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Estes - Wizard (1292) [1978-]

Manufacturer:Estes
Skill Level:1
Style:Sport
Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Contributed by

Bill's WizardBrief:
Upon becoming seriously involved as a BAR in the spring of 2001, I went looking through local hobby stores, hoping to find that some of my favorite rockets from my early years were still available. The Wizard, a high flying minimum diameter rocket, turned out to be the sole remaining holdover from my original fleet.

Construction:
Included in the kit:

  • 1 - 8.65" BT-20 (BT-20B)
  • 1 - Engine block (AR-520)
  • 1 - Launch lug (LL-2A)
  • 18" sewing elastic for shock cord
  • 1- PNC-20N
  • 15" streamer

Despite the hard creative times that Estes had obviously fallen upon during my absence from the hobby, one thing remained constant; the continued excellence of the Estes instructions. (Not that I used them or anything. I just looked through them before I started.) The continued availability of this and several other Beta series rockets makes one wonder why anyone would bother to buy the RTF garbage that Estes seems so intent on foisting upon us these days. (I know. Instant gratification.) With the Wizard you are rewarded with a sharp looking, high flying rocket that can be flown without worrying that the thin walled RTF body tube will fold up as the rocket leaves the pad or if it will withstand a vigorous ejection charge. Building the Wizard is almost obscenely easy. Glue in the engine block and attach the fins and recovery system and you're literally ready to paint.

Finishing:
This was one area where I felt that I could make improvements. Aside from it's stunning performance, the thing I liked best about the original Wizard was it's clean, uncluttered appearance. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way someone at Estes decided that the rocket needed a more cluttered look, so they re-designed the paint and decal scheme to accomplish just that. Gone was the classic simplicity of the purple/white/black scheme of the original, ditched in favor of a blue/red/yellow scheme that looks as slick and nauseating as a polyester suit and a spinning disco ball. That said, I immediately gave the "sticker" decal to my kids to play with and set about painting the rocket to look just like the one I lost on it's first flight 22 years earlier. At the time I wasn't acquainted with the myriad of options available for recreating vintage decals. As such, I was going to let the rocket go without the distinctive decal that graced the original, but then I remembered that Rocketry Online had a free classified ad service. I placed an ad looking to buy an old Wizard decal from someone, and to my great shock and surprise, I received several e-mails offering one to me for free. The first offer came from Stan Hyuge and while I'd like to say thanks to Stan, I'd like to also thank the others who also offered me the decal. I was happily surprised at discovering that, with a few obvious exceptions, this was a very friendly hobby. This was the first rocket on which I used sanding sealer made from thinned Elmer's Fill N Finish, and the difference was noticeable in the finished product.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
I've flown the Wizard on engines throughout the recommended range and have had great results on all of them. An A8-3 is a decent choice for small field flying, the rocket never quite going completely out of sight, while C6-5's and C6-7's should be used only when you have plenty of clear space to work with, because it flies high and drifts forever. Preparation is simple. Put in a bit of recovery wadding, pack the streamer, friction fit the engine with masking tape and it's ready to go. Straight, very high flights. This rocket would seem to be a good choice for the streamer and parachute duration requirements for the NARTREK Program.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Pro's: Good looks (classic version) and great performance. Easy to build. Bright orange streamer looks great against the purple and white paint.
Con's: Ugly new paint and decal scheme. (Current version.) Sticker decal. Too short shock cord.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

