What's a reliable 24mm workhorse?

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Elapid

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i have lots of 24mm cluster rockets, but nothing that takes a single 24mm motor that doesn't jump out of sight instantly...only my old busted up Sandy...


any recommendations?
 
If you're simply looking for something that flies nicely, not out of site, in a kit form, I would say the Executioner and/or Big Daddy. They are nothing spectacular on a single Estes 24mm, but they are reliable.
 
Clone an Estes Der V3. Great rocket, and very easily modified to accept Estes E engines by moving the thrust ring forward 1" and installing the longer motor hook.

Gets about 500' on a D12 engine. I've never heard a bad word about the Der V3 - and I loved mine (until it landed in the lake! Gotta build a new one!)

Here's the plans:

https://www.dars.org/jimz/est1970.htm

Very straightforward build. Uses an Estes Phoenix nose cone, and a standard length (14.25") BT80 airframe (available cheap from Red Arrow Hobbies or in a pack of two at the hobby shop)

EMRR has a couple good reviews, too:

https://www.rocketreviews.com/cgi-bin/rvwbuild/rvwbuild.cgi?oop/est_v3.html
 
The Big Daddy is a good choice for Estes BP and the AT 24mm AP motors.
 
I love flying my "Screaming MiMi". It flies very straight, and has been my most predictable rocket to date. One day I launched it 7 times straight, and it landed in the same spot each time. I love watching it going up because the aft end looks pretty large with all the fins, so you can see it quite well for a good ways.
 
I would say that my favorite 24mm ship would be a 2.6 inch Estes V2/Silver Comet, sadly OOP. If you get in the mood to try a challenging clone, try the Estes Super Vega or the Nike Ajax in 24mm, both good performers in Estes D/E. I scratch built a 24mm ring fin in 2.6 inch tube, 44 inches long. The ring fin is a piece of 5.38 inches Loc tube. The NC is a V2 cone, available in plastic from a couple of places or in balsa from BMS. It is big and slow.
Also the Mean Machine is a good one, if you want a long thing rocket. It is always a favorite of my sons. If you get that one, make it break in the middle for easy transport instead of at the NC.
 
If you want a DURABLE 24mm workhorse go with the Big Daddy.

Heavier than the normal Estes body tube (I think it's actuall an NCR tube).

Tuff as nails.

The only weak point is the stick-on decals. Mine are starting to come loose and wrinkle.

Set it up for an "E" motor and use a spacer for "D's".

sandman
 
I like the Blue Ninja. Fly it on C11s for low and slow, or pull a Carl and load it with an E9 :D
 
I'll second the Executioner. I modded mine with a baffle and about 10' of shockcord. Has a dozen flights on it, all F motors. One of my favorite flyers.
 
Originally posted by Blue_Ninja_150
I like the Blue Ninja. Fly it on C11s for low and slow, or pull a Carl and load it with an E9 :D

i never would have guessed!
:D

some great ideas!
thanks!

that ring-fin sounds interesting...i have some 8" concrete forms...
hmmm...upscale Tumbleweed?
:D
that's gonna take bigger than a 24mm tho...

any other favorites?
 
Since you seem to enjoy modifying your rockets, pick up a Fat Boy and put a 24mm mount in it. A nice low flight on D motors, medium height on E's, and rips pretty good on F21's. My 24mm version is built stock with the exception of a kevlar shock cord anchor, a couple ounces of nose weight, and the 24mm tube. I even used the stock card stock centering rings and balsa fins.
 
Originally posted by rbeckey
I would say that my favorite 24mm ship would be a 2.6 inch Estes V2/Silver Comet, sadly OOP.

I really like my Silver Comet too. This pic is from probably 7 or 8 years ago, and I still fly it pretty regularly. Fun to build, too. I picked up another one from ebay a few months ago with the intention of making it into a 40's style-retro-sci fi- Buck Rogers-type ship. We'll see...

S..
 
To add to the Fat Boy suggestion, add a TC80 coupler and an 18 inch BT80 and reverse the Fat Boy fins so they're forward swept. Modify for a 24mm motor and you've got a tough as nails work horse.

For the extra adrenaline rush, I added launch lugs to hold three Alpha-based parallel boosters. What a rush!

Can't beat the sadly OOP Silver Comet or V2, but check out the ebay makrket. Lately it's flooded with V2s--still 35-50 buck, though...

MetMan
 
Originally posted by SecretSquirrel
At the risk of shameless self promotion....

Gremlin

Cool!
(That sound you hear is my 'to buy' list getting longer).

S..
 
Originally posted by MetMan
To add to the Fat Boy suggestion, add a TC80 coupler and an 18 inch BT80 and reverse the Fat Boy fins so they're forward swept. Modify for a 24mm motor and you've got a tough as nails work horse.

