Estes Super Alpha

Estes - Super Alpha {Kit} (3216)

Contributed by Dillon Frazier

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Published: 2012-01-04
Diameter: 1.64 inches
Length: 19.50 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 1
Style: Sport

Brief

Stands about 20 inches tall with a BT-60. Large nose cone. It's a pretty fat rocket, but quite easy to assemble and fly.

Components

Balsa wood fins, BT-60 body tube, engine hook retainer, engine mount components, very long rubber shock cord, 18-inch parachute.

Construction and Finishing

This rocket really doesn't have many cons. I would say the only one is that you have to make the shock cord mount out of paper. 

Pros are very high, with easy assembly, fun for beginners along with experienced rocketers, and doesn't take very long to build (took me 3-4 hours including paint drying). It includes good building components.

Construction Score: 5

Flight

i think this is probably the best rocket in the world for those who have very limited space to launch a rocket. All I had was a small baseball field. Equipped with a B6-4, this rocket can easily hit 450 feet from my best guess (it would hit 600 ft with C6-5). On the day I launched it there was probably a wind speed of about one mph and I had equipped the rocket with a 12-inch parachute instead of the 18-inch one. The rocket flew pretty high and was fun to launch.

Recovery

The rocket hit apogee and began to fall for a split second when the 12-inch parachute deployed. With the smaller parachute the rocket falls very quickly, but slow enough to prevent damage. Mine landed about twenty feet away from the launch pad. And, for someone like me who has had rocket hit by cars because they drifted too much in the wind, this was a sigh of relief. With the 18-inch chute, I'm not quite sure how far it would have drifted. But overall, it was the best flight and recovery I've ever had.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

Very fun rocket to build and fly. Not the highest flying rcoket so I suggest after your first flight with B6-4 (to get a feel for the hieght) then use a C6-5.

Overall Rating: 5
Other Reviews
  • Estes Super Alpha By John Bergsmith (December 12, 2010)

    An upscaled version of the classic Alpha that flies on standard Estes 18mm engines . Almost 20 inches tall, this rocket reaches heights of 600 feet. Balsa Nose Cone, Laser-cut Balsa Fins, Cardstock Centering Rings , Engine Hook, BT-60 body tube , and waterslide Decals The motor mount is constructed using typical methods. The only thing I changed was to add a Kevlar shock cord that ties ...

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