bannerbanner
 Balls 19      Space Shuttle Model Rockets      Saturn 1B Model Rocket Kit      Estes Mosquito
Reviews >>

Estes - Super Nova Payloader (2155) [1998-2000]

Manufacturer:Estes
Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Contributed by Doyle Tatum

[Rocket Pic]Brief: Large but not chunky payloader. Lots of room.

Construction: Quality; have only seen this one boxed. I prefer the boxed ones - any damage on the inside is likely to be visible on the outside. All parts present. None broken.

Clear and cardboard tubes, lots of plastic parts including transition, motor mount and fins.

Instructions: Easy to follow, usual decent illustrations in good order. No templates needed.

Ease of build: Do make sure to pay attention to the lug alignment when gluing the coupler. Just making a tip on the shock cord does not ensure easy insertion into the coupler. After fighting with mine, I ended up using a floss threader which worked great. Alignment is good for fins and tubes. Fit is good and straight. Transition is very loose and the nose cone is extremely tight. Pretty sturdy but can see the fins snapping easily if it lands right.

No special tools needed.

Finishing: PROS: There is no finishing which is occasionally nice.

CONS: A constant gripe about Estes' decals, there is only one for every other fin.

Construction Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

Flight: Easy prep as with most D motors and large tubes. Wadding needed and the kit uses a twist-loc retention system.

On a D12-5, the flight was slow, low and okay. Don't know if the slight veering was due to the wind or the payload.

One might want to leave the nose cone fairly tight, as my son's hot wheels popped it off on the first flight.

Recovery: Parachute. As with most Estes models, it needs a longer shock cord. No damage. A little too much drifting for my taste. Cut a small hole in the 24" parachute but don't go down to an 18" 'chute.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: PROS: Nice to have another big one around and a payloader at that. Good flyer.

CONS: As some have said, the Sidewinder is "under leveled", this on is way "over leveled". Why it's not an E2X I have no idea. Overall assembly was no more difficult than the Stingray or Skywinder.

