Asteroid Hunter Build Thread

[Scotty Dog]

Very nice job.
Looks allmost to nice to fly....NOT!
Load it up and push the button.

[dlazarus6660]

Kinda looks like one of the Eastern Alliance spacecraft from BSG.

[Montaro]

Very nice !!

Congrats !!

[n3tjm]

My Asteroid Hunter ready to go up on an Estes C6-3.

[n3tjm]

And here is how it flies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L5kc8cRm50

[Scotty Dog]

Blast off

Edit...I missed posting the blast off by seconds before your video...I tried

COOL

[Mushtang]

Nicely done! This thread makes me want to build one of these kits.

[kjohnson]

Nice build.

Anyone else thinking this kit screams UPSCALE

Would be easy with one of these:
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/meatballrocketry

[qquake2k]

Very nice!

[hammer]

Cool!

[JPVegh]

Would be easy with one of these:
http://www.shapeways.com/shops/meatballrocketry

Wow! Pricey!

[kjohnson]

Wow! Pricey!

I think that's a product of the size and the 3d printing time.

kj

[n3tjm]

Yay. my order of D13's and D24's came today. Dare I try them in my Asteroid Hunter? If the weather is good tomorrow, I may just do that.

[JumpJet]

None of my models of the Asteroid Hunter did that twisty flight path up high. Just wondering if you added all the clay to the nose? The only issue I had with the design was the model getting stuck on the launch rod, but once I added the second lug at the rear of the model that problem went away completely.

You did a great job on the build.


John Boren

[Donaldsrockets]

Yay. my order of D13's and D24's came today. Dare I try them in my Asteroid Hunter? If the weather is good tomorrow, I may just do that.

I would probably go with the D13 with this model.

I'd be a bit concerned with the D24 possibly ripping off some of the details on this model.

[n3tjm]

None of my models of the Asteroid Hunter did that twisty flight path up high. Just wondering if you added all the clay to the nose? The only issue I had with the design was the model getting stuck on the launch rod, but once I added the second lug at the rear of the model that problem went away completely.

You did a great job on the build.


John Boren

I added all the bricks. Maybe there was some whiplash off he launch rod? If the wind is good today I may fly it a few more times and see what happens.

Any idea why they decided on two 12" chutes instead of a single 18" chute?

[n3tjm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS68TRa0PO8

Did some more test flights with my Asteroid Hunter. First up was with an Estes C6-3. Once again, a wobbly flight. I think the problem is whiplash due to being under powered. For some reason the chute got tangled and did not open. The rocket landed on asphalt with minimal damage. Need More power.

[n3tjm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsxVZ8dgLHU

To test the "Need more power" theory, I reloaded and this time used an Aerotech D13-4W. Ejection charge was hot, which torched the parachute. Landed in the grazing ground. No damage besides a couple decals on the wings blowing off.

[n3tjm]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clbD4InrSH4

I repair the chute and reload the rocket, this time with an Aerotech D24-4T motor. I also used less black powder. Perfect boost, perfect parachute deployment. Landed in a cherry tree.

After dinner, the the grounds manager joined me in trying to get the rocket out of the tree. After no luck getting to it, I declared its time for shotgun recovery. Grabbed my 12 guage, turkey choke, and box of light loads. Took 10 shells to clear the branches under it and finally take out the branch holding the rocket. .


This shot takes out the branch below my rocket.


Walking home with the "kill."

[i luv duct tape]

lefty!!!!

[Marc_G]

Must be interesting, living somewhere where you can shoot off a bunch of rounds in public without someone calling the cops!

[n3tjm]

Yep. Private property, big enough to fly rockets, and plenty of room to safely shoot (altough that's not allowed when students are on campus), but its spring break so everyone is gone .

[Scotty Dog]

Them criiters in the back field dont seem to worried about your shooting skills.....

NO LIE, my Dad recovered a rocket for me the same way.
Only took him two shots...

[BABAR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clbD4InrSH4

I repair the chute and reload the rocket, this time with an Aerotech D24-4T motor. I also used less black powder. Perfect boost, perfect parachute deployment. Landed in a cherry tree.

After dinner, the the grounds manager joined me in trying to get the rocket out of the tree. After no luck getting to it, I declared its time for shotgun recovery. Grabbed my 12 guage, turkey choke, and box of light loads. Took 10 shells to clear the branches under it and finally take out the branch holding the rocket. .


This shot takes out the branch below my rocket.


Walking home with the "kill."

Wow, whole new meaning to "I'm going to go shoot some rockets"!

Looking at the angle of the shot, that was one monster of a cherry tree.

Congrats on a successful (albeit unconventional) recovery!

Great Build!

[qquake2k]

I used a bow and arrow to recover a rocket one time, but never a shotgun.

[JoeLaunchman]

Great build thread, I referred to it many times while building my Asteroid Hunter. I've built this one and the Xarconian Cruiser, can't wait to see what Estes comes out with next year in the Skill Level 5 category. But if this is a Level 5, the Xarconian should be a Level 6, both were challenging and fun builds but the Xarconian required much more cutting and fitting skill. Only complaint with Asteroid Hunter is the lack of guidance for the painting and decalling. The package photo and the instructions disagree on the paint scheme and neither one shows how the bottoms should be painted or decalled. Other than that, all the parts fit together very well.

[closet astronaut]

Excellent! I've been eyeing this model for a long time, hobby link has had it on sale a few times. I expected at a skill level five it would be more challenging though.

Turned out great can't wait to see some flight video.

DUH..Didn't get to pg 2 of the thread before posting reply.