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Estes - Enduring Freedom Patriot M104

Manufacturer:Estes
Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Contributed by Carl Tulanko

Estes MK-104 Patriot MissileBrief:
 The Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile rocket kit is one of four new Estes "Military" kits and a very popular kit at the flying field. I purchased the Patriot along with the other three kits and the version I built was the "Launchable" kit in the hard-shell pack from Meijers. It is a very colorful model, appears pretty sturdy, and flies on 18mm motors. Included with the kit is an "Operation Enduring Freedom" sticker to salute our military abroad.

Construction:
In the package you will find four die-cut fins, three BT-60 body tube sections--one of which is already colored, plastic nosecone, recovery items, and instructions. I was impressed with the quality of components and the instructions were very well written. The kit itself is a basic 4FNC, but just plain looks good once built.

I decided to construct it stock with only change made to the recovery section. I used dual Kevlar threads for shock cord and they were directly fastened to the motor mount. The top end was tied to a much longer thirty inch long piece of elastic shock cord and the joint was sealed with a piece of heat shrink tubing. The shock cord itself was attached to the nosecone once the model was finished.

The body tube comes in three sections, allowing you the flexibility to make a payload section or just use standard nosecone ejection. I went with the latter and did fill the joints once glued. Next came the fins; I dry rubbed filler over the surface of each fin and used Alphaetic Resin for gluing to the body tube. Fillets were added and the whole model was sanded.

Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile

Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile

Finishing:
After sanding the model came the primer. Krylon gray primer was used, followed by Krylon white primer for the upper body tube section. The model was painted completely in white, except the top section which was masked. After a couple days, I masked off the body tube and painted the lower fin section in red Krylon and the yellow section in Duplicolor Pale Yellow--it was the only brand that had a color to match the scale version. After a couple more days of drying, the top 1" of the body tube was painted Red and the nosecone was finished in white. Next, I applied the self stick decals, then clear coated the model with the new Krylon Super Gloss Triple Thick--it worked well.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Launch day came and I had all four of the new Estes models ready to go. I prepped the Patriot with a B6-4 and packed the stock parachute. It was place on the pad and ready to go. At liftoff, it really came off the pad nice, straight up and a very cool flight.

Recovery:
The nosecone ejected after apogee and the model landed safely in the low grass field. It was a good flight with a slightly late recover, but no damage. Next, I tried a C6-5. This was also late on ejection, so a C6-3 was my third attempt. The other new Estes kits fly great on the C6-3 and this one is no exception--the motor combo was perfect with a great flight followed by apogee ejection. The model has flown many times since and is one of my favorites.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile To summarize, the Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile is one great flier. The build is very simple and the results are excellent, producing a good flying model. I have since purchased another and plan on building it as a three motor cluster, as I had seen someone else do it this way. I recommend this kit to everyone and being rated as a Skill Level 1 kit, anyone can build and own this piece of military history, the MK104 Patriot Missile from Estes.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

