RocketReviews.com - Estes - Mercury Redstone (1241, K-41) [1969-1981]

Brief: This is a scale model of the second manned Mercury/Redstone, Liberty Bell 7

Forward: This kit was as a prize from EMRR; thanks for the kit! I don’t really know how to classify this model. It isn’t a true scale model, exactly, since the instructions (which feature very few actual instructions) do not include a scale finish nor anything remotely resembling scale documentation. Also, the bulk of the main components are plastic, but it isn’t ready fly, nor even almost ready to fly. It requires little painting, but again, isn’t scale that way. Like I said, I’m a little hard pressed to classify it. Since this is a review, I’ll attempt to do it the manufacturer’s way and resist the temptation to make a lot of changes or deviate from the order set out by the instructions. I will add a few comments about producing a better scale model as I go for those who are interested in my opinion.

Construction: The parts all come in the standard bag with the new wrap-around cardboard insert. The plastic parts come in two bags: capsule parts in one baggy, and another bag of fins with tape wrapped around the points to prevent them damaging other parts. There was a third package of other components including the ’chutes, motor mount tube, hook, plastic internal parts, etc. Two body tubes with a pre-finished white outer layer were included. Of those, one has pre-cut holes for the lugs, and pre-cut slots for the fins. Also floating around in the bag were a motor block and a tube coupler. Finally there is a set of instructions - term “instructions” used loosely. There are a few sentences here and there, and in a few places a description (such as “black paint”) but the rest is almost completely diagrams and illustrations. A picture is worth a thousand words, and all!

One starts with the motor mount. A slot is made near one end, the motor hook is placed in the slot and captured by a thin plastic ring with some glue. The block is then glued into the top end, and this assembly is then glued to a pair of plastic disks - one at the top and another at the bottom. These two parts have a lip such that the motor mount tube is firmly pinched between them. The illustration shows that grooves and notches in the two disks need to be lined up; plastic model cement (tube type) is used. Next, four stringers are added between the two disks and mate in the notches - they sort of snap in and tube cement is used to fix them there. These become an internal frame in which the plastic fins are glued later.

While the motor assembly dries, the escape tower and rocket are assembled. This assembly is formed from three ladder frames that are glued to the capsule’s “hat.” The rocket motor bells, and jettison rocket motor are glued to the bottom of the main motor. These are allowed to dry, then added to the ladder assembly. If you are going for an all out scale model, paint the ladders, motor bells, jettison motor and “hat” before you assemble them! The base ring around the hat should be aluminum or silver, the rest of the nose should be flat black, and the ladder and motor should be bright red (the instructions make no mention and show no illustration regarding this). The tube molded into the main escape motor along the side should be black. Paint the inside of the bells black while you are at it. This will produce a much nicer model than the method shown in the plans.

The capsule is assembled next. The capsule is the highlight of the kit - well molded with lots of detail. This is the sole thing that gives this kit the potential to be a beautiful model. The main capsule is made of four main parts - three panels and a base. The top “hat” and escape assembly then rides on that. You assemble the panels on the base, being careful to match the parts as shown so the detail comes out right. The glue is applied to the base, the parts installed, then the top added. Bottle (liquid) cement is then run along the seems from the inside. A smart fellow would glue the parts to the base, use a rubber band to hold the tops together and glue the inside. He would mask off the shoulder, and spray the bottom of the capsule lightly with bright red. After the red is dry, mask along the rim, then spray the capsule with flat black. This would produce a black capsule with a red ring along the bottom. Then glue on the top and escape tower assembly. A much prettier, easier to detail capsule is the result. But wait! Close inspection of this capsule reveals that it is really a scale model of the MR7 flight, not the MR8 flight. Whoa! The booster decals are for MR7, not MR8. What’s the deal, here? The capsule decals are MR8, and there is only one “United States” decal (there should be two.) I checked to make sure that I haven’t lost any decals, thinking that maybe it comes with two sets so you can choose, but no. Guess a scale modeller isn’t supposed to notice the non-scale decals.

The instructions now have the builder install the motor mount in the lower body tube with the framework previously made carefully lined up with the slots. Tube type cement is used for this. The upper and lower launch lug guides are now installed. The decals are put on the main tube at this time. These are the stick-on type, but are a really thin material so they look OK. I used a sharp knife and a rule to cut out the decals - one should cut just inside the dashed lines, leaving no lines to mar the finish. The wraps are a little tricky to get on straight, but with the launch lugs as a starting guide this can be done well. A sharp knife is now used to trim away the material over the slots. The fins are all glued in at this point using tube cement. I had a bit of difficulty with this as the pointed end of the fins weren’t keen to meet the tubing well. They needed held for a long time while the cement set up, and even then didn’t stick well to the shiny surface of the decals. I eventually resorted to using CA.

