Custom modded Estes Outlander. Original was said to be underpowered and have unstable/unpredictable flight. Since I thought it was an awesomely cool "definitely not 3FNC" design, I went about fixing the said deficiencies. First I started with a 24mm Motor mount so that I can fly this heavyweight on D12s. Next I noticed that the "fins" (lander legs) were designed so that they can actually flop around! Can you imagine a rocket with 4 floppy fins? I fixed that with added "bushing" spacers using balsa shims and I also notched the end stop a bit so that the fins stay in place on lift off. Seems to have worked well since first flight was a very good one. I also added 1oz of clay to the nose since I was flying on Ds.
| Flight Date: | 2015-03-06 |
| Rocket Name: | Estes Outlander (Modded fins & 24mm MMT) |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Outlander {Kit} (2110) [2003-2008] |
| Flyer's Name: | Ken E. Coyote |
| Motors: | D12-3 |
| Expected Altitude: | 400.00 Feet |
| Actual Altitude: | 450.00 Feet |
Maiden flight of modded Outlander (fin shims and 24mm mmt). Haven't finished putting the rest of the tanks on the body yet...wanted to see how it flew before devoting too much time. Take off was at dusk and was very straight up. Just breathtakingly beautiful...could see the motor flame all the way up. Flew surprisingly high. Ejection just at/after apogee and chute opened, but not fully - I thought chute looked kind of small even though I initially thought it was big and descent was a bit faster than I'd like. Landed about 60 feet away in good shape. Post flight inspection revealed chute had a spot where it melted. I had followed the instructions requirement of 7 sheets of wadding, but forgot that this applied to 18mm C engines and I was using a D. Next time I'll try dog barf. Still, a wonderful flight that looked fantastic.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes D12-3 |
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