Estes Zinger

Estes - Zinger {Kit} (1917) [1984-1998]

Contributed by Patrick Byrnes

Construction Rating: starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 0.74 inches
Length: 11.50 inches
Manufacturer: Estes
Skill Level: 1

Rocket PicBrief:
A Skill level 1 rocket that can fly to over 2,000ft.

Construction:
This kit came in a small plastic bag and none of the pieces in my kit were damaged. The rocket was pretty easy to build and the instructions were easy to follow. I recommend spending a lot of time sanding the fins (it will give the rocket a little more altitude). The fins were not easy to align because they were really small, I used the fin aligning jig which did help a little.

Finishing:
I decided not to paint the body so the rocket would be light, but I painted the nose cone red so it could be seen. The way the instructions tell you to paint this rocket is very ugly. This is not a good looking kit, but it sure goes high.

Construction Rating: 2 out of 5

Flight:
This rocket flew perfectly straight on all of the engines I have used. This rocket flies the fastest of any rocket I have seen. When I used a C6-7 it went out of sight very quickly and I saw the streamer coming down about 20 seconds later. I have no idea how high the rocket went because I lost sight of it very quickly, but I would guess 2,100ft. I would recommend using a C with no wind and a B with a little wind. The B also puts this rocket out of sight and an A can just barely be seen. This rocket is a great flier.

Recovery:
The streamer was fine for this rocket. I have launched mine many times and it has never suffered any damage, except when I dented the tube by throwing a rock at it when it was stuck in a tree.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is a great rocket for someone who likes altitude, but terrible for someone who likes to display their rockets.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Flights

Comments:

avatar
Wallace Jones (September 10, 2011)

Bought this for my wife to build, but I ended up building it as launch day was approaching. Very fast, no-nonsense build. I think this is the most efficeint model in terms of materials use that I have ever encountered. I finished the model like the picture on the package. This is probably the ugliest rocket I have ever seen, but it somehow grows on you. The flight started with a very fast and straight ascent on a A8-3. Shortly after take off, I lost sight of it. Fortunately I took my 75 year old father along who saw the streamer coming down. No damage. May reduce motor size on the next launch. This is a great, simple little rocket whose name definitely fits!

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