The two halves of the body tube are now joined using wood glue and the coupler ring. The stripe around the middle is positioned, the upper wrap added, and the decals proclaiming “United States” are placed on. I used a straight edge and a pencil to make a light line down the tube where the long lines of text go to aid in getting them square. The line was then erased.

Of course, assembling the rocket in this manner produces a nice flyable rocket; however it isn’t very pretty, really. The spirals stand out! The decals are a lot shinier than the rest of the tube, and the seam, though covered, is very visible. Sigh. I’ve already touched on the inconsistant decals. So if you want to make a nice rocket and produce a booster worthy of the stunningly well done nose (you did paint it before assembling, didn’t you?) then some time spent on the booster body will be necessary. Unfortunately, to do the job correctly will require reordering the steps. First, because of the way the upper launch lug is made, you must glue it in prior to joining the tubes. Join the tubes before installing the decals and fins and then spend some time filling and sanding the spiral and tube joint. Then lay on a couple of layers of white sandable primer with a light sanding between coats. Find the problems and fix them! Now a nice layer or two of gloss white paint. Now add the decals, fins, and remaining lug. It will turn out much nicer and you will be a lot happier with it.

Last, the shock cord is added to the body tube in the standard Estes way. A length of shroud line is included for the nose - a loop is tied around the escape tower and then to the base. The ’chute is added at a place where the nose balances. The instructions do not show this, but add a short length of shock cord elastic between the ’chute and the capsule shroud.

Construction Rating: 2 out of 5 Out of the bag instructions produce a ho-hum end product. This kit does have the potential to be a 5 out of 5 if done carefully.

Flying:

This model was flown at the club’s October launch on a C6-5. It was a little windy and cool. The body was filled with the recommended number of sheets of recovery wadding. The capsule ’chute was folded and placed in first, followed by the carefully folded booster ’chute (the idea being that the capsule’s ’chute will pull out the booster’s ensuring a good recovery. The motor mount is very tight; I wasn’t able to get the motor fully locked in under the hook, but had it jammed in well enough that I couldn’t get it back out so I wasn’t worried about it kicking. It was loaded on the pad, and the LCO kindly waited for a low point in the wind before counting down. The rocket flew arrow straight, ejected just past apogee, and opened both ’chutes. The two parts stayed close on the way to the ground and landed a 100 or so yards from the pads, and about 10 feet from each other. Picture perfect. Several people stopped by my area to eyeball the old and the new and comment on the flight.

Jeers: Awful body tube! The decals do not match - you get capsule decals for MR8, but MR7 Booster decals and a MR7 scale capsule. The instructions could really use some work. While the illustrations are OK and adequate for successfully building a flyable rocket, they miss completely producing a decent scale model and waste a high potential kit. Since the fins are plastic and required molding any way why don’t they have any detail - particularly where the exhaust vanes are?

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5 Misses a decent scale model by so much but yet so little! How ironic! (or is that moronic?)

On a side note, this is the third Mercury Redstone that Estes has produced since I’ve been building and flying rockets. The first was released quite a long while ago - I recall making one in the early Eighties. It was a slightly different scale and came with a turned balsa cone. The cone was wrapped with a printed card stock sheet with the details printed on it. The tower assembly came in the bag as a few hardwood dowels. Each part of the three ladders was cut to length, sanded to fit, and assembled over the plans much like the stick and tissue model plane builders do. The fins were slabs of balsa, and as I recall, you cut them to shape, sanded the cross section of the exhaust vanes with a sanding block, and added the aerodynamic fins and plates to the ends. There was a reason it was a skill level 4! Tedious but rewarding.

The second release used the same cone as the current release, but was a single, standard Estes tube that required paint and came with a nice set of water slide decals. I currently still have one of these kits, and it has been known to place very high in contests. A young person in our club has one of these new kits, however, and has gone the extra length to make hers a truly nice model and my days of walking away with a ribbon are numbered, I fear!