Overall Rating: 3 ½ out of 5

    Flight Log

    DateRocket NameMotor(s)AltitudeNotes
    1969-12-31Russell Taragan's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE15-7- Nice loud flight, a bit faster with higher apogee but still a slow lift off.
    1969-12-31Russell Taragan's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Nice gracefull flight, by far my largest rocket at the time. The 12in. chute did not allow for a...
    1999-07-03Ron Watkins's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Good flight-predicted altitude-475 ft. -slight drift on recovery.
    2000-04-08Bob Sanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- First flight for model. Beautiful boost, gentle landing. No damage.
    2000-06-18Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD15-7- Excellent flight, flew straight and true. Landed about 100 feet from the pads.
    2000-07-15Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Another perfect flight, ejected a little past apogee.
    2000-08-19Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Great flight, no damage, drifted a bit though.
    2000-08-20Will Stockwell's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Nice flight. Payload section carried dog biscuits.
    2000-08-24Will Stockwell's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE30-7- Separation; (wimpy elastic shock cord) rocket recovered with no damage.
    2000-09-16Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD15-7- Again, another great flight. The D15-7 is a great motor/delay combination for this rocket.
    2000-11-05Donald Besaw's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5-
    2000-11-11Will Stockwell's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Night flight with glow stick in payload section. Great flight.
    2000-11-25Peter Smith's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Great low altitude flight. Very awkward on a standard Estes pad.Good motor for this rocket.The 24...
    2001-01-06Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD9-4- D9's are a bit tricky to fly. The don't have a big kick at the start. I don't think I'll try this...
    2001-02-17Bob Sanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Good flight.
    2001-05-12Will Stockwell's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Separation; payload section carried away by wind, w/ parachute. Bottom half recovered.
    2001-05-12Donald Besaw's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Flew perfectly except a fin popped off on landing because of cheap plastic cement. Used epoxy to...
    2001-05-19Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Another great flight. Drifted a bit in the wind, but otherwise no problems.
    2001-05-19Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE11-5- This was at the annual Dairy Aire launch near Fresno, CA. Great flight, WAYYYY up there! Not sure...
    2001-05-27Jeff Howard's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Another excellent launch.
    2001-06-02Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD15-7- Rocket popped a fin off at ejection. The epoxy fillets (cheap, hobby shop epoxy) had turned to...
    2001-09-15Bob Sanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Great flight. Slight zipper when ejected past apogee.
    2001-10-14Katie Stanford's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD15-7- This was part of a demonstration launch at the East Bay Radio Control show. Nothing like a nice,...
    2001-12-16Peter Smith's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE15-7- Great flight! Loud and slow coming off of the pad but gained speed quickly.Went to 1,500'.Lots of...
    2001-12-20MikeyR's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Nice boost and flight for the maiden launch. 69 sec. duration.
    2002-01-26Jason Vennard's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-3- Wrong delay used, great flight, early deployment plus high winds plastic chute ripped right off...
    2002-05-25Jason Vennard's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Finally got the right delay in this bird, great flight, 18 nylon chute, deployed fine. Body tube...
    2002-06-07MikeyR's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE9-6- Not a bad flight.
    2002-07-01Peter Smith's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE15-7- Another great flight on an E15. Landed only about 50 feet from the pad. Used a 12 inch rip-stop...
    2003-01-01Stephen Corban's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Flight at Midnight with a glow stick in payload section. Recovered within 60 yards of the pad.
    2003-02-28Jason Vennard's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Good flight, cold weather maybe effecting delay? Ejected very very late, longer shock cord now but...
    2003-03-02Chris Browning's Estes Super Nova PayloaderF39-7- This is a slightly modified SNP :) I have consistently flown it on Aerotech's F-39s over and over...
    2003-04-13Matt Vennard's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-3- Nice first flight for this one. Fairly quick off the pad, but Jason was right when he said it...
    2003-05-24Alex Kowaleski's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE9-6- Good flight, I cant tell how high it went, but likely over 500 feet. I launched a grasshopper in...
    2003-05-31James Reyome's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5- Excellent first flight, but lost the payload on ejection! Apparently the payload bay wasn't quite...
    2003-08-25Wade DePalma's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5500 feet Flew up beautifully on my first ever D-engine. Shockcord broke from the booster so the 3 foot...
    2003-12-08Alex Kowaleski's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE9-8- A late ejection, which severed the shock cord. The top half was retrieved by the chute, but the...
    2004-02-28Phillip Sarabia's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE12-4- Launched angled heavily into the wind b/c wind was blowing about 20-30 knots. I cut a 3” to 4”...
    2004-07-10Wade DePalma's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5500 feet same as last launch (see 08-25-03)... this time, i had my building supplies with me. that night i...
    2004-07-11Wade DePalma's Estes Super Nova PayloaderD12-5500 feet This time, i had a had the booster come down on its own chute while the nosecone came down on a...
    2005-12-17Jerry Nishihira's Estes Super Nova PayloaderC6-5640 feet Used the Apogee mini altimeter in the payload in three flights. All flights were flown on Estes...
    2005-12-17Jerry Nishihira's Estes Super Nova PayloaderC6-5678 feet Flight #2 of 3. This flight was way better as the rocket cruised up to apogee.
    2005-12-17Jerry Nishihira's Estes Super Nova PayloaderC6-5675 feet #3 of 3. Again a very straight flight with rocket coasting up to apogee. All three landings were...
    2008-06-14 Moe Bertrand's Estes Super Nova PayloaderC11-3- Nice first flight of my SNP. Excellent small field motor when not carrying a payload.
    2008-10-26Moe Bertrand's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE9-4- Nice straight boost of my SNP. 4 sceond delay a bit short...the 6 would be perfect. Safe landing...
    2010-01-05Moe Bertrand's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE18-7- First time flying the SNV on a composite...the E18-7W is a great motor for this rocket. Great...
    2010-01-05Moe Bertrand's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE18-7- Carbon Copy of the first flight on an E18-7W. This is a great motor for this rocket.
    2010-01-09Moe Bertrand's Estes Super Nova PayloaderE18-7- Yet another great flight of the SNP on the E18-7W.

    - Post a Comment -

    What You Can Do

    - Link to this Page -

     
     

    Copyright © 2012 - RocketReviews.com

    - Contact Us - Announcement List -