Sturdy E Engine rocket that would survive streamer recovery?

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LtSharpe

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Would like to build an E rocket but am concerned about losing it to surrounding walnut tree groves. I wonder if there are any that are sturdy enough that I could use say a 3 or 4 inch wide, 3 foot streamer on to facilitate easier recovery! Any success in this area?
 
An Estes Eliminator is pretty sturdy with its plastic fincan, but the altitude it gets may outweigh the benefits of a streamer. You can probably use a smaller streamer than that.
 
How about the Estes eliminator. It has a one piece plastic fin unit that looks sturdy. Some other good ones might be the Semroc SLS kits. I just purchased one and have not assembled it yet, but the parts look heavy duty. The body tube is twice as thick as normal Estes kits and the fins are made of wood instead of balsa.
 
Ok I read up on the eliminator. It appears to be a good choice in that it is also lightweight. The executioner is half a pound and on the off chance it comes down on top of something I'd rather it not weight that much. The eliminator is only 4.6 oz so if I build one that will probably be it. Thanks again.
 
Originally posted by LtSharpe
Would like to build an E rocket but am concerned about losing it to surrounding walnut tree groves. I wonder if there are any that are sturdy enough that I could use say a 3 or 4 inch wide, 3 foot streamer on to facilitate easier recovery! Any success in this area?

I have a scratch E flyer based on a BT55 that I usually use a streamer on. Nothing particularly heavy duty about it. I usually use a doubled 6 or 8 foot length of 1" thin plastic construction site marking tape. Something built around a BT50 (no motor mount with rings) would be even lighter and would definitely have no problem.

Something I've noticed recently with streamers and a few unopened chutes, is the tendency for some designs to sort of coast in semi-stable, tail first. It's cool to watch, since they drift one way, then turn and drift another way for a while, but it makes them always land tail first. If you trim your streamer so the bird descends horizontal, you'll be using the body itself to slow descent. In this case the streamer just adjusts the level of the body, but these are so light that's often plenty of drag. After all, body drag is one of the big secrets to streamer duration contest designs.
 
Sounds like backwards gliding. It tends to be the longer models that do that. Be careful tho, when they land they can rip fins off (I had a model with a big span on the fins rip right off even tho there was epoxy fillets.)
 
A couple of points.

Balsa is wood. ;) Know what you mean though.

I think the key here is definitely drag. Extra weight will hold the model lower as it ascends but will also hang extra weight on the streamer as it descends. Extra beefing up just makes the projectile more destructive as it lands too fast. It might survive, but it can do more damage. Not a good trade-off. In this case, drag is your friend. Drag will give you a nice slow takeoff (which is a better show, in my opinion) and will aid in recovery on a streamer as well. If you're going for enhanced drag, just make sure the take-off speed is still high enough for stability, and look out for over-stability and weathercocking. Wide tubes may be better than big fins to prevent tipping into the wind too much.
 
i had an eliminator, but i lost it at the beginning of the month on a 12" chute and an E9. that was a great rocket. super high on an E9. and incredibly fast on an E30. a streamer is preferable, as it tends to drift on a chute. and its quite durable. use epoxy or sand the BT coupler, because when i built it i used wood glue and after a couple flights the only thing holding the tubes together was the decal. i threw some epoxy in it and it never moved again. just be careful on those E9's, it seems to go forever. lol.
 
I have an Estes Stormcaster that I added an E engine hook to. I reinforced the fins (which are TTW) with 20#paper and epoxy. Last month it had a melted parachute and glided to a hard, tail-first impact. Just had to wipe the dirt off the fins. Plus, at $12 list (less with coupons at Micheal's or on the internet), it won't hurt if you do lose it eventually (say, on an AT SU motor).
 
Any of the Semroc SLS kits would do. I've launched my SLS Javelin about 10 times. Came down once with no chute, no streamer, no nothing, hit hard on the dirt and nary a scratch on her. Note to self: don't forget the recovery device.

John (not Jon) Arthur

www.JonRocket.com
 
Apogee Aspire. Goes out of sight on a E9-8 and has streamer recovery. Flown mine twice.
 