For the extra adrenaline rush, I added launch lugs to hold three Alpha-based parallel boosters. What a rush!

MetMan

You don't have a pic or two, do ya?

S..
 
looks like my goblin upscale, but smaller
;)

i did a fat boy clone with a cluster mount...2 - 24mm, 4 - 18mm, and 2 -13mm

maybe another with a single 24 would be good...

i'm off to measure tubes...
:D
 
Many years ago I built an Estes Mean Machine as a 2-stager. It was known as the "Elvis Rocket". Black booster, pink,
black, white, pink body tubes, & a black nose.
Man, did it go!!! Classic staging...D12-0 - D12-5/7.
It was eventually lost but well worth it!

FWIW, if you vent the lower stage (2 vents 180 degrees apart) it's reliable.
Thanks,
Bob

p.s....I just looked through some MARS (Metroplex (Dallas/FW)Area Rocket Society) newsletters....9-10-'93. If anyone was a member of MARS back then please holler.
Many thanks,
Bob
 
For the money, it's hard to beat a Stormcaster. At <$12 at Michael's (no coupon), it is a great straight flier that has a long enough stuffer tube to make an E mount easy. If I hadn't put a baffle without enough vents, mine would still be flying great. Even after busting a fin, it flew straight and majestic on Ds. It also has plenty of fuselage in case you want to rig up some sort of payload.
 
Another easy access kit to consider modifying for (single or clustered) 24mm motors is a Big Bertha.
 
Originally posted by prowlerguy
For the money, it's hard to beat a Stormcaster. At <$12 at Michael's (no coupon), it is a great straight flier that has a long enough stuffer tube to make an E mount easy. If I hadn't put a baffle without enough vents, mine would still be flying great. Even after busting a fin, it flew straight and majestic on Ds. It also has plenty of fuselage in case you want to rig up some sort of payload.


I find that my stormcaster flies nice and high on a d12 really jumps up there... (spelled LONG WALK).. long slow accent on a c-11..

My Big Daddy flies nice and graceful on a D-12 always an impressive launch.. very durable..

great value in either one...

havent finished the V-2, but its designed for E's so dont think i'm gonna tempt things with a d-12 in there
 
as far as kits,I also vote for Big Daddy,Maniac,
Cherokee D,Executioner.and the Bt-80 V2..soon to be re-released as the Canadian Arrow..Can't wait!
 
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the "Mighty Mick" from ThrustAero. It's one of my favorites. Nice and simple....fly it on 18mm's with an adapter....or let it rip on a D12.
 
Originally posted by Elapid
i have lots of 24mm cluster rockets, but nothing that takes a single 24mm motor that doesn't jump out of sight instantly...only my old busted up Sandy...


any recommendations?

You've built plenty of birds by now. Get some parts and slam one together. I do this regularly, sometimes having no plan when I start other than to finish. Last week I ended up with a Klingon quantum torpedo. Right now I've got an engine mount with boat tail drying, it and the body tubes already slotted for through-wall fins, about to become an HPR bird built on HPR principles using Estes parts. Anyone can build a kit. Try building a bird that others would want to build: invent the kit.
 
...the problem with this work horse, is it the fact it is extinct :(

But for years, I had great flights on the Estes Pathfinder (#1997) I hammered this thing on D12's, through the F24 reload. Many many flights before the airframe finall said it had enough, and fell apart.

I would love to build another.
 
Nobody's yet mentioned the Super Big Bertha. Not as solidly built as the Executioner or Big Daddy but I've had to rebuild both of those while the SBB just keeps going...and going....and going.

For some reason the SBB makes my wife laugh like crazy every time it launches. :p

Nose cone is just a Fat Boy cone.

Plans are available at: https://www.geocities.com/sandhawk.geo/plan2165.html


Also, the not-yet-mentioned CC-Express is a ridiculously cheap 2-stager with beautiful lines and gorgeous flights. Low and impressive on C-11s and outasight on Ds or D-E combo (just need to "rE-position" the sustainer thrust ring.). RockSim says the D-E combo is stable.
 
The Super Big Bertha is also the same rocket as the Broadsword - the Broadsword just had different decals and it was set up for an E engine by moving the thrust ring forward and giving it a longer engine hook (otherwise, they're exactly the same.)

The plans for the Broadsword, including fin templates, is here:

https://www.dars.org/jimz/est2093.htm
 
The reason that I didn't say anyting about the CC Express is that the original question asked for a good reliable D motor birds that didn't just fly out of sight on a D.

I love the Express, but it's definitely a high fast flyer.

C
 
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