    Flight Log

    DateRocket NameMotor(s)AltitudeNotes
    1979-04-05Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardC6-5- WOW! I wasn't expecting to never see the rocket again. Landed in a neighbors gutter and rained...
    1995-08-01Tony Fragge's Estes WizardA8-3- good flight
    1996-09-01Tony Fragge's Estes WizardA8-3- Landed hard on concrete. 2 fins lost
    1996-09-29Tony Fragge's Estes WizardA8-3-
    1996-10-19Tony Fragge's Estes WizardA8-3-
    1998-09-10Paul Smith's Estes WizardA8-3- BT dent
    1998-09-15Paul Smith's Estes WizardB6-4- Briefly disappeared into low clouds.
    1998-09-17Paul Smith's Estes WizardC6-7- Flew perfectly, way out of sight. Saw ejection charge, moment of streamer, but then lost sight in...
    2000-01-02James Johnson's Estes WizardB6-4- Given that there was some high cloud cover, I lost sight of the rocket -- a few in the club said...
    2000-01-02James Johnson's Estes WizardA8-3- Perfect engine -- reached a decent altitude, but never left my sight. Recovery deployed just as it...
    2000-05-20Kenneth Johnson's Estes WizardC6-7- Took off like a. . . well, you get the idea. Thought it was gone forever, but found it in the...
    2000-09-17Paul Gray's Estes WizardA8-3- Great flight on smal motor. Stait up and fast! Cannot waitto getto a larer field to try on a B or...
    2000-09-22Jeff Skinner's Estes WizardC6-5- 3 launches on this rocket. All 3 on this huge motor. SUPER high & SUPER fast. Lost it on 3rd...
    2000-09-29Paul Gray's Estes WizardC6-5- Gone!! Out of sight and hard to see even with pink streamer but recovereed and found in some low...
    2000-09-29Paul Gray's Estes WizardB6-4- WOW! That was fast. Up and out of sighttill ejection charge. Revoced within ball field
    2000-09-29Paul Gray's Estes WizardA8-3- Again good flight! Recovery within 20 yards of pad.
    2000-11-12Kenneth Johnson's Estes WizardA10-3- With an adaptor, I found out that Wiz' likes a smaller motor. You can actually discern the boost...
    2000-11-22Ron Cooke's Estes WizardA8-3- Lost
    2001-01-07Randy Powell's Estes WizardA8-3- flew high and fast....recovered
    2001-01-27Kenneth Johnson's Estes WizardA10-3- Another lightweight rocket suitable for 13mm conversion. Surprising altitude and speed. Good...
    2001-02-18Tony Fragge's Estes WizardA8-3- Good flight. Streamer deployed even though it was well below freezing.
    2001-03-03Tim Burger's Estes WizardA8-3-
    2001-03-31Ed Scientist's Estes WizardB6-4- Straight up nearly out of sight. My wife Kristen's second rocket.
    2001-04-08Ed Scientist's Estes WizardB6-4- Man Alive!! That thing went high
    2001-04-13Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardA8-3- My second flight of a Wizard, but first since 1979. I'm 0 for 2 on successful flights, but at...
    2001-04-14Mara Fragge's Estes WizardC5-3- Great flight! Tree God snatched it before it got to the ground.
    2001-04-29Ed Scientist's Estes WizardB6-4- Wow! This rocket flies high, I wanna see just hoe high it can go.
    2001-04-29Randy Powell's Estes WizardB6-4- flew high,recovered nearby
    2001-05-19Ed Scientist's Estes WizardC6-3- Went out of sight. My buddy Scott spotted it. I caught sight of it just before it plunged into the...
    2001-06-05Robert LeNeal's Estes WizardB6-4- Good flight
    2001-07-02Jerry Davis's Estes WizardA8-3- first flight -- not too interesting
    2001-07-29Tim Burger's Estes WizardA8-3- Today's sounding rocket (first flight to check the wind and rod angle.) OK flight, A8-5s work...
    2001-08-05 Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardC6-7- Very high, almost out of sight flight, but recovered within 100 yards of pad. Good flier in little...
    2001-09-22Tim Burger's Estes WizardA8-3- Ok, but a five second delay is much better.
    2001-10-28Dan Robinson's Estes WizardA8-3- Engine and NC came out, rocket streamered down with no damage but recovery wadding still in place
    2001-11-11Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardB4-4- Only partial deployment at ejection, but no damage.
    2002-02-17Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice, high flight. Performed just as it was supposed to.
    2002-03-20Tim Burger's Estes WizardA8-5- Nominal.
    2002-04-28Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardA8-3- Currently at top of a large tree at Woodfill Elementary. Hope to recover on 4-29.
    2002-06-16George Dean's Estes WizardA8-5- Drag raced my son's Wizard against my Sizzler on A8-5's. Great race with side-by-side straight...
    2002-07-06Mike Atwood's Estes WizardC6-7- Very fast and high. Fun rocket to fly on a C
    2002-07-21Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardB6-6- NARTREK bronze parachute duration qualifying flight timed at 2:26.
    2002-07-21Bill Eichelberger's Estes WizardB6-6-
