A cool big rocket for cheap

[Rob Fisher]

Heres a pic of my Estes stormcaster under construction. I picked this one up at hobby lobby yesterday for $11 something, unfortunately they weren't having any half-off sales. Oh well, I still think that this is the most rocket you can buy for the least price! The stormcaster has TTW fins which slid in place perfectly for a rock solid build. The shock cord was actually a little longer than typical estes, but I still am going to set it up longer. I will be adding my 18" Thrustline Aerospace ripstop nylon chute in place of the plastic one for guarenteed soft recovery every time. (those thrustline ripstop chutes are the best in the business!) I needed another D rocket besides my modified fat-boy to launch.

 

[Rob Fisher]

The 24mm business end!

 

[Fore Check]

I too picked up a Stormcaster at HL (although I did it a couple of weeks ago during 1/2 off!) It's sitting here in the bag - it may be a while before I get around to building it.....

It received very good reviews on EMRR, and it sounds like your having a good time with it!

And you can't go wrong with that Thrustline ripstop chute!

 

[Justargos]

The Stormcaster is a cool rocket, I just launched mine this weekend a couple of times, got it at the Hobby Lobby half off sale. It went high and straight, no problems at all. I did put in a longer shock cord, but just used the standard Estes parachute.

Justargos

 

[jerryb]

I love the Stormcaster I have... it flies great...

over a dozen successful launches.

on d12-5 it flies almost out of sight... fast liftoff and very high deployment...

also flies great on a c11-3... slow steady climb... seems to turn more heads on the c11 than on the d12.

if theres any wind at all... i tend to lean toward the c11..unless you like walking that 1/2 mile to recover it..haha..

have a 2nd stormcaster that lawn darted on its first launch, due to the engine not ejecting the cone. Am looking for a replacment cone for it.. will fly them both until they are beyond repair haha..

later
Jerryb

 

[gpoehlein]

Anyone besides me notice the similarity between the stormcaster and the Alpha? The PNC-60NA is an almost perfect upscale of the PNC-50K, and the fins look pretty close (which gave me the idea). I have to check the fins to make sure - it wouldn't be difficult to make a new set if they aren't right, and the BT-60 needs to be shortened to scale length.

That's one of my projects - a series of Alphas ranging from BT-5 (use the Swift 220 nose) to BT-80 (Maxi Alpha - can be kitbashed from an Executioner).

Greg

 

[prowlerguy]

It also flies very well on an E9-6 if you put the longer hook on it. Mine flew great at Whitakers, despite my previously discussed problems with the swing test. I also used the long stuffer tube included in the kit to fashion a baffle. I'm not sure it was worth the hassle, but it was good practice and skill building.

 

[Rob Fisher]

any of you guys launch your stormcaster on a D12-5 with the spill-hole cut out on the 18" chute? I,m just curious if it recover w/o damage this way. I don't want my stormcaster to drift so far that I lose it.

 

[prowlerguy]

Yes, I launch mine with the entire center section cut out when launching on grassy fields. Of course, if you are launching on a hard surface, then you may wish to modify that.

 

[jerryb]

Originally posted by Rob Fisher
any of you guys launch your stormcaster on a D12-5 with the spill-hole cut out on the 18" chute? I,m just curious if it recover w/o damage this way. I don't want my stormcaster to drift so far that I lose it.

the first 4 launches on my stormcaster were d12-5 w/ the stock chute cut on the dashed line. plenty of chute left to recover safetly, landing on a grass field of course..