Estes Astron Spaceman

Estes - Astron Spaceman {Kit}

Contributed by Bill Eichelberger

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border
Published: 2015-09-14
Manufacturer: Estes

Brief

Several years back, EMRR had a NASCAR themed contest.  Slapping a bunch of sponsors decals on a rocket seemed too easy, and I've never been one known for my creative flair.  I had been a Richard Petty fan since the age of 9, so deciding on the subject was easy, but I wanted something with a bit more pizazz than a Petty Blue Estes Big Bertha.  Everybody has seen the Astron Spaceman, and it's very likely that everyone has their own idea of how the Spaceman should look.  The Raceman is my take on the legend.

Components

  • BT-60J body tube
  • BT-20J engine tube
  • BNC-20P nose cone
  • launch lug
  • 3/32" balsa fin stock

Construction

There was nothing taxing to the build, but the small balsa parts taxed my ability to cut them out and place them properly.  Still, I perservered, and the final product came out looking as several generations of other Astron Spaceman had.  Under the paint they're all the same.

Finishing

Finishing the Spaceman can be as complicated or as simple as you like.  I went the simple route, for the most part using paints on hand to get my message across.  Since my Spaceman was a homage to The King, (Richard Petty, not the dead fat guy on the toilet,) the basic color would have to be Petty Blue, something that I had quite a bit of from my days building stock car models.  I also had some decals, so unless you were a complete hermit there would be no doubt as to whom I was trying to honor.  The head/face was another matter entirely.  I wanted to do Richard's face complete with toothy grin, crash helmet and sunglasses so that even the hermits could figure it out, but my artistic skills run more toward stick men.  So for weeks, right up to the contest deadline, the Raceman had nothing but a white head, waiting for whatever muse was going to inspire me.  The muse apparently didn't get the wake-up call, so one night I took out a paintbrush and a bottle of Testor's black and did the thing freehand.  Helmet?  Check.  Toothy grin?  Check.  Iconic shades?  Check.  Yeah, sorta.

Construction Score: 5
 

  

Flight

While the Astron Spaceman is an interesting looking rocket that gives wonderfully stable flights with little muss and fuss, it really isn't built for the thermonuclear ejection charges that Estes has seen fit to burden us with these days.  I was skeptical about how much abuse the spindly arms and legs would take, and with good reason.  First flight was on a B6-4 at Voice of America Park, our old QUARK home field.  The flight itself was perfect, high and arrow straight into the calm April sky.  The ejection charge sounded like a shotgun going off just above our heads, and sure enough, the Raceman landed with an arm holding on by the glue fillet.  Other than that, everything looked fine, so I fixed the break and retired The King on the spot.

Retirement lasted for about five years.  One Sunday in the fall of 2013 I was chasing a personal launch record and decided to spend a day at B6-4 Field with a bunch of never flown or seldom flown birds.  The Raceman qualified as seldom flown, so I brought him along, almost as an afterthought.  B6-4 Field would have been the perfect place to fly the Raceman on an A8-3, but I remembered the first flight and again went with a B6-4.  95% of the flight was perfect, but just before the end of the burn, the Raceman did a big loop.  The ejection charge, another mega-healthy blast, fired as it was heading sideways and it landed on the new stretch of sidewalk on Woodfill Avenue.  From my spot down in center field I could see Petty blue balsa bounce in several directions.  When I reached the crash site, I found two of the three missing pieces, but one part of the base was nowhere to be seen.  This had likely been the cause for the loop, having come off due to previous undetected damage.  That would have been an easy fix, but the real damage had been caused by the ejection charge.  Both of the King's cheek, the facial ones, were gone.  Blown away by the ejection blast.  Like I said earlier, the Astron Spaceman is not made for these times.

Recovery

Flight Rating: 2

Summary

Pros: It has the Astron thing going for it.  Stable flyer.  Decent performance.

Cons: Fragile.  Bonk recovery guarantees eventual damage.

Overall Rating: 2

Flights

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