What is Your Favorite BP D-Powered Bird?

[maricopasem]

I'm going to put in another vote for the 24mm Estes Patriot. It flies great and the price is unbeatable with a 40% off coupon. Which leads me to my next purchase/mod: a 24mm Estes Guardian.

 

[rocketguy101]

this is tough...for me its a tie between the Cherokee-D and the Sandhawk

 

[H_Rocket]

Loc Viper III and Viper IY

 

[MarkII]

this is tough...for me its a tie between the Cherokee-D and the Sandhawk

Estes Sandhawk? Looks nice. I knew that they were made, but I have never seen one "in the wild." ASP makes a Micromaxx version (I have two of them) and a 13mm sized Sandhawk, and LOC has the MPR/HPR Yank Sandhawk in two or three sizes, but no one currently makes a 24mm version. I wish that someone would.

For some time now (the project has just had its 2nd anniversary) I have been working on building a clone of the FSI Sandia Sandhawk (and driving myself nuts over correcting the relatively minor scale issues). But I'm inching my way toward completing it.

MarkII

 

[tnjeff]

I have to second the Fat Boy. We build ours with 3/32 basswood fins and they're tough little rockets. Nice flights with a D12. Really zips off the pad with an E30 too.

 

[timorley]

Estes Astron Renegade

https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/est1271.htm

 

[privateer]

Wow, I had completely forgotten that as a kid I had a Maxi-Icarus that I flew quite alot.

https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/est1331.htm

 

[KHamel]

Thrustline Alien Troop Mover nice slow lift off.

 

[heut]

My favorite would be the CC express from Estes. I had trouble with the chute at times but that actually saved the rocket. Since there was no complete deploy it came down with a streamer-chute. The other time it did not deploy at all, and burried it self about 4 inches in the gravel of a base ball court. Now it is an inch shorter than it used to be (repaired it). The great thing about this rocket is the slow lift off and than the extreme acceleration when the second stage starts its burn. I did probably 1800 ft with it and calculated a topspeed of 550 km/hr . Not bad for a small rocket.

 

[Moldie]

Loc Viper III.

 

[gpoehlein]

Right now it's my Estes Big Daddy, but then I haven't painted and flown my Maxi-Alpha yet - it's waiting for a good paint day and the time to do it! On the drawing board is one that will probably take it away from the Maxi-Alpha - a Maxi Trident (BT-60 main tubes and BT-50 side tubes). Got the parts but I gotta put it together and paint it.

 

[Gillard]

edmonds ECEE thunder, really nice glides on a D, better on an E

 

[JoeG]

Estes Cherokee D and then the Estes Pathfinder.

Great flyers and excellent exercise machines.

 

[BsSmith]

My favorite D powered one is my dad's old Estes Seastrike D. The rocket had been lawn darted and rebuilt multiple times before we discovered tape-staging. If I remember right, it was the first model rocket that I ever saw fly.

My favorite D-powered rocket of all time is the Estes Omega. I bought an Omega/Cineroc when I was 13 or 14 years old. I put in on layaway at the Eglin Base Exchange. It took me six weeks of saving to pay the ransom and pick it up.

I flew it with the movie camera only once then Estes stopped selling the film cartridges. But, somewhere, I have that film. I launched the rocket, single-staged, on a D12-3 in a cow pasture on my mother's family's farm. We were on vacation. I forgot the blast deflector, so, in the film you see that I used a piece of aluminum foil which just blows away as the motor ignites.

I don't think I ever flew it two-stage as a kid. One D motor was too big and too scary. Two was ... well ... way too much. In fact, I usually flew the Omega on a C motor.

About a year ago, though, I built a clone kit and did fly it two-stage. It was a nice flight even though I had to rescue the rocket from a tree.

A few years ago I build an upscale Omega that I've flown on I and J motors. I used it to get my Level 2 certification. It carried a video camera. But, the rocket spins too much in flight, so I don't use it for videos any more.

-- Roger

We have an Estes Omega too, and when we fly it staged the sustainer never lights. How do you get yours to light?

 

[jadebox]

We have an Estes Omega too, and when we fly it staged the sustainer never lights. How do you get yours to light?

I didn't do anything special. I built the kit (the Inflight clone) as specified. I didn't add any vent holes or anything.

I staged a D12-0 to a D12-7 motor.

Building InFlight's Omega Clone

Watch the First Launch of the Omega in Slow-Motion

I just realized that it was a year ago that I first flew the clone Omega and I haven't flown it since. I'll probably launch it tomorrow at ROCK's (early) July launch.

-- Roger

 

[Quasar]

Cherokee-D, Goblin, A-20 Demon.