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2000-04-13	David Fergus's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	perfect, straight flight at med speed to about 250ft, ejection at apogee, good recovery on both...
2001-03-10	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Nice first flight for model. Somewhat underpowered with a B6-4. Will try a C6-5 next time.
2001-03-25	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	B4-4	-	Nice and straight. This rocket needs way more power.
2001-03-31	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Totally awesome. Best engine? Nice and straight.
2001-03-31	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Not enough power. Started back to earth before ejection charge.
2001-04-01	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	This is one awesome rocket perfect flight.
2001-04-08	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Perfect luanch off Erics homemade launch pad. Capsule shot off like a bullet. Rocket chute tangled...
2001-04-08	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Beautifull. Flight time capsule-25 sec. Rocket 34 sec.
2001-04-14	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Launched nearly at dark. Fire and sparks flew everywhere. I want to do this again.
2001-04-14	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	First Dual launch. Its all over now. Next to Prowler. Rockets lifted off nearrly colliding but...
2001-04-21	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Uh oh the take off was not straight. Hmm, maybe this is not the engine to use. The tip of the...
2001-04-29	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nice straight lift off took it high. Nice stream of tracking smoke. A good flight for the amount...
2001-05-05	Kevin Johnson's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Left the launch lugs on the rod. Severe weathercock. One fin also came off. All damage repairable.
2001-05-19	David Fergus's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	another great flight
2001-05-19	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nice flight.
2001-06-10	Arthur Johnson's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Five second delay is way too long for this rocket. Impressive flight in that it is sloooow off of...
2001-07-05	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Beautiful flight to about 350 feet. Shock cord got caught between the fin and body tube but the...
2001-07-07	David Fergus's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	booster chute stuck in end of body tube, no damage on the soft sod. capsule came down good as...
2001-07-22	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Great flight on a B6-4, lands close.
2001-07-22	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	First flight in 20 years on this 30 year old rocket! This is the original Mercury Redstone from...
2001-07-29	Jeff Brundt's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	boost had slight wobble near the end but it flew OK. recovery was perfect and both chutes deployed.
2001-08-05	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Uh oh, arced over comming staight down and ejected 50 ft. from the ground. Thats enough for this...
2001-09-02	Michael Doherty's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Beautiful!! Nice straight flight, perfect ejection, soft landing. Just excellent!! This is the...
2001-10-13	Tim Burger's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	Perfect flight.
2001-10-28	Jeff Brundt's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	Another nice flight for this veteran rocket. Boost was straight even with the wind. Ejection was...
2001-12-05	Marc Lee's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Modified w/ 1 mylar 18 chute, long elastic (1/4) shock cord & all-epoxy const. Flew beautifully....
2001-12-30	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Scary flight. Went horizontal appogeed at about 50 feet. Ejection happened at the last second...
2002-01-20	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect redemption flight. Perfect recovery. Caught capsule. No damage.
2002-04-02	Daniel Calleja's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	This was my first launch. Went straight up with a perfect ejection at about 400 feet. Both capsule...
2002-05-10	Jason Vennard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Beautiful bird, great flight and recovery. 3 second delay may work ok also. Both chutes deployed...
2002-06-04	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice scale like flight. Slow take off and climb to the top. Fun rocket.
2002-06-11	Clive Davis's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	This is the second time I launched the Mercury Redstone. I think the only choice of motors is a C5...
2002-06-11	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Very week motor to fly this rocket on. Almost thought it would crash. Chutes popped out and safe...
2002-06-16	Tim Burger's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	KRAMO Launch (Sun): Sport Scale flight; nice flight, both 'chutes opened. 3rd place.
2002-07-06	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice slow flight. Chutes popped out nice landing.
2002-09-02	James Reyome's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good shot, chutes deployed perfectly and the booster landed very close to the pad. The capsule...
2002-09-14	James Reyome's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	A very windy day, capsule suffered damage getting blown off the car while being prepped. Some CA...
2002-09-29	James Reyome's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Another great flight for Gus after repairs, some actually done on site...damn escape tower keeps...
2002-10-05	Tim Burger's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Very good first flight.
2002-10-12	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Another good flight. Slow lift off and climb. Landed very close to car didn't have to walk very...
2002-11-02	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Another nice slow flight. Chutes deployed nice landing.
2002-11-17	Stephen Corban's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2003-01-05	Stones's Estes Mercury Redstone	D12-3	-	Modified with a 24mm MMT, this 1st flight was straight as an arrow and reached about 650 ft. Next...
2003-01-05	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight. Recovered both pieces after a moderate walk down-wind.
2003-01-18	Stephen Corban's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Winds were pretty stiff, and the tower and rocket drifted quite a way
2003-04-12	Randy Powell's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-
2003-04-19	Randy Powell's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2003-04-27	James Reyome's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Another great flight for Gus, whose capsule was again recovered safely.
2003-05-13	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight, went a bit squirrelly during the boost. Good recovery although I burned up the...