    2002-09-07Tim Burger's Estes WizardA8-5- Nominal
    2002-11-02Mike Atwood's Estes WizardC6-7- Corkscrewed of the pad then flew straight. Didn't fly very high, but fun.
    2003-04-06Kris Hull's Estes Wizard7xD7-13000 feet Modified wizard. Flew with shortened body tube and cliped fins. Flew to a height of about 3000...
    2003-05-29Jon Revelle's Estes WizardA8-3- Rocket's first was BAD!!!!! Went up 13' and spiraled all over the place. hitting the ground before...
    2003-06-22Jon Revelle's Estes WizardA8-3- Second flight. THIS FLIGHT WAS PICTURE PERFECT!!! Dispite the big dent in the side, the WIZARD...
    2003-08-24Chan Stevens's Estes WizardC6-7-
    2003-09-06Vinnie Valenti's Estes WizardB6-4- Small and fast it went.
    2003-09-21Vinnie Valenti's Estes Wizard2xB6-4- Landed about half a mile down the road.
    2003-10-19Jon Revelle's Estes WizardB4-4- Sniff... Lost. Went too high. My first rocket. Probably gone for good.
    2003-10-25Glenn Weiss's Estes Wizard1/2A6-2- Nice, stable flier. Not too high though, will use full A or B power in the future.
    2003-11-22Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardB6-4- NARTREK Streamer flight, 37.85 sec
    2003-11-29Jerry Nishihira's Estes WizardC6-3500 feet Perfect flight.
    2003-11-29Jerry Nishihira's Estes WizardA8-3300 feet Very fast rocket! Perfect flight. Recovered 50' from pad.
    2003-12-05Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Good straight boost to about 800ft., deployed streamer at apogee, landed in small tree about...
    2003-12-13Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardC6-5- bolted out of sight, never saw it, heard it hit ground about 50ft. from pad, no damage
    2003-12-13Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardC6-3- Bolted off pad again, saw ejection this time, drifted about 200yds. away, streamer slighly singed
    2003-12-20Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardA8-3- arced slightly into wind, up about fooft., seperated on deployment, body tumbled, nose cone came...
    2004-01-04Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardA8-3- NC seperated, lost NC and parachute but recovered body.
    2004-01-16Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardA8-3- good straight boost to about 800ft., dropped almost straight down on streamer, about 25ft. from...
    2004-02-06Stephen Kiss's Estes WizardA8-3- good boost to about 800ft., good deploy but motor kicked out, because of light weight drifted...
    2004-02-14Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardB4-4- Got my NARTREK Bronze with 2:07 under a chute.
    2004-04-05Forrest Henry's Estes WizardB6-4- The Wizard really moves on this engine - 1200 feet at least. Perfect flight. Landed about 50 yards...
    2004-04-05Forrest Henry's Estes WizardA8-5- First flight of the Wizard - engine poped out and streamer got a little tangled, but no harm to...
    2004-04-17Philip Levanda's Estes WizardC6-5- Hit the button and GONE!!! Few come off the pad as fast as this rocket. Didn't see it come down...
    2004-04-22Brian Riendeau's Estes WizardA8-3- I was very impressed with this flight on a A8-3 compared to my other rockets. The rocket fell...
    2004-05-09Brian Riendeau's Estes WizardA8-3- Nose cone and streamer seperated from rocket at ejection, cone drifted away (lost), rocket lawn...
    2004-06-05Brian Riendeau's Estes WizardC6-5- Laser straight boost, incredible altitude. We were barely able to keep track of the rocket as it...
    2004-06-05Brian Riendeau's Estes WizardB6-4- Nice flight, fin slightly cracked on landing, easily fixed. I would reccomend a slightly larger...
    2004-06-05Brian Riendeau's Estes WizardA8-3- This rocket gets as much as possible from the A8 motors. Good altitude and recovers quickly on a...
    2004-06-15David Sindel's Estes WizardA8-3- Lost and replaced NC.
    2004-06-16Paul Gray's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flyer to replace one i used many times till it was beat up from rough landings and nasecone...
    2004-06-20Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardA8-3- Duration :26
    2004-06-20Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardB4-4- Duration 1:07
    2004-10-17Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardB4-4- Random Duration
    2004-12-18Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-5- Streamer recovery was good although somehow wadding remained in BT.
    2004-12-19Kyle Hancock's Estes WizardB4-4- Streamer broke. Rocket OK.
    2005-05-21Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice straight flight, recovered pretty close to pad despite wind.
    2005-06-25Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3-
    2005-06-26Matt Gillard's Estes WizardB6-4- very quick off the pad, too high to see where it opened, but it looked near the top. drifted a...
