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Estes - Eliminator (1950) [2002-]

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

Contributed by

Rocket PicBrief:
New "E" motor high altitude sport rocket. Single staged, parachute recovery. I do believe that this is the old Maniac rocket with new colors, a new name, and a new motor mount to accommodate the E9 motor.

Construction:
The kit included the motor mount tube, block, adapter for D motors, centering rings, hook, two purple BT-56 body tubes, coupler, launch lug, standoff, yellow fin can, shock cord, nose cone, 12 and 24 inch pre-assembled parachutes and decals.

The instructions were typical Estes with illustrations and the shock cord mount. This kit is rated at skill level 2 but I think that is because of the 24mm mount and the ability to fly on an E motor. I started with the motor mount. The motor hook on my kit unfortunately was missing, so rather than waiting for Estes to send me one, I decided to go with friction fit retention. I glued the mount into one of the body tubes. I then glued the fin can into place. After that I glued the launch lug standoffs into place. The kit included a 1/4 inch lug (can't imagine why)! I replaced that with a 3/16 lug. I now joined the body tubes. I then assembled the shock cord assembly and glued it into place. Two parachutes were included. An addendum was included to inform you that if you wanted to use the 24 inch chute to cut out the entire spill hole to prevent loss of the rocket. I used the 12 inch chute and cut the spill hole.

PROS: Fast and easy construction

CONS: Can't think of any.

Finishing:
No real finishing is required because of the purple and yellow parts. Just slap on the decals and that's it. I also painted the lug standoffs and tube joint with purple paint. An optional step is to apply clear spray enamel but I chose not to do this.

PROS: No painting required.

CONS: None

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Between getting a new job and lousy conditions for flying a rocket like this, I have only flown this rocket once so far. The recommended motors are the D12-5, D12-7, E9-6, E9-8. I also saw the new C11-5 listed for this rocket in the 2002 Estes Catalog. The hook holds the motor in place, but since my hook was missing, I wrapped a single layer of masking tape around the motor and fit it in place behind the adapter. The flight was on a D12-5 and it was without a doubt an awesome flight. Very fast lift-off and arrow straight boost to apogee at 1000 feet or so.

Recovery:
With the small chute, this rocket appeared to come down quick, but safe. I would not recommend using the 24 inch chute. On an E9 flight, I would recommend using a large streamer. Even with a friction fit, I still recovered the rocket with the motor in it.

PROS: Excellent flight performance.

CONS: None

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Priced at about $15.00 to $21.99, this rocket is a super buy. My thanks goes to EMRR for providing me with this model from the Rocket Give-Away drawing.

Main PROS: Easy and quick construction, no painting required.

