Rocketry - My Rockets - Rotorvator I
The Rotorvator I is an Estes kit rocket (Heliopcopter). It was the helicopter style recovery which attracted me to buy this kit. This was old stock, so when I got it the elastic bands looked a bit dodgy, but easy to replace. It was also interesting to see the old style Estes instructions/kits and actually how little they have changed. This particular one measured everything in inches rather than the milimeters I'm used to working in.
The rocket is pretty much built, apart from the paintwork (which I'm working on at the moment) and the installation of the recovery system.
As you can see the rocket has had several coats of primer. The nosecone has had 2 coats of primer and one coat of gold paint. I think the grey of the rocket looks fairly good with the gold, but am going to opt for a gloss black finish for the main rocket body.
Length: 25.4 inch (24.5cm)
Diameter: 1.346 inch (34.2 cm)
Weight: 81.9 g (2.89 oz)
Recovery: 12inch (30cm) Standard Estes Parasheet but nosecone uses helicopter style recovery (the main rocket body comes down on the parachute).
Engines: C6-3 or C6-5
Max Altitude: over 800 ft (from Estes spec)
Number of Launches: 0
The completed engine mount.
The rotorvator under construction. As you can see the fins have been glued on (the fin bala supplied was fairly poor quality which made it quite hard to work with, although with a bit of sanding I think it turned out OK).
The nosecone after 2 coats of primer and one coat of gold paint.
The primed rocket, nearly finished. Just got to apply a gloss black finish and install the recovery system for it to be completed.
The rocket after 2 coats of black gloss paint. Looking good...
Closeup of the nosecone, it also received another 2 coats of paint, as there were some imperfections in the paintwork. Thats it... Rocket construction complete.
