Brief:
This is a new 2004 release from Estes. It is an E2X series rocket that can be
built in an hour or less. It flies on mini motors up to 500 feet and uses a
parachute for recovery.
Construction:
The kit came in a plastic bag with header card and consists of a minimal amount
of components. The kit included:-
- 2 motor mount/fin sections
- 2 retension caps
- 1 launch lug
- 1 silver BT-20 size body tube
- 1 nose cone and insert
- 1 shock cord
- 1 preassembled 12 inch parachute
- 1 peel and stick decal sheet
The instructions for this kit are very easy to understand and included
illustrations and text that even a beginner should be able to follow without
any problems and the shock cord mount is included. No templates are included
because none are needed.
This rocket is very easy to build and can be built in an hour or less but I
spent about 2 hours assembling mine.
I started by cementing the two motor mount fin assemblies together. I then
mounted this completed assembly into the body tube and then glued the launch
lug into place.
While I was waiting for that to dry, I cemented the insert into place in
the base of the nose cone as this cone is a two piece unit.
I then assembled the shock cord mount. I made a change here by adding a
small length of Kevlar®
and tied the shock cord to it, very similar to the Quest setup. After it dried,
I then glued the completed mount into place inside the body tube.
I also ditched the parachute as this rocket is really too light for one and
tied a Rockethead Rocket mylar streamer into place and then tied on the nose
cone to complete the assembly.
PROS:
- Very fast assembly
- Great parts fit.
CONS:
Finishing:
There is no real finishing involved here due to the precolored red plastic
components and silver body tube. All you do is apply the included peel and
stick decals and that's it.
When finished, this little rockets looks great and that is why I purchased
it.
PROS:
- Looks great
- No painting required.
CONS:
Construction Rating:
5
out of 5
Picture courtesy of
EMRR
Flight:
The reccommended motors for this rocket is the 1/4A3-3T, 1/2A3-2T, A3-4T,
A10-3T, all Estes 13mm mini motors.
This rocket uses a retension ring to hold the motor in place. Mine was a
very tight fit at first with a motor installed but I was able to get it to
loosen up. A spare retension ring is included in case you lose the first one.
This rocket does require recovery wadding and is packed in the normal
manner. I used about 4 sheets.
For my two flights, I used 1/2A3-2T's as I have a rather large stash of
them. The rocket took off straight and fast both times to maybe 250-300 feet
and deployed the streamer just before apogee. My next flight will be on the
A10-3T.
PROS:
- Flies great even on low cost mini motors.
CONS:
- Retension ring was very tight.
Recovery:
This rocket comes with a 12 inch parachute for recovery but I went with a
streamer for recovery which brought the rocket down fast enough to avoid
excessive drift but slow enough to survive. It almost landed in my range box on
the first flight just a few feet from me.
PROS:
- Recovers fine with streamer recovery.
CONS:
- Why is a parachute included with a rocket of this size?
Flight Rating:
4
out of 5
Summary:
I really like this rocket. It is a very nice little rocket that looks great
with the red and silver scheme and it flies great too. Best of all, it is
fairly inexpensive. I paid $5.09 for my kit at my local hobby shop, a great
deal. I am reccommending that a friend of mine that has never built a rocket
before try one of these. Great beginners kit.
Main PROS:
- Easy and quick construction
- Appearance
- Flight performance
- Low price.
Main CONS:
- Tight retention ring and parachute.
Overall Rating:
4
out of 5
Comments:
- Post a Comment -
eBay Offers:
Estes Flying Model Rocket FIREHAWK Skill level E2X
>>> Product Details >>>
Estes Firehawk Model Rocket Kit 0804
>>> Product Details >>>
Estes Firehawk EX2 Quick-Building Flying Model Rocket
>>> Product Details >>>
Estes 0804 Firehawk Model Rocket Kit New Level E2X 804 ++++++++++ Free Shipping
>>> Product Details >>>
Firehawk Model Rocket Kit 4-Fin Design by Estes We combine shipping 0804
>>> Product Details >>>
What You Can Do
- Link to this Page -
You can link to this page using the following HTML or BB Code.
Text Link in HTML (for web sites)
<a href="http://www.rocketreviews.com/estes-industries-firehawk--by-donald-besaw-jr.html">Estes - Firehawk (804) [2004-2008] - Review by Donald Besaw Jr</a>
Text Link in BB Code (for forum posts)
[url=http://www.rocketreviews.com/estes-industries-firehawk--by-donald-besaw-jr.html]Estes - Firehawk (804) [2004-2008] - Review by Donald Besaw Jr[/url]
Select the appropriate above text with your mouse then "right-click" and select "Copy." Then, paste the text into your web site's code or a discussion forum post.
D.S.C. (October 24, 2004)