Estes Mercury Atlas- missing part, any advice?

Just purchased the cool Estes Mercury Atlas. The kit was discontinued a few years back and is no longer in production.

The kit had the wrong engine hook (it was too short) and was missing the 9 1/2-inch long motor mount tube. I purchased the sealed kit from Hobbylinc (which is, by the way, an EXCELLENT vendor).

Hobbylinc was unable to help because the kit is no longer made. They just don't have the parts. Estes customer service was...ahem...not real helpful. My question this: Is that 9 1/2 tube just a BT-50W tube? Also, is it true that the D-engine Estes models use a different (longer) motor mount hook that the standard 2 1/2 inch hook that most of their A-C models use?

Any ideas on where to find these 2 critical pieces? That kit (at $65) was kinda steep and I really wanna make this thing... Thanks in advance.

Marc

If the rocket takes standard Estes D engines, I would assume that it uses the same engine hook as all Estes D engine rockets. I think that it is different than the A-C engine hooks though. As far as the motor tube, I think the same rule-of-thumb would apply. Now, where to get it. I haven't ordered from them personally, but, I know that PGerringer has and he's been pleased with them. I'm talking about A2Z Hobbies. This link, A2Z Hobbies is to their Estes Accessories page. Give them a try.

Mark

I order all my Aerotech rocket supplies from A2ZHobbies. The service has always been good.

I would suggest that you also check out Public Missles LTD. They can make you a tube or possibly have an idea of what you can use instead. Course, this also may be a sign that you need to modify that rocket to take E's and F's. I wouldn't suggest G's unless you never want to see it again. There is alot of talent here on the forum (Mr. Glass AKA CTulanko, and Ken Parker) who have had experience with "modifications". They may have some excellent alternatives. It's all in the power isn't it?

Hey Marc:

Sorry that your kit is missing a couple of parts. Been there, that's a real bummer.

There are lots of suppliers that can replace the missing body tube. You may have to cut it to length. If A2Z Hobbies doesn't have it, just try some of the others until you find one that does. All you really need to match is the diameter of the body tube.

As far as the engine hook..... a little history here. Estes D engines are 2.75" long, just like their A, B, and C engines. The A thru C engines are 18mm in diameter, the D engines are 24 mm in diameter. Now, for a couple of years, back a few years ago, Estes actually made an E engine. It was 24mm in diameter, but it was a bit longer than the D engine..... it was either 3.50" or 3.75"..... I don't remember now. At any rate, for a while Estes made a longer engine hook to accomodate this slightly longer engine. If you used the D engine, they also supplied a spacer that went up into the engine tube in front of the D engine to take up the extra length. Most of these spacers were orange colored. I still have a few knocking around in one of my flight boxes.

Since Estes no longer makes the E engines (I think they pulled them off the market because too many of them catoed) they also no longer make the longer engine hook. Every once in a while, if you find an old leftover D powered kit in a hobby store, you might still encounter the longer engine hook and the spacer. Any current production kits have the standard 2.75" engine hook.

Now..... if you want to be able to use E and F engines in the bird you are building, you can accomplish that by buying and using AeroTech's 24mm RMS (Reloadable Motor System). This RMS is the same physical dimensions as the Estes D engine, but there are D, E and F reload kits available for it. If you want to use this RMS, you must trim a little off the upper part of the engine hook that sticks through the motor tube. This is because the RMS has a kind of a fat top closure which houses the delay and ejection charge, and if you don't shorten the hook a little, this top closure won't slide up past the hook.

I think that should about cover things. But if ya have any more questions, just holler....

- Ken

Um, Ken, Estes has (or plans) to re-release Estes E engines. Just a little note..

Thanks guys. Your AtoZ suggestion worked. I am already in dialog with them on getting the correct tube. Also, thanks on the engine hook lesson. Turns out that Estes provided the WRONG DIRECTIONS in that kit when instructing the builder to "cut a 1/8" slit 3/1/2 inches from the end of the engine mount tube..." What they were supposed to have printed was 2 1/2 inches. I guess several people have complained.

Thanks again. The Atlas should be back to the assembly line soon. Oh, and great advice about those Aerotech RMS engines in the 24mm mount. That should give it a good kick in the pants. I'm working on that as we speak!

Marc