Estes Maxi Alpha 3

Hey There Rocket Fans!
Last week I threw a Maxi alpha 3 together for a scout troop
launch out at Buder Park in west St. Louis county. All the boys
had built a small kit for up to a C. I thought it was important to
demonstrate something with a little more smoke!
The Kit was easy to assemble. I paid $30 at the hobby shop
and put it together on the tailgate in about 2 hours including a
bright cherry red paint job- but no decals.
This rocket has an awsome slow smokey launch. It reaches
a respectable altitude. And It works really well with the chute
included in the kit deployed with a D12-5 or a D12-7. If you
use a D12-3 it deploys too soon and looks a little rough on the
shock cord. I solved this problem by loading up the payload
section with 3 18" parachutes! The extra weight slowed it down and the 3 chutes made for a really cool Apollo-esque
long down range drift!!
On the 7th launch one of the tabs on the quick mount plastic
fin system broke off on ground impact even with 3 parachutes!
I think I needed to add a line of epoxy to the fins for extra
strenth. It is possible the fins were weakened when the scouts
chased the rocket and caught it twice before touch down!
All-in-all a great rocket and a great day of flying!

Great post, Dr. Don... I'm currently working on a Maxi, as well. Defently looks like a good flyer of a E15w motor. maybe a F12j.
Last spring we did a launch with a big scout pack at Three Oaks, Mi.. They all wore red shirts... can you find them in the pic.. lol

You guys are in the Scouts? I'm the Cubmaster of a local Cub Pack here in Winston Salem. Pack 942, ever heard of us?

We are going to all go to Whitakers in September to see the big birds fly.

No it's been quite some time sense I've been in scouts... I was the LCO when these guy's flew thought.. wow.. I've never launched so many model rockets, so fast in my life... lol.. it was one right after another.. for about 2 hrs.

Shure is possible for your scouts to have weekend it. Thats why when I launch for my local cub scout groups and for the local elemntary schools I go through how you should handel it when they get there hades on it and only a groupe of 4 at a time.

Yesterday, my son (Doug) and I went up to a farm near Troy, Missouri to repair a light on the horse barn. I knew there were some good size pastures around and took along the rockets!
After quickly repairing the fixture, it was time for a launch!
First , to check out wind conditions, I had Doug put a B6-4 in that amazing little Estes RTR Red Storm! This Gem of instant gratification took off perfectly straight and chuted down about 50 feet away!
Mike, the owner and newly initiated rocketeer, was quite impressed so Doug loaded up a C6-5 and Holy Moly! That little
dude went way up ,deployed and drifted about 200 yards!
Well, after that, Mike was curious to see the Maxi Alpha 3 take a flight. And, since I just so happened to stop at Mark Twain Hobbies and pick up some areotech engines on the way, I was
eager to please! After several unsuccessful attempts to figure
out the areotech ignitors, Doug came up with some sort of old
flight systems engine out of the bottom of the rocket box and
set it off with an estes ignitor. Since the Alpha does really well With a D12, the D6-6 sounded a little underpowered but worth a try! Well, It was a really slow smokey launch up to about 150 feet
when it arched over slowly and gracefully and I KNEW we were in trouble since my visual calculations predicted ground impact in 3
seconds... Ejection pulse puffed out the rear 3 seconds AFTER the
nose cone had penetrated soft earth about 2"!!! The force of the impact pushed the nosecone about an inch up into the body tube but the rocket was otherwise structurally sound.
Mike really enjoyed the experience and promised to attend the
club launch in Ellsbury, MO. the 3rd weekend in October when the
guys with the BIG rockets will show their stuff! I hope to be one of the high Power guys by then!
Dr. Don

This is WAY too much Fun!