EXPjawa
Well-Known Member
Hi! Thanks for stopping by. This thread will be covering the build of a new Estes Indicator, #7244, which I don't think anyone has written about building yet. Normally, I don't mess around too much with mini-engine size models. But, like a lot of people, when this one was announced, I thought is was pretty neat. I also thought (and probably others did too) that the design would make for a pretty cool gap-staged design, assuming it would be stable adding another motor to the tail without too much modification. So that's what I set about doing (thus the "-2" added to the name). The first thing I did was open the package, measure the parts, and dive into RockSim:
I admit that I don't have the skill at creating nice renderings like certain OR ninjas do, and I didn't put the time into splitting up the colors on the fins per the face card, but you get the idea. The bottom line is that this will work pretty well, with just a couple of modifications. The rocket has a ton of fin area, comparatively speaking, so even adding an 18mm mount to the tail, it still has a high stability factor. I've elected in the modification to move the included 13mm mount to the upper tube for the sustainer, and use (as mentioned) an 18mm mount for the booster. The catch here is that the 4-second delay on an A3-4T is limiting, and the delay on the A10-3T is worse. According to the sim, it'll work pretty well combining an A8-0 booster motor and a 1/2A-4T in the sustainer. But putting a B6-0 in the bottom or the full A3-4T in the top results in an early deployment, while the rocket is still going up pretty quickly. So, that's an issue, but maybe not a big one. I think I can appreciate a rocket that stages and deploys within about 400', and you can see the whole flight.
Anyway, although the rocket is pretty far along in the build as I write this, I'll be adding to the thread in bits and pieces as I have time. Next update will be going through the parts in the kit and what was added to make the modification.
I admit that I don't have the skill at creating nice renderings like certain OR ninjas do, and I didn't put the time into splitting up the colors on the fins per the face card, but you get the idea. The bottom line is that this will work pretty well, with just a couple of modifications. The rocket has a ton of fin area, comparatively speaking, so even adding an 18mm mount to the tail, it still has a high stability factor. I've elected in the modification to move the included 13mm mount to the upper tube for the sustainer, and use (as mentioned) an 18mm mount for the booster. The catch here is that the 4-second delay on an A3-4T is limiting, and the delay on the A10-3T is worse. According to the sim, it'll work pretty well combining an A8-0 booster motor and a 1/2A-4T in the sustainer. But putting a B6-0 in the bottom or the full A3-4T in the top results in an early deployment, while the rocket is still going up pretty quickly. So, that's an issue, but maybe not a big one. I think I can appreciate a rocket that stages and deploys within about 400', and you can see the whole flight.
Anyway, although the rocket is pretty far along in the build as I write this, I'll be adding to the thread in bits and pieces as I have time. Next update will be going through the parts in the kit and what was added to make the modification.
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