Squirrel Works Firebird SST

[JAL3]

To my mind, one of the most visually appealing LPR offerings from any manufacturer is the Firebird SST from Squirrel Works. It never fails to draw favorable comment from any bystanders who see it. This last Saturday was no exception and Lindsey, the girl I shanghaied to shag rockets asked me to fly it. I was glad to oblige.

The original build thread is in the TRF Archive here: https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showthread.php?t=45420

I prepped the Firebird with a long burning Quest C6-3 and took it out to the pad. I had to wait while others made their hookups and launched but that was fine because it was still drawing favorable reviews from those present.

 

[JAL3]

While I had had some issues with the longer burning Quest motors with heavier rockets, I had none with this one. It lit right off and flew straight, high and long.

 

[JAL3]

The chute ejected a bit early but that was to be expected with the delay I had. It deployed fine and started coming down. It was a bit worrisome at first because I knew the chute was a bit small. It was a replacement, not the original.

 

[JAL3]

When it got closer to the ground, it seemed to hit the brakes and slow down a bit more. It landed without a scratch but Lindsey had to do some walking!

 

[Fred22]

You did a good job on the sst John
Cheers
fred

 

[troj]

My son has one of those in my "hurry up and finish so we can fly it, dad!" pile. I agree -- it's a very cool looking rocket.

Thank goodness Don includes those little jigs for getting the angles right, or I likely would've gone crazy.

I really like the kit, and need to get it painted and flown!

-Kevin