    2005-07-30Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-5- Streamer and wadding didn't fully deploy, a common problem with this rocket's small diameter tube....
    2005-08-19Donald Besaw's Estes WizardA8-3- Great first flight, zipped off the pad up to around 400-500 feet. Great streamer recovery, landed...
    2005-08-19Donald Besaw's Estes WizardB6-4- Talk about fast, zipped up to 700-800 feet in a hurry. The streamer was just an orange dot at...
    2005-08-27Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-5- Nice flight, full ejection of streamer, which is not always the case with these skinny rockets.
    2005-09-02Donald Besaw's Estes WizardB6-4- Excellent flight, very quick off the pad up to 700-800 feet. Landed fairly close to pad. No damage.
    2005-09-05Michael Bentley's Estes WizardA8-3- Rocket really flew high. Rapid decent caused fin to break. Will repair.
    2005-09-05Donald Besaw's Estes WizardA8-3- Great flight, landed close to pad. No damage.
    2005-09-21Donald Besaw's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flight but drifted an insane distance due to wind. Noticed an Estes dent in the top of the BT...
    2005-10-18Donald Besaw's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flight and recovery, kicked motor. No damage.
    2005-10-28Donald Besaw's Estes WizardA8-3- Wind test, nice flight. No damage.
    2006-05-14Donald Besaw's Estes WizardC6-5- Boneheaded me decided to go big in this rocket, took off straight and fast to maybe 1,500 feet,...
    2006-05-20Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Cord and wadding did not fully eject which is par for the course with a skinny BT like this.
    2006-05-26Chan Stevens's Estes WizardB6-6- B-SD/MR, 47 sec duration.
    2006-05-26Chan Stevens's Estes WizardB6-6- Fallback plan for B-SD/MR, using ordinary mylar streamer got 45 sec duration. Very respectable...
    2006-05-26Chan Stevens's Estes WizardC6-7-
    2006-06-17Gary Drebit's Estes WizardC6-5- Lost it in the Sun. No one saw it land.
    2006-06-24Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Good straight boost and full ejection of streamer, motor kicked even though I thought I had it in...
    2006-07-29Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flight and the streamer fully ejected, a rare occurance with this one.
    2006-09-23James Bishop's Estes WizardA8-3- Perfect flight, fast and straight.
    2006-09-23James Bishop's Estes WizardA8-3- Perfect flight, fast and straight.
    2006-10-15Clive Davis's Estes WizardA8-3- Second flight of day. Great performer on the A8-3
    2006-10-15Clive Davis's Estes WizardA8-3- Great motor for this rocket. Altitude was really impressive.
    2006-10-22Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Good flight, full ejection of shock cord and streamer. One fin cracked off on landing, easy...
    2006-11-25Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3-
    2007-01-01Todd Shero's Estes WizardC6-3- Super high flight, and very gusty wind equals a rocket in the swamp a 1/4 mile away.
    2007-01-27Drift Tastik's Estes WizardB6-4- WOW! Terrible launch @ ~45 degrees, saw recovery charge and streamer. Tracked streamer to find no...
    2007-01-27Drift Tastik's Estes WizardB6-4- Modified w/ forward swept fins, all other directions followed. Perfect launch and recovery system...
    2007-01-27Drift Tastik's Estes WizardB6-4- 1st Flight Modified by changing to forward swept fins. Perfect launch and recover. Landed softly...
    2007-03-17Jerry Nishihira's Estes WizardB6-4350 feet Used as a wind tester for the Scratch Built Launch. All rockets launched on Estes A8-3 motors.
    2007-04-07James Bishop's Estes WizardA8-3- Perfect flight, landed close.
    2007-05-26Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice, full ejection of streamer.
    2007-06-22Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- With the wind, figured a streamer rocket was the way to go. One fin cracked off on landing,...
    2007-06-30Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Once again, streamer only partially ejected, resulting in a little dent on top of the body tube...
    2007-07-28Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardB4-4- High, straight boost and full deployment of streamer, drifted right down and I caught it.
    2007-07-28Dwayne Shmel's WizardA8-3- Nice quick little flight. Good recovery on streamer.
    2007-09-30Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice full ejection of streamer and cord after straight boost
    2008-01-26Dwayne Shmel's WizardA8-5- Perfect Flight.
    2008-01-27Paul Morris's Estes WizardA8-3- went up straight as a die, ejected late, came down on a streamer, no damage at all
    2008-02-23Dwayne Shmel's WizardB6-6- Nice flight.