    Flight Log

    DateRocket NameMotor(s)AltitudeNotes
    2003-08-18Jon Revelle's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-4- Beautiful flight! Nearly out of sight!
    2003-08-23Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-4- Great first flight, very stable despite the rather small fins. Nice recovery except it landed in a...
    2003-08-24Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Nice flight after drying out from the previous flight but landed in water again but did not get as...
    2003-08-31Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-4- Nice flight. Finally stayed high and dry on recovery after two water landings. No damage. I can't...
    2003-09-01Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Excellent flight to around 500-550 feet although my C6-5 appeared to be a C6-3, ejection was about...
    2003-10-10Bryan Penfold's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C11-5- First flight using 24mm engine mount. Flew straight off the pad to about 600 ft., landed on a...
    2003-10-19Bryan Penfold's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C11-5- Another nice flight on the C11, straight up to about 800', landed about 300' from pad with an 18...
    2003-10-19Jon Revelle's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-4- Beautiful flight. This has gotta be my best rocket.
    2003-11-02Bryan Penfold's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-5- First flight on a D12, screamed out of sight to 1400' or more. Loud ejection, but didn't see a...
    2003-11-16Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Nice flight. No damage.
    2003-12-05Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-3- Ugly flight, motor too small for this rocket, went up about 75ft, backslid about 25ft, recovered...
    2003-12-13Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight to about 600ft, ejection right at apogee, landed about 100yds from pad, no damage
    2003-12-19Joey Dauy's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-2- Perfect project on a boring nite, did it illegally in a park down the block flew perfectly....
    2003-12-20Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight to about 600ft, ejection perfect again just as rocket arced over, landed about 100yds...
    2003-12-25Jon Revelle's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Lost a fin
    2004-01-01Jason Vennard's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Maiden flight, a little windy but we went for it. Low flight but good straight boost, recovery...
    2004-01-03Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Another good flight, best motor for this rocket, landed about 200yds from pad, no damage
    2004-01-17Michael Mangieri's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Nice graceful boost; not too high, recovered right at the launch site.
    2004-03-20Mike Atwood's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-7- Nice day to fly sloe take off good excelleration very high landed close to launcher
    2004-03-21Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight although some wobbling during boost was noticed. Nice deployment and recovery. No...
    2004-04-04Jason Vennard's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice straight flight and recovery was fine under 12 nylon chute.
    2004-04-11Mike Atwood's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-3- Very calm rocket went up then down hit ground then ejected no damage
    2004-05-14Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good flight and good recovery without damage
    2004-05-16Michael Mangieri's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- With calm winds decided to fly her on a C6. Something went wrong as she took a hard 45 degree turn...
    2004-05-30Doug &Max's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Beautiful straight high flight on a blue sky. Landed about 45 yards from launchpad.
    2004-06-02Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good flight. No damage. I had to scrub my other planned flights due to an approaching storm.
    2004-06-04Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- High flight and good recovery. This solid rocket rocks!
    2004-06-06Doug &Max's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Another picture perfect flight and landing.
    2004-06-14T Munson's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-4753 feet Blew out engine mount. Will fly again.
    2004-06-20Frank DiMatteo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Great flight. Landed close to the pad.
    2004-06-20Doug &Max's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Pretty flight as usual. Landed about 40 yards away.
    2004-07-01Brian Riendeau's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good flight on the B6. This went higher than I expected which was a good thing.
    2004-07-03Doug &Max's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Perfect as usual with this beauty. Landed about 60 yards from pad.
    2004-07-11Rocky Firth's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-3- This is an old Estes RTF rocket that we just had to open and fly. Flew like and Alpha III,...
    2004-07-17Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight in high wind, ejection at apogee, landed about 150yds from pad, no damage
    2004-08-20Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Nice flight, flew in a drag race vs. an RTF Patriot. Nice recovery. No damage.
    2004-08-28Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-3- Short delay, shock cord broke at ejection but it was worn out anyway. Nose coneseparated but all...
    2004-09-25Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good Flight and Good Recovery
    2004-09-26Rocky Firth's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-3- Another perfect flight
    2004-12-18Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight to about 800 ft, ejection just after apogee, landed about 100 ft from pad, no damage
    2005-01-28Mike Kiss's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Wobbly flight to about 700 ft, landed about 150 yds from pad, no damage, might add nose weight
    2005-02-19Scott Hauff's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M1042xC6-5- only one engine lit in the cluster so it got to about 50 feet then slammed into the ground. Broke...
    2005-04-02Jason Vennard's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good flight and recovery, little late on ejection due to flight being angled slightly to stay way...
    2005-04-09Steve Carr's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D9-7- Perfect flight.
    2005-07-03Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Very nice flight, nice straight boost to about 600 feet. Drifted back and landed close to pad. No...
    2005-07-09Steve Carr's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-7- More like a 5 on the delay but no damage.
    2005-07-12Johnny Lugnuts's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5500 feet A very calm evening produced a picture perfect flight; as straight as an arrow. However, a light...
    2005-07-23Linux203's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5-
    2005-07-23Linux203's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-7-
    2005-08-13Daniel Griswold's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Amazing height for 'C' motor. Straight vertical flight.
    2005-08-21Tim Dicke's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104E18-7- Very impressive flight - very high (sim'd to about 1500ft not sure of actual). Drifted pretty far...
    2005-08-27Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D13-7- Great motor and delay combination. Nice straight flight and good recovery.
    2005-09-05Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Great flight. Chute tangled at ejection. Came in rather quickly but there was no damage sustained.
    2005-09-10Cliff Oliver's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight
    2005-09-11Daniel Griswold's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5-
    2005-09-17David Logan's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight! Used a 12 inch nylon chute, which tangled, but it had a soft landing in tall grass...
    2005-10-01Donald Besaw's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight, recovered close by despite winds. No damage.
    2005-11-03Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice straight and high flight recovered without damage.
