Estes V2 build.

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andrewpjudge

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Hello all I pretty new to Rocketry, I used to fly kits years back with my dad and have started doing it all again with my 3 year old son who loves it as much as I do. Anyway, my question is with regards to the above model.

I am building the Estes V2 kit I have at the moment C11-3s to use for the first flight but my worry is the height it could go. Where I live I don't have huge open fields and the ones I do tend to have lots of trees. How can I keep the model flying at the lowest possible altitude? I have seen a video where someone uses a C6-3 but they're 18mm and not 24mm so how can I make a 18mm motor fit into a 24mm housing?

Ideally I would like to rocket to stay around the 200ft mark like Helicat and Firestreak SST any hight and I need to try and explain to my son why I can't get it back (like his parachute man from his Freefall rocket) so any information on alternative motors I would be thankful for. Also any fun suggestions on kits I can build too would be great.

Thanks in advance

Andrew
 
Here is an 18-to-24mm adapter that works beautifully. Use this along with the orange spacer in the kit that you'd use for C11s or D12s. https://www.estesrockets.com/rocket...mounting/302317-engine-adapters-standard-to-d

They are available from several vendors. By the way, AC Supply has C11-3s.

With these you could use C6-3s or possibly even B6-2s. But at a little over 6 ounces plus motor (my V2 is 6.3 ounces and is pretty much stock) you're not going to be going all that high with a C.
 
Thank you for the speedy response, I will be sure to order one of these. Seems odd to want to build a rocket that doesn’t go high but to a 3 year old it reached space :wink:
 
Thank you for the speedy response, I will be sure to order one of these. Seems odd to want to build a rocket that doesn’t go high but to a 3 year old it reached space :wink:
Its not really all that unusual, lots of us like to see the whole flight and kids totally love it. My kids fly Estes Crayons on B6-2s or -4s at nearly every launch they attend. Total altitude is under 500', and when you have to help recover 3 rockets per rack short walks are nice. Shorter flights are great for small fields as well.
 
Rich,

You may find this interesting: https://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=14277

I followed this method (at least in spirit - no epoxy) and the fins on my V-2 built for NSL last year have proven to be very solidly attached even with a couple of less-than-ideal landings. I have a Silver Comet in the build queue and will follow this general approach with it as well (seeing as it's essentially a fancy V2 kit with a number of common parts).
 
I prefer low and slow flights. Out of sight flights are exciting, but I prefer to see everything.
 
Rich,

You may find this interesting: https://www.oldrocketforum.com/showthread.php?t=14277

I followed this method (at least in spirit - no epoxy) and the fins on my V-2 built for NSL last year have proven to be very solidly attached even with a couple of less-than-ideal landings. I have a Silver Comet in the build queue and will follow this general approach with it as well (seeing as it's essentially a fancy V2 kit with a number of common parts).

Since I was planning to add a 24mm Estes motor retainer altering the assembly of the tailcone section was planned from the get go. So far total epoxy additions for the tail cone are less than 6g, internal fillets to tailcone and external fillets to tailcone, and JB Weld for the motor retainer. The epoxy used is Loctite Plastic Epoxy (5min) which seems to work well on plastics at least Polystyrene. The large centering rings were added after the tailcone internals were done, I simply taped one temporarily in place while the small CR and motor tube were drying. External fillets are BSI 20min epoxy with Cabosil and Phenolic Micro-Balloons added to thicken, fillets are pretty small, maybe 1/8" radius. I probably need to do a build thread on this one.
 
Hello all I pretty new to Rocketry, I used to fly kits years back with my dad and have started doing it all again with my 3 year old son who loves it as much as I do. Anyway, my question is with regards to the above model.

I am building the Estes V2 kit I have at the moment C11-3s to use for the first flight but my worry is the height it could go. Where I live I don't have huge open fields and the ones I do tend to have lots of trees. How can I keep the model flying at the lowest possible altitude? I have seen a video where someone uses a C6-3 but they're 18mm and not 24mm so how can I make a 18mm motor fit into a 24mm housing?
Be careful here. How much does the V2 weigh? A C6-3 may not have enough thrust to give it a safe velocity, so it may weathercock - turn sharply into the wind. In that case you won't need to worry about height but you may need to worry about where the rocket lands, and for that matter whether it has time to eject its parachute. Note that a C11-3 has the same total impulse as a C6-3; it provides a higher thrust for a shorter time. So the V-2 is more likely to go straight up but still probably won't go all that high.

As for an adaptor to put an 18mm motor into a 24mm mount, you get one free with every 24mm motor. It's the casing. After you've fired a C11 or D12, knock the clay nozzle out of the end. An 18mm motor will fit neatly into the now empty casing. You can cut about 5mm off the end of a used 18mm motor and glue it into one end of the used 24mm motor to act as a blocking ring, just to make sure the motor doesn't go straight out of the top of the adaptor and into the rocket.
 
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