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If Apogee is out of Zepher rockets, I wouldn’t wait for a restock. There are plenty of rockets that will work for you. If the quality of the instructions is important to you, take a look at a Binder Design Excel, a SBR Fusion or an Aerotech Sumo. The Sumo is basically a low and slow stubby rocket that goes together with CA glue. The other two use conventional construction techniques like epoxy (any you can find at a hardware store would do). The performance of the Excel or Fusion would be similar to the Zepher.
the Apogee Katana is a larger Zephyr 54 mm motor with ebay can be flown on motor ejection. if you only use the bottom fin section it is a Zephyr and your ready for l2.
 
Cert flights can be a mite stressful.. Did you mention if you were a member of NAR or Tripoli? Tripoli you can sign up online, I don't know much about NAR. I assume because you mentioned a representative that NAR is running your local field? Don't forget to get you a membership card before you try to L1, haha.

Everyone like's the Zephyr. I can't get over the way the slit is cut in the fin. It just bothers me for some reason. You can prolly sharpen the back side of it and make a very screamy whistle. But it is def a capable kit and IIRC light enough to launch at a Class I field on a F or G motor, depending on how you build it I suppose.

Both 29mm and 38mm MMTs are incredibly versatile. If you want to continue launching her as a Class I (and it doesn't go overweight when you build it) a 29MM adaptor could be handy. I think the Zeph is a bit light for L2 but that's just me. Will prolly do fine with dual deploy if you are going that route, but I would def consider a larger bird.

That said, all the fun you could want out of L1 motors that birdie can do it. Call Tim and tell him put you on a waiting list. If you aren't in a rush and that's the rocket you want then by all means get it. Or perhaps someone purchased a couple and has the kits laying around unopened? Never know.

Come to think of it I might get one and just pack it away as a collectors item since they're so popular. Be like owning an early Alpha in about 30 years, haha.
 
Cert flights can be a mite stressful.. Did you mention if you were a member of NAR or Tripoli? Tripoli you can sign up online, I don't know much about NAR. I assume because you mentioned a representative that NAR is running your local field? Don't forget to get you a membership card before you try to L1, haha.

Everyone like's the Zephyr. I can't get over the way the slit is cut in the fin. It just bothers me for some reason. You can prolly sharpen the back side of it and make a very screamy whistle. But it is def a capable kit and IIRC light enough to launch at a Class I field on a F or G motor, depending on how you build it I suppose.

Both 29mm and 38mm MMTs are incredibly versatile. If you want to continue launching her as a Class I (and it doesn't go overweight when you build it) a 29MM adaptor could be handy. I think the Zeph is a bit light for L2 but that's just me. Will prolly do fine with dual deploy if you are going that route, but I would def consider a larger bird.

That said, all the fun you could want out of L1 motors that birdie can do it. Call Tim and tell him put you on a waiting list. If you aren't in a rush and that's the rocket you want then by all means get it. Or perhaps someone purchased a couple and has the kits laying around unopened? Never know.

Come to think of it I might get one and just pack it away as a collectors item since they're so popular. Be like owning an early Alpha in about 30 years, haha.
I might have to call. My shop teacher is making us all buy level 1 kits which he is not supplying. Says he will fail me if I don’t buy my kit! Only 2 people in the class have gotten theirs so far!
 
I might have to call. My shop teacher is making us all buy level 1 kits which he is not supplying. Says he will fail me if I don’t buy my kit! Only 2 people in the class have gotten theirs so far!
Fusion also offers
If you call Apogee and find out if the weight is too long for you, then I would second what Jack had mentioned about getting a SBR Fusion kit. I bought the SBR 4-in Diablo and it was a fantastic kit and flew even better to get my L1.
fusion is also out of stock.
 
If you need a kit now and don't want to spend a lot of money, a LOC Onyx isn't a bad choice. Around $60 from LOC, 29mm motor mount, and it comes with pretty much everything you need.

If for some reason you need a 38mm motor mount for your class, check out any of the other LOC 3" kits. The Forte is easy to build and flies nicely, and the Athena (also a 29mm motor mount) and Iris look a little different. All of those are around $100 plus shipping. They all appear to be in stock as we speak.
 
Loc Vulcanite - You can get you level 1 and 2 on the same rocket. Just buy a real motor retainer, and ignore the instructions on how to install the shock cord - I always install mine thru the motor mount, not glued to the inside of the tube.
 
Just about any 3" or 4" kit with a 29mm, 38mm, or 54mm motor mount would be a fine level 1 rocket.

There's no reason to limit yourself or wait, unless you just want to.
+1, well said , so in your situation having to buy it yourself, get the most affordable one you like the looks of that's available now.
 
Yep, did my L1 on a LOC 4" Goblin. 956 feet on an H238 (H128 or H165 or H115 will do about same altitude).
This is a very complete kit with Motor adapters to fly 54, 38 & 29mm motors. Only needed to add glue (epoxy) and paint.
 
Fusion also offers

fusion is also out of stock.

Shopping around for kits you can buy today, these would be two of my top picks. If I was buying right now, I'd probably get the Goblin.

SBR Thor 38
LOC Goblin

However, as many others have said in this thread:
Just about any 3" or 4" kit with a 29mm, 38mm, or 54mm motor mount would be a fine level 1 rocket.

There's no reason to limit yourself or wait, unless you just want to.
 
Yep, lots of kits are good L1 cert rockets.
However, be sure to sim with different motors and then 'fly your field'. The motors I listed above have a total impulse of around 165Ns which are baby H's (just over 160Ns). Other H motors can have total impulse up to 320Ns which gives almost twice the altitude.
 
I might have to call. My shop teacher is making us all buy level 1 kits which he is not supplying. Says he will fail me if I don’t buy my kit! Only 2 people in the class have gotten theirs so far!

If you need one now I would buy the LOC 4" Goblin or the LOC 4" EZI-65. I think I would lean more toward the EZI-65 as it's longer, heavier and the fins don't hang off the back of the tube so they are less likely to break off on landing.

https://locprecision.com/collections/rockets-4-00-diameter/products/ezi-65
 
Check out the Binder Design Excel. Mike Fisher will put together the parts and ship the kit quickly. It is very stable and fairly inexpensive.
 
If you need a kit now and don't want to spend a lot of money, a LOC Onyx isn't a bad choice. Around $60 from LOC, 29mm motor mount, and it comes with pretty much everything you need.

If for some reason you need a 38mm motor mount for your class, check out any of the other LOC 3" kits. The Forte is easy to build and flies nicely, and the Athena (also a 29mm motor mount) and Iris look a little different. All of those are around $100 plus shipping. They all appear to be in stock as we speak.
I also like the LOC Iris. It’s fairly easy to construct and can fly on G motors on small fields and baby J motors on large fields. The 38 mm motor mount is good because you can adapt down to 29mm and gives you a wide selection of motors. It’s also a pretty rocket!🚀
 
after looking through everyone’s very helpful comments, I found the binder design excel to be an awesome looking rocket. I might order that one as opposed to the zephyr. The fins are not swept back and i watched some videos on it. Has anyone flown this rocket before?
 
There is also the SBR Fusion in 3” and the SBR fusion flex. After reading a lot about fins and how you don’t want them below the body tube I might want to go with something like these 2 options.
 
after looking through everyone’s very helpful comments, I found the binder design excel to be an awesome looking rocket. I might order that one as opposed to the zephyr. The fins are not swept back and i watched some videos on it. Has anyone flown this rocket before?
Yes, I have flown it. It’s a great flyer, the instructions are great, the fins don’t go below the rear edge of the airframe and it is easy to build. If you intend to use F or G motors along with an H motor, go for the 3 inch version. If you want to go for your Level 1 and 2 using the same rocket, go with the 4 inch version. Also, there are several build threads on TRF. Just use the terms: Binder Excel Build and they should pop up.
 
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There is also the SBR Fusion in 3” and the SBR fusion flex. After reading a lot about fins and how you don’t want them below the body tube I might want to go with something like these 2 options.
The Fusion is a good rocket, too. However, it doesn’t have as many build threads on TRF as the Excel.
 
I might have to call. My shop teacher is making us all buy level 1 kits which he is not supplying. Says he will fail me if I don’t buy my kit! Only 2 people in the class have gotten theirs so far!
HP kits aren’t cheap and he can’t force you to buy something for a grade. I would talk to your principal and parents about that.

On the other hand the basic blues series from always ready rocketry are basically precut scratch builds. For L1 my standard suggestion is the 4” cardboard madcow super dx3. It’s a great rocket and kit.
 
Just curious--are you in this for the class and the grade, or do you want to stay in the hobby long term? Either of those are completely reasonable answers, but they affect your decision. If it's just for the class, get the cheapest option with a 29mm motor mount. If you're in it for the long haul, something bigger may be more reasonable.

HP kits aren’t cheap and he can’t force you to buy something for a grade. I would talk to your principal and parents about that.
Also this.
 
Just curious--are you in this for the class and the grade, or do you want to stay in the hobby long term? Either of those are completely reasonable answers, but they affect your decision. If it's just for the class, get the cheapest option with a 29mm motor mount. If you're in it for the long haul, something bigger may be more reasonable.


Also this.
I am not in this class for the grade, I have loved model rocketry for a very long time, long before this class and am finally getting to do some larger rockets.
 
You can’t go wrong with the zephyr…yes the fins stick out below the tube, but they are tough…and Tim’s instructional video series on how (and why you are doing what he tells you), are second to none…some of the techniques he shows you will stay with you for a very long time….
 
Yes, I have flown it. It’s a great flyer, the instructions are great, the fins don’t go below the rear edge of the airframe and it is easy to build. If you intend to use F or G motors along with an H motor, go for the 3 inch version. If you want to go for your Level 1 and 2 using the same rocket, go with the 4 inch version. Also, there are several build threads on TRF. Just use the terms: Binder Excel Build and they should pop up.
+1
 
I would strongly recommend a few G flights before your level one, and from there I would recommend a nice low and slow H flight.
 
I ended up going with the Excel for my L1. My question is does anyone have the 4 in open rocket file for it? I can always make it myself as well.
 
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