Estes Yankee kit history
 

Hello All,

Most children who pick out Estes Alpha or Estes Big Bertha kits at their local hobby shops or craft stores have no idea that their parents were their age or younger (or not even born, in many cases) when these rockets were designed. While these two venerable old kits certainly deserve the crown of age for their longevity and continued popularity, other Estes kits have also achieved the status of timeless classics.

One of them is the Yankee (Catalog Number 1381), which has been in production since 1982 (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...82/82est16.html ). In addition to its distinctive, attractive configuration and colorful patriotic decor scheme, the Yankee is unusual in that it can use a very wide selection of 18 mm motors and (with an adapter) 13 mm motors, which are listed below. Its maximum altitude is listed as over 2,000 feet. Scans of the original-version Yankee's instructions sheet and decal sheet (along with scans of the fin pattern, body tube marking guide, and tri-fold shock cord mount) can be seen here: http://plans.rocketshoppe.com/estes/est1381/est1381.htm .

The kit originally had a balsa nose cone, the BNC-20Y, which Semroc produces under the same designation (see: http://www.semroc.com/Store/Scripts...p?idproduct=575 ). The nose cone used a 3/4" long screw eye, the Estes SE-2A, whose Semroc designation is SE-2.

The early version of the kit had a simple red and blue paint scheme. The lower 3-3/4" of the body tube (including the fins) was painted red, and the rest of the rocket was painted blue. The white portion of the rocket's patriotic decor was provided by a set of white water-transfer decals. These comprised a roll pattern with small 5-point stars, a circumferential band, and longitudinal bars that was applied to the point where the red and blue sections of the body tube met. A "Yankee" kit name decal was placed on the blue upper section of the rocket, and six larger 5-point star decals were applied to the fins, with one on each side. The decal sheet also included an Estes logo decal, but its placement was not shown in the kit instructions.

In 1993, eleven years after the kit was introduced (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/93est018.html ), the Yankee's paint scheme was changed to red fins that had no decals, a white lower body tube, and a blue upper body tube and nose cone. This new version of the kit had self-adhesive decals instead of water-transfer decals. These included wide, red "vignetted" vertical bar decals which were applied to the white lower section of the body tube, with a white "Yankee" kit name decal affixed to the blue upper portion of the rocket. The kit retained its balsa nose cone.

The next year, the kit was changed again to incorporate a plastic nose cone of the same shape as the original balsa BNC-20Y. This plastic nose cone is included in the Estes NC-20 nose cone assortment. (It is possible that the Yankee's decor scheme and nose cone were *both* changed in 1993, and that the little nose cone material indicator drawing in the catalog was not changed to reflect the new nose cone until the 1994 catalog was released.) This is the version of the Yankee kit that is sold today. By using a Semroc BNC-20Y nose cone and SE-2 screw eye along with a reproduction of the original water-transfer decal sheet, a current-version Yankee kit could be easily converted back into the original version.

One sign that the Yankee is a classic kit is the fact that its original "Recommended Engines" list includes motors that are no longer made! This review of the Yankee on Essence's Model Rocketry Reviews & Resources web site (see: http://www.rocketreviews.com/review...st_yankee.shtml ) records successful flights that were made using Quest A6-4 and Estes A10-3T motors (using an adapter for the latter), and even an Apogee Components D3-7 composite propellant motor! Also, Quest's new 1/2A3-2 (an 18 mm motor) should work very well in the Yankee for flying from small fields, as should the Estes 1/2A3-2T (with an adapter). Below is the complete list of motors that have been used successfully to power the Yankee:

Estes 1/2A6-2
Estes 1/2A6-4
Quest A6-4
Estes A8-3
Estes A8-5 (Recommended motor for first flight)
Estes A10-3T (with adapter)
Estes B4-4
Estes B4-6
Estes B6-4
Estes B6-6
Estes B8-5
Estes C6-5
Estes C6-7
Apogee Components D3-7

With such a large selection of motors from which to choose, the odds of having to end flying sessions early for want of the correct motors for the Yankee are pretty remote! Given this most useful characteristic, combined with the rocket's attractive appearance and high performance, it is no wonder that the Yankee is a perennial favorite among model rocketeers of all ages.

Didn't Estes acquire Centuri around the same time as the release of the Yankee? I know the Yankee nose cone is pretty close to the nose cone Centuri used for the X-24 Bug and the Redeye (cloning tip here). I know Estes integrated a number of Centuri parts into their inventory at that point - and the Yankee nose cone may have been part of that.

I should note this is pure speculation on my part - I could be wrong and Estes may have had a very similar cone in their own inventory as well.

Greg

The Estes catalogs show the earliest listing of the Yankee as a BT-20 based model at .736" diameter.
All the Centuri equivalent tubing is ST-7 at .759" diameter.

At the end of Centuri, Estes did come out with a few Centuri branded kits using Estes
BT sized tubes, but not the Yankee.
In the 1981 Centuri catalog, the new Space Master had a BT-50 tube and the Magnum Hornet had a BT-55. These were the first catalog showing of Estes parts in Centuri kits.
In 1982, the Centuri catalog introduced the Magnum Sprint with a BT-55 tube.
In the 1983 Centuri catalog, most all the Centuri kits stayed the same with the ST style tubing.

In the 1982 Centuri catalog, everything in parts section were Estes.

I remember seeing a black "Power Tower" launcher in a 1976 Centuri catalog.
It was actually the original design of the Estes Porta Pad but molded in black instead of the Estes yellow version. I'm sure everyone already knows - Estes made 13mm and 18mm engines for Centuri for years.

The last Centuri catalog was issued in 1983, a year after the Yankee's 1982 debut. Interestingly, the original Yankee's BNC-20Y balsa nose cone (which would not have fit snugly in--or matched the outside diameter of--Centuri ST-7 tubing) was *not* listed in the nose cones section of the Estes 1982 catalog.

The kit's current plastic nose cone didn't appear until 1994 (or possibly 1993). I don't have a Centuri X-24 or Redeye plastic nose cone (which was also used in the Orion kit's pod tubes) to compare with the Yankee plastic nose cone, but they may be identical except for their outside diameters. If so, it is possible that the Centuri mold(s) may have been modified to cast the Yankee nose cones.

Hi Greg;

Nope, the good ol' Yankee was an Estes product through and through, and based on BT-20. But you raise a good point: by my reckoning, the following Estes kits were based on acquired Centuri technology:

1284 Space Shuttle
1330 Challenger II (Fin Can)
1336 Boeing ALCM (Cruise Missile)
1378 Firecat (later became the #1915 Harpoon, and migrated to BT-50 airframe)
1907 Cyclone
1921 Mercury Redstone
1976 Jupiter-C (airframe; introduced in 1987, long after Centuri ceased, so one could argue that this one wasn't really a Centuri carry over)

Plus with the AstroCam being introduced in 1979 based on BT-56 (ST-13) tubing, this would be the introduction of this airframe type into the Estes line up, it would seem.

There is of course the view that later versions of the Saturn V and 1b incorporated Centuri technology (certain plastic parts), but having compared the command module parts, there is a clear difference between the Estes part and the Centuri part.

I've no doubt overlooked something in my list, but I believe this to be a fair accounting of the "borrowing" that occurred when Centuri moved into Estes.

Another venerable kit that is still in the Estes catalog is the Wizard, which has been in production since 1978. That's 31 years and counting.

MarkII

There is also:

#1949 Viking/#1452 Black Diamond. Renamed Centuri Viking. Still in production.
#2128 Long Shot, #2191 Maniac and #1950 Eliminator are all based on the Centuri ST-13 and all feature the Enerjet 1340 fin can.
#2013 Estes Recruiter is a straight rebadging of the Centuri Recruiter
#2151 Solar Probe is a rebadged Centuri KD-16 Stellar Photon Probe.
#2006 Calypso - a Centuri Starfire adapted to BT-50
#2007 Iris - Centuri Iris adapted to BT-50
#1955 Helio Copter also used Centuri ST-13
#1423 Vagabond is a Centuri Astro-1.
#1388 Apache-2 is a Centuri Tiger Streak

MarkII

I didn't do a write-up on the Wizard only because its longevity is well-known and, like the Viking and Alpha, it is ubiquitous because it is also sold in 12-kit Educator Packs. Except for its new, ugly decor scheme and "new" shock cord material (back to white contest rubber), the Wizard has not changed since it was first released. [CORRECTION: The Wizard originally had a balsa nose cone, as did the Zinger (please see below).] <Oops, no it didn't!>

I really miss the Estes Zinger (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...85/85est12.html ), but before it went OOP it also got an "Art Deco" makeover (see: http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/no...a/93est016.html ) that ruined its simple, elegant decor scheme. Fortunately, Sandman at Excelsior Rocketry www.excelsiorrocketry.com now makes reproductions of the original Zinger and Wizard decal sheets.

Hi MarkII;

I agree that these were kits adapted from Centuri designs, but my earlier list was an attempt to capture those that actually used Centuri parts from the days of the acquisition/merger. Sorry for the confusion!

1958 - 1969 Vern
1969 - 1990 Damon
1971 Damon purchases Centuri
1990 - present Barry