Mark Kulka's Estes Astron Sprite (Clone)
Manufacturer:Estes
Diameter:0.7650 inches
Style:Ring/Tube/Cone Fin, Sport

Not to be confused with the later #0885 Estes Sprite, which was a completely different rocket. This is a reproduction of the second model rocket I ever built. It was frequently included as a free kit with mail orders, which is how I got mine. Despite its modest size the Astron Sprite is one of my all-time favorite rockets, and was my favorite in my early fleet. I was simply charmed by the overall shape and design and I was fascinated with the recovery method. My very first order to Semroc consisted of the parts to clone this rocket, and it was my first reproduction after I became a BAR. I missed my old Sprite and I just had to have another one right away! That first attempt did not turn out very well. This rocket is a second reproduction attempt and has been much more successful.

The BT-5-sized FlisKits Tumble Weed was inspired by the Estes Astron Sprite, but it is not a direct downscale. The Sprite's tumble recovery method was a further development of the same type of recovery method that was used in the Estes K-1 Astron Scout. The Scout and it's Scout II successor and the Astron Sprite were the only Estes kits that used this recovery method. The final version of the Scout, the Scout III, utilized a more conventional recovery method, deploying a streamer.

In the early 1970s the K-15 Sprite was adapted to use the newly introduced Series IV engines, which are now better known as the 13mm mini "T" engines. A motor mount adapter was included in the Sprite kits that were produced in 1972 and 1973.

My Estes Astron Sprite

 

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