I bought an Estes “MaxTrax” starter set back in the early 2000’s when I was becoming a BAR.
The MaxTrax rocket came wit a unique nose cone. The nose was this foam rubber sort of thing with some electronics in it. At ejection, the nose separated from the rocket and plunged to earth on a streamer until it (sometimes) bounced when it impacted terra firma.
The electronics somehow measured the time from ejection to the time of impact and then calculated the altitude at ejection based on how long it took for the nose to hit the ground.
The system sort of worked but often the impact of the nose hitting the ground was not enough force to be recognized by the electronics.
It wad also easy to lose the nose, permanently, in tall weeds.
That is what happened to my MaxTrax: After a few flights, I lost the nose and never found it.
The noseless MaxTrax sat in my parts bin for many years.
Yesterday I pulled it out and realized it is a BT-56 size body tube rocket. That is a perfect use for one of the black, BT-56 nose cones in the 4-pack sitting in my parts bin.
(The MaxTrax is very similar to a number of BT-56 sized RTF and ARTF rockets Estes made in the early 2000’s. The “Chrome Domes” come to mind.)
Anyway, the old shock cord had dry rotted, so I replaced it with a modified G. Harry Stine “shock lock” type shock cord mount using 100 pound kevlar thread. That is glued as deep into the body tube as I can get it using Titebond “Original” wood hlue. It is drying now.
I put 9 grams of clay into the nose to give the fairly light, plastic nose cone some weight (the old nose was fairly hefty because of the electronics and foam rubber).
I am not sure which parachute to use in it. I may just use an old Quest 14” parachute I have in the parts bin. I may make a new parachute just for the MaxTrax. The “recovered weight”, with a spent engine, per the postal scale, is 3.175 ounces. G. Harry Stine’s rule of thumb is 44 square inches of parachute per ounce of recovered weight. The total area is 139.7 square inches. A hexagon of 139.7 square inches eould be 12.7 inches, flat to flat. The Quest parachute is slightly big for this rocket.
Anyway, see the renovation pics. We will fly it tomorrow for Father’s day and see if the rebuilt MaxTrax flies straight and true!
The MaxTrax rocket came wit a unique nose cone. The nose was this foam rubber sort of thing with some electronics in it. At ejection, the nose separated from the rocket and plunged to earth on a streamer until it (sometimes) bounced when it impacted terra firma.
The electronics somehow measured the time from ejection to the time of impact and then calculated the altitude at ejection based on how long it took for the nose to hit the ground.
The system sort of worked but often the impact of the nose hitting the ground was not enough force to be recognized by the electronics.
It wad also easy to lose the nose, permanently, in tall weeds.
That is what happened to my MaxTrax: After a few flights, I lost the nose and never found it.
The noseless MaxTrax sat in my parts bin for many years.
Yesterday I pulled it out and realized it is a BT-56 size body tube rocket. That is a perfect use for one of the black, BT-56 nose cones in the 4-pack sitting in my parts bin.
(The MaxTrax is very similar to a number of BT-56 sized RTF and ARTF rockets Estes made in the early 2000’s. The “Chrome Domes” come to mind.)
Anyway, the old shock cord had dry rotted, so I replaced it with a modified G. Harry Stine “shock lock” type shock cord mount using 100 pound kevlar thread. That is glued as deep into the body tube as I can get it using Titebond “Original” wood hlue. It is drying now.
I put 9 grams of clay into the nose to give the fairly light, plastic nose cone some weight (the old nose was fairly hefty because of the electronics and foam rubber).
I am not sure which parachute to use in it. I may just use an old Quest 14” parachute I have in the parts bin. I may make a new parachute just for the MaxTrax. The “recovered weight”, with a spent engine, per the postal scale, is 3.175 ounces. G. Harry Stine’s rule of thumb is 44 square inches of parachute per ounce of recovered weight. The total area is 139.7 square inches. A hexagon of 139.7 square inches eould be 12.7 inches, flat to flat. The Quest parachute is slightly big for this rocket.
Anyway, see the renovation pics. We will fly it tomorrow for Father’s day and see if the rebuilt MaxTrax flies straight and true!