 

[fxrs]

Estes Blue ninja and an estes Executioner that I did a 2 X 24mm
cluster. Both are fun to launch and watch.


Here is a video of the ninja.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQLwn-bWHHU

 

[Trident]

I'd vote for the Phoenix as my favorite Estes D rocket, although I've flown them more on 24mm reloads than D12s. I bought up a few back when a Longs Drugs was clearing out rockets, and just the other day pulled one out of a big tote full of kits to consider starting.

The only mods I made for reloads was to put some "spoke" type braces across the standard paper centering rings, filed the tip of the engine hook slightly to allow the forward closure to fit past it, and added a paper engine block ahead of the hook, for added security.

 

[CharlaineC]

This is a rather soft subject for me but I would have to say that if I was to chose one it would be my Cherokee-D as number one. then the list below.

1. Big Daddy
2. sw valkyurie
3. and a custome rocket called big red a 2x24mm cluster

 

[kelltym88]

Too many to choose from, my all time favorite would have to be probably my Estes Omega. I loved that rocket, lost it the one and only time I launched it. Now that I think about it, I'm surprised I haven't cloned it. Hmm...

Second favorite, probably a tie between these:

Estes Der V3
Estes Blue Bird Zero(made it 24mm, loves F21's)
Estes Black Brant II
Estes Pathfinder(loves a D12-0/E9-6 combo, yep staged it using a booster from another rocket, that was fun)
Estes Optima(loves F32's)
Estes Executioner(although I mostly flew it on E's)
My TLP Nike Ajax on 3 D12-5's


Too many choices.......

Oh, my Estes original Renegade, always great flights, but somehow always broke a fin. The last launch was strange, as the body tube got severely kinked just above the fins. When I recovered it, I noticed alot of smoke still coming out of it. It was as if the motor was still burning, genereating heat at that one area, causing the bt to weaken, so that up landing it just krinkled that whole area.

 

[KerryQuinn]

My favorite was my first D-powered was an Estes D-region. Here it is on my qualifying flight for Nartrek Bronze....

 

[Rocketjunkie]

BT-70 24mm Deuce.

 

[Fred22]

Too many to name But i will try. Thrustline Electra,Estes E Interceptor on a 6 foot rod and a D12-3 , Estes HOJO and maybe my saturn 5 with the D12-5 motor in the middle Sandman vostock and fliskits recker come to mind as well.
Cheers
fred

 

[Queeg500]

This modified Estes Bullpup 12D is my favorite. I also have a Patriot 18mm to 24mm which is second favorite. This will have to stand until I fly my 24mm modded Estes AMRAAM this summer.

 

[Conan4480]

Estes Big Bertha that I converted to 24mm. It will hold a E9 but I have only flown it once on a D12. Man this thing will jump off the pad.

 

[DRitchie]

I would say the Cherokee-D simply because it is such a classic.....I had the Estes model as a kid, and now have the InFlight clone kit.

But the best performer on a D is without a doubt the Estes Black Brant II.....it jumps off the pad and goes stupidly high on a D12-5. I will only fly it on very large fields because I want to make sure and get it back.

 

[Winston]

C-C Express D12-0, D12-7 with streamer instead of chute. Lots of noise, goes real high and both the booster and sustainer landed within 100 ft of the pad.

 

[dcastle]

Without a doubt, the Estes Omega is my favorite, followed by the Cherokee D.

 

[jadebox]

I just realized that it was a year ago that I first flew the clone Omega and I haven't flown it since. I'll probably launch it tomorrow at ROCK's (early) July launch.

I flew the Omega Saturday and it was ... interesting.

Apparently, the glue around the motor mount gave up the ghost. So, when the second stage ignited, the motor mount moved forcing the parachute to eject. I had used a C11-5 in the upper stage which has a fairly short thrust duration. So, the second stage kind of went "pffft" and did a loop before it started drifting down. The rocket, and even the parachute, are fine, though. I just have to add some glue to the motor mount.

-- Roger

 

[dpower]

Hmm, let me think... Cherokee-D? That was the first D powered bird I built as a kid in the 70s, which I promptly lost on a D12-7 and the 18" chute. I remember running through the field, over the highway, through another neighborhood, only to see it drift away high over the industrial park. My Dad drove us around & around looking for it. So I built another and it sat unlaunched until a few years ago. I put it up on a D12-7, in a *large* field, only to see it drift away high over the woods into a marsh on an 18" chute - sheesh, you think I'd learn! Since then, I've built 2 clones and an upscale, and always use a streamer (except on the upscale). Yep, the Cherokee-D would be my favorite D-powered bird.