Main CONS: None

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

    Flight Log

    DateRocket NameMotor(s)AltitudeNotes
    2001-11-17Ken Schumacher's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Definitly drifts farther after an E flight
    2001-11-17Ken Schumacher's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Launched from a heavier pad, much more stable flight.
    2002-02-02Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorD12-51000 feet Super flight. Est altitude about 1000 feet. Heard the ejection pop but never saw the descent....
    2002-04-11Herb Estus's Estes EliminatorE30-7- What can I say ,It took of quick ,Nice straight flight and recovery
    2002-04-13Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorD12-5- WOW! Gone on the word GO!!! Had to climb a fence to retrieve. No damage.
    2002-05-11Herb Estus's Estes EliminatorE30-4- Nice straight flight lost sight just before apogee, But had marking chaulk so when ejection pop...
    2002-06-11Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorC11-3- First C11 used. Nice fast boost. Early ejection shredded parachute. Should have used a 5 second...
    2002-08-04Peter Allen's Estes EliminatorE30-7- This is a very fast motor. I guess that's what Blue Thunder motors are for. The flight was very...
    2002-09-08Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorC11-5- Nice flight. Had a slight parachute tangle, came down sideways. No damage.
    2002-09-14James Reyome's Estes EliminatorD12-3- Popped the igniter on the first attempt, on the second it did get off the pad, then a HUGE gust of...
    2002-09-21Ken Schumacher's Estes EliminatorD12-7- My rocket but launched and recovered by a boy scout finishing a badge requirement. Long drift with...
    2002-09-22Peter Allen's Estes EliminatorE15-7- E15 is the perfect motor for this rocket. It is super fast and just about out of sight but not...
    2002-10-08James Reyome's Estes EliminatorC6-5- Now THIS is more like what I expected. Used an adapter to fly a C in the Eliminator and it...
    2002-10-12James Reyome's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Another great flight for a nifty flier. Winds were up just a bit so it drifted somewhat, even with...
    2002-10-26David Logan's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Flew into low cloud cover, recovered 30 ft. from pads on a 12 inch chute.
    2002-11-28James Reyome's Estes EliminatorC6-5- PJ decided we HAD to fly the Eliminator, so we fitted the 18mm adapter and shot it. It's...
    2002-12-12John Fernandez's Estes EliminatorF21-6- Wow! This puppy was outta here. Used a 12inch Mile High Rockets parachute.I was one of two people...
    2003-03-14Larry Hobbs's Estes EliminatorC6-5- Exciting flight straight up to 750 ft. Recovered 250 ft away in perfect condition. I will cut the...
    2003-04-26Larry Hobbs's Estes EliminatorE9-6- 3 2 1 and gone. angled into wind and then acted like a cruise missle at about 1000 ft. parachute...
    2003-04-26Larry Hobbs's Estes EliminatorE9-6- roared off the pad straight up to about 1400 ft. used the shredded parachute for quicker descent...
    2003-04-27James Reyome's Estes EliminatorC6-5- Another great flight for the Eliminator. Chute pulled some shroud lines, however, and she landed...
    2003-04-27Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorC11-5- Nice flight although the chute got all twisted up around the shock cord. No damage.
    2003-08-03Lee Smith's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Notes: First flight went perfect, FAST. Est. alt was 1000+
    2003-09-25Ken Schumacher's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Winds aloft must have been more than ground level. It just drifted away, dropping very slowly....
    2003-10-21Larry Hobbs's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Ripped off of pad and reached about 1300 ft. Used 24 in. chute with spill hole cut out. Landed...
    2004-02-07Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorC11-5- Nice flight. Recovered without incident on a Thrustline 12 inch nylon parachute. No damage.
    2004-05-01Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorE9-81500 feet WOW!! Screamed off the pad with a trail of white smoke. Good chute, recovered 70' away.
    2004-05-01Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorD12-51200 feet 1st flight. Quick off the pad. Straight up. WOW! Recovered 50' from pad. Awesome rocket!
    2004-08-20Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorC11-5- Flew in a drag race against another Eliminator also on a C11-5. Mine got off the pad first and his...
    2004-08-28Andrew Grippo's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Very high flight with very long duration and drift. Recovered near Books-A-Million parking lot. No...
    2004-09-25Andrew Grippo's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Good flight. Bottom of fins burnt slightly.
    2004-09-25Andrew Grippo's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Very high flight with a long walk to recover. 24 inch chute with spill hole seems too big for this...
    2004-09-30Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorD12-7- Great flight, very straight, very high. Maybe 800-1,000 feet up. Great chute deployment and a very...
    2004-10-02Liam Conole's Estes EliminatorD12-51000 feet great flight to 1000' straight as an arrow. next time with some E9's and then an E30. will post...
    2004-10-09Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorD12-5960 feet Beautiful flying rocket. Quick off the pad! Perfect flight, perfect ejection, recovered 25' from...
    2004-10-09Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Another perfect flight from launch to recovery. Higher elevation winds made rocket drift a little....
    2004-11-01Warren Evans's Estes EliminatorG37-7- It jumped off the pad and went BOOM
    2004-11-27Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorE9-6944 feet Great flight as usual but I changed from a 12 parachute to a 3x30 streamer hoping to recover it...
    2005-04-14Todd Shero's Estes EliminatorC6-5- As usual this rocket is aways a perfect high flier. Not a good thing on this day though, Rocket...
    2005-04-25Gianpaolo Basile's Estes EliminatorE9-4- Took off the pad quick. Nice straight flight, Chute melted and landed pretty hard. Body crimped...
    2005-04-30Jay Stoll's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Out of sight flight on overcast day. Recovered a short distance away using a 12 inch Rockethead...
