| Construction Rating: |   | | Flight Rating: | | | Overall Rating: | |
Contributed by Brian Jarchow  Brief:
Single state, 1:19.5 scale model of the German V2 ballistic missile. The only skill level 4 kit Estes currently sells.
Construction:
The kit comes with plastic nose and tail cones, four plastic sheets of fin, a short 4" body tube, a BT-50 for the engine, centering rings, two 24" parachutes, and the usual motor retention stuff. Also, some decals for a more scale appearance.
When I first started on the V2 I was wondering why it is a skill level 4 kit. The first steps involve adding the motor retention to the BT-50 then gluing it and the centering rings to the tail cone. The difficulty of the kit is dealing with the fins. Four vacuum molded fin sheets are included and you are supposed to cut the two halves out of each sheet then glue the fins together. If you buy this kit please note: The instructions simply state "Carefully remove plastic fin halves with knife." You will have a much easier time if you cut one to two millimeters extra all around each fin. A later step says to sand away that extra material, and if you don't leave the extra material you will have a much more difficult time assembling the fins. I learned this the hard way!
 Finishing:
Pro: With the exception of the fins, construction is quick and easy - no more difficult than a skill level 2 kit. Con: The fins. After cutting out each half I found they were all slightly warped and had a difficult time getting them glued together well.
Construction Rating: 3 out of 5
Flight:
So far this rocket only has one flight. The Estes documentation lists a maximum altitude of 300 feet after a three second burn on an E9 engine, and I estimated a 200 foot altitude with a D12. The liftoff was slow, and the rocket climbed slower than any other I have ever seen. It is definitely not a scale launch, but a very impressive launch and flight that I enjoyed. The flight was straight and, even though the fins were all warped, there was no visible spinning of the rocket. One problem I found - the instructions say to use 6-8 squares of wading, but this didn't quite seem sufficient to protect the two parachutes. Instead I purchased a 12 inch Kevlar® pad from Top Flight Recovery. If you like a fast launch and a lot of altitude find another kit. But if you prefer low flights and slow climbs you will enjoy the flight of this model.
 Recovery:
Just after apogee the charge popped off the nosecone, which pulled out its own parachute. Unfortunately the ejection charge was insufficient to blow out the Kevlar® pad and it stayed in the body tube, along with the parachute for the body. After tumbling back to earth and landing in a soft field there were four cracks in one fin and one small piece completely broken off. Nothing a little epoxy couldn't fix, and this rocket is ready for another launch. In a static test I determined the ejection charge is sufficient to blow off the nosecone and blow out both parachutes IF they are on top of the Kevlar® pad and not inside it.
 Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary:
The field where the rocket fell was very soft, and a lot of other Estes rockets recovered in the same manner without damage. I would be happier with stronger fins, but other than this I have no complaints.
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Flight Log| Date | Rocket Name | Motor(s) | Altitude | Notes |
|---|
| 2002-05-25 | Mike Doherty's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E15-4 | - | This kit ROCKS on this motor. First flight for kit & my first E flight ever. Awesome. only bummer... | | 2002-07-13 | Mich Henshaw's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-6 | - | Took advice on NOT using E size engines for this ship. The F21 in this model was my first... | | 2002-07-16 | Robert Vaughan's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Absolutely beautiful flight. NC 'chute tangled in body 'chutes, came down quick. Cracked two fins... | | 2002-08-24 | Christian Voto's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-6 | - | Awesome boost with slight spiraling probably due to warped plastic fins. Over 800 feet. Both... | | 2002-09-14 | Joe Skitka's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | 2xE9-4 | - | A dual 24mm motor mount works great in this rocket and allows you to get the speed of an AP motor... | | 2002-10-05 | Randy Powell's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F20-4 | - | This was the maiden flite for this rocket.It boosted well and weather-cocked.The delay was real... | | 2002-10-20 | Randy Powell's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F20-4 | - | definitely needs a G for max altitude...looks very realistic when boosting. | | 2003-04-12 | Randy Powell's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | G38-4 | - | | | 2003-04-16 | Fred Dilley's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | 4xE9-9 | 250 feet | This rocket weathercocked severely. Flight was to 250 feet. Rocketwas headed towards the ground... | | 2003-04-19 | William