Hmmm the aspire looks very interesting. I wonder if at 2500 to 3500 foot altitude with no wind what the diameter would be on the ground. Since it uses a streamer I would assume it comes down pretty straight. This could be very impressive!
 
yeah, uhh, that aspire weighs in at 1.6oz(i believe) and breaks mach on a G80 and breaks a mile on an apogee F10. if you value your kits, you'd fly it solely on estes motors. lol. i was going to buy one, but my field is nowhere NEAR big enough to successfully recover that baby on any AP motor.

a good choice is the LOC aura, its a great little rocket. SUPER intro to MPR, and it comes with a streamer for recovery(although, you'll want to either glass it or put on a larger streamer, because the stock one is a tiny bit too small) it can be flown NICELY(i MEAN nicely) on an E9 for those slow majestic flights to about 800ft. then you can go balls out and put it on a G80(havent attempted this) my largest motor so far for that bird is the F20-7W. GREAT motor for that rocket. zips off the pad to soaring heights, about 2700ft simmed. very durable, and in typical LOC fashion, you can sit on the BT and it will hold you up, thats how thick it is. lol. its an excellent MPR bird, and its 30 bucks shipped at www.hobbylinc.com thats where i got mine...took maybe 5 days.
 
I believe the 3500 foot figure is using an E9 made by apogee. I don't think he has estes e9 specs on his site. Maybe that wouldn't be as high like you said. I will build something along these lines sometime though. Would be fun at least once hehe
 
e9 for a small field ,, thats easy,Estes Dude, streamer optional
 
Apogee doesn't make an E9 - just an E6. The Aspire weighs 1.85oz, and will do about 2100 feet on an E9-6. It'll also fly well on C11's (750 feet) and D12's (1350 feet). I would reccomend that over the dude, mostly because the dude would only do about 400 feet on an E9, not to mention that it is discontinued. Also, the 3500 feet is using an Apogee E6-6
 
cjl, any flight on a motor larger than an E9 is kissing that rocket goodbye. the recovery chances are minute at best. even on big fields. that thing would be lost on an F10 at blackrock!! lol.
 
Originally posted by r1dermon
i had an eliminator, but i lost it at the beginning of the month on a 12" chute and an E9. that was a great rocket. super high on an E9. and incredibly fast on an E30. a streamer is preferable, as it tends to drift on a chute. and its quite durable. use epoxy or sand the BT coupler, because when i built it i used wood glue and after a couple flights the only thing holding the tubes together was the decal. i threw some epoxy in it and it never moved again. just be careful on those E9's, it seems to go forever. lol.
I have an Eliminator in the bag from when I cleaned out Hobby Lobby during the last sale. (Well, I didn't actually clean them out, but I bought a baker's dozen.) What size streamer would be best for the Eliminator? What material?
 
Originally posted by Mad Rocketeer
I have an Eliminator in the bag from when I cleaned out Hobby Lobby during the last sale. (Well, I didn't actually clean them out, but I bought a baker's dozen.) What size streamer would be best for the Eliminator? What material?

Go to a party supply store (like Party City). Pick up a plastic disposable tablecloth. They come in a zillion colors (including shades of neon) and are 8ft long by ~5ft wide. Less than $2 too! You could cut custome sized streamers for 25+ kits easily from one... :D
 
I flew my Executioner on an F21, and recovered it with a 7x70 inch nylon streamer. You are right in assuming it will damage it. The body tube crumpled between two of the fins from landing in a "tail slide". If I had it to do over again, with either the Executioner, or Eliminator, make the seperation point at the coupler between the upper and lower body tube sections. This would make them unstable during recovery, which is a good thing.
 
Also, the Eliminator is significantly lighterthan an Executioner, making it better suited for streamer recovery.
 
exactly. i'd say probably no wider than 2 1/2-3" wide and no longer than 5'. i've never launched it with a streamer though. those are just predictions. its WAY overkill on the supplied 24" chute. save that for a LOC kit(LOC tends to skimp on recovery materials) the eliminator will be one of your straightest flying kits too. its insane. throw it on a D12, hits about 1000', its nasty straight, even in 10mph winds. no weather cocking at all.
 
I would guess it would have very straight flights - my first rocket (an Estes Scorpion) had a similar design and flew straight as an arrow every time.
 
Originally posted by lalligood
Go to a party supply store (like Party City). Pick up a plastic disposable tablecloth. They come in a zillion colors (including shades of neon) and are 8ft long by ~5ft wide. Less than $2 too! You could cut custome sized streamers for 25+ kits easily from one... :D

I get mine at the dollar store for a buck.

They have a texture and the plastic doesn't stick to itself.
 
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