    2008-06-01Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Cracked a fin on landing, repaired at field.
    2008-07-04James Bishop's Estes WizardB4-4- Streamer failed to eject as I packed it too tight. Lawn darted but no damage.
    2008-07-04James Bishop's Estes WizardA8-3- Good flight.
    2008-09-27David Sindel's Estes WizardA8-3- Great flight - out of sight even on an A8!
    2008-09-28James Bishop's Estes WizardA8-3- Will try less wadding next time.
    2009-02-01David Sindel's Estes WizardA8-3- A nice flight; hard to track the tiny rocket but I managed to do it.
    2009-04-19Matt Gillard's Estes WizardB6-6- fast off the pad, caught the tracking smoke, my son found the rocket after a five minute search.
    2009-05-23Chan Stevens's Estes WizardC6-7- predicted=72, caught minor thermal, actual=85 sec
    2009-08-23Mark Kulka's Estes WizardB4-4- Lost sight of it as it bolted off the pad. Heard ejection and saw it as it was descending quickly...
    2009-11-25Peter Lam's Estes WizardB6-6- Fast straight boost (even with the wind), lost it 1/2 way up but saw the ejection event, perfect...
    2010-03-20Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Good day to launch a streamer rocket with the wind as it was. Streamer fully deployed, fin broke...
    2010-05-25Jason Orosco's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flight
    2010-05-25Jason Orosco's Estes WizardA8-3- Good flight.
    2010-05-29Chan Stevens's Estes WizardC6-5- Predicted 67, actual 76
    2010-07-18Ken Tsai's Estes WizardA3-4- Vintage version with the old Purple/white paint. Modified for mini T motors, but still plenty...
    2011-03-18Evan's Estes WizardA8-3675 feet It was a perfect lift-off nice and stright, the apogee of the flight was perfect the delay was...
    2011-03-18Evan's Estes WizardA8-3675 feet It was a perfect lift-off nice and stright, the apogee of the flight was perfect the delay was...
    2011-04-23Bernard Cawley's Wizard #11/2A6-2- Good first flight with a big streamer. Good deployment and about 15 second duration on a pretty...
    2011-04-23Bernard Cawley's Wizard #1A8-5- 43.7s duration. Deployment over the top and a bit of delay before the streamer unfurled, then nice!
    2011-05-14Bernard Cawley's Wizard #1QU B6-4- Another streamer duration flight. Pretty good results. No notes.
    2011-06-11Preston Hoover's I Love the U.S.A.B6-6- Lost on first flight.
    2011-07-15Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)A6-4- Maiden flight on a Quest A6-4. Whoosh! The Quest motor was pretty loud, and the delay seemed a...
    2011-07-15Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)A8-5- A nice flight on an A8-5. The 5 second delay seemed about right with lilttle breeze this evening.
    2011-07-23Glenn Weiss's Estes WizardA8-3- Nice flight and streamer fully deployed
    2011-08-17Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)A6-4- Big arc into the breeze. The 4 second delay is a bit much even for this relatively light rocket. ...
    2011-09-21Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)A8-3- Nice launch despite the gusty breeze. I launched with my 2 year old son today - and tried to keep...
    2011-10-05Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)A6-4- I love the sound of the Quest A6 motor. Nice flight, but ejected the motor. The Wizard landed...
    2011-10-05Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)B4-4- My last flight of the day and the only real hiccup. The B4-4 pushed the Wizard to a...
    2011-10-09Robert Belknap's Fire WizardB6-4800 feet estimated height tail fin detached at landing. repairable
    2011-10-09Robert Belknap's Fire Wizardc6-51600 feet another tail fin detachment. repairable
    2011-10-09Robert Belknap's Fire Wizardb4-2- no additional damage
    2011-10-23Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)Estes A8-3- A nice flight, but I noticed a broken fin on landing. It will be repaired.
    2011-12-18Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)Estes A8-3- OK flight. Some paint chipping fins after recovery.
    2012-03-14 Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - vintage look (2)Estes A8-3- First flight for my shiny, new old-school Wizard, courtesy of decals from Excelsior Rocketry....
    2012-03-18Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)Estes A8-3- Perfect flight on an A8-3. Boost was straight up, recovered about 100 feet away.
    2012-04-07Robert Belknap's Fire WizardB6-4- Good Flight. Safe recovery. (No fin damage this time.)
    2012-04-07Robert Belknap's Fire Wizardc6-5- Offering accepted by the sky-gods. (lost sight, unable to recover)
    2012-05-15Dean Booth's Estes Wizard - new look (1)Quest A6-4- The motor ejected making for a LONG descent. Luckily the wind was slight, so I recovered it about...

