Estes - Star Wars Trade Federation Battleship
Contributed by Frank Casey
Brief: It is a single stage rocket which consists of the Trade Federation Battleship with two clear plastic fins and a flight probe that are all attached for flight. Construction:
Construction was a very simple. You just couple the body tubes together, insert the shock cord, attach parachute, fill the nose cone with clay, and couple it to its nose cone insert. There is a very cool Star Wars themed parachute included with the kit. The smaller diameter end of the flight probe locks into the Trade Federation Battleship and then the clear fins are attached. When not in flight, which is pretty much all the time with this rocket, the Trade Federation Battleship sits on a plastic display base. For display, two caps are provided to cover the engine compartment and front of the Battleship where the probe locks. Finishing: Construction Rating: 3 out of 5
Flight: The instructions say that the projected altitude for a C6-3 engine is 188 ft. I don't think this thing ever got above 90 feet. It's extremely heavy and the 18" chute fits very tightly into the 4 3/4" upper tube. The first flight was on a C6-3. The rocket went straight up to about 70 feet or so and turned over and came straight down. The ejection charge popped just before it hit the ground. The resulting impact pushed the flight probe into the Battleship by spreading the Battleship halves outward. It also bent the body tube at its mid section as it core sampled into the ground. I fixed all of this using CA, sanding, and re-painting of the black tube. The second flight was on a C6-3. The rocket again headed straight up and the exact same thing happened. I went through the same repair routine and got it back to flight ready status. The third flight was on a C6-3 and ended in another crash. This time the chute popped out and grabbed air about 10 feet off of the ground which caused the rocket to come in flat, breaking one of the plastic fins. I've retired this rocket because it just doesn't fly well at all. It's now a display model with much body tube battle damage.
Recovery: CONs: This rocket just doesn't fly well at all. I'm very surprised that Estes let this one out the door. Flight Rating: 1 out of 5 Summary: Overall Rating: 1 out of 5 Flight Log
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