RocketReviews.com - Estes - Cherokee-D (1247, K-47) [1971-1983]

Brief:
Very popular early D motor powered rocket that's a simple 3FNC design and packs a huge punch at liftoff.

Construction:
This kit was made with the currently available CC Express from Estes. The parts needed from the CC are:

The rocket construction is very easy. First build your motor mount and slide it in the butt of the body tube without glue to check the fit. Then glue it in when your fit is good enough. Next you cut out the 3 fins and sand the edges round. Glue those on. (I used CA.) Now take the launch lug and cut it in half. Glue one half to the top of the body tube and the other to the bottom. Finally, attach the shock cord to the nose, the parachute to the shock cord, and glue the shock cord in. Estes says you should use an 18" parachute. IMO, if you use the 18" you'd better kiss the Cherokee goodbye. Use the 12" that came with the CC Express.

Finishing:
Spray paint the body tube and fins gloss white. Then spray the nose cone gloss red. Last, place the decals on and clear coat them. When finished, it looks great!

Flight:
My Cherokee has flown twice with impressive performance. The recommended motors for the Cherokee D are D12-5 and D12-7. But for the first flight, I recommend a C11-5. This is definitely not a rocket for small fields! I loaded a C11-5 at the NIRA Event on 4/17/05. I had a bunch of people telling me that they had one when they were a kid and I think they really liked this one. It uses about 5 sheets of wadding. Because the CC Express does not come with an engine hook, I used friction fit for motor retention. It's a tight squeeze anyway.

Flight one screamed off the pad even on a C11-5! It landed rather far away but I got it back. Good thing I angled the pad a little!

On flight two it had the same performance as the first. I love the way it flies but I'm afraid to fly it on a D12!

Recovery:
Estes says to use an 18" chute, but like I said, you'd better kiss it before you launch it with that big chute. The 12" works perfectly. It landed in some tall grass and I had a pretty long walk to get it back.

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2002-06-21	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Cherokee-D	C11-5	-
2002-06-22	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Cherokee-D	C11-5	-	Great flight. Slightly early ejection but I really like the new C11's. I'll try it with a C11-7...
2002-07-06	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Cherokee-D	D12-5	-	Never even got to decal it. Engine blew by engine block. Rocket looped several times, pranged...
2003-04-12	Jason Vennard's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	Ok boost and flight, but delay too long, no problems with recovery though though. 12 nylon chute.
2004-04-11	Jason Vennard's Estes Cherokee-D	D12-5	-	First D flight, good straight and quick boost. Nice flight, recovery under nylon chute.
2005-07-04	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Cherokee-D	C11-5	-	This rocket really moves. Even with a C11 it almost sailed out of sight. Thankfully lands...
2006-04-01	Lance Souther's Estes Cherokee-D	D12-5	-	Super quick fast flight to about 800 or so feet if not more. Used 12 chute due to the wind...only...
2007-07-15	Gene Wolski's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Great flight. Used an 18mm adapter for the C6-5.
2008-01-27	Gene Wolski's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Used 18mm adapter and a crepe paper streamer for a beautiful flight and flawless recovery.
2008-02-17	Gene Wolski's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Great boost and perfect recovery - one of my go to rockets. Always a great flight!
2008-03-19	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	My dad had one of these never did get to launch it. Great flight, Nice recovery on a 18 chute.
2008-03-19	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	Great flight, nice landing get some serious height on this motor with no problems.
2008-03-19	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Wonderful flight. Nice long drift on this flight, Landed about 400 feet from the pad. Nice slow...
2008-05-04	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	D12-5	-	Great flight a nice long walk to recover rocket. Had a extra pair of eyes to keep track.
2008-05-04	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	D12-5	-	Another great flight.
2008-08-24	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-6	-	Dem flight with the neighbor hood kids, good flight.
2008-08-24	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Good flight.
2008-08-24	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	3rd flight of the day. Good flight.
2008-09-21	Gene Wolski's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Great flight & recovery. Used a 24mm adapter to fly the C6-5 motor.
2008-11-18	Mark Grisco's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	it went straight up. the smoke trail obscured my view of the rocket so i lost sight of it for a...
2008-11-18	Mark Grisco's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	i built it with a 18mm motor mount. it goes very well on a c, on a D it must be gone. launched...
2008-11-18	Mark Grisco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	maiden flight. straight up to about 350 feet. i built it with a 18mm motor mount and i used a...
2009-04-19	Gene Wolski's Estes Cherokee-D	C6-5	-	Nice flight.
2009-05-16	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	Nice flight.
2009-05-16	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	Good flight.
2009-06-16	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	B6-4	-	Very nice flight.
2010-03-27	Jason Orosco's Estes Cherokee-D	C11-5	-	Nice high flight could hear the NC slam into the rocket, just a little paint taken off the nose...

Estes - Cherokee-D (1247, K-47) [1971-1983]

Flight Log

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