| Construction Rating: |   | | Flight Rating: | | | Overall Rating: | |
Contributed by Max Handly Brief:
This is Estes new 1:6.4 scale BLU-97B Cluster Bomb. The rocket is fat (2.25") and short (14"). It comes with 4 "cluster bombs" which are small, about 1.5 inches long that get ejected at deployment and streamer to the ground.
Construction:
The kit contains:
- one body tube
- two part nose cone (cut in half)
- two part tail cone (with through the tube slots!)
- die-cut balsa fins
- bomblets
- streamers
- parachute
- the standard 18mm motor mount and recovery system
- clay weights and decal sheet.
All this for $9.95 from Tower Hobbies! I was convinced that I . . . I mean my boys would love this rocket.
The directions seemed very clear, good diagrams and plenty of words. I followed them pretty much, except I put together the tail cone and tested the fit of the motor mount for length before gluing it in. I highly suggest this as I used a slightly different position than was stated in the instructions. I glued the motor mount in and then, after drying, glued the tail cone on, careful to line up the notch with the engine hook. Next came the fins. I had to really sand them flat for them to fit into the through the tube slots. One gave me fits and I was convinced that the fin tab was hitting the motor mount. I finally got a fit and epoxyed the fins in. This is a wood to plastic joint so used the right glue. There is no access to the inside of the tube/tail cone at this point so I dropped epoxy in before the fins. I did use a different recovery system with Kevlar® string and shock cord, and a Thrustline parachute.
The body tube was a bit flimsily, even for a rocket this short, but the tail, engine mount, and nose cone firmed it up quite nicely.
Cons: Not many, level one construction, good instructions, standard Estes stuff.
Finishing:
For the finish I used automotive rust colored primer. Two coats with sanding makes a darn smooth surface, even on the fins. I had some military flat green spray paint that matched the picture fairly well. Flat finish seems to be the choice here. I hand painted the nipple on the nose silver. With one solid color for the rocket, painting went quick. Decals were good and didn't give me any trouble installing. I painted the bomblets bright orange so I could find them. I used some flat paint I had around, but after a couple of launches, the bomblets are getting dirty and flat paint doesn't lend itself well to being cleaned. I would suggest some bright color GLOSS paint for the bomblets.
For the price this is a fine kit and a good looking model.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight:
The recommended motors are B4-2, B4-4, B6-2, B6-4, C6-3, C6-5. For the first flight, I opted for the B6-4. My RockSim file says this should go only to about 150 feet and I was a tad bit worried about the speed of the rocket as it left the rail, but the winds were low so I went for it. Hey, I build this to spec and this was a recommended more, right? I put in 5 sheets of wadding and put in the bomblets. The motor went in fine and we set her on the launcher.
The flight was nice and straight, even with the winds at about 3 mph. I'd say the 150 feet was right on. The 4 second delay seems good with the rocket still pointing up somewhat at deployment. With this motor, you see the entire flight. My boys loved it. The four bomblets ejected just perfectly and came down in a nice pattern just 20 feet from the launcher. The Thrustline parachute just wasn't balanced right and the rocket came down pretty fast. Those Estes 12 inch 'chutes can just make a rocket hang in the air sometimes, so I put a spillhole in them. This nylon 12 inch Thrustline parachute had no spill hole and it came down fast. Maybe it was just this one 'chute. I'll try another next time.
Next we flew it on a C6-3. Again it was a nice straight flight, so high that I could not see the bomblets deploy at all. I finally saw two of them but the others weren't too far away so all was recovered. Again, the rocket came down fast, but no damage. All the wadding didn't leave the rocket and had to be removed by hand. I think the C6-5 would be better and would aid in a nicer deployment of the bomblets.
Recovery:
Since I used a different recovery system, I can't speak to how the supplied system would work. My experience with the standard Estes stuff, and with a rocket this small, is that it would work fine except for a short shock cord life.
Flight Rating: 3 out of 5
Summary:
We really had fun with this rocket, and because this is no performance demon, I would suggest sticking with the smaller motors and longer delays. It would be nice to have the rocket pointing down at bomblet deployment. My next launch will be with a longer delay, or a tilted launch rod. I know, I know, bigger is better, but you'll want to see the action with this one.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 Flight Log| Date | Rocket Name | Motor(s) | Altitude | Notes |
|---|
| 2003-09-07 | Max Handly's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | 100 feet | Strait flight on a B6-4, up to about 100 feet, nice pitch over for a perfect bomblet delivery.... | | 2003-10-11 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | Nice first flight and a nice bomblet deployment. Landed close to pad. No damage. | | 2003-12-13 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | 400 feet | Very nice boost, straight as an arrow up to about 400 feet. Deployed bomblets exactly as intended,... | | 2003-12-28 | Stephen Peart's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | First flight. Katie retrieved the bomblets. Weathercocked a little. | | 2003-12-28 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Nice flight and a nice bomblet deployment. I recovered all 4 with no problems and the rocket was... | | 2003-12-31 | Scott Hauff's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Fun Rocket. Bit of weathercocking into the wind. Close recovery of all bombs and rocket. | | 2004-01-12 | Jason Vennard's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Nice flight, little windy today so slight weathercocking but it was expected. Cluster bombs... | | 2004-01-25 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Went almost horizontal on takeoff. The late ejection stripped the chute which resulted in two... | | 2004-04-02 | Serge Zoruba's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | A10-3 | - | Tried a very slow take-off with an A10-3T motor. Went up very slowly to only 60 feet, nose turned... | | 2004-04-10 | John+Eric Thompson's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | launched the rocket three times that day on the same motor. Perfect flight each time. | | 2004-05-08 | Jason Lenentine's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Good flight with a little too much altitude. Bomblets were hard to track after deployment.... | | 2004-05-22 | Jason Vennard's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Nice flight, little early on the delay ejected nosecone up and all bomblets stayed inside rocket.... | | 2004-06-05 | Matt Vennard's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | A decent flight, but this seems to be underpowered on a C. Not much height at all. Bomblets... | | 2004-06-08 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Very nice flight up to about 350-400 feet. Everything recovered OK. No damage. | | 2004-09-05 | Jason Lenentine's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Good flight. | | 2004-12-26 | J Bolduc's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Nice flight on a C6-3. Estimated 300` to 350`. All 4 bomblets recovered (2 with minor... | | 2004-12-26 | J Bolduc's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | First flight for this rocket. Very low flight 100` or less. Ejection came at about 50` after a... | | 2004-12-29 | Scott Hauff's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Cool Rocket to fly. Turned into wind just a bit. More altitude than expected. 