.ork File For Estes 2486 Flying Colours?

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Does anybody have a .ork file for the Estes 2486 Flying Colours rocket? I am designing a scratchbuilt rocket about the same size as it, and something seems very off with the weight as it is much less than the weight listed in the catalog for the Flying Colours. I thought that a .ork file for this rocket would help me fix the issue.
 
I don't have any info on the fin can for that kit... I'm not going to be able to help.
 
The Estes Flying Colors has a plastic nose cone and plastic fin can, which add to its weight. What did you make yours out of, and what does it weigh?
 
Plastic nose cone, balsa fins. It says it weighs 47 grams, while the Flying Colours, of the same diameter but one inch longer, weighs 85. I don't think a plastic fin can would make 38 grams of a difference.



Or would it? Hmmmmm... :confused:
 
If you built your scratch model from balsa, it is going to weight a lot less; plastic fin units are usually quite heavy by comparison.

The Estes catalog weight and dimension data from that era are riddled with errors. I would rely on actual measurements for the Flying Colors. Source: have investigated a lot of discrepancies for my OpenRocket parts database, but unfortunately not this one.
 
Exactly what nose cone are you using? If I judge correctly, the Flying Colors uses the same (or approximately the same) nose cone that the ESAM uses (among many others). It's nearly 8" long, and weighs, according to K'Tesh's ESAM ORK file, almost 37g all by itself.

So your total of 47 grams suggests that you're probably using a much lighter nose cone. What does yours weigh?

Also, there is no reason you can't make an OR file of your own rocket, and just see if it all makes sense. The Flying Colors, like most of Estes RTF models, uses an assortment of construction techniques in the fin can/motor mount that are very different from what you would do on your own. So you wouldn't necessarily expect your scratch build to match the weight of the kit.

Does your rocket have shock cord and parachute installed yet? Those add some weight, particularly the shock cord.

In addition to the fins, the whole fin can is plastic (as mentioned by caveduck above). That's still more weight.

So, my conclusion is that there's mostly likely nothing strange here. RTF construction is heavier than what you would normally do on your own, plus that nose cone is a big contributor.
 
My nose cone is 6.75 inches long including the shoulder, and weighs 21 grams. I also hadnt added the parachute. I did that and it makes much more sense. Thank you for your help, everybody.
Exactly what nose cone are you using? If I judge correctly, the Flying Colors uses the same (or approximately the same) nose cone that the ESAM uses (among many others). It's nearly 8" long, and weighs, according to K'Tesh's ESAM ORK file, almost 37g all by itself.

So your total of 47 grams suggests that you're probably using a much lighter nose cone. What does yours weigh?

Also, there is no reason you can't make an OR file of your own rocket, and just see if it all makes sense. The Flying Colors, like most of Estes RTF models, uses an assortment of construction techniques in the fin can/motor mount that are very different from what you would do on your own. So you wouldn't necessarily expect your scratch build to match the weight of the kit.

Does your rocket have shock cord and parachute installed yet? Those add some weight, particularly the shock cord.

In addition to the fins, the whole fin can is plastic (as mentioned by caveduck above). That's still more weight.

So, my conclusion is that there's mostly likely nothing strange here. RTF construction is heavier than what you would normally do on your own, plus that nose cone is a big contributor.
 
Yeah, so 16 grams saved on nose cone, many more grams saved on fin can, minus parachute (which weighs very little) and shock cord (which weighs more) and it sounds like you're in the right ballpark.
 
Hey I have that same scale. We're practically related!

Hey me too! (
I was going to use it to measure out ejection charges for this weekend, but I'm unsure I'll even be able to take that rocket if I have to transport launch equipment instead...)
 
heh that looked like the layout of some older catalogs...on the face of it it's a reasonable weight for a fin-can model of that size, but I'd still take the catalog kit data with a grain of salt. I confess to not having looked very hard at the last couple of catalogs since there's little useful parts info anymore.
 
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