    2005-11-05Cliff Oliver's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Lost in swamp recovered later by other club members
    2005-11-19Tim Dicke's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104E9-6- Recovered on a 3x60in streamer. Landed close to the pad even with all the wind.
    2005-12-17Tim Dicke's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104E9-6- Nice flight. Went way up. Drifted off and landed on the road. Became roadkill after a car ran...
    2006-01-07Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-7- Good flight and recovery. No damage to rocket.
    2006-02-19Gene Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight!
    2006-04-09Gene Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight!
    2006-04-15Doug &Max's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Straight as an arrow into a blue sky. Chute didn't open completly due to tangle, but ok
    2006-05-07Jonathan Cairns's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-391 feet good flight yet i think the patriot is sadly underpowered with the A8-3 in. will upgrade next time
    2006-05-21Gene Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight!
    2006-06-04Mal McClenaghan's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Great motor for this rocket. Good height, nice recovery.
    2006-06-04Mal McClenaghan's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Shakedown flight. Nice smooth boost.
    2006-09-02Mal McClenaghan's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice flight. Tried a smaller (24cm) chute bacause of wind. Chute to small for this rocket.
    2006-09-02Mal McClenaghan's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Another great flight.
    2007-04-28Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nice straight flight, good motor and delay combo. Good recovery
    2007-09-16Mark Robertson's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B4-4- Maiden flight. Bit windier than I would have liked. Launched into the wind. For a heartstopping...
    2007-10-21Mark Robertson's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Perfectly straight boost with no rotation at all. Just turned into wind at apogee and ejected the...
    2007-11-17Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Great flight
    2007-12-22Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Chute fouled at ejection. No damage to model.
    2008-01-19Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2008-01-19Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2008-02-16Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Great flight
    2008-02-17Gene Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight and perfect recovery in front of the pads. B6-4 is a great choice for small fields or...
    2008-02-23Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Nominal Flight
    2008-03-16Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2008-03-29Josh Joung's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight, weather cocked a bit.
    2008-03-29Josh Joung's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2008-03-29Josh Joung's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Did not go as high as expected, slightly weather cocked.
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- NARTREK Cadet Apollo Skill Level 2 requirements and flight #1 for science fair project testing...
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #10
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #11
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #12
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #13
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #14
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #15
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #16
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #17
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #18
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #19
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #20
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #21
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #22
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #23
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #24
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #2
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #3
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #4
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #5
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #6
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #7
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #8
    2008-04-24Catesby Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- science fair project - flight #9
    2008-04-24Gene Wolski's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Good flight.
    2008-08-29Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D21-7-
    2008-10-19James Reyome's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- First flight for a Freecycled Patriot. Launched well enough, but on ejection the exhaust nozzle...
    2008-11-23Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D13-10- Should have used a 7 second delay. Model took off to the north and was recovered after a long...
    2009-02-16Brian Ray's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-5-
    2009-02-21Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5-
    2009-03-15Josh Joung's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D13-7- Extremely fun and fast flight to around 1200-1400 feet. Recovered with two long streamers about...
    2009-03-21Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D13-7- Great flight.
    2009-05-25Brian Ray's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-5- Second flight, same day for this rocket-motor combination. It is a champion!
    2009-05-25Brian Ray's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-5-
    2009-07-25Andrew Grippo's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5-
    2009-11-21Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D13-7- Surprised at the unstable flight, as I flown this configuration before. No damage to model.
    2009-11-27Brian Ray's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104D12-5- A beautiful flight. We tracked it all the way up and saw the tracking smoke, but when it ejected...
    2010-02-21Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- With the wind blowing up to 10mph a 4.25 spill hole in the parachute was perfect without me...
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- With the wind blowing up to 10mph a 4.25 spill hole in the parachute was perfect without me...
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- This rocket loves this motor
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Same as other launches that day
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- First flight with this rocket and motor. From the look of the flight it wants more power.
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Great flight
    2010-03-20Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104A8-3- I don't recommend this motor, as it only flew 100ft which is scarily low.
    2010-03-20Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2010-04-10 Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Perfect flight up, one shroud line snapped.
    2010-04-17Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight
    2010-06-19Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good flight.
    2010-06-20Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Model decided to take a left turn into the trees, in spite of the launch rod being angled in the...
    2010-10-19 Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Ejection charge fused my parachute shut. Some how it made it down undamaged. This is one tough...
    2011-05-30Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Pointed rocket in direction of wind. Had to walk a few hundred feet.
    2011-05-30Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Landed 40 feet away from pad.
    2011-05-30Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4- Last flight with only motor available.
    2011-06-11Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5365 feet Flight with AltimeterTwo and Spycam on board.
    2011-06-11Andy Wong's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104B6-4165 feet Low flight. AltimeterTwo on-board. Parachute never came out, thought it would float into sticker...
    2012-02-26Bob Bernatchez's Estes Enduring Freedom Patriot M104C6-5- Good first flight

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