Estes - AstroVision

Manufacturer: Estes

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Contributed by Joy Sills

Brief:
The Estes Astrovision is a RTF rocket that comes in a Rocket Launch set with a launch stand and controller. The unique thing about the Astrovision is that it lofts a digital camera into the air. The camera can take both digital video (12 seconds worth) and digital still pictures.

Construction:
The parts list:

Camera Nosecone
Plastic Fin Can
Pre-preprinted Body Tube
Rubber band shock cord
6 button cells (3 required for camera, 3 extra
Launch Stand
Launch Controller

The Astrovision is a RTF rocket. The flyer just needs to load 3 of the included button cell batteries into the nose cone for the camera. A small Phillips head screwdriver is needed to accomplish this task.

Finishing:
Since this is a RTF and the body tube is pre-printed with the graphics, there is no finishing required.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
First, I flew the Astrovision on a C6-5 in still picture mode. The flight was beautiful. It went higher than I expected considering the added weight of the camera nose cone. Since I let a TARC team member hit the button and they didn't wait long enough, we ended up with 3 pictures of the parachute.

Next it was flown again on a C6-5 in video mode. I'm not sure what kind of video we got because the person who recovered it switched it to off before I got it back.

Recovery:
It comes with a rubber band shock cord which I thought did the job well. I decided to add a 12" nylon parachute to it though. The recovery was perfect--it ejected at apogee and had a wonderful descent rate. It was recovered a short distance from the launch pad.

Flight Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
Takes decent pictures.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2007-10-07	Bruce Canino's Estes AstroVision	C6-5	-	Camera Mode
2007-10-07	Bruce Canino's Estes AstroVision	C6-5	-	Launch in video mode
2007-10-07	Bruce Canino's Estes AstroVision	C6-5	-	Video Mode
2007-12-15	Joy Sills's Estes AstroVision	C6-5	-
2007-12-15	Joy Sills's Estes AstroVision	C6-5	-	Added 12 Nylon Chute
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B6-4	-	Good flight.
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B6-4	-	Another good flight caught some good video on this flight.
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B6-4	-	Good flight on this motor.
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B4-4	-	Great flight.
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B4-4	-	Another great flight.
2008-04-28	Natalie Orosco's Estes AstroVision	B4-4	-	Good flight.
2008-07-28	Chris Halinaty's Estes AstroVision	B6-4	-	Video mode.

Comments:
A.H. (January 10, 2008)
If the rocket was simple to construct and recovery was perfect . I do not understand the low scores in those categorys. In Fact there were no bad points about the rocket mentioned in the review at all. were there reasons for the lower scores that can be passed on to someone who may want to purchase one?
B.P. (March 6, 2008)
I think the reason behind the low construction scores nay come from the fact that there wasn't much of a build at all. I was impressed at the price tag compared to the Oracle.
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