Estes Excecutioner Fins...

I have opened several of these models since they were introduced and every single one has had warped fins. Anyone else had this problem? I would expect a $50 retail model to be darn near perfect!

Yes, I know you know this, but for the benefit of newbies, PLEASE notify the manufacturer of defects. They cannot possible improve product quality if they are not told about the defects. They will also send you free replacement parts. Also, when posting about problems like this, it is helpful to us to tell us about the problem and ALSO what happened when you contacted the manufacturer.

Lazlo Toth should post here.

I bought an Excecutioner last December and it had
warped fins. I E-Mailed estes and after a few days I
received an E-Mail from them stating They had received
my E-mail. I e-mail again and asked about replacement fins
and I received a reply that replacement parts were on the way.
A few days later I received a whole new Kit. And the
dog gone fins in that kit were warped also. I ended
up buying 1/8" plywook and making my own. Rocket
flies great and I would built another.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=40908

The fins on the one I bought a while back had only 1 warped fin but I had thought that I had warped it myself when I was sanding it to fit the slot.I just sprayed it down with water and put it under some heavy books.I am planning on getting another one I will have to check if it has warped fins.

Yep, the one I built a few monts ago had all three fins warped. I wet the fins and weighed them down on my building board. However, within a week they warped again. I tried it again, let them dry and coated them with a couple quick coats of poly...still warped. The wood they are using is junk, totally unstable. Toss them a cut them out of aircraft ply and the problem is solved.

Same thing here. I clamped them to a metal straight edge and then glued them. They are still warped. but, just ever so slightly out to the far edge. they are straight along the BT however. Its really wet where I live so the straight edge method is regular here. Never been able to straighten a fin with the wet and weight method. Of all the times I've contacted manufacturers, only Jim Flis ever sent me new parts. They were warped too. I just make do.

I just checked the fins in my opened but unbuilt Executioner kit and they are all perfectly flat. (I placed each one down on a table, checked for warps, flipped them over, and checked them again. All three are flatter than the US economy.) I bought the kit from an online hobby vendor about 3 years ago and it has been opened for almost the entire time. Up until last week, I had it stored unprotected (but up off the floor) in my sometimes slightly damp basement.

I also have a newer unopened Executioner kit. From what I can see, the fins appear to be OK in that one as well.

Mark \\.

I built mine a few years ago, but they are still straight. Maybe they changed the wood over the years?

I bought one of these about a year ago and I suppose I just got lucky with mine. None of the fins were warped. I have had nothing but great experiences with Estes' customer service. A call to them will solve this.

Yep, bought one last weekend, one fin was cracked on the top. After contacting Estes, I've got parts coming my way.

I'm Building one now and the fins were straight.