RocketReviews.com - Estes - Screaming Eagle (2117) [2006-]

Brief:
Single 18mm engined F-15 Eagle jet fighter design, with a 12 inch parachute

I went into my local hobby shop (Fine Scale Hobbies in Stratford, CT. Really nice guys!) for some sanding sealer, and this kit caught my eye, so I bought it)

Directions were up to the usual Estes standard. Of course, this means when attaching plastic to wood or paper, they say to use model glue. I always use 3 min. epoxy.

I changed the shock cord mount, going with a Kevlar® cord to the MMT setup instead of the paper to the BT wall mount they use.

The wing assemblies were very simple to assemble. Just glue the three wing pieces together, and set aside. After they dry, sand a 45 degree angle on the root edge, and you're done.

The jet engine pods are the challenge. At the bottom end, as shown in the picture, you actually have to bend the bottom balsa piece up to meet the edge of the pod. Estes says to white glue it and tape it in place overnight. Well, that obviously won't hold. so I used some Zap-A-Gap CA glue to hold it in place, then filled with wood glue. A challenge, but still do-able.

The missiles were simple to assemble. Just attach the nose and tail fins, and paint.

Finishing:
The winds definately need filling in with wood filler, with all the holes and joints in them. Once that was done, painting was easy. I went with one color gray and the orange stripe, rather than the three color gray.

The decals were horrible. Yes, they are waterslide, but the are VERY fragile. And the colors make it look almost neon. Very tacky. I suggest no one else use this color/decal set and instead do a little research and get decals for an F-15 from their local hobby shop.

Estes did do 1 good thing though. They said paint the missiles separately, then attach them when the main model is finished.

The construction is worth 4 1/2 points, but -1 point for the horrendous color/decal set.

Flight:
First flight was a B6-4. This delay is too long for a B motor. The rocket did one roll, and then flew upright, until it curled over at apogee, the came down very quickly, until the ejection charge went off at about 50 feet. Recovered with no damage. Altitude was about 350 or so feet.

Second flight was with a B6-2. This is a much better delay. Ejection charge went off just after apogee. No damage.

Third flight was C6-3. Great flight, with ejection charge going off about 250-300 feet off of the ground. No damage. Altitude was around 500 feet.

Summary:
This is a GOOD kit and fun to build. But Estes needs to learn what colors actually work together. use different paint and decals, and it becomes a GREAT kit.

Other:
Use CA or expoxy when cementing the bottom of the engine pods to the sides.

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2006-05-02	Donald Besaw's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	Nice first flight, made some tight barrel rolls, very cool. Moderate drift on recovery. No damage.
2007-03-25	Mark Van+Luvender's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	Arrow straight despite breezy conditions! No roll at all! 3 second delay was a touch early, but...
2007-04-21	Craig Zicafoose's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	Perfect motor for this. Surprisingly, it was an arrow straight flight, perfect ejection.
2007-06-02	Steve Lindeman's Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	Good launch with rocket flying straight and true. Good parachute deployment and recovery being...
2008-04-05	Tim Dicke's Estes Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	First flight. Very straight even with the wind. Got decent altitude even on a B6-4
2008-04-05	Tim Dicke's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-5	-	Very cool flight. Did half a barrel roll and then shot straight up from there.
2008-08-09	Tim Dicke's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-5	-	Another great flight from the Eagle. Flew great even in all that wind.
2008-10-12	Tim Dicke's Estes Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	Shock cord separated from main body. Came down gently in a flat spin.
2009-02-18	Thomas Malthouse's Estes Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	This rocket shot off, started arcing over (for a while, it looked like a real jet!) and...
2009-03-07	John Bishop's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	After the work put into this bird, i was nervous about her first flight. Perfect recovery, no...
2009-03-08	John Bishop's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-5	-	Another beautiful flight. Although the landing looked easy enough, lost two of the Sidewinders.
2009-04-09	Donald Besaw's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	Excellent flight, nice straight boost with some barrel rolls added in for some extra realism. ...
2009-06-20	John Bergsmith's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	First Flight - Slight arc on boost, overall a really nice flight.
2009-06-20	Tim Dicke's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-5	-	Broke the shock cord on ejection. Fell and broke off the 2 rudder fins.
2010-03-18	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	Second flight of the day, and the wind coaught it at lift-off. Altitiude 400 ft. Chute pooped...
2010-03-18	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	This rocket flies great!!! Altitude around 600 ft. Nice launch with great flight and recovery.
2010-03-31	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-5	-	Perfect launch. Spiralled off the pad and the chute opened a little late. This one hit the...
2010-04-01	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-4	-	Good launch, the rocket rolled on the way up. Deployment was early so we decided on a longer...
2010-04-01	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-6	-	Went up but the delay was to long and the rocket hit the ground and crashed real bad. Will Try to...
2010-04-01	Preston Hoover's Estes Screaming Eagle	C6-3	-	Good flight went up and chute came out good. Nice recovery.
2011-09-04	Kurt Knox's Screaming Eagle	B6-4	-	Perfect slow spinning flight. 14" parachute was just right.

Estes - Screaming Eagle (2117) [2006-]

Flight Log

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