(Contributed - by John Lee ![[Who's Who Page]](../../images/i_owl.gif)
- 06/14/09)
Brief:
I'm going to be taking part in a rocket exhibition for some elementary aged kids next month and wanted to show a wide
variety of types. In thinking about it, I realized that I have not built a true model before. I
began to look around to see if I had a really simple one and I found the Estes SkyWinder which seemed to fit the bill.
Construction:
The first step in construction is to locate the two halves of the plastic fin can. I found them and test fit them.
They seemed to fit together fine but I did find some plastic flash I wanted to clear off using a razor knife. I then
put the halves together using Plastuct instead of the tube type cement recommended.
Next up was the lower launch lug. It was found on a sprue which ostensibly contained the upper lug as well but
the instructions said to discard the upper part since on this rocket the upper lug is molded into a different part. The
lug was placed with Plastruct as well.
After the lug came the fins. There are four plastic fins to be attached. I test fit them and found 2 to be
perfect fits and 2 to need a little . The fins were then bonded into place with Plastruct.
The shoulder for the lower was then located as was a cardboard centering ring that needed to be
inserted within it. I sanded around the ring to smooth it up a bit and test fit it. That's when I noticed that there is
a directional key slot. It will fit correctly only in the right orientation. For this step, the ring was bonded with
Testor's tube style cement. The shoulder also required the insertion of a blue BT-5 sized insert. I assume that the
cardboard hold up to the ejection charge better than the plastic but that's just a guess. It too was placed with the
tube cement, and as per the instructions, every effort was made to clean up any excess at the end. With that, the aft
shoulder was slid into place on the fin can. It is keyed so that it can fit only in the correct orientation. It was
bonded into place with more Plastruct.
The rotor hub was easy to locate and identify because it is a white plastic piece in the midst of mostly
black plastic. It was placed on the shoulder and checked to make sure it rotated freely. It did without any problem.
The cap to hold it in place was then located. Its a short piece of red coupler tubing for BT-5. I test fit that and
found there was no problem there either. The coupler was then pulled back off and given a dose of tube cement and then
replaced, making sure that it did not interfere with the rotor.
The rotor hinges were the other bits of white plastic. They were located and, after careful examination of the
illustrations in the instruction to ensure proper orientation, were snapped into place. They did not travel as freely
as I expected but I suspect that the range of movement is adequate.
The actual body tube for this rocket is a white section of BT-5. It was located along with a plastic stop meant
to fit into one end. As per instructions, the stop was installed with tube cement.
The upper slide is another plastic black component. It was located along with a black cardboard ring meant to be
installed around the tongs of the slide to prevent them from opening too much. The ring was bonded with more of the
tube cement and allowed to dry. The slide was then fit around the bottom of the BT and slid up into place.
With the upper body assembled and put onto the BT, the BT then had to be placed onto the red coupler just above
the hub. The fit was too tight and the cement joint between the plastic and paper coupler sheared almost immediately. I
did some sanding on the coupler and then reseated the BT using some thick CA as the adhesive this time. I also made
sure not to get any onto the rotor.
The kit comes with four "butter pats" of clay to be used as a nose weight. From what I have read on The
Rocketry Forum, that makes this rocket particularly heavy on prone to damage on landing. I've also read that failure to
use it can lead to very unstable flights. The instruction method is to roll the clay into snakes and tamp it into the
nose cone. I did not want to do that. Instead, I measured out an equivalent weight in BBs and poured those into the
plastic nose cone. I then mixed some 15 minute epoxy and poured that in on top to keep it all in place.
Attachment of the rotors is probably the most difficult aspect of the build, but it is not particularly
difficult. The rotors are clear plastic and have slots that fit over a protrusion on the hinges. The only real issue is
trying to identify the correct orientation since the illustrations are not very clear. A little thought and the text
pointing out that that rotors form a "tube" around the BT gave only one possible option, even though the
result does not look much like a tube to me.
Finishing:
For the most part, this rocket is pre-finished. All the parts are colored and there are some stickers with which to
decorate it. I chose to do some minimal painting though. The plastic nose cone had some pretty bad seams on it. I
sanded them down but that left the black plastic looking awful. I decided to paint the NC. So it was that I sanded it a
little more and then shot it with white primer. It got 2 coats of the primer.
After the primer, I decided to go with an orange nose cone instead of black and sprayed on 2 coats of Testor's
Competition Orange. I happened to have it sitting out for another project it so grated on me less than most oranges do.
I actually liked the result.
Since the nose cone would look pretty silly sitting on the bench while the rest of the rocket went flying, I used
some tube cement to bond it into the upper slide. That just left the motor to put into place before I could
finish "finishing" my rocket with the stickers.
I detest stickers. I would much rather have waterslide decals and sometimes scan stickers to print my own
waterslides. I would not do that with a kit like this so I was pleasantly surprised when I actually took a close look
at the stickers. Most of the time, stickers are thick things that do not want to follow a curve too well. These were
not. They are fairly thin, not much thicker than waterslides. I learned that they stick better than most stickers also.
