RocketReviews.com - Estes - Yankee (1381) [1982-2008]

Construction:
Actually, I built 2 Yankee kits; one to replace the initial rocket that disappeared after its third flight. The first kit featured a nice balsa nose cone, but the second kit, while otherwise identical, had a plastic nose cone. But both kits featured a paper body tube, die cut balsa fins, a short piece of elastic, a streamer, and a decal. the quality of components was excellent, except for the shock cord, which was comically short on each kit.

The plastic nose cone was a tight fit, and needed considerable sanding before it would fit. The balsa piece fit nicely but had quite a bit of grain to it. I prefer this to plastic, however. At any rate, it is a straightforward build, and the instructions seemed to be somewhat better than normal Estes fare.

Finishing:
The balsa nose needed considerable filling and sanding to be paintable. The plastic piece was ready to go right from the box, once the shoulder was sanded. I chose to use automotive primer on the original, applying thin coats and sanding in between applications to get rid of the spiral and fin grain. Then I applied some black enamel, followed with a coat of clear to keep the decals on. Unfortunately, this one disappeared soon. The second kit was simply sanded and sprayed with red and black and was considered finished after the decals were applied.

Flight:
Launching with an A8-3 produced a good, straight flight. I followed this with 2 flights on a B6-6, and the last one was never seen again. The subsequent kit was flown on "A" motors only for a while, but I couldn't help trying a C6-7. We lost it too, but fortunately someone in our club found it and brought it to the RSO. It has since been modified for 13mm motors, and does well enough on an A10-3T. I've never had a recovery failure, but if it did, the thing is so light weight it would probably recover just fine.

Recovery:
The supplied shock cord is just too small. After about 6 flights some wear can be seen on the end of the body tube because of the shock cord whipping it. A good thing to do would be to double the cord length, at least. Also, the bottom of the fins are getting crisp, though not quite burnt. Overall, though, this is a great flier.

Summary:
Personally, I prefer the older balsa nose cone, but the plastic one will suffice. Either way, it's a great beginner kit that a kid will have no problem constructing, and will deliver many good flights, so long as you can find it again. But add some length to the shock cord!

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2000-06-21	Andy Sola's Estes Yankee	C6-7	-	It flew pretty good, but I think my nose cone didn't pop loose so it is and still is lost! The...
2000-10-15	Peter Allen's Estes Yankee	C6-7	-	Beautiful flight on the estes C6-7. Way out of sight but thanks to the tracking smoke and the...
2000-11-20	Kenneth Johnson's Estes Yankee	A10-3	-	I made an adaptor for 13mm motors. This is the best choice of motor for this rocket, because you...
2001-01-27	Kenneth Johnson's Estes Yankee	A10-3	-	Another predictable, slow, and beautiful flight. A 13mm motor is great in this rocket. Not too...
2001-03-25	Ed Scientist's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	As an experiment I glued the small pieces from the fins on the top of the BT which resulted in a...
2001-04-29	Ed Scientist's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	STAND BACK! COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL. LIFTED OFF INTO AND S-CURVE. A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF AN...
2001-05-19	Ed Scientist's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Added clay to the nose cone which made the flight even worse I wont be lauching it anymore.
2001-07-10	Les Bradshaw's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Went up nice and straight. Momentarily lost sight so did not see ejection. Returned nice and...
2004-08-06	Joshua Kaltman's Estes Yankee	B6-4	-	Amazing flight! Took off and went up ~1,000 ft. Was unable to see ejection. Took ~1 minute to come...
2004-12-12	Scott Hauff's Estes Yankee	B6-5	-	Maide voyage race vs. Viking. Yankee is much faster!!!! Airfoil fins made for disapearing act....
2004-12-18	Scott Hauff's Estes Yankee	C6-7	-	Saw tracking powder then lost it. Found rocket 50 yards away.
2004-12-31	Scott Hauff's Estes Yankee	C6-7	-	VERY FAST and VERY HIGH. I must have made the replacement streamer a bit too long as it drifted...
2005-11-12	Conner Kuhns's Estes Yankee	D3-7	-	went out of site and was almost lost and the apogee D3-7 is insane
2006-04-23	Edward Chess's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Shock cord separated, nosecone and streamer eventually recovered, body coresampled with body...
2006-07-09	Edward Chess's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-
2006-12-30	Gerry Williams's Estes Yankee	A6-4	-	MAIDEN FLIGHT: Built from a kit purchased in 1974 (decals rotten, all else fine). Windcocked &...
2007-07-08	Edward Chess's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Very high flight, streamer recovery.
2007-09-24	Tom Lindsay's Estes Yankee	B6-4	-	Fast boost up ejected just nose down wind took it miles and got lost in a collection of trees.
2009-05-17	Edward Chess's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Could use longer delay.
2010-02-14	John Bishop's Estes Yankee	A10-3	-	Excellent flight with a modified 13mm powered Yankee. Fun little bird!
2010-04-03	John Bishop's Estes Yankee	1/2A3-4	-	Another great flight, best of the day. What a fun rocket this is!
2010-05-25	Jason Orosco's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Nice flight
2010-05-25	Jason Orosco's Estes Yankee	A8-3	-	Another good flight.
2010-10-14	Randy Golla's Estes Yankee	B6-6	-	These little rockets rip with any motor. Launched on a B6-6 ejection was heard and it appeared to...
2011-06-26	Justin Stotter's Yankee	1/2A6-2	-	First Flight
2011-06-26	Justin Stotter's Yankee	B4-4	-	Good flight, recovery failed to deploy, ballistic return, no visible damage from impact. Motor...
2011-06-30	Justin Stotter's Yankee	B6-4	-	Straight up, really high. Good streamer recovery. (Lowered shock cord mount in body prior to...
2011-07-03	Justin Stotter's Yankee	B4-4	-	Lost visual after launch but spotted the streamer in the grass.
2011-07-03	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A8-3	-	Chipped a fin on landing.
2011-07-04	Justin Stotter's Yankee	B4-4	-
2011-07-23	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A3-4	-	First time using mini adapter. Worked great.
2011-08-05	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A3-4T	-
2011-08-05	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A8-3	-
2011-08-08	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A3-4	-
2011-08-13	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A3-4T	-
2012-04-12	Justin Stotter's Yankee	A3-4T	-
2012-05-14	Justin Stotter's Yankee	C6-5	-	Very high flight. I didn't expect to see this one again with a C6-5 but the sky was clear and we...
2012-05-19	Justin Stotter's Yankee	B4-4	-	Motor ejected so the rocket drifted quite far but recovered

Estes - Yankee (1381) [1982-]

Flight Log

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