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As I'm a linguist (my degree is in Applied Linguistics, and I'm an English teacher), I'm fond of word games, puns, and rhymes. I'm also a rocketeer, and classic Estes designs are favorites of mine.
Take the Cherokee D for example. That kit filled my 13-year-old self's dream of the perfect rocket. Big (compared to the BT-20 and BT-50 rockets I built before it), sleek, and stylish.
Periodically I see people upscale or redshift the design. Frequently they change the name from Cherokee D to Cherokee M or L or any of the larger motor sizes they intend to use for their cert flight. To me, and this is my opinion only, names like Cherokee M or L sound odd. Likewise, "A", "F", "H", "I", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "O", "Q", "R", "S", "U", "W", "X", and "Y" because they don't rhyme with the "Dee" sound using American English pronunciations as opposed to "B", "C", "E", "G", "P", "T", "V", and "Z" which all rhyme with "Dee" and wouldn't don't sound nearly as odd.
The stock forms of the Cherokee D also had a decal that said "D POWER". At the time the kit came out, that was as big as Estes produced. Now we have 24mm E motors, and 29mm F motors. Upscales can go even further up the alphabet, as does the diameter of the motors used.
Since my upscale could take any 29mm motor, or with an adapter a 24mm motor, my solution to the naming issue was to keep the original name, but change the "D POWER" decal to reflect the largest diameter motor it can handle.
Of course there are those who disagree with me, and I had a particularly nasty interaction between a pair of individuals (who have since given up on TRF) and myself. The disagreement (since deleted here) was partially blamed on me suggesting staying with the traditional name (Cherokee D) for of one of their upscales, and just updating the motor diameter (that discussion took place on another forum). It was only intended as a suggestion, and not some kind of attack, but the other individual didn't take it that way. My logic was that the odds of only launching a kit on a single motor range (such as "L"), and never going below or above that makes the oddity even more pronounced.
Again, these are only my opinions as a linguist, and not intended to belittle anybody's efforts. If you want to build a Cherokee D name it "Raymond Luxury Yacht", and pronounce it "Throat Warbler Mangrove" that's on you.
BTW, the CG/CP markings on my rocket have since been changed to reflect the correct shape and colors. The number "8" reflects that this was the 8th Cherokee D I'd made up to that point.
Take the Cherokee D for example. That kit filled my 13-year-old self's dream of the perfect rocket. Big (compared to the BT-20 and BT-50 rockets I built before it), sleek, and stylish.
Periodically I see people upscale or redshift the design. Frequently they change the name from Cherokee D to Cherokee M or L or any of the larger motor sizes they intend to use for their cert flight. To me, and this is my opinion only, names like Cherokee M or L sound odd. Likewise, "A", "F", "H", "I", "J", "K", "L", "M", "N", "O", "Q", "R", "S", "U", "W", "X", and "Y" because they don't rhyme with the "Dee" sound using American English pronunciations as opposed to "B", "C", "E", "G", "P", "T", "V", and "Z" which all rhyme with "Dee" and wouldn't don't sound nearly as odd.
The stock forms of the Cherokee D also had a decal that said "D POWER". At the time the kit came out, that was as big as Estes produced. Now we have 24mm E motors, and 29mm F motors. Upscales can go even further up the alphabet, as does the diameter of the motors used.
Since my upscale could take any 29mm motor, or with an adapter a 24mm motor, my solution to the naming issue was to keep the original name, but change the "D POWER" decal to reflect the largest diameter motor it can handle.
Of course there are those who disagree with me, and I had a particularly nasty interaction between a pair of individuals (who have since given up on TRF) and myself. The disagreement (since deleted here) was partially blamed on me suggesting staying with the traditional name (Cherokee D) for of one of their upscales, and just updating the motor diameter (that discussion took place on another forum). It was only intended as a suggestion, and not some kind of attack, but the other individual didn't take it that way. My logic was that the odds of only launching a kit on a single motor range (such as "L"), and never going below or above that makes the oddity even more pronounced.
Again, these are only my opinions as a linguist, and not intended to belittle anybody's efforts. If you want to build a Cherokee D name it "Raymond Luxury Yacht", and pronounce it "Throat Warbler Mangrove" that's on you.
BTW, the CG/CP markings on my rocket have since been changed to reflect the correct shape and colors. The number "8" reflects that this was the 8th Cherokee D I'd made up to that point.
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