The Executuioner

[RocketManDan]

I ordered mine from hobbylinc. The fins were badly warped, and the body dinged up.

QUOTE]


Warped fins and fin slots seem to be a common problem with this kit. Estes makes the kit, Hobbylinc only sells the kit at a sizable discount.

Put Executioner into search to read about the problems and the solutions people have come up with.

Are the fins balsa??

 

[qquake2k]

Are the fins balsa??

No, they're plywood.

 

[o1d_dude]

E30 motors FTW.

I fly them in my stock Super Neon XL and my 12" long E-Pod tube fin. The SNXL gets up pretty high while the E-Pod is just ridiculous.

Given the all up weight of the Executioner, I'd guess about 1000 feet of altitude and with a fair amount of speed.

 

[KenRico]

Actually , think they are laser cut Birch , very nice to work with.

Think they were originally designing for balsa as I needed to sand the pre cut tube slots a bit to allow the Through the Wall Fins to slide through .

Am hoping the 'Wood Fins' on the upcoming High Flyer XL are birch also - really like how my slightly modded Executioner is coming together .

Kenny

 

[Rex R]

mine are lite ply (which is different than regular ply) and a bit warped...however an amonia bath(overnite), a week or so being held flat, and a hot clothes iron got them 99% flat . I'm thinking that the fins must be picking up those odd curves in the package somehow. replaced the stock chute with a homemade 24" 'X-form' nylon (and 72" elastic shock cord).
rex

 

[jim fustini]

Yes! Great flights on D12s up to E20s for me.

 

[Kleaklejok]

Ok so my dad and I are almost done with our executioner, but we want to upgrade to the same size as my teachers, so when we launch it, it won't look small compared to his! We want to upgrade it one more body tube, but we don't know what type to use,and we don't know where to get the coupler for it either... So yeah

Can anyone tell me where to get them, and what type to use....?


Thanks Kleaklejok

 

[jim fustini]

https://www.balsamachining.com/# They should have everything you need

 

[[POW]Eagle159]

Ok so my dad and I are almost done with our executioner, but we want to upgrade to the same size as my teachers, so when we launch it, it won't look small compared to his! We want to upgrade it one more body tube, but we don't know what type to use,and we don't know where to get the coupler for it either... So yeah

Can anyone tell me where to get them, and what type to use....?


Thanks Kleaklejok

Or Hobbylinc....Rocket section!

https://www.hobbylinc.com/Model_Rockets

 

[bjphoenix]

I have an Executioner kit that is over 10 years old. The fins look like laser-cut birch, the instructions make them look like they are balsa. I can't tell for sure if the fins are birch or plywood because the edges are very smooth and burned from the laser cutting. I can sand a bit off and then I could tell for sure. The fins seem to be straight enough. The BT slots are too thin for the fins so I will have to rig up a sanding stick to work on them with, or maybe some careful carving with a knife.

The TTW fin tabs are small compared to the root length of the fins. I'm concerned about getting the tabs adequately glued to the motor mount tube. On some past mid-power rockets I've left off the rear centering ring so I had access to reinforce the internal fillets later. I might try that with this kit. What I did was to glue the front ring on the motor mount but just slide the rear one on, then put the assembly into the rocket and glue just the front ring in the airframe. The fins could be glued on, then the rear ring can come out to give you access to add internal fillets, then put the rear ring back on and fillet it from the back.

One of my main body tubes was squashed on one end and has a wrinkle on the outside. Because there is an internal coupler I'm not concerned about the strength, but the slight wrinkle will be visible through the paint.

I think it is a good kit and pretty big for an Estes D. I have a 24mm RMS so I can fly it on that. I'm curious though- how well does this thing fly on an Estes E?

 

[qquake2k]

I think it is a good kit and pretty big for an Estes D. I have a 24mm RMS so I can fly it on that. I'm curious though- how well does this thing fly on an Estes E?

Actually, it will probably do better on a D than an E. An Estes E is a low thrust, long burn motor. A D actually has higher thrust, but a shorter burn. Estes says the Executioner weighs 8.1oz, but mine weighs in at 9.1oz. According to Thrustcurve.org, an Estes E doesn't give it enough velocity off the launch rod. I haven't tried mine on Estes E's, but it loves Aerotech E11's!

 

[Rocket86]

The D works pretty well in it. I get 552 feet on an E9 according to the altimeter, which is a little higher that it goes on the D12. It is slower off the pad on the E9, but still flies dead straight. I have some E18's that I think will work well in it.

 

[bjphoenix]

I worked on the fins for mine today. With a little sanding it appears that they are indeed a 3-ply plywood. It looks like pretty good stuff and they are plenty straight.

 

[bucsfan2885]

I have an executioner. I love it. I've only launched it twice since I bought it two years ago. I can't find model rockets in belgium. I'm a soldier stationed here and they won't ship them to APO boxesn

 

[loopy]

Check Hobbylinc or even the Estes website for the body tube and coupler.

bjphoenix - yes, the fins are plywood. The TTW slots are typically a bit too thin because they are cut for the thickness of the balsa fins that are typically found in Estes kits, but the plywood fins are a scoche thicker.

Awesome kit, and it LOVES to fly on 24mm AP...my favorite in this one is the F24-7...big flight, but not out of sight.