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Estes - Wacky Wiggler (2182) [2003-2005]

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

Contributed by Timothy Morris

Rocket PicBrief:
Estes new E2X series break-apart recovery rocket.

Construction:
All components were present and undamaged.

Rocket was a quick build, less than an hour. The only gotcha was the engine mount. It had to be sanded to fit into the tube.

Finishing:
Finishing was a breeze. Body and all parts were pre-painted/finished.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Here is where this cute little rocket gets ugly. A 6 ft. shock cord runs the inside length of the rocket's segmented body so it recovers just like it sounds wiggley. Estes did not have a recommended first flight motor listed on the package so I used a A8-3. At lift off the segmented body bent and the rocket went near horizontal! Rocket did recover due to the fact it landed in a soft over grown field.

I thought maybe a more powerful motor would fix the arc problem so the next motor used was B6-4. The body held tighter than with the A motor but still got a bit wobbley, sorry wiggley at apogee. Rocket recovered well.

The third flight I used a C6-3, much better flight. The C packed just enough punch to hold the body segments in place through apogee. Recovery was flawless.

Recovery:
Recovery was overall good with this rocket after using a C motor. The main problem is in the shock cord. From the 3 flights mentioned above I can see that the shock cord will need to be replaced after maybe 2 more flights.

Flight Rating: 2 out of 5

Summary:
On the Pro side it's an easy build and a nice looker on the flight line. Con: Bad or even dangerous flights on a A or B engine. Replacement of shock cord after maybe 5 flights and if it happens to land on anything but grass the rocket is history.

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5

    Flight Log

    DateRocket NameMotor(s)AltitudeNotes
    2003-02-05Donald Besaw's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Nice first flight, fell horizontally. Provided cord nearly burned through. Needs Kevlar. No damage.
    2003-02-19Larry Zeilmann's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- After three unsuccessful break apart attempt, I finally broke a fin.
    2003-03-16Jason Vennard's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- A little spiraling on the way up but cool flight. Deployment system worked fine. Overall pretty...
    2003-03-22Tim Morris's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- Rocket flew very well on this engine and recovered with out a hitch. Shock cord will need to be...
    2003-03-22Tim Morris's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- Rocket went near horizontal due to segmented body bending at lift off. Recovered well.
    2003-03-22Tim Morris's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Rocket flew better on this engine and recovered well.
    2003-04-26Larry Zeilmann's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- Little wobble during the flight. still incomplete break apart
    2003-05-27Jason Vennard's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- Great flight, only second flight on this bird. Recovery burnt through nylon cord though, came down...
    2003-09-13Chan Stevens's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- Nylon cord burned through/worthless/replace with Kevlar
    2003-09-20Amanda Kluth's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Fun, little nervous on launch but went staight up. recovery worked as advertised wiggling all the...
    2003-10-25James Reyome's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- What a neat little rocket! It actually leans a bit on the pad--looks crooked--but under boost it...
    2003-12-26James Reyome's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- I think this is a neat rocket and recovers very well if you can get all the segments to come...
    2004-01-25Donald Besaw's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- Very low flight. Heck, I probably could have thrown it higher without using a motor. No damage
    2004-01-25Donald Besaw's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Nice higher altitide flight. Came down fast and knocked off a fin. Easily fixed.
    2004-04-18Marissa Surdu-Miller's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- High, straight boost and coast. All segments deployed. Nice floaty, snakey recovery with very low...
    2004-04-18Dwayne Surdu-Miller's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Perfect straight boost and coast. All segments deployed. Nice snakey, floaty recovery with low...
    2004-06-01Carl Cravens's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- First flight. Smooth, clean launch into the wind. Burned clean through recovery cord, fin can...
    2004-06-20Paul Pearon's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-5- My 9 yr. old claims 565 ft. on the AltiTrak. Wiggly recovery and all the segments separated fine....
    2004-06-20Paul Pearon's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- My 9 yr. old claims 460 ft. on the AltiTrak. A wiggly recovery was acheived and all the segments...
    2004-07-17Marissa Surdu-Miller's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-7- Slightly curving boost. Late ejection. No damage upon recovery, but the nylon cord looks suspect...
    2004-08-01Tim Anderson's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3150 feet Rocket Took off After leaving pad at 45 degree angle it didn't get very high on the A8-3 when it...
    2004-09-05Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- This was the first flight I finally remembered to jot down. Number 14 to date. Fun rocket! Never...
    2004-09-05Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- WAY too big a motor! Went horizontal about 50' up and headed for a well traveled road! One tree...
    2004-09-19Dwayne Surdu-Miller's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-3- First flight after installing new nylon cord. Weathercocked noticeably. Very high flight, almost...
    2005-01-03Michael Mangieri's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- Nice flight. Supplied cord will not take another flight. Recommend replacement with Kevlar.
    2005-02-13Megan Rupp's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Perfect launch, straight up with no veering. Ejections showed a flaw in our shock cord, so we...
    2005-02-15Michael Mangieri's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- First flight after changing shock cord to kevlar cord. OK flight, but the kevlar cord slipped...
    2005-04-23Marissa Surdu-Miller's Estes Wacky WigglerB4-4- Nice high boost & coast. Frontmost and rearmost segments did not separate, so came down as 5...
    2005-05-14Megan Rupp's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-7- Good flight, came apart just like it should. Kevlar replacement on string worked great.
    2005-05-14Megan Rupp's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-7- One more time, went straight up. Got comment from RSO that he thought he saw a wiggle. Lost...
    2005-05-20William Beggs's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Good flight and recovery.
    2005-07-09Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- SSS park launch. Small park, lots of trees. Good flight, about 200'. Came down rather hard. Not...
    2005-07-09Geoffrey Kerbel's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Second park launch after cleaning each section of ejection residue. Better seperation but not...
    2005-07-31Allen Smolenaars's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Got some rod whip on it's second flight and it ended up drifting into a huge tree and settled...
    2005-07-31Allen Smolenaars's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3- Straight up, straight down. One section needed to be re-glued, did a quick CA job on the spot.
    2005-09-11Allen Smolenaars's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Nice flight. Cord tangled pretty badly on the way down, but she still landed nice and soft in tall...
    2006-01-15Dave Brunsting's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3-
    2006-01-15Dave Brunsting's Estes Wacky WigglerA8-3-
    2006-01-26Hank Helmen's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-5157 feet Slightly erratic boost. Good ejection. String that holds rocket secitions together burned...
    2006-02-12Joe Policy's Estes Wacky WigglerC6-5- Always a favorite with the kids, upgraded kevlar cord held up well. Great flight and tumble...
    2006-05-21Catesby Wolski's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Good boost but wrapped itself on a power line. Since the cord is kevlar - it's going to be up...
    2006-05-21Catesby Wolski's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Loopy flight - wind gusted right at takeoff.
    2006-08-20Scott Stover's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Wobbly ascent due to flex is body segments.Ejection charge burnt through the nylon cord holding...
    2007-02-10Richard Stephens's Estes Wacky WigglerB6-4- Straight ascent off rail but began slow corkscrew prior to apogee. Good deployment with all...
    2011-11-12Luke Wolski's Wacky WigglerC6-3- Great flight! The Wacky Wiggler broke apart at ejection and all the segments were deployed...

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