Estes Space X Falcon 9 advertisement w/price

rocket sok
Advertise with us
the rocketry show
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
So altitude was 155 feet? Do you think that was apogee, or somewhat lower ejection altitude?

Too bad about the fin, looks like it wants a soft field. I’ll wait for spring when our ground isn’t frozen!
 
dpower said:
So altitude was 155 feet? Do you think that was apogee, or somewhat lower ejection altitude?

Too bad about the fin, looks like it wants a soft field. I’ll wait for spring when our ground isn’t frozen!
Click to expand...
I was running the Jolly Logic 2 Altimeter. It indicated Apogee at 155' and ejection altitude at 137'. Had the rocket not arched over a bit like it did, I could have gotten a little more altitude out of it.

Interesting note: The advertising and the box for the Falcon 9 says it comes with an 18" parachute. Not wanting to open up the brand new chute in the box, I decided to use my own used 18" chute. Yes, she came down pretty hard and busted off a fin. Then it dawned on me, the chute that came with it in the box is red, which, according to Estes' chute guide, is a 24" chute. I contacted Estes about that and they agreed that the 18" is a missprint and that they would correct that, but I've yet to see a change. Additionally, they did sent me a replacement fin set because of their error in printing the chute size. But they they followed up with "Please ensure you use the chute size we recommend", which is funny, because that's exactly what I did........ :)

My 2nd flight with it used a 24" chute and it came down slower. I don't know if it was slow enough to prevent a fin break because I caught it........
 
Hindsight is always 20/20 right? And I should have invested in that fruit company Apple back in the 80's too! LOL Just funnin' with ya.

Value may increase, but nothing beats the value of watching a rocket go Shooooosh! up into the sky! :)
 
I bought a spacex rocket from their website a few years ago; it has thin transparent fins that don't really feel like they'll work well, but will shred on the way up.
 
For anyone still wondering who wants to buy one for $150... take a look at this Twitter thread, it is quite interesting:


There are a bunch of replies from people who had no idea such a thing existed, and who (claim to) want one. Estes needs to (somehow) get the word out better to the SpaceX crowd.
 
neil_w said:
For anyone still wondering who wants to buy one for $150... take a look at this Twitter thread, it is quite interesting:


There are a bunch of replies from people who had no idea such a thing existed, and who (claim to) want one. Estes needs to (somehow) get the word out better to the SpaceX crowd.
Click to expand...

It was somehow lost on me how large it was, but yeah, it's 1/100 scale, not 1/200 like the SV and SLS.
 
neil_w said:
and who (claim to) want one
Click to expand...
That's the key. I mean, I want one, but I can't justify the $150 price tag. I'm willing to bet more than a few people who want one will have second thoughts when they see the price. Still, you make a great point about how there are plenty of people who would like to have this rocket, but don't even know it exists.
 
Everyday Astronaut has a $320 model of the Falcon 9, but it's all metal, the legs fold out and the stages separate. It's more than double the cost of the Estes rocket, but as a table-top desk ornament, the $320 one gets you a lot more. Sure you can't fly the metal one (well, only if you shoved a K motor in there), but the Metal one is also less likely to break.
 
techrat said:
Everyday Astronaut has a $320 model of the Falcon 9, but it's all metal, the legs fold out and the stages separate. It's more than double the cost of the Estes rocket, but as a table-top desk ornament, the $320 one gets you a lot more. Sure you can't fly the metal one (well, only if you shoved a K motor in there), but the Metal one is also less likely to break.
Click to expand...
The $320 model you mention has this description on Everyday Astronaut: "Primarily Metal Construction with some Injection Mold Plastic". Looking at the photos, the legs and grid fins are all plastic, along with a lot of the detail parts. Since the tube areas are heavier metal, the chances of breaking the plastic spindly leg parts look worse.
 
I know I am a bit late but I don’t see the appeal of the ready to fly models, if they are for people who don’t do rocketry as a hobby then they would be better off with a starter kit not a big heavy rocket.
 
We have a few at our launches as well. Might check out a company called Max Q. He has one for $50
 
JPalmer621 said:
We have a few at our launches as well. Might check out a company called Max Q. He has one for $50
Click to expand...
Just bought it, but have not assembled yet. Looking forward to it, because it's 1/3rd the price of the Estes rocket, and might actually fly better. And I'm excited that I have to assemble and paint it. But Max-Q is a new company, so I gave them my business because I would like to see more firms participate in this hobby.
 
OC-Patrick said:
Anyone know more about Max Q? They offer 2 rocket kits and have a physical address out of Texas. The build video is great, by the way.
Click to expand...
I ordered their rockets. They are 100% 3D printed. You can assemble one of their kits in a single evening. No painting is required for the one I've built so far, which is the Falcon9 -- the parts that are supposed to be white are printed in white and the parts that are supposed to be black are printed in black. Decals are provided. The instructions are so-so, but you can figure it out if you've ever assembled an Estes kit. Parts are keyed, so that they should only go together the correct way, but I dry fitted everything just to be sure as it's not 100% clear which bits fit together. But like I said, you can figure it out, and it will go together pretty quick if you're using CA to assemble it.

What I like is that they include the 2nd stage engine and nozzle, even though that's hidden when the model is assembled, although that's all part of the "nose cone", but still it's a nice touch if you want to use it as a display model as well.

My concern is that they say to attach the shock cord right in the path of the ejection charge, which to me means I'm likely to have separation on my very first flight , but we'll see. Haven't flown this yet, but may try in December if the weather is good. Will let you know. I was happy to give these guys my money simply because I'd like to see more mom-and-pop producers of model rocket kits.
 

Similar threads

turbofireball
Estes RTF 1/200 Space Shuttle advertisement arrives!
2
Replies
36
Views
4K
GusGrissom
G
turbofireball
Estes Great Goblin Advertisement
3 4 5
Replies
129
Views
7K
bad_idea
bad_idea
J
Need Suggestions for Rebuilding a Estes 1:100 Apollo Saturn V #1969 (Long)
Replies
8
Views
1K
JPalmer621
J
cwbullet
Good news on the WSJ
Replies
14
Views
1K
Blast it Tom!
Blast it Tom!
stealth6
For the cyclists here (who might actually care about such things)....
Replies
22
Views
471
Kabulrocks
Kabulrocks

Latest posts

Back
Top