Estes Firehawk cluster

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Fishhead

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I originally picked this rocket up with plans to use the nose cone for my National Aerospace Plane clone, but I liked the looks of the Firehawk so much that I decided to build it. Not being one to leave well enough alone, I chose to build it with a 3x18mm cluster.
 
And a view of the completed rocket. (Well, almost complete. I forgot the launch lug again. :p )
 
Originally posted by Fishhead
(Well, almost complete. I forgot the launch lug again. :p ) [/B]


I thought I was the only one that did that. Nice clone. What size BT is that?
 
BT-60. Something about a BT-60 kit always makes me consider it as a cluster candidate.
 
Nice, my cousin Joe did the same thing. It flies great on C6's. See attached.
 
I like the look of the nose cone painted the same as the fin can. I generally go with the factory look because when I try to get creative, the taste squad gets an immediate call. If I get to fly Saturday, my plan is for a 3xC6-5 launch. I hope I can get a launch picture like your cousin.
 
I hope you did a better job of scaleing this fish than the last one.

Let me know how it goes there buddy!:D :D :D :rolleyes:
 
It took forever, but I finally got the Firehawk in the air. This is a great choice for a cluster. It rips off the pad, flies dead straight and the BT-60 has plenty of room for recovery parts and pieces.
No, my nephew doesn't have the cone in his nose. He did try to whack it against the piano just after I got this picture. Luckily I was expecting that.
:D
 
Pretty decent liftoff pic, despite the lousy weather. I only managed one flight the first time I flew it because of the weather. Two weeks later, I tried it again on 3 C6-5s and it caught a breeze and floated out of the VOA. The only reason I found it was because a real estate agent happened to see it land in an open lot in a subdivision across from the park. I had just about given up hope.
 
Nice picture of the rocket, but your just ugly.
Bring back the fish!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Bill wrote: No, my nephew doesn't have the cone in his nose. He did try to whack it against the piano just after I got this picture.
I can tell your nephew is from Kentucky. Are those his everyday overalls? Or his Sunday-go-to-meeting overalls? <vbg>

BTW, I built a 2x18_+_2x13mm cluster for my rockets with interchangeable mounts. It fits in my Yellow Bertha, Tangent and several others.

Doug
Who has outgrown his last two pairs of overalls but is still the same height :(
 
Let's see. That was Memorial Day, so they had to be his dress pair. (Even more special than his Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' bibs.) I really screw up the curve here. I've never owned a pair of overalls.:(
 
The smoke on that, in the photo, looks like it's from a White Lightnng composite motor... wow. I've done the cluster thing on a Deuces Wild! an upscale Mosquito (based on BT-60) and one other one. I'm considering doing another upscale Mosquito, with my Big Bertha kit (what I used the NC from for my 1st one--I'll use 1 18mm motor, maybe, and 3 or 4 plugged 13mm motor mounts). Very nice!
 
I really like the way this one flies. Now if I could just get a completely clear day for a good pic. I built a National Aerospace Plane, which has the same nose cone as the Firehawk, at the same time as this one and I wish I'd have done it with a cluster also. It's pretty weak on a single 18mm.
 
I always love the looks of the Firehawk. It seems like it was an oddball offering but the early 90s were my years in rocketry so you definitely get a thumbs up from me on this build.
 
The guy who I bought it from on Ebay asked for pictures if I ever built it. His e-mail address is among the missing, but I'm pretty sure it will come as a shock to him if I ever find it and send him the pics.:D
 
OK, help me out here. This is an Estes Firehawk. But so is the E2X bird with the plastic fins that flies on 13mm motors? Howzzat? :confused: :)
 
I flew a couple of 3x18mm clusters this weekend, my first time clustering anything smaller than D's and E's :)

I was very impressed with how fast a liftoff 3 B6's give, I guess it is equivalent to a 15Ns D18 after all. I used B6-6's and the delay was just about right. I've noticed those motors seem to have really good tracking smoke just before apogee.

This was a Physics of Flight 'Adder' (which is like a downscaled LOC viper), see attached photo. The second was a Semroc Goliath, unfortunately only two motors lit, but it recovered fine.

3x18mm is cool :)
 
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