Estes magic Apache smoke

[Ablative]

 

[Ablative]

Sorry I’m a noob to posting on a forum and only have a smartphone. This is my Estes magician I just completed. I really like the Magician kit but the face card paint scheme and the decals are kinda lame in my opinion. I just blended some elements of the Nike Smoke and Nike Apache to make the Magic Apache Smoke!

 

[kuririn]

I think your fins are on backwards.
Yeah, call me Doug Downer.

 

[Ablative]

Lol upon reflection it looks like your exactly right! Although, a google search shows it looks like a common mistake. I hope the altimeter in the payload section will balance it out.

 

[Andy Greene]

Lol upon reflection it looks like your exactly right! Although, a google search shows it looks like a common mistake. I hope the altimeter in the payload section will balance it out.

It will be perfectly fine - I build my 2nd one with the fins backwards on purpose because the first one flew so well that way Sadly #1 if was lost when I got greedy on an f motor

 

[Ablative]

It will be perfectly fine - I build my 2nd one with the fins backwards on purpose because the first one flew so well that way Sadly #1 if was lost when I got greedy on an f motor

Awesome, I’m glad to hear that! This will be my first build using an altimeter. I didn’t have the heart to punch holes in my other builds and being new didn’t realize that was required to get accurate measurements. Thanks again for the insight!

 

[Mugs914]

Looks very nice Ablative! Like Andy said the backward fins will make zero difference performance-wise, and they look kinda cool like that.

Welcome to the Forum, by the way!

 

[Ablative]

Looks very nice Ablative! Like Andy said the backward fins will make zero difference performance-wise, and they look kinda cool like that.

Welcome to the Forum, by the way!

Thanks! Glad to be here it’s a great resource with lots of supportive folks.

 

[Nytrunner]

Magician is a fantastic flier! An E9 or E12 can send it ~1/4 mile

Don't worry about the backward fins, the CP change is negligible

 

[kuririn]

Like I said on another thread, if somebody asks about the fins, just say "I like the reverse look, so I built it that way on purpose".
That's what I do.

 

[Ablative]

Magician is a fantastic flier! An E9 or E12 can send it ~1/4 mile

Don't worry about the backward fins, the CP change is negligible

I’m psyched to send it up on an E12-4. It was a great kit that’s why I wanted to spruce it up a little. I spent almost as much on the decals as the kit cost because I wanted to do it justice. This was my first build where I broke significantly from the face card scheme. I’ll try and follow up with a video of the launch. Thanks so much for the encouragement. I love that this hobby teaches you patience and mindfulness and that there is always something to improve upon on the next build just like life itself.

 

[BABAR]

It’s a nice looking bird, even if the kitty clock doesn’t want to look at it!

Hope you have a great flight and a soft recovery, so it stays looking good!

 

[neil_w]

Nice work!

 

[Ablative]

It’s a nice looking bird, even if the kitty clock doesn’t want to look at it!

Hope you have a great flight and a soft recovery, so it stays looking good!

Lol I dig the kitty clock it was my wife’s idea

 

[Nytrunner]

I’m psyched to send it up on an E12-4.

Go one size down on the chute, or use a streamer. It hangs up there.

Go luck!

 

[Ablative]

Go one size down on the chute, or use a streamer. It hangs up there.

Go luck!

Would a spill hole on the standard chute be enough to keep it reasonable?

 

[nosecone]

I like it, those colors look great

 

[Nytrunner]

Would a spill hole on the standard chute be enough to keep it reasonable?

It could. Removing material from.the middle of a parachute doesnt lower the area very much though. Sometimes a spill hole stabilizes the chute and makes it drop slower

 

[BABAR]

This is a good rocket design for streamer or chute with a big spill hole. Since the fin rear edges sweep forward and motor sticks out the tail, the casing takes up the brunt of the impact, so it handles a faster descent rate than say your typical Alpha.

 

[OverTheTop]

Nice rocket Ablative!

 

[Ablative]

First test with my altimeter on a E12-4. It blew the ejection charge right off the pad and shredded my chute and shock cord and melted some of the exterior paint. Never had one do this but I’m still relatively new. Good news is the altimeter worked and we recovered it with a reading of 115 feet lol. Any ideas? Is this a bad motor?

 

[Nytrunner]

Unfortunately you've had a CATO

It can happen when the motor is stored in a hot place and the case expands more than the propellant. When cooked down (may be a cold launch day), there can be space between propellant and case that gives more burn area and over pressures the motor. These 24mm Es can be susceptible.

 

[Ablative]

Unfortunately you've had a CATO

It can happen when the motor is stored in a hot place and the case expands more than the propellant. When cooked down (may be a cold launch day), there can be space between propellant and case that gives more burn area and over pressures the motor. These 24mm Es can be susceptible.

Thanks for taking the time to look at the post and giving analysis. That makes perfect sense and thinking back I remember thinking the engine felt a little tighter than usual when sliding into the motor mount. I’ve just been lucky up to this point to not have it happen to me! Funny thing was I had my brother in law with me that day who I’ve been trying to get in the hobby and he got to witness a wide range of launch outcomes that day lol. The magician cato’d, my v2 broke some chute lines and managed to fall in the road and narrowly missed getting obliterated by a truck, and the goblin I had resurrected after landing in a pond functioned flawlessly lol.