Michael MacDonald
Active Member
The original Estes Mars Snooper K20.
NOT the Mars Snooper II.
Also, it must be red.
NOT the Mars Snooper II.
Also, it must be red.
With the ever-increasing fees of maintaining our vibrant community (servers, software, domains, email), we need help.
We need more Supporting Members today.
Please invest back into this community to help spread our love and knowledge of multi-channel sound.
This is your chance to make a difference. Become a Supporting Member today:
Upgrade NowThat was my first rocket. In my rush to build and fly it I neglected to seal and fill the balsa, but I did paint it all red. My second rocket, the Apogee II, turned out much better.The original Estes Mars Snooper K20.
NOT the Mars Snooper II.
Also, it must be red.
First kit? You jumped right in.That was my first rocket. In my rush to build and fly it I neglected to seal and fill the balsa, but I did paint it all red. My second rocket, the Apogee II, turned out much better.
My Favorite used to be the Estes Starship Excalibur.View attachment 381456
Then it was the Estes USS AmericaView attachment 381457
Now I'm really into the Estes Sentinel
View attachment 381458
You know, of course, that that Starship Excalibur was never kitted by Estes. However, it has since then been kitted by Semroc (now at erockets.biz): https://www.erockets.biz/semroc-flying-model-rocket-kit-starship-excalibur-sem-kv-85/
It flies quite well, too.
Estes DID kit something called "Starship Excalibur". It was similar in some ways, but not the same: https://plans.rocketshoppe.com/estes/est1920/est1920.htm
It was a plan first published in Model Rocket News. They may have published it in a later publication as well.BEC, thanks for the clarification on Estes not kitting the Starship Excalibur. I was trying to remember exactly how that worked. Could it have been that Estes sold the plans and a list of parts for the rocket ? I must have bashed it together from parts back in the early to middle 70s. Yes I do have the Semroc kit now too, haven't built it yet. The original Starship Excalibur I built was destroyed in a launch incident...
Alan15578 It was a plan first published in Model Rocket News. They may have published it in a later publication as well.
I built one. The hardest part was sanding that big balsa strip to glue to the tube. Mine was well finished with genuine Estes Astroseal.
Actually, Estes did kit the Starship Excalibur, just not the original design in MRN. That one uses pods out on the fin tips. The one Estes released replaced the pods with laser cannons.BEC, thanks for the clarification on Estes not kitting the Starship Excalibur. I was trying to remember exactly how that worked. Could it have been that Estes sold the plans and a list of parts for the rocket ? I must have bashed it together from parts back in the early to middle 70s. Yes I do have the Semroc kit now too, haven't built it yet. The original Starship Excalibur I built was destroyed in a launch incident...
Actually, Estes did kit the Starship Excalibur, just not the original design in MRN. That one uses pods out on the fin tips. The one Estes released replaced the pods with laser cannons.
I built the original and have the released kit in it's bag sealed.
Semroc has the clone of the original version offered.
The original is more pleasing than the released kit with the cannons.
Allen
Dave, did you build a javelin?Estes : Astron Scrambler, A20 Demon, Bandit, Farside-X
Centuri : Orion, Aero-Dart, T-Bird, Enerjet Egg Crate
FSI : BLACK BRANT II, OSO, EOS, Argo D-4 Javelin
Looks good both ways! Another good example of a simple rocket with a fantastic paint scheme.I always liked the Bandit. It was my 3rd kit ever. (#1: Alpha, #2: Beta)
View attachment 382550 I want to paint it in negative image...View attachment 382551
Dave, did you build a javelin?
I like the Estes Maxi Honest John. Big, cool, and D-powered!
Somehow seeing “mercury switch” in such close proximity to “safety code legal” bemuses me. It might make more sense if you defined “back then”. I imagine it was when we were BOTH young. Do you have any pictures of your Javelins?Yes, I did . . . 2 or 3 of them.
Back in the day, I converted it to 3 stages ( mercury switch / flashbulb system ) . . . To keep it "Safety Code Legal", back then, it was flown E60-4, D12-5, D12-7.
Dave F.
Somehow seeing “mercury switch” in such close proximity to “safety code legal” bemuses me. It might make more sense if you defined “back then”. I imagine it was when we were BOTH young. Do you have any pictures of your Javelins?
Thanks for sharing Dave! Great articles. Please understand that I was NOT casting any aspersions. I just don’t think Hg switches would “fly” in hobby rocketry today. I hadn’t thought deceleration would be sufficient to complete contact, and that attitude change at apogee would trigger the ignition. Horizontal vectors are normally sub-optimal. I guess I hadn’t thought it through. Would you email me a pdf of these articles please?Mercury Switch Staging was very common, "back in the day", and used in combination with Flashbulb Ignition ( AG1 flashbulbs ), a technique pioneered by John Langford, the current owner of Estes,Also, FSI M-100 Electric Matches were widely used, too !
I have attached a few vintage items from that time period . . . Perfectly "legal" under the Safety Code, back then.
More than two stages required the use of an "inhibitor" that prevent premature ignition of all upper stages, until after separation of each booster stage. The system was "hot" again, at that point. Tiny Roller Switches were commonly used as "inhibitors".
Dave F.
View attachment 450389View attachment 450390View attachment 450392View attachment 450393View attachment 450394View attachment 450395View attachment 450396View attachment 450397View attachment 450398View attachment 450399
Surprising that Boyce Aerospace doesn’t have an LTV Scout kit - something like this would be a great use for 3D printing.Estes LTV Scout. I liked the real rocket, the kit was awesome, it was a great flyer, and with all of the odd tube sizes used to make it scale it is almost impossible to clone.
PLEASE bring it back, I'll buy a bunch of 'em!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTES-1940...tem4dbd6a3079:g:bnYAAOSwwz1f3XBH&LH_Auction=1Estes Marte 2
$60.00 is too rich for my blood, but I would love to have it. It's my favorite rocket with all those fins.https://www.ebay.com/itm/ESTES-1940...tem4dbd6a3079:g:bnYAAOSwwz1f3XBH&LH_Auction=1
just an FYI, not my listing
Enter your email address to join: