Low Power for my Grandson

[Ron Soto]

As i move forward with my L1 Cert with my Zephyr, I showed one of my grandson's (he's 8, and already seen my Zephyr) videos on youtube of rocket launches.. HAHAHA, his eyes got as big as saucers! previously i asked my son-in-law if he would be alright with me buying him an Estes kit.. (he said yes). so as my grandsons eyes are wide open i asked "can you do this"? he smiled and said yes! so i then told him "well then your in.. i already got the ok from your dad". i mentioned that we would build it together, with me overwatching.., and that when i go to the launch in Dalzell, he'll come with me. the look on his face made it all worth it!

on tuesday last week, we went to hobby lobby and he picked up (with me buying of course) the Estes HI Flyer' and i picked up the Estes Tigress. when picking one for me.. i decided to get a lower model then him.. when looking at the hi-flyer' on the estes E it'll be reaching just about 1500', and it looks like the Tigress with fly to ~1100' on a C.

Kits are basic.. especially the tigress.. snap-together with plastic cement. the hi-flier, is a kit that he'll be able to do with a little help from "granpa"

kits + motors about 50 bucks.... him wanting to do it with me... priceless.

r-

 

[allensmith]

I know that feeling r-soto. I spent last Saturday building with my grandson (he's 7). We also fly in Dalzell sometimes. I got him a Tandem-X outfit for his birthday a year ago and he jumps at every chance to fly, whether it's at our home field or Dalzell (a 3-hour drive for us). I built us a pair of Attack Craft Orion birds from the '80s. Customized the decals so that we have different tail numbers and his has his name as the pilot on the cockpit. He loves it. His Amazon is probably his favorite. He always flies it underpowered, but it works. He lost his Lil' Grunt back in October in Dalzell, but he got another one for Christmas.

All we can do is try to pass our love for the hobby on to them and hope they catch the passion we have for it. Sounds like you are doing a good job doing your part. Keep it up.

 

[smstachwick]

Sounds like you got the Hi-Flier XL, the BT-60 upscale with the 24x95mm (Estes E12-sized) motor mount. That’s a fun one.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Sounds like you got the Hi-Flier XL, the BT-60 upscale with the 24x95mm (Estes E12-sized) motor mount. That’s a fun one.

That'd be nice, but we have an 18 mm Hi Flier and it'll do 1500' on a C6-7.

 

[Ron Soto]

Sounds like you got the Hi-Flier XL, the BT-60 upscale with the 24x95mm (Estes E12-sized) motor mount. That’s a fun one.

thinking tomorrow early evening.. with wifey is still sick... so i'll take the building materials over to his house and start on the MM and what not..

yup.. cant wait to see 'er fly.

r-

 

[DJRNY]

As i move forward with my L1 Cert with my Zephyr, I showed one of my grandson's (he's 8, and already seen my Zephyr) videos on youtube of rocket launches..

Great thread! That is how I got here. My oldest grandson is 8 now, and loves building Lego's, robot kits, etc. I enjoyed rocketry when I was young, and I hoped he'd get interested. So I decided to try to influence him. Last year he "helped" me build an Estes Big Bertha, Dynastar Grappler, and an Apogee Zephyr Jr, and we got to launch them together a few times.

This Christmas I got him an Estes Journey launch set. We worked on the rocket one afternoon over Christmas vacation and got it mostly assembled. I thought the rocket was pretty well designed for someone his age and went together with no problems. We're spending time together in a few days so I hope to finish the rocket and put the launch pad together. Unfortunately we probably won't get to launch it for a couple months due to the weather.

Meanwhile I am building some bigger rockets (including a Zephyr) which he thinks is pretty cool, and trying to think of what to get him next!

 

[Ron Soto]

Great thread! That is how I got here. My oldest grandson is 8 now, and loves building Lego's, robot kits, etc. I enjoyed rocketry when I was young, and I hoped he'd get interested. So I decided to try to influence him. Last year he "helped" me build an Estes Big Bertha, Dynastar Grappler, and an Apogee Zephyr Jr, and we got to launch them together a few times.

This Christmas I got him an Estes Journey launch set. We worked on the rocket one afternoon over Christmas vacation and got it mostly assembled. I thought the rocket was pretty well designed for someone his age and went together with no problems. We're spending time together in a few days so I hope to finish the rocket and put the launch pad together. Unfortunately we probably won't get to launch it for a couple months due to the weather.

Meanwhile I am building some bigger rockets (including a Zephyr) which he thinks is pretty cool, and trying to think of what to get him next!

This is terrific! Passing along your passions, and what you've learned from your grandfather, to your grandson.. this is exactly what I'm talking about.

When our grandchildren look back when they were young, they'll be thinking how cool it was that 'grandpa and I', built and flew rockets. 3rd grade teacher "what did you all do over the weekend? " I'm sure the look on all the 'other' boys faces would be like 'HUH.. you did what!

Thanks for sharing.

R-

 

[NTP2]

3rd grade teacher "what did you all do over the weekend? " I'm sure the look on all the 'other' boys faces would be like 'HUH.. you did what!

Change the 3 for a 9 and that happens every year once in a while, someone once asked if they ran on gasoline!

 

[SolarYellow]

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/improving-the-estes-hi-flier-hot-wash-lessons-learned.180435/

 

[cls]

Something to consider for the first several flights. He's new, he hasn't learned to follow the rocket through the flight. Several rounds of A and B motors would be plenty exciting before that long burn C6-5.

 

[Ron Soto]

Something to consider for the first several flights. He's new, he hasn't learned to follow the rocket through the flight. Several rounds of A and B motors would be plenty exciting before that long burn C6-5.

actually, the tigress is for me.. which could run of the motors your mentioning. i got the Hi-Flyer for him.. and i'm thinking a's and b's might be too small. i'll check tonight when starting the build.
r-

 

[smstachwick]

actually, the tigress is for me.. which could run of the motors your mentioning. i got the Hi-Flyer for him.. and i'm thinking a's and b's might be too small. i'll check tonight when starting the build.
r-

Good idea.

Generally the smallest recommended motors are best for a demonstration flight. The Hi-Flier XL does fine on C11s (with orange adapter ring), the standard Hi Flier works OK on 1/2A6-2s or A8s.

 

[Voyhager3]

If you want something real fun (and cheap!), build an Ultra-Flier! My 24mm upscale, of a Hi-Flyer. I used to run F44s and F30/32s, use basically no streamer and they would land right back at the pad, and since it was so light, it wouldn't even be damaged! Everyone, especially the younger ones were entertained by it.

Change the 3 for a 9 and that happens every year once in a while, someone once asked if they ran on gasoline!

I think someone said that to me once too!

 

[SolarYellow]

actually, the tigress is for me.. which could run of the motors your mentioning. i got the Hi-Flyer for him.. and i'm thinking a's and b's might be too small. i'll check tonight when starting the build.
r-

Assuming you got the BT-20 Hi-Flier that's $6.99 at Hobby Lobby, it will fly just fine on As and Bs. It will want the longest delays, though. HL doesn't sell A8-5, but it does sell B6-6s. Those will be nice flights. There's a serious chance of the H-F going out of sight and being lost on a C6-7.

 

[NTP2]

I think someone said that to me once too!

I considered saying “no it’s an electric” but didn’t.

 

[K'Tesh]

I've become a big fan of "big, low and slow" when I think of launches for kids. Large diameter (BT-60 and greater) LPR/MPR kits are impressive, and the low altitude flights improve recovery options, and thanks to that, more launch opportunities. Smaller kits are more likely to fly higher and thus getting lost, reducing the launch area options, and number of launches due to that.

Therefore, I'd go for the Estes Citation Patriot, Der Red Max (to include using a 18" body tube to recreate the classic Der Big Red Max), Green Eggs, Olympus, or (aesthetically not my type, but fits the bill) Big Bertha.

 

[SolarYellow]

If you get into scratch building, cloning a Fat Boy would be a good low/slow option. Or downscale a Big Daddy to BT-80, making essentially a slightly sleeker Fat Boy.

 

[Ronz Rocketz]

I've become a big fan of "big, low and slow" when I think of launches for kids. Large diameter (BT-60 and greater) LPR/MPR kits are impressive, and the low altitude flights improve recovery options, and thanks to that, more launch opportunities. Smaller kits are more likely to fly higher and thus getting lost, reducing the launch area options, and number of launches due to that.

Therefore, I'd go for the Estes Citation Patriot, Der Red Max (to include using a 18" body tube to recreate the classic Der Big Red Max), Green Eggs, Olympus, or (aesthetically not my type, but fits the bill) Big Bertha.

The important part is verifying that the egg was not hard boiled.

 

[DJRNY]

I've become a big fan of "big, low and slow"

My favorite "Big, low and slow" when I launch with the grand kids is the Dynastar Grappler (Apogee Components) on a Estes E12-6. You need a longer launch rod but the flights are slow, stay in sight, and the relatively long burn time is cool as well.