RocketReviews.com - Estes - Monarch (2172) [2001-2004]

Brief:
The Estes Monarch is a single-staged skill level 1 rocket that uses 18mm motors, parachute recovery, and sports an unusual fin pattern. The rocket stands in a 17.25", and flies well, unique fins and all.

Construction:
The components for the Monarch are what you might expect of a skill level 1 Estes rocket: die-cut balsa fins, a section of BT50 airframe tubing, plastic nosecone, a motor mount with retaining hook, a 12" parachute, and elastic shock cord. The kit even comes with a couple of peel and stick decals.

The instructions for this kit are easy to follow, and the illustrations are clear and comprehendible. Like many skill level 1 rockets, no fancy tools are needed for this kit. I used Elmer's Carpenter's Glue for the whole assembly, with the exception of the nose, which mandated plastic cement.

You might think that 2 pieces of balsa are joined to form each fin on this rocket. From my experience, that is true, though not by design. In actuality, each fin should be one piece, but 2 of the 3 from my kit were broken across the shortest span before I even freed them from the balsa sheet. I ended up adhering the pieces back together, sandwiched the fins in wax paper and placed a college dictionary on top of them for good measure.

After the fins were repaired, I sanded them as evenly as I could. Sanding all the edges was tricky in those tough to reach narrow areas of the span. I used an emery board at one point.

The fins are surface mounted, which is fine for a rocket of this size. To ensure a better glue joint, I roughed up the airframe with 220 grit sandpaper and poked a series of holes down each line where the fin root would attach. I did this so the glue would seep inside the airframe and form "rivets." I have found this technique works well for surfaced mounted fins.

The last heads-up for the construction of this rocket is the shock cord. The mount itself is the basic Estes paper fold glued inside the airframe, which I feel is fine for this light rocket. The shock cord was too short for my liking, so I threw it out and replaced it with 3 feet of sewing elastic.

Finishing:
Before I glued anything to the airframe, I filled and sanded the tube spirals with Elmer's Fill and Finish. I did the same for the grain on the fins and paid close attention to the repaired spots.

I gave the rocket a shot of white Krylon primer, sanded lightly, and then gave it two coats of Krylon Gloss Teal. The decals are plain (black and white), but I added them on a whim anyway. Lastly, I coated the rocket with Krylon Clear.

Were I to rate this rocket on the construction alone, I would give it a 2 simply because I believe the fins are difficult to work with, if not waiting to break in the package.

Flight:
Flight preparation of the Monarch is easy enough: a bit of wadding, fold the chute and pack it all in the airframe. The motor is held in by the retainer clip, so one need not fuss with friction fitting.

The first motor I used in this rocket was an A8-3, which proved a modest yet pleasant flight. The next launch was on a B6-4, which is also seemed like a good motor for this rocket. In either case, the rocket flew incredibly straight, ejected without incident, and was recovered without any damage.

Summary:
The Monarch certainly does have a unique appearance. At the same time, the fins that provide that are incredibly fragile and difficult to sand on some of the edges. Before I bought the kit, I tried to verify that the balsa stock was undamaged, but it was virtually impossible to see through the packaging. The sheet was undeniably flat, but still 2 of 3 fins were broken. I would speculate that this isn't uncommon for this rocket. I ultimately think Estes would be better off having each fin consist of 2 pieces. It seems breakage would be minimized and one could effectively sand each piece before putting them together.

Overall from my experience with this rocket I rate this rocket at a 3 1/2 simply because of the trouble I had with the fins.

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2003-04-13	Matt Vennard's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Looked great coming off the pad. Mylar chute deployed from the bt, but didn't unfold. Have never...
2003-04-19	Howard Jackman's Estes Monarch	C6-7	-	Very nice 1st flight despite high winds. no weather cocking, drifted 1/4 mile on homemade Xform...
2003-10-04	Bryan Penfold's Estes Monarch	B6-4	-	Estimted 600' altitude, landed 75' from pad, no damage
2003-10-04	Bryan Penfold's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	First Flight, Estimated 150' altitude, landed 75' from pad, no damage
2003-10-10	Bryan Penfold's Estes Monarch	B6-7	-	Estimated 800' altitude, landed 500' from pad, nose cone lost
2003-10-19	Bryan Penfold's Estes Monarch	B6-7	-	New nose cone, estimated 900' altitude, landed 100' from pad, no damage
2004-05-01	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	First Flight! Quick, straight boost. Ejection a little early. Good chute, no drift, caught it...
2004-05-01	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	C6-5	-	Fast, straight and high. Good chute deployment, no drift. Caught it on the fly, no damage.
2004-05-01	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	C6-5	-	Fast, straight and high. Good chute right around apogee, no drift, missed the catch. Picked up a...
2004-05-16	Mike Mistele's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Gorgeous flight, parachute didn't entirely deploy (some melting), but landed unharmed.
2004-05-31	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	B6-4	-	Quick boost with some weather vaning. Arcing over into the wind at ejection. Nose cone sep due...
2004-06-26	Mike Mistele's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Another nice flight. The ejection was a tiny bit late, but perfect deployment, and she drifted...
2004-07-19	Mike Mistele's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Nice straight flight, good deployment, drifted a bit in the wind, but a soft landing.
2004-11-05	Matt Gillard's Estes Monarch	B6-4	-	Good straight flight, went quite high, open just after apogee, fell at a slow speed with quite a...
2005-02-19	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	B6-4	-	Shock cord re-mounted. Nice quick boost, straight but kind of low. Good ejection and chute...
2005-10-07	Matt Gillard's Estes Monarch	B4-2	-	Good lift, higher than before with a perfect ejection, i will use a 2 second delay instead of the...
2005-10-07	Matt Gillard's Estes Monarch	B4-4	-	nice straight lift. ejection just past apogee, drifted 100 foot.
2006-01-21	Matt Gillard's Estes Monarch	B4-4	-	good flight, ejection burnt through thre estes elastic, nosecone and parachute drifted for miles...
2006-01-28	Matthew Bond's Estes Monarch	C6-5	-	High fast boost into the wind. Arcing over at ejection. Good chute, long walk, grass landing, no...
2006-06-13	Mike Mistele's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Beautiful flight, perfect deployment, soft landing.
2010-08-20	Mike Mistele's Estes Monarch	A8-3	-	Good flight, safe recovery. Looks like one of the fins got a little cooked from the exhaust at...

Estes - Monarch (2172) [2001-2004]

Flight Log

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