    2005-04-30Jay Stoll's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Great flight with 12 inch Rockethead mylar chute for recovery in soft grass.
    2005-05-08Gianpaolo Basile's Estes EliminatorD12-0/D12-5- First staged flight with my modified elimator. Two flights, in both the sustainer ignited, but on...
    2005-05-10Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Very nice flight. Went way up there, about 1,400 feet, lost sight after burnout, regained sight...
    2005-05-15Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-61218 feet First use of my PICO-P1 altimeter. Parachute shredded. Lost nose cone. Main body backed in and...
    2005-05-25Donald Besaw's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Nice flight, quite a bit of weathercock due to wind. Recovered close to pad on a Top Flite 9 inch...
    2005-07-25Paul Gray's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Excellent flight.
    2005-08-21Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Very straight flight. First flight after replacing lost nose cone and parachute.
    2005-09-10Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Skies were a little hazy and that made it difficult to see at apogee. Parachute shroud line came...
    2005-10-01Bill Pate's Estes EliminatorF21-9- OOPS! I won't see that one again. RockSim said it would hit about 4000 feet. I used a blaze...
    2005-10-08Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE18-7- I love this motor for this rocket!! I chose to use a 3inch wide streamer for recovery due to the...
    2006-02-20David Culp's Estes EliminatorD12-5- This was the first flight after building the Eliminator. It shot off the pad very quickly and...
    2006-02-21David Culp's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Second flight ripped straight up off the pad and nearly out of sight. Chute ehected but didnt...
    2006-02-21David Culp's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Attempted fin repair, obviosly failed. Rocket cork screwed up and failed to eject chute, came...
    2006-04-08John Chapman's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Wind, unstable grass and tippy extra long launch rod combined to make this a ballistic missle...
    2006-04-08John Chapman's Estes EliminatorD12-5- We launched WAAAY into the wind, and doped it out just about right. Ejection over the water, but...
    2006-05-27Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Pretty typical flight for this bird.
    2006-06-18Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Very high , long walk even on a 12 'chute
    2006-06-18Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorE9-4- reefed 'chute ... not as long of a walk .... very high
    2006-06-18Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorE9-4- Last flight of the Father's day launch . Very high
    2006-06-18Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorD12-5- 12 chute , comes down fast but no damage
    2006-06-25Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorD12-0/E9-6- Must have gone up about 2000ft. Very high and took a long time to come down.
    2006-06-26Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Super high, super straight
    2006-07-01Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Great rocket, easy to build, E9-8 sent it way up, guess about 1300-1400ft....nice liftoff, slow...
    2006-07-03Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-8- perfect flight, 12in chute...landed 75yds away...1350ft...nice flight.
    2006-07-03Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-8- great flight similar to previous entry, water landing though...modified chute with slip hole...not...
    2006-07-23Richie Brunjes's Estes EliminatorE9-4- Real nice flight
    2006-07-29Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Great boost to about 1400ft. Trying to figure out perfect chute config, and after several attempts...
    2006-07-29Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-6- great flight, easy retieve at about 200yds from pad, about 1200ft with this delay, landed on rock...
    2006-07-29Andrew Netrunner's Estes EliminatorE9-6- great flight as before switched to 6sec delay less alt but better ejection, landed safe about 175...
    2006-12-21Michael Jenkins's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Went up really fast and came down slow. The wind took it out of sight....
    2006-12-27Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorE9-5- Beautiful flight and very nice trail of smoke with the long delay screaming down towards earth....
    2007-02-10Richard Stephens's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Leapt off the pad for a high straight flight. Slow descent under 18” chute. Model had been...
    2007-02-10 Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE9-6- First launch of this rocket. Straght boose, perfect recovery.
    2007-04-14Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Just another excellent flight of this great performer. I needed a good flight after destroying my...
    2007-06-16Peter Waithe's Estes EliminatorE9-6- This was the first flight. I opted for the 12 inch chute over the 24 inch due to the wind...
    2007-11-03Chris Halinaty's Estes EliminatorD12-5- D-engine requirement for NARTREK Bronze.
    2007-11-10William Beggs's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Great flight and reovery. Parachute got a little tangled.
    2007-11-10William Beggs's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Great flight and reovery.
    2007-12-12Bob Joe's Estes EliminatorE9-9- Boy did this fly high-only problem-i packed the wadding too tight(doh!) Now I got 2 rockets with...
    2007-12-22Jerry Nishihira's Estes EliminatorE9-8982 feet Absolutely flawless flight! Lots of Ooohs & Aaaahs from the big crowd. Used a small 6 chute and it...
    2008-01-26Dwayne Shmel's CAP Rocket (RETIRED)C6-3- Perfect Maiden Flight of the CAP rocket
    2008-02-23 Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE28-7- Streamer only deployed half out the body tube - rocket tumbled in...no damage. Too much dog barf...
    2008-03-16Doug Knight's Estes EliminatorG80-10- Old style G80's in the Eliminator without fillets or other reinforcements shred the rocket. My...
    2008-03-22John Bergsmith's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Excellent flight, boost was straight even in the wind. Good altitude, exceeded 1200ft. Recovered...
    2008-03-22 Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Nice flight on D12-5; NARTREK Bronze flight.