The first to be applied were the stripe pattern on the . Once in place, they greatly improved the
look of the rocket and made the blades much more visible to boot.
One thing I did not consider when painting the NC orange was the placement of a pattern sticker on the cone.
The oranges did not match up and the pattern would have been much more visible on the black, but it's not completely
terrible.
Another group of stickers intended for the NC was a series of three long, orange triangles the length of the NC.
I used only two of them and they did not show up all that well (although better than in the photo).
One of my common pet peeves with Estes is their inability to count compounded by their unwillingness to often
provide enough stickers/decals for both sides of the fins. In this kit, they were guilty of both. In a perfect world,
there would have been 8 stickers; this would handle both sides of 4 fins. In actuality, it came with three so that
three fins have a single sticker and one is staying "nekkid".
Placement of the fin stickers completed my build but I wanted to try something first and make sure that the
rotors would deploy. As such, I added the rubber bands, folded them against the BT, and set the slide in place to
retain them. I pulled up the NC and the rotors deployed. I then got stupid and tried to fumble with the camera while
manipulating the NC, fins and rotors and wound up with this short sequence.
Personally, I would not classify this kit as being an E2X. It is easy but it does take a little bit of building.
Level 1 should be about right.
Construction Rating: 4 out of 5
Flight and Recovery:
For the first flight I chose the B4-2, the recommended motor. I did this even though many on said it was
underpowered. They were right.
It took off and arced over. I was very thankful for just having a 2-second delay when I saw the blades pop out.
The rotation was fine and, except for landing nose first in a fresh cow patty, it was fine.
A video of the first flight can be seen here.
For the second flight, I used a C6-3. This time everything went right and I had my first real heli-recovery
rocket operational. A video can be seen here.
Flight Rating: 4 out of 5
Summary:
This rocket is not a bad introduction to helicopter recovery. From what I understand, it is a piece of cake compared
to other copters. Its probably not the most durable choice but its something just about anyone can build.
Don't pick a B4 motor!
Persons interested in following the development of this rocket in photos and vids are invited
to check here. Overall
Rating: 4 out of 5
(by Jeff Gilmer - 08/01/02) Brief:
This is an easy to build helicopter recovery rocket.
Construction:
Kit contains one body tube, two nose pieces and a dozen or so motor/rotor
pieces
The overall instructions are classic Estes. They start with a complete parts
list move logically into a step by step description with illustrations. The
beauty of this kit is the ease of building. Except for a couple of issues this
kit can be completed with a minimum of building skill. The components are very
sturdy and all alignment are easy to master.
Ok two issues. One, I went through three types of cement to find a usable
one. This is important as the kit relies on plastic for the majority of the
components. The recommended standard is very slow and
somewhat weak, base cements are worthless, (I tried two) I settled on
medium grade C/A (super glue). The C/A makes quick work of the building and
calms my nerves about the ruggedness of the rocket. Second issue is the rotor
blade holder pieces must be carefully pushed into the mount. This is not a
procedure my 10 year old could do without the potential of breaking one of the
pivot pins. The rotor blades are made of clear which makes them very
durable.
Finishing:
The finish of the rocket leaves a bit to be desired as completed per the
instructions. The nose cone and motor mount have a mold seam lines that have to
be cleaned up, thus leading to a paint job to complete a nice finish. The
decals are self adhesive and very bright and colorful.
Construction Rating:
4
out of 5
Flight:
First flight window was thwarted by extreme heat. There is no way I am going to
a field to play in 104 degree heat index. The second window was closed due to
thunderstorms and wind. No, this is Indiana, not Florida!
I will post a flight log as soon as the weather permits.
The nice thing about living in Indiana is I am 1/2 mile from a 100 acre
launch site that is surrounded by more farm fields. The worse part is a micro
Black Hole that has eaten two rockets within 300' of the launch pad. How can
you watch something land then go to retrieve it and, poof, gone forever.
Flight Rating:
3
out of 5
Summary:
Overall, I rate this kit as very good. It was easy to build and has a unique
look to it. The materials are very sturdy and well designed.
Overall Rating:
4
out of 5
(Taken from Spinal's Fun & Hobbies
Page---http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/3913)
![[Picture]](../../images_est/rp_est_skywinder.jpg)
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Company: Estes
Price: $16.69
Series: E2X
Rating: (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)
Engines: B4-2, B6-2, C6-3
Nose Cone: Plastic
Engine Mount: Quick Release Engine Hook (screw out kind)
Fins: Plastic
Recovery: Helicopter
Decals: Pressure Sensitive
Max. Altitude: 120 meters
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This rocket has it all. It is a pretty big rocket at 20" tall and has a
great engine mount that easily screws in and out. The recovery system on this
rocket is one of the best. Helicopter blades pop out at the rocket's peak and
the rotor span is 20"! It can easily be seen because of the orange and
black decals that look very cool spinning down to the ground. Assembly is a
snap by easily gluing the 4 fins onto the fin unit. The rotary blades attach to
the rocket very easily also. When running on the C6-3 engine, this rocket flies
out of sight, but when it comes down you can see the blades spinning rapidly. I
highly recommend this rocket to beginners and experienced modelers.
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