2003-05-26	Michael Mangieri's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Maiden flight of the Mercury Redstone. Should have used a smaller delay, but she was recovered OK....
2003-07-27	Frank Gatazka's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight. Nice slow takeoff with lots of smoke and flame. Parachute scorched with...
2003-09-14	James Reyome's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Another sweet flight for Gus, but once again we managed to break off the little pointy doohicky on...
2003-11-15	David Dye's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Doesn't lift off as fast as smaller rockets but it is impressive. Motor fit was too tight. Almost...
2003-11-30	Jason Reeder's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Weathercocked like a bad boy....perfect liftoff and flight...Heavy wind...what a champ...I love...
2004-01-01	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	My first launch in ~12 years. Perfect flight!
2004-01-18	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight even though I had to tape the upper launch lug on prior to launch. Moderate recovery...
2004-03-13	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Gus never fails to please. This is a great flying kit. Perfect flight. My wife caught the booster...
2004-03-20	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice day to fly Nice slow flight again quick deployment at apogee
2004-04-17	Philip Levanda's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Love this rocket looks great on the pad looks great flying and the Dual recovery looks great...
2004-06-14	T Munson's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-4	-	Sharp looking kit and quick to assemble (paint the capsule--you won't regret it). Drops pretty...
2004-06-20	Mark Patoka's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Very nice takeoff. Perfect ejection and recovered both pieces.
2004-06-25	Mike Atwood's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	This was a demonstration flight for Utah Civil Air Patrol Cadet encampment at Camp Williams. Whip...
2004-07-16	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Not very much altitude on this flight, but Gus deployed the shoots with plenty of time to spare. I...
2004-07-18	Kyle Hancock's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	First Flight, NARTREK Silver
2004-08-02	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-
2004-08-02	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-5	-
2004-08-17	Michael Mangieri's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight, but alas, lost the capsule in a tree! Will try to get a replacement.
2004-09-11	Scott Turnbull's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Excellent straight boost. Clean deployment of both chutes.
2004-09-11	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery.
2004-09-11	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery.
2004-09-11	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery.
2004-09-30	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Very nice flight, arrow straight boost up to about 400 feet. Great recovery, booster recovered...
2004-10-08	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery.
2004-11-21	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2004-11-21	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	brokone fin
2004-12-18	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Good first flight for the Liberty Bell 7 although the capsule got hung up in a tree, but luckily...
2004-12-30	Ed Scientist's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight after it had set on the shelf for a long time.
2005-04-03	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight and recovery.
2005-04-16	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2005-04-16	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight and recovery.
2005-05-04	Donald Laskey's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	185 feet	first flight with a Altimeter
2005-05-14	Todd Shero's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Rocket underpowered and very unstable. This combined with a LATE ejection almost led to it being...
2005-05-21	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Great 2nd flight for this rocket, both parts landed within 30 feet of each other.
2005-06-25	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Awesome flight, late ejection was a hold-your-breath moment, but all landed safely and even got...
2005-06-25	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nearly a disaster. Struggled off the pad, not much altitude, plenty of horizontal flight. Too...
2005-06-25	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight for Gus and Liberty Bell 7.
2005-07-03	Scott Turnbull's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2005-07-10	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	A8-3	-	Great flight on this original Redstone I made back in 1969. Used small engine so I wouldn't loose...
2005-07-30	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Another great flight for the Liberty Bell 7!
2005-08-06	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good boost. Capsule almost landed on top of a chain link backstop. Luckily Gus was able to roll...
2005-08-06	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect flight with no drama.
2005-08-13	Roy Lappalainen's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nice Flight and smooth landing using 15 Rip-Stop nylon chute.
2005-08-16	Clive Davis's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight. For some reason, the parachute for the rocket did not eject from the body tube. The...
2005-08-27	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Good flight overall but escape tower broke off at some point during descent, found it and will...
2005-09-18	William Beggs's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight and recovery.
2006-01-28	Jason Lenentine's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Godspeed Gus Grissom!
2006-04-15	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight, good recovery
2006-04-15	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight, looks good
2006-04-30	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Flies great on a C engine. Capsule lands on blacktop but no damage.
2006-04-30	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Great first flight, came down on nice soft grass.
2006-05-07	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nice high fly, drifts onto hard dirt and a nozzle of the escape tower falls off.
2006-05-07	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Good flight but drifts onto blacktop and loses a few parts from the escape tower, all can be glued...
2006-05-07	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Flys good and not too high on a B6.
2006-05-20	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Stupid me angled the rod too much, ejected about 10 ft. off ground and suffered some damage to...