    Comments:

    B.L. (November 1, 1999)

    Replace the orange plastic streamer with a 30 inch length of 1 inch wide red Teflon Pipe Thread Sealant Tape, McMaster-Carr part number 44945K14. Teflon Pipe Tape is ejection charge proof, it won't melt and get stuck together. Best of all, NO WADDING REQUIRED! Just dust the Teflon streamer with Talcum powder to aid in deployment and unfurling before packing it into the airframe.

    M.W. (April 1, 2000)

    The Wizard is a great little kit that is well worth the time to put a great finish on it. Only problem is a slick finish will make it fly even higher.... I recommend at least 4 coats of sanding sealer on the fins for a top notch finish without wood grain showing through. If you want to put a C6-7 engine in it, I would also consider painting it orange or some other color to contrast well with a blue sky, otherwise you will never see it again....

    N.A. (February 1, 2001)

    When I built this rocket I thought it would be fun to make it a central ejection rocket. No additional parts were needed. I just cut the body tube in half and built the bottom of the rocket as it is supposed to but the top section has the nose cone friction fitted and the yellow spacer tool can be used as a body tube coupler then you just attach both ends of the shock cords in each of the rocket segments. You might want to check the CP and the CG be fore you fly this MOD it could go crazy during flight because of the added weight.

    C.K. (June 1, 2001)

    I built this rocket in about 20 minutes, just to see how high it would go. No paint, as I figured I would paint it if I ever saw it again after the first launch. I got two launches off, and was lucky to find it from the first. Second launch, GONE! Great little rocket, I will definitely get another, it doesn't cost much more than a motor anyway. Maybe I will buy 2, and make a staged model, then I will be guaranteed I will never see it again!

    B.E. (July 1, 2001)

    No doubt about it, the Wizard is Estes' Engineering done right. Even on an A8-3 it delivers more than impressive performance. This is the only engine that I've used that allowed me to see the whole flight. It's literally "outtasight" on B's and especially C's. The only con here is the new look. Why they took a classic simple look like the purple and white original and changed it to this mess is beyond me. Do yourself a favor. Hunt up an old decal and do it the right way. Even if you opt for a brighter color than purple for the lower portion of the rocket (not a bad idea considering it's tendency to scream off the pad,) you'll come up with a much better looking rocket.

