Estes "Solar Sail" parachute dilemma

[eugenefl]

Last weekend jetra2 and I hung out to do some local <a href="https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=10032">park flying</a>. Every time I go to his side of the bay I visit and support our good friend Ralph, owner of "Ralph's Hobbies" who carries a small inventory of model rockets. While there I dug through his "junk pile" or "pile-o-parts" and picked up a few things including some clear BT50 payload tubes and a red BT50 tube. While fumbling through the parts I came across a mylar looking chute that looked very familiar. Well, low and behold it was an OOP Solar Sail parachute from the OOP <a href="https://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/catalogs/estes91/91est40.html">Solar Sailer II</a>. Unfortunately it isn't in its packaging, but it is still neatly folded in its unwrapped state. Being the collector that I am and knowing it's rarety, I am feeling a lot of pressure to tuck it away for preservation. I am having some very conflicting feelings now because I am finally able to reproduce water slide decals and I also have the balsa cone that came with the SS2. So you see, I am really feeling the pressure to clone it too!

Oh the pain. What to do? What would you do?!

 

[Donaldsrockets]

I have two of those, got 'em on ROL. I assembled one to see what it looked like, used it in my Estes Outlander, it proved to be too small for it so I removed it and haven't used it since.

The other is still in the package but since I'm not really a collector, I will probably assemble and use it eventually.

I think they would look best when used with futuristic Sci-Fi designs.

I'd say build the rocket.

 

[DynaSoar]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Oh the pain. What to do? What would you do?!

Build stuff. Probably not a clone, but an improved version. Unless some ide happened at me and I spun it off into something totally unlike the original. Frinstance, the Star Duster I built started out as an Estes Bull Pup kit.

 

[DJ Delorie]

Clone it! There are a couple of us on TRF doing SS up/downscales and clones, we can provide you all the details you need to get it built. I still have my original Solar Sailer (I not II!) although it's post-core-sample, but I can measure it if you need, and I have a program that generates rocksim files for the SS in nearly any scale.

Or, send the chute to me and I'll save it for when I rebuild my original SS

(18mm cored, 24mm flown, 3x24mm and 13mm on the bench)

 

[slim_t]

Maybe this will help:
5 to 10 years from now which story would be more interesting?

A. I found this rare chute, cloned the rocket, and flew it a dozen times only to lose it in a tree.

or

B. I found this chute and sold it on Ebay.

Guess what I voted.

Tim

 

[cls]

did you see Toy Story 2? know what happens to toys that don't get played with, that get "collected"? they die a slow, lingering, horrible, plastic-wrapped, claustraphobic, dusty, miserable, neglected death. don't let that happen to your rockets and parts, build them and fly them and give them the chance to be their best!!

 

[skippy-2]

did you see Toy Story 2? know what happens to toys that don't get played with, that get "collected"? they die a slow, lingering, horrible, plastic-wrapped, claustraphobic, dusty, miserable, neglected death. don't let that happen to your rockets and parts, build them and fly them and give them the chance to be their best!!

Cliff, you made my morning!

 

[cls]

thanks a lot.

 

[Steward]

To infinity... and beyond...!!!

 

[2muchstuff]

did you see Toy Story 2? know what happens to toys that don't get played with, that get "collected"? they die a slow, lingering, horrible, plastic-wrapped, claustraphobic, dusty, miserable, neglected death. don't let that happen to your rockets and parts, build them and fly them and give them the chance to be their best!!

Hmmm. I've got a Solar Sailor still NIB on my 'rocket shelf' at the office. Now I'm going to feel sad every time I look at it and its brethren. I guess I'm going to have to start talking happy to them - how glad I am they are still NIB, how great they look, how happy they make me.

My employees will think I'm crazy, but they already think that. At least I'll sleep better at night know my rocket kits are happy. Heck, I'll even dust them off once in a while.


tms

ps: Like everyone else, I've got an Estes Saturn V still in shrink wrap. Talk about a kit that's screaming to be built and flown. Just as soon as I build that Interceptor G, that Orbital Transport, that Interceptor, .... man, I've got a lot of kits mad at me.

 

[dwmzmm]

I've got the Solar Sailer kit still "in-the-bag" along with its' famous parachute;
just haven't gotten around to building it (yet). And, no, I don't have any plans to part with it .

 

[Gillard]

i've got (had) the solar sail parachute, and it got ruined when it had a brief encounter with a tree, so, clone the rocket and fly here, but take extra care, losing that parachute was the only parachute that i have felt saddened about