Beggs's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Great flight and recovery. | | 2003-08-17 | Rod Thrasher's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Kit too heavy for an E9. Does not accelerate fast enough to get up straight. Arced over and flew... | | 2003-09-07 | Chris Douglas's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | 500 feet | Built and flew per Estes instructions, everything stock with no modifications. Spectacular flight... | | 2003-09-21 | Randy Powell's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | G38-4 | - | both G38s in this pack ejected way too early...hope that doesn't continue...rocket was'nt hurt. | | 2003-10-18 | Jason Vennard's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-6 | - | Built completely stock except for recovery system which is all kevlar. Perfect quick boosted... | | 2004-04-04 | Brian Jarchow's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Third flight for my V-2, and definitely the best. Would have launched it again that day but I... | | 2004-04-10 | William Beggs's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Good flight. Damaged one fin on landing. | | 2004-05-02 | Tim Doll's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E18-4 | - | Slight weathercock off the rod, but otherwise a near perfect flight. Next time it gets an F motor. | | 2004-06-14 | Tim Baumgart's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Built stock with epoxy putty fin fillets, launched off a 6 foot high steel rod. Nice long burn on... | | 2004-06-26 | David Logan's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E18-4 | - | Used a single PML 24 inch chute which brought it down a little too fast. Luckily it landed in some... | | 2004-06-27 | David Logan's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-6 | - | Great motor for this one. Rod whip sent it with the wind, and use of a 30 inch chute made for a... | | 2004-07-10 | Greg Deeter's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F50-4 | - | 29mm Aerotech cooling baffle upgrade. Very loud flight, twisted a little on the way up. Came down... | | 2004-07-11 | Terry Fernandes's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | 2xD12-3 | - | Flies quite nice with double D12-3's. Recovered with a 24 spherachute. Perfect flight. Nice to see... | | 2004-07-24 | Greg Deeter's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F50-4 | - | Extremely loud lift off. Someone commented that we should have ear plugs when using the F50 in... | | 2004-08-28 | Clive Davis's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-6 | - | Great flight for this motor. Very stable, great ascent. I should have gone with the F21-4, because... | | 2004-08-28 | Greg Deeter's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F50-4 | - | Extremely loud and nice boost. Some typical twisting. Landed to scale. Nose cone ejected but 30... | | 2004-09-11 | William Beggs's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Parabolic flight. Damage on landing. | | 2004-10-26 | Robert Buss's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | D12-3 | - | Perfect flight and recovery. No weathercocking. This is a good small field motor. | | 2004-11-02 | Robert Buss's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F21-4 | - | Wow! What a performance boost. Some weathercocking (wind was picking up by now). Long walk to... | | 2005-10-15 | Greg Deeter's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F50-6 | - | Brought this bird out of retirement this morning and launched it at NASA's Johnson Space Center on... | | 2006-05-21 | Hank Coates's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E15-7 | - | Very nice boost. Coast to about 750 ft then turned over. Screamed towards the ground. Ejected... | | 2006-06-18 | Paul Bethel's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F12-3 | - | 10th flight!Built w epoxy,old dependable. | | 2006-07-21 | Anonymous Joe's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E9-4 | - | Slowest liftoff ever seen. Flew to about 150 ft. This motor is good, but I might try an E15 or an... | | 2007-04-01 | Dave Hein's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | E28-4 | - | Amateur Rocketeers of Texas Launch at Meek Ranch, TX. Perfect launch and recovery. | | 2007-05-19 | Dave Hein's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F24-6 | - | Amateur Rocketeers of Texas launch at Meek Ranch. I drilled out the delay element to reduce the... | | 2007-06-02 | Dave Hein's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F39-4 | - | | | 2007-08-25 | Dave Hein's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F39-4 | - | Cracked a fin on landing. Can be repaired. | | 2007-09-10 | Ed Boyd's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F24-4 | 900 feet | The AT F24-4W is easily the best motor for this kit. I have tried numerous other engines (forget... | | 2009-09-07 | Ed Boyd's Estes V-2 (E-motor Version) | F35-5 | 750 feet | Tested with the AT F35-5W...excellent flight near Mannheim Germany; V-2 right at home. Combo very... |
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