    M.K. (July 1, 2001)

    When you stick a C engine in it, you'll never see it again!

    D.L.C. (July 1, 2001)

    You think it goes on a C??? This last weekend I flew mine on an Aerotech D21-7! WRASP indicated an airspeed of about 720 mph and an altitude just shy of 3,000 feet. I had originally gotten the idea to do this by wondering if it would be possible to hit Mach with a D and simulating it on wRASP. Couldn't quite hit the speed of sound, but this comes close. My daughter had a Wizard which flew well on A's and B's so I bought and built one of my own. Because the D21 is a short burn, high thrust motor, the first concern of course was keeping the fins on. The simulation indicated an acceleration of 60 plus G's (the result of attempting to go from 0 to 720 mph in less than 1 second). I took some used dryer sheets and laminated the fins with this material and wood glue after they had been mounted to the body; I extended this reinforcement over the glue joint down onto the body. I then filleted over this material and filled the weave with Elmer's Wood Filler. For the streamer I replaced the stock orange plastic with a long metallic silver party streamer on the hopes of seeing it in the sky after. Finally, I checked the CG of the Wizard with an A motor and balanced it to that point with the D by putting some clay in the nose..it was probably stable anyhow but better safe than sorry. At the CMASS launch on July 7th I flew it. After a popped igniter on the first attempt, I tried again. It took off with a loud roar like a bullet...very simply it vaporized off of the pad like nothing I've seen before. The fins held on for a straight flight but I expected that we had seen the last of the Wizard. Someone yelled "I think I see it!"..and sure enough, there was a sparkly little star WAY up in the sky. Alas, I didn't recover it though...but we could see it drift down, landing over a hill, probably a good mile and a half away.

    M.G.K. (October 26, 2001)

    Nice kit. Everything went together well and I finished it according to the kit picture. Fin decals weren't made to fit the angle of the balsa fins. Haven't launched it yet.

    G.A.D (June 25, 2002)

    We use the A8-5 with this rocket. I think a 3 second delay would be too short. Ours is painted bright blue and looks pretty good, IMHO. At the club launch this weekend a group (scouts or a summer camp) showed up with a fleet of Wizards. They put on some great drag-races and really sent those rockets flying. I think they all were recovered too. This is a "can't miss" rocket.

    R.D. (August 29, 2002)

    This rocket performs nearly out of sight on an A8 and is gone for a very long time on a C6-7. My third launch on a B6-4 proved to nearly be the death of mine as it caught what little wind there was bad and landed in a pond, taking a wait of 30 minutes for it to float within grabbing range. Luckily, there was no damage despite its long bath and will probably fly again. It does have a slight tendency to weathercock and was why I believed it could handle a B6-4, since the C6-7 carried it upwind a distance so it came to land about 20 feet from the pad. 7 seconds is the perfect delay, just after apogee.

    P.L.A. (October 21, 2003)

    Other than the very tacky decal scheme, this is a great little rocket. I have had 10 sucessuful launches/recoveries of this rocket, up to a C motor. With bigger motors, it really goes up, so you might loose it, but even with A or B motors, it goes up high and holds together fine. A great 1st rocket, as step up challenge wise from those Estes E2X rockets. Price is right too....good starter rocket.

    S.G. (February 27, 2008)

    Great kit and think the blue/stickers looks great. REALLY surprised at the altitude on a B, wouldn't think of flying it on a C - unless I didn't want it back. Very high, very fast and very straight flight. I used Kevlar® cord from the motor mount to the shock cord as I'm not a fan of the paper mount. Rocket eating tree snagged this baby on it's first flight, but by the end of the day the Kevlar® had been worn through and the body fell to ground. Nosecone remains out of reach. Pros: Quick and easy to build. Great flyer. Cons: Streamer supplied was less than 1/2 the length recommended.

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