2006-05-20	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Not a good engine for this rocket! Not enough altitude and too long a delay, broke fin and LES...
2006-05-20	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Another good flight, good recovery
2006-05-20	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good again
2006-06-02	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	good lift, two parts linked together with a 18 inch 'chute, recovered with no damage. great flight.
2006-06-03	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	wobbled at top of boost, landed safe on one 18 inch 'chute for both halves.
2006-06-06	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Arced abit during flight, landed safe and sound.
2006-06-16	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	great flight, one fin abit loose after a harding landing.
2006-06-24	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good return to flight for this rocket
2006-06-24	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Still looks good
2006-07-04	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Old engine or too much wadding resulted in not enough force to eject booster chute, rocket tumbles...
2006-07-16	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-6	-	First ever B6-6 engine. Nice flight and lands close.
2006-07-30	Scott Turnbull's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice flight, clean separation of two sections. Good recovery under two chutes. Escape tower...
2006-07-30	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	No chute. Not sure if the nose cone stuck or engine had a weak charge. Jarred some parts loose...
2006-08-03	Moe Bertrand's Estes Mercury Redstone	D12-3	-	1/35 Mercury Redstone modified for 24mm motors. Inagural sport launch for me at NARAM 48. Awesome...
2006-08-05	Clive Davis's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Perfect motor for this bird. It has a nice, slow lift-off. Very little arcing in flight.
2006-08-05	Donald Besaw's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Very weird flight, went unstable shortly after launch, went up high enough to eject safely though....
2006-09-09	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Some of the shroud lines broke, landed a little hard and popped a fin off. Will be repaired.
2006-09-09	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-
2006-09-16	Todd Shero's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Perfect flight on this wonderful day.
2006-09-16	Todd Shero's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Ditto again, a perfect flight except for chute melting. Hard landing but luckily soft ground from...
2006-09-16	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	ejection charge, pushed the wadding up the tube but not the parachute out of the tube. managed to...
2006-11-18	Carlos Niederstrasser's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Serious weather-vaning. Five second delay caused ejection 1/2 way down. 3 second ejection flight...
2006-11-25	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Chutes got tangled so 2 sections came down together, no damage luckily
2007-02-10	Moe Bertrand's Estes Mercury Redstone	D12-5	-	Converted for 24mm. Straight boost, perfect recovery. No prangs this time, like it did last year...
2007-02-11	Scott Grissman's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	200 feet	Nice flight! Rocket wind cocked a little but otherwise was a pretty striaght flight. 24 inch chute...
2007-02-24	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight
2007-02-24	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nose cone landed hard, broke LES rocket again, will repair
2007-02-24	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Uneventful flight
2007-02-24	Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	400 feet	Very windy day but gave it a try anyway. Slight weathercock at launch but everything went as...
2007-03-10	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight
2007-03-10	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nose hit hard again, LES broken again, will replace with wood
2007-03-31	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Nice seperation of booster and capsule, recovered close together.
2007-04-02	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight
2007-04-02	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Some of the shroud lines broke, popped a fin off on landing, will replace parachute with a new one
2007-04-15	Moe Bertrand's Estes Mercury Redstone	D12-5	-	Another great flight of my trusty 1/35 scale 24mm conversion. Cracked a couple fins on landing...
2007-05-19	Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	600 feet	Real nice flight! Used for Scale entry in local contest. Added extra chute to capsule for mission...
2007-07-01	Joe Cacciatore's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Not sure what happen but the capsule and chute came out ok but the booster chute did not. This is...
2007-07-28	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Good flight, clean separation of booster and capsule
2007-09-30	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	High straight boost and successful recovery of capsule and booster, can't ask for more!
2008-03-02	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight, still looks good in flight
2008-03-02	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight
2008-03-02	Russell Garcia's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	LES broke again, will retire this rocket.
2008-04-13	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Great flight would recommend a bigger motor for this rocket.
2008-04-13	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-5	-	Another great flight. Good motor choice on this flight.
2008-06-28	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Nice slow liftoff followed by not so nice recovery as capsule and booster chutes tangled. Only...
2008-10-29	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	B6-4	-	Good flight.
2008-10-29	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight.
2009-05-09	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Good flight.
2009-05-16	Jeff Cloud's Estes Mercury Redstone	C11-3	350 feet	First flight scratch-built Estes Mercury Redstone. Weight is 5.7 oz. with tungsten near nose to...
2009-06-20	John Bergsmith's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	First flight on bird. It has a nice, slow lift-off with very slight arcing in flight. Recovered...
2009-07-28	Jason Orosco's Estes Mercury Redstone	C5-3	-	Wonderful flight
2011-04-24	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	great flight
2011-04-25	Matt Gillard's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	good flight, parachute lost a shroud line
2011-07-23	Glenn Weiss's Estes Mercury Redstone	C6-3	-	Great flight, clean seperation of capsule and booster

Estes - Mercury Redstone (1241, K-41) [1969-1981]

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