    2008-04-19John Bergsmith's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Great flight, straight boost. Very reliable performer, and perfect for the E9-6.
    2008-04-19John Bergsmith's Estes EliminatorE9-6- 2nd flight of the day, and another great flight. Straight boost, easy recovery with no damage.
    2008-05-31Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorC11-3- Early ejection for this rocket with this motor. Good flight but a C11-5 might be a better small...
    2008-05-31Dwayne Shmel's CAP Rocket (RETIRED)E18-7- Nice high flight
    2008-06-28Tom Benson's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Nice straight flight, quite high. Slow descent on a 14 hemi nylon chute. Will reef the chute a bit...
    2008-08-23Dwayne Shmel's CAP Rocket (RETIRED)D12-7- Great flight.
    2008-10-11Dwayne Shmel's CAP Rocket (RETIRED)D12-5-
    2008-10-12 Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6-
    2008-10-26 Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Another great flight of my Eliminator. Mylar streamer recovery...not quite long enough and the...
    2009-02-14Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Another nice flight of my Eliminator.
    2009-02-14Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE9-8- Another nice flight of my Eliminator.
    2009-02-21John Venable's Estes EliminatorD12-5- perfect straight flight to about 700 ft. lunar launch @ moffet field. maiden voyage !
    2009-02-21John Venable's Estes EliminatorE9-61500 feet CUL8R gone to 1500 fast. long walk awesome flight . I think the crowd got whiplash !
    2009-03-28John Venable's Estes EliminatorD12-5900 feet Perfect flight . I love this rocket. Next up is a e-30-4t. Guaranteed 1/2 mile
    2009-04-04Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Chute tangled and it back-slid in. No damage.
    2009-04-04 Tim Dicke's Estes EliminatorE9-6- This flight went off as planned. Got a nice chute and landed it right on the 'X' at the SkyDive...
    2009-07-19John Venable's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Screamed off the pad to 900'. Flawless flight. Landed 10 ft. from pad.
    2009-08-15John Venable's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Super fast and straight flight to 950'. Flawless flight. Landed on the equipment trailer.
    2009-09-19John Venable's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Nice flight to 800'. Weathercocked slightly. Long walk to recover.
    2009-11-07John Venable's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Long burn and weathercocked into wind to 1300'.Blew the chute and cracked the fin can. Found the...
    2010-01-05Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorD12-5- Great flight of my Eliminator...nice big streamer for recovery.
    2010-01-05Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE18-7- Great flight of my trusty Eliminator on the E18-7W. Great motor for this rocket.
    2010-01-09Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE20-7W- Great flight of the Eliminator on the new Aerotech E20-7W Single Use motor.
    2010-03-07John Bergsmith's Estes EliminatorE9-6- Good flight, perfectly straight boost.
    2010-07-04 Thayne Runyon's Estes EliminatorE9-8- The nozzle destroyed itself and melted the Fin Can unit.
    2010-12-11 Moe Bertrand's Estes EliminatorE20-7- Great flight of my Eliminator on the E20-7W for my 5th flight in the A-K contest. Streamer...
    2010-12-11Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- Higher than exected. Parachute shroud caught on lanch lug causing fast return. No damage.
    2010-12-11Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-8- Nearly straight up ~100 yds drift during recovery
    2010-12-11Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-8- slight angle on lauch rod. No parachute problems, return 30 yards down wind.
    2010-12-28Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- Straight flight.
    2010-12-28Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- straight up flight. No parachute problems, returned 50 yards down wind
    2011-01-02Karl Brandt's EliminatorE18-4W- slight downwind angle to rod Long downwind drift 0.7 miles NNE
    2011-05-21Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- Straight up, no parachute return. Landed bottom down hard on pavement. There was a slight bend...
    2011-06-02Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-6- shortened ~1.5" from previous hard landing Good ignition Landed ~800 feet downwind
    2011-07-05Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-6- Good ignition Fast spinning return (needs new chute) Landed ~800 feet downwind
    2011-07-16Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-6- Good ignition New 12" parachute Landed ~200 feet downwind
    2011-12-27Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-6- out of sight Heard ejections pop, but lost sight of it. Found ~100 ft NW The parachute lines...
    2011-12-31Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- Parachute was not fully inflated. It landed 800' SE, without damage.
    2012-01-05Karl Brandt's EliminatorD12-5- Parachute not fully inflated Landed 800' SE, no damage
    2012-01-29Karl Brandt's EliminatorE9-6- Used 1/4" rod. Some spinning on ascent. Straight up despite the wind. Landed 950' SSW of pad. No...

    Comments:

    D.W.G. (May 1, 2002)

    This rocket is the same as the Maniac, except the motor hook is longer. For small fields, I replaced the chute with ribbed silver mylar streamer. It flies great with B6-2, C5-3, C6-3, and C11-3 motors on small fields.

    P.C. (June 12, 2002)

    I've flown the Eliminator twice on E-9's and have to say that I love this rocket. It's fast, it flies high on an E-9 and is quite loud. Nice straight flights. It's very quick and easy to build. I modified mine with an Aerotech style exhaust baffle so I don't need to use wadding. This rocket can look great if you paint it up nice. A worthy edition to any fleet.

    E.M.Z. (July 6, 2002)

    Very easy Skill Level 2 rocket to build. Flights are high and straight. I painted the body tubes purple after assembly so the launch lugs were color coordinated. My rocket only came with a 12 inch parachute. Due to high winds on the maiden voyage, the parachute was replaced with a 36x3 inch ripstop nylon streamer. Altitudes were high, and recovery was within 100 yards of the launch site using the E9-8 engines.

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