Estes Summer of Pro Series II - Sneek Peek

[Gastrok]

Any speculation as to what Estes might be offering in the 29mm category this summer?
BTW - "sneek" is their spelling from the email. Maybe a clue??

 

[Art Upton]

Great Goblin

 

[Antares JS]

Great Goblin and So Long off the top of my head, but there may be a surprise or two.

 

[BEC]

In the parallel discussion over on YORF a Black Brant of some sort was also mentioned.

 

[Raythain]

In the parallel discussion over on YORF a Black Brant of some sort was also mentioned.

There’s a BBXII PSII kit in the 2023 catalog. Could see that this summer too.

 

[Gastrok]

In the parallel discussion over on YORF a Black Brant of some sort was also mentioned.

What is this YORF you speak of? TRF newbie here.

 

[Hobie1dog]

What is this YORF you speak of? TRF newbie here.

Ye Old Rocket Forum, the "other place"

 

[Gastrok]

Personally, I want a 29mm Honest John or Nike Smoke.

 

[Art Upton]

Personally, I want a 29mm Honest John or Nike Smoke.

There already was an Estes 29mm motor 3" dia Nike Smoke. I have several, now out of production and command Ebay prices when and IF they do show up.

https://www.insanerocketry.com/main/display/7917638087884359768/

 

[Art Upton]

The problem was some of the previous PSII kits like the Nike Smoke were too heavy to fly on Estes BP motors; and they where made when they were selling Aerotech engines to power them with their label on the APCP motors.

That is why they discontinued them when Aerotech became a competitor

 

[Art Upton]

The problem was some of the previous PSII kits like the Nike Smoke were too heavy to fly on Estes BP motors; and they where made when they were selling Aerotech engines to power them with their label on the APCP motors.

That is why they discontinued them when Aerotech became a competitor

Now if they made one in a 2.5 or 2.2 airframe that could work with the F15s

 

[Banzai88]

........when Aerotech became a competitor

AT wasn't ever really in competition with Estes, unless you count the AT MP rockets, and they came first before the Estes PS II kits, so it's Estes who went head to head with AT.

The "Estes" composite motors always were AT motors with Estes stickers on them and $5-$7 added to the price.

The market figured it out pretty early, and few were really concerned about the builder PSII kits (since they were larger and an order of magnitude more expensive than the typical Estes LP customer) until they were on the way out and the clearance prices put them squarely into the gateway for those looking to move up to MP rockets, or for cheap and simple L1 rockets.

That and FOMO started a sales frenzy!

When that happened, a whole generation of BARs stepped into L1.

 

[gldknght]

Personally, I want a 29mm Honest John or Nike Smoke.

I want one of these so badly, it's my next scratch build project.

 

[Gastrok]

I want one of these so badly, it's my next scratch build project.

If/when, please share you plans/.ork file!

 

[Scott_650]

Personally, I want a 29mm Honest John or Nike Smoke.

You can have either as long as you don’t insist on it coming from Estes:

https://www.fusionrocket.biz/store-2/?model_number=HOJO3
http://www.cosmodromerocketry.com/NikeSmoke.html

 

[gldknght]

If/when, please share you plans/.ork file!

I'm in the middle of a Big Red Max build, so the Smoke will be next, probably in June.
Look for a build thread here.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

The problem was some of the previous PSII kits like the Nike Smoke were too heavy to fly on Estes BP motors; and they where made when they were selling Aerotech engines to power them with their label on the APCP motors.

That is why they discontinued them when Aerotech became a competitor

Indeed. Although the LJ2 is not a PSII, the recommended motor was E30. Still made Gary's LJ2 turn into a missile. He went to look for it but disappeared.

 

[K'Tesh]

The 4" MDRM nosecone is back at Estes...

https://estesrockets.com/products/072415-pro-series-ii™-4-plastic-nose-cone

 

[tsmith1315]

The 4" MDRM nosecone is back at Estes.

Wow, the price surely isn’t back!

 

[K'Tesh]

I'd love to see the Argent come back...

 

[SolarYellow]

The 4" MDRM nosecone is back at Estes...

https://estesrockets.com/products/072415-pro-series-ii™-4-plastic-nose-cone

Might be fun to build a giant Enerjet 1340.

 

[Pinetree]

So Long


https://m.facebook.com/estesrockets/

 

[Sooner Boomer]

https://estesrockets.com/products/so-long

 

[StreuB1]

Wow, the price surely isn’t back!

Unfortunately, they took note of all of the HPR fliers that bought up all the cones 2 years ago. They made more cones for a rocket they no longer produce, and jacked the price up by 500%.

Can't say I blame them, just not happy about it. Still, $25 for that cone isn't horrible.

 

[bad_idea]

Can't say I blame them, just not happy about it. Still, $25 for that cone isn't horrible.

It's a dollar or so cheaper than the similar LOC cone. Question is, what does it weigh? OpenRocket (actually the parts database upstream of OR) thinks it weighs more than twice what the LOC cone does, which doesn't seem right.

Edit to add: but yeah, I sure wish I'd bought one when they were giving them away last year.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

It's a dollar or so cheaper than the similar LOC cone. Question is, what does it weigh? OpenRocket (actually the parts database upstream of OR) thinks it weighs more than twice what the LOC cone does, which doesn't seem right.

Edit to add: but yeah, I sure wish I'd bought one when they were giving them away last year.

At least there's free shipping where LOC charges an arm and a leg. I ended up going with Randy for the LOC Patriot because at least he'll try to find a cheaper shipping option.

 

[jmasterj]

The Estes cones don't fit the same size tubes as the LOC ones, so it's not like they're interchangeable (though they are definitely comparable). I would likely end up just getting the cone that fits the airframe I chose.

Nope, I was thinking of 3" tubes.

 

[DigBaddy]

It's a dollar or so cheaper than the similar LOC cone. Question is, what does it weigh? OpenRocket (actually the parts database upstream of OR) thinks it weighs more than twice what the LOC cone does, which doesn't seem right.

Edit to add: but yeah, I sure wish I'd bought one when they were giving them away last year.

My MDRM sim shows I recorded mine at 283g/9.98oz. But, that could be wrong as my sim is wonky (fin shape) when I open it in the latest OR.

edit, just weighed it, that's what it weighs.

Sim for by 4" LOC nosecone on another rocket says that's 233g/8.2oz

 

[Back_at_it]

The cone weights 8.5oz and it is a perfect fit for the LOC 4 inch tubing if you wanted to use that instead of Estes.

 

[bad_idea]

My MDRM sim shows I recorded mine at 283g/9.98oz. But, that could be wrong as my sim is wonky (fin shape) when I open it in the latest OR.

edit, just weighed it, that's what it weighs.

Sim for by 4" LOC nosecone on another rocket says that's 233g/8.2oz

The cone weights 8.5oz and it is a perfect fit for the LOX 4inch tubing if you wanted to use that instead of Estes.

Thank you both. That's quite a bit heavier than I would have expected. Also, thanks for confirming the fit to LOC tubing. That was what I expected given the dimensional data I'd seen before.