the instructions it shows the fins from each stage lining up together. Can I fly it either way?

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I can't imagine it would matter however you might get slightly better performance with the fins lined up because that will be one less set of leading edges in the air stream.

All done.


I finished all of the painting prior to installing the engine mounts. Changed my choice of colors at the last minute: Kyrlon White Gloss, Dutch Boy Acrylic Gold, and the dark gray is still Automotive Dark Gray Primer from Rustoleum.

Once the pieces were painted I proceed with installing and gluing the mounts. This was a little different and new for me, being a two-stager. The extra stage's mount gets glued in first. Once that was dry, you sort of base the single-stage mount on where the 2nd stage is mounted. The kit comes with spacers the size of two C engines - they get taped together, slid into the 2nd stage mount. Put some glue in the main BT, place the single engine mount on TOP of the 2nd stage assembly, and slide it all snug into place. I know I did a horrible job of explaining it - but the Estes Instructions were easy to follow, and that assembly was a cinch.

Everything fits pretty snug. The nose cone into the BT is just a tad snug - no worries there. But, the 2nd stage fit into the BT is a little worrisome. I pretty much have to twist it off in order to release it from the BT. I did some sanding to the inside of the BT, and that helped a little. Perhaps a light sanding to the stage coupler with some 600 grit will ease the snugness a bit.

Parachute and shock cord were typical of other Estes kits. No problems there.

Then came the waterslide decals.

I had kept them stowed away in a Ziploc bag to keep them out of the way and to keep moisture out. Apparently, they came with a hairline scratch across a couple of the decals. One of the decals ripped beyond repair. Another one ripped a teeny piece off - I'll fix it with a fine point Sharpie marker. And one other thing - the "U.S. Air Attack" decals are WAY smaller than they appear on the packaging. No biggie, I guess. Just an interesting note.

So, aside from fine-tooth fitting of the stage coupler, this project is done. My son is in love. He's been talking about "Ain Commenter" all day. I'm excited to get it in the air - but a little nervous, too. This is by far the nicest rocket in our collection, and our first and only two-stager. Once the weather clears we will send her up and get some video, too.



Thanks all for your advice and tips! My finest build! Now I just need an excuse to buy my son our...I mean "his" next rocket.

Looks great! I've finished painting the nose cone and upper body area on mine. I'm building this with my girlfriend and she didn't like the gold so we went with an army green color. I think i prefer the contrast of the gold and black but I didn't fight it.The cone and first stage will both be a "NATO black". Still haven't decided whether to do gloss or semi-gloss white for the body.

I've run out of primer so I won't be able to finish until later in the week. The small "U.S. Air Attack" decal is a little disappointing but no biggie. I haven't even really looked at my decals yet.

I was having a hard tim finding a gold color that I liked. I nearly gave up on gold and was gonna go with a neon lime green - thought it might have looked neat with the white and charcoal. Had to get the Gold Dutch Boy Acrylic at a Seats Hardware. I really like the way the Acrylic looks on rockets. Very smooth, realistic sheen.

Looks awesome.

Nice job! I love that design, it has "Centuri throwback" written all over it. Tempting to mod it with a fatter payload section for a Centaur/Hustler look.

mjmcneese,
Great job on the Air Commander!

caveduck said:

Nice job! I love that design, it has "Centuri throwback" written all over it. Tempting to mod it with a fatter payload section for a Centaur/Hustler look.

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It does have the Centuri throwback look.
On the Air Commander the front "B" part of the fin is inset into the leading edge of the "A" fin.
I found this on the Lil' Huster instructions from Jim Z's.

Finally got to go out and put Phoenix Bird in the air tonight. Made a perfect flight - the rocket never even twisted in the air!


Thanks to my lovely wife for taking some great shots of our launches tonight.

Still need to get some bigger engines to get Air Commander going.

mjmcneese said:

Finally got to go out and put Phoenix Bird in the air tonight. Made a perfect flight - the rocket never even twisted in the air!

Thanks to my lovely wife for taking some great shots of our launches tonight.

Still need to get some bigger engines to get Air Commander going.

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Great picture of a well made rocket Thanks for an awesome thread.
cheers
fred

What engines are you gonna use for a first flight..B6-0 to a A8-5..orA8-3???

mjmcneese said:

Here are some pics of the progress I've made today.

The hardwood strips came out pretty nice. Filleting done. You might notice that I ended up NOT rounding the edges. The consensus from the wife was that it looks like I really took a lot of time to just make a slight rounding towards the end of the strips so that they match up with the fins. Considering that a compliment, I left them alone.

My son checking my work on the transition from the strips to the fins.

The assemblies after one light coat of Krylon Primer. I already see a few spots that need sanded or filled.

I have a couple spots where the filleting has pit holes - like there was a bubble or something. Thought I worked it in pretty good from both directions. Nothing major to report - typical sanding and filling, another coat of primer, and then color sometime this weekend.

Click to expand...

Just read thru this thread.Very nice job on the Commander and build thread.Is that a Chocolate Lab in the picture?

[POW]Eagle159;228604 said:

What engines are you gonna use for a first flight..B6-0 to a A8-5..orA8-3???

Click to expand...

For Air Commander? Estes suggests C11-0/C11-5 for the first flight...and that's what I have.

Scotty, yes, that is my 5-yr old chocolate pointing lab, Cade. He's a fantastic pup.

Yours turned out real nice!


My kit came in today.

I wanted a 2 stage D engine size rocket for dual deploy using my homemade altimeter.

This is a real nice rocket and I look forward to building it.

However, it comes with issues.

Flimsy engine tubes and couplers.

The decal is real bad:



As noted before the U.S. AIR ... letters are way smaller than pictured on the facecard. As if the Chinese didn't have the font and just used a standard one and no one at Estes had a look at it. Dunno...

Even worst is the quality, at least with mine. The whole decal has these mat spots that I can't get rid of.

And for toppers I have 2 manufacture date imprints on the decal, one on the black fin section (see red circle). A real shame...

Anyone have a rocksim file for the Air Commander?

Has anyone tried modifying this kit to use E sized engines? Also, let me echo the request if anyone has a rocksim or open rocket file for the kit, I can modify it easily...

Thanks!
Erik

I picked up one of these kits and bashed it into this. Plan to fly it with a E9 to D12. Haven't launched it yet maybe this weekend.

Hello,
I recently got back into rocketry after a 47 year hiatus. Damn, that make me old. I found the Air Commander on Amazon 2 weeks ago and wanted it right away. I have already built and flown a Yankee as an entry vehicle back into this sport. I searched for building ideas for this rocket and I found this almost 6 year old post. I have read it twice as I found the information valuable. I decided to but the Estes Fin guide and make the mods to it that I also found on this forum. Thaks for all of you who had input into this thread and I am sure I will make a build to be proud of.

Welcome! This kit was my 2nd after coming back to rocketry. It's a fun build and really does get up there on D12s.

This is great kit. Flew mine for the first time last year on a C11-0/C11-5 engine combination. It should really get up there on D12"s.

Rocketron