| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2015-08-26 |
| Diameter: | 3.00 inches |
| Length: | 51.90 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
| Style: | Sport |
Brief
Part of the Estes Pro Series II, only available as a direct from Estes kit, and packaged with the bare minimum of materials. One of the largest, yet least expensive, of the PSII kits. Essentially based on the Estes Leviathan, but longer and a different use of the same fins. This would be a great way to dive into big mid power rockets, or even the low end of high power rocketry, at a low cost. It's also very well suited to modification and customization.
Components
Very different, for an Estes kit. There are no promotional materials, no insert card, no warranty card, you don't even get an example of a color scheme. Just a clear plastic bag of rocket parts, with instructions. This kit is essentially made from leftover parts of the Estes Leviathan. The same package of 4 fins is included, same nose cone, etc... Visually, the backward mounted fins actually look quite interesting, and you only use 3 instead of the 4 of a Leviathan. This leaves you one extra fin.
With this kit you get a pair of 3" x 26" body tubes, which are un-slotted, and matching 3" blow molded plastic nose cone. A 29mm motor mount, with 3 centering rings and threaded plastic motor retainer gives you the thrust. Recovery comes from a 24" nylon chute, and a length of elastic shock cord. Rounding it out are a pair of launch lugs, and a generic Estes decal, plus instructions. However all the material is of great quality, with well thought out instructions. Basically you get all the things that make great rockets for Estes, without all the 'fluff' that runs up the price. Hopefully this is the start of a trend for Estes, as this is a fantastic price point for what is a very good kit.
Construction
Most of this kit is typical Estes easy building. Build up a motor mount, put on some fins, glue together the body tube, mount the 'chute, and off you go. The only real quirks with the kit come from the fins and recovery mount. The fins are made for through the wall mounting to the motor tube, but you need to cut the slots yourself. This isn't difficult at all, just that most kits these days have the slots pre-cut. Patience and a new #11 blade make it very easy to do. You also do need to be careful with the measurements of the centering rings onto the motor tube. But again, patience makes this step easy as well. Just keep an eye that your fins are straight, and use a jig if you have one available. It's real easy to get your fins all crooked in a hand-cut slot. Adhesives are up to you, as this is a cardboard kit, no special tools or materials are needed.
The only real negative for the kit is that Estes insists on using their tri-fold mounting for the recovery harness on this kit, along with a length of elastic. I'd suggest replacing this with 1/8" kevlar, epoxy the recovery line to the motor tube, and use a nomex wrap on the parachute. A 3" rocket of this size has grown beyond wadding and elastic.
The body tube layout, and long coupling, even make a conversion to dual deploy possible. Just watch your CG if you start modifying this kit at all. The three backward fins move the Cp forward a fair amount compared to the Leviathan fin layout. Nose weight will likely be needed if you put an av-bay in the coupling.
Finishing
Finishing on this kit is very simple. The spirals on the body tube are shallow and easy to fill, the fins have very little grain to worry about, and the material takes paint well. All your basic techniques will work just fine on this kit. My only complaint, and it doesn't even bother me really, is that this kit doesn't give you an 'official' scheme to work with. But it's a compromise I am very happy to make in order to keep the price point so low on a kit of this nature.
Flight
Estes gives you a single recommendation of an F15-4. Yet with a 29mm mount, there are so many other motors available. I'd personally be nervous flying this kit on an F15-4 if built to the instructions. With good construction and a good recovery system, this rocket is capable of flying all the way up to the limit of mid power rocketry. If you're ready for an adventure, this kit is completely capable of flying HPR motors to a few thousand feet.
Recovery
The 24" chute on this kit is a perfect size, even if you build heavy. But the included tri-fold mount and elastic cord are known as regular failure points on PSII kits. With the larger ejection charges of 29mm motors, upgrading the recovery line and mount are absolutely necessary on this kit.
Summary
This kit is probably one of the better deals in rocketry right now, if you know where to find it. For $30 you get a 3" rocket capable of a tremendous flight range. Low flights on mid power motors, a few thousand feet on high power motors, it's got the potential to be an all-field workhorse in your fleet. It builds easy, flies great, and is easy to modify. Other than the insufficient recovery gear I can't say enough good things about the Scion. Sure, the packaging may be nothing more than a clear plastic bag. Ok, you don't get a fancy advertising sheet. What you do get is one of the biggest rockets that Estes offers, made of high quality materials, for a pittance.
There is a reason the PSII kits by Estes are held in high regard, and this is no exception.
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Steve Lindeman (August 27, 2015)
How about posting a picture of your finished model as it's a new rocket that most of us haven't seen yet.