5 sec delay WAAAAAAY... | | 2004-12-31 | Marc Hoenstine's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | This was the BLU's first launch. It didn't go very high, but it was a very nice launch. The... | | 2005-02-23 | Donald Besaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Nice flight, long arcing boost. Everything recovered without incident. No damage. | | 2005-03-26 | Peter Reed's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | another great flight, delay too long though. one of the parachsute guys got a little singed and... | | 2005-03-26 | Peter Reed's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | second flight of the day, reloaded with two dollars store parachute guys, landed less than 100... | | 2005-03-26 | Peter Reed's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | great flight, loaded it up with two dime sotre parachuste guys, they seemed to float forever,... | | 2005-05-14 | Michael Mangieri's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-2 | - | Maiden flight of this rocket. Nice boost, low and slow. Good performer on this motor. | | 2005-07-04 | Michael Mangieri's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | Nice boost - very straight. All went well. | | 2005-07-04 | Michael Mangieri's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Great liftoff and boost - she really took to the sky. The released bombs landed in a 20'-30'... | | 2005-09-11 | Daniel Griswold's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | | | 2005-11-19 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E18-7 | - | I love this motor. It really roars off the pad! This rocket flies so straight. Recovered on a... | | 2005-12-17 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | 1599 feet | Everyone watching missed the takeoff because we thought there might be a launcher problem. Came... | | 2005-12-29 | David Allen's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Weather cocked slightly as it always does. Very good and predictable flier. | | 2006-01-15 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | A real neck snapper! Great flight recovered under 3inch streamer. | | 2006-01-15 | Dave Brunsting's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | | | 2006-01-28 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | Wow! It always gets a good laugh out of everyone. I love this motor for this rocket. Very fast!... | | 2006-03-03 | Bob Shaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Overall good flight and recovery. | | 2006-03-03 | Bob Shaw's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | Nice flight, good deployment of bomblets, great recovery. | | 2006-03-26 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E18-7 | - | Zoom! I love to fly this rocket on AP motors. It really scoots and always surprises everyone... | | 2006-06-25 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | F20-6 | - | Wicked ride! Marginally stable as about 4in of motor was sticking out of the back end of the... | | 2006-07-08 | Ed Scientist's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | I love it. Nice high flight. I tried a 10 inch mylar chute worked great but I think I got... | | 2006-07-15 | Ed Scientist's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | B6-4 | - | Not high but a good flight all the same. Landed in the hard rocky dirt...should have listened to... | | 2006-08-05 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | D12-5 | - | I think the deployment was pretty early but I was surprised by the launch and looked away just at... | | 2006-08-19 | Michael Mangieri's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Cool flight. Kids loved it as the four cluster bombs dropped alongside the rocket. | | 2007-03-25 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | This rocket screams on this motor! I never get tired of that motor in this rocket. Used a... | | 2007-09-22 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | Didn't get my personal alarm to start but didn't need it anyway (landed in the short grass). | | 2007-11-10 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | | | 2008-05-31 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Perfect First Flight. | | 2008-06-21 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Nice flight. Good recover on 14 nylon chute. | | 2008-07-26 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | D13-7 | - | Awsome flight - very fast and high. The rocket was well on it's way back down when the chute... | 2008-09-20  | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | F12-5 | - | Went waaaaay up waaaaay fast!!! | | 2008-09-27 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Parachute tangled. Slight damage at ejection. | | 2008-10-25 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | C12-4T reload was used. | | 2009-03-07 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | D12-5 | - | Came down on a streamer. Not a bad walk considering the wind. | | 2009-03-28 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Drag race with David S - I lost. Meant to use C6-3, oops. | | 2009-04-04 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | E28-7 | - | Wow! Bang, zoom, gone. | | 2009-04-04 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | | | 2009-05-03 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Love the long burn quest motors. This is the perfect rocket/motor combo unless you step up to the... | | 2009-05-30 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | | | 2009-06-06 | John Bergsmith's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Another nice flight, great flyer! Recovered with no damage. | | 2009-06-06 | John Bergsmith's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-3 | - | Flight number two on the day, and another great flight. | | 2009-06-13 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | D24-7 | - | Ejection charge failed to ignite. Rocket went straight up and right back down. Irreparable damage. | | 2009-06-20 | Tim Dicke's Estes BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | F39-9 | - | Very cool boost. Popped a fin landing on hard ground. Easily repaired. | | 2011-05-07 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | D21-4 | - | First flight of rocket after replacement of body tube. | | 2011-07-02 | Dwayne Shmel's BLU-97B Cluster Bomb | C6-5 | - | Chute tangled and rocket fell fast. Slight damage to BT. |
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