T' Vector Force: T' Vector Force is a modern Estes kit. Ya scallywag! This be me first model I made as a BAR. It had very good quality balsa fins on me kit, me bucko, thick and sturdy. You can see t' design is inspired by air defense missiles. It is rather tall, but somewhat heavy because o' t' two reducers. Because it has two reducer stages it has two separate payload tubes. Estes tells you t' glue t' payload tubes, but why? Good idea if you want t' be sure t' rocket doesn't separate in flight, shiver me timbers, but why waste two very nice payload bays? I just make sure they are always good and tight with some maskin' tape. Mine is painted school-bus yellow and gloss black t' better match t' included decals. I added about 3 heavy coats o' clear coat for a really deep shine. Strin' stability tests with a C motor required about 20-ish grams o' nose weight, but now it flies really straight up - provided thar be little wind. Aye aye! T' top payload tube has vent holes for a barometric altimeter. I've recorded flights in excess o' 400 feet with C6 motors. Ahoy! This is my current go-to flagship rocket. Arrr! I have tried some test flights with composite D engines, me bucko, t' see if I could kick this puppy past 1000 feet. Arrr! It sure did! In t' process, t' shock cord was torn out from t' mount. Begad! This model was repaired by installin' a custom ejection baffle with a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord attachment. Aye aye! Now I think she'll hold up t' a few more D-powered launches and ejections. This rocket has flown higher than t' NY Times Buildin' in NY, and also t' Chrysler Buildin' includin' t' pinnacle, and t' Bank o' America Plaza in Atlanta.
| Flight Date: | 2013-08-31 |
| Rocket Name: | Vector Force |
| Kit Name: | Estes - Vector Force {Kit} (003210) |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | B6-2 |
| Launch Site: | Fort Indiantown Gap, PA |
Since reducin' t' noseweight on t' Vector Force, it has proven itself with both the composite D21 and three C6 motors. Ahoy! Now I need t' test fly it with a lower-power B6, where it should easily surpass 125 feet. Previously I have flown this with a smaller 12 inch parachute for flights t' 1000 feet or so. I used a much larger 18 inch parachute, ya bilge rat, knowin' that it could nay drift too far from 100 feet up.
T' flight went well, but I must have jarred it before launch, because t' altimeter triggered and I ended up with no flight data. It reached about 100-150 feet, ya bilge rat, deployed t' parachute at a good time, and landed softly in t' grass about 70 feet away.
I will need t' fly this again t' get valid data on t' B6 performance with reduced noseweights.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes B6-2 |
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