RocketReviews.com - Estes - Astrobeam

Brief:
The Estes Astrobeam is a very simple kit to put together. It doesn't take more than 15 minutes depending on what you use for glue. It is a pretty cool, inexpensive way to get into night launches.

Construction is very easy and quick! As with most Estes kits, the instructions are very easy to follow and have plenty of illustrations.

Nothing special is required for building. the whole kit can be build with CA or plastic cement.

Finishing:
PROS: Very easy to build. Works great as a night launching rocket. has five different lighting patterns that can be switched between by pressing the power button until it gets to the pattern you want.

CONS: Plastic covering over upper body tube peeling off after several flights. That could have been made slightly sturdier.

Flight:
Flies like most plastic finned RTF or EX2 rockets. Flew high and straight and the flashing lights were easy to see in the night sky.

Recovery:
Recovery when fine on all flights using the included 18" parachute and rubber shock cord.

Summary:
Overall, this is a nice starter rocket if you want to get into night launches. We actually bought it when our club announced there would be a night launch at the larger 2-day annual launch. We were short on time, so we bought this kit to have something to fly. We ended up missing the club night launch, but had fun flyiing it ourselves in the nearby park at night on another night.

Other:
I would like to see Estes put this same lighting mechanism in a Skill Level 2 or higher rocket rather than one that looks like an RTF model.

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2008-10-25	Donald Besaw's Estes Astrobeam	C6-3	-	Good first flight, tipped off the rod at an angle, maybe loose BT clear wrapping was a factor....
2008-11-08	David Montgomery's Estes AstroBeam	C6-5	-	First flight of this model at Challenger 498's first night launch. Flew very well & recovered...
2009-08-21	Duane Boldt's Estes Astrobeam	A8-3	-	Night Launch. Pretty fun to launch this at night. easy to put together and fly. Shows up well in...
2009-08-21	Duane Boldt's Estes Astrobeam	B6-4	-	Night LaunchFun flight. Good motor for this rocket.
2009-08-21	Duane Boldt's Estes Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Another cool flight. Fun to try and find it up in the night sky. Flies high on this motor. landed...
2010-09-28	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	B6-4	-	1st launch of Astrobeam. Low powered launch, parachute didn't deploy until rocket was maybe 15...
2010-09-29	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	First night launch of Astrobeam. Engine trail visible and LED lights visible, but not overly...
2010-10-03	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	B6-4	-	Low powered B flight using LED lgihts. Rocket descended almost to the ground before parachute...
2010-10-05	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Attempted launch 4x. Replaced igniter, but turned out launch batteries were apparently low. ...
2010-10-05	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Attempted launch 4x. Replaced igniter, but turned out launch batteries were apparently low. ...
2010-10-06	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Low flight, more sideways than up. Parachute deployed, but shock cord snapped and nosecone landed...
2011-04-13	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	First launch of "Super Astrobeam", modified to be longer so parachute fits better. Very high...
2011-05-04	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Set up with LEDs on. Good launch. Good flight. Parachute opened and deployed. Rocket landed...
2011-06-28	Bob Francis's Astrobeam	C6-5	-	Second night launch of the year. Astrobeam set to fly with built-in LED lights. Good launch and...

Estes - Astrobeam

Flight Log

What You Can Do