Had I known at the time that I could save $30-40 going through hobbylinc I definitely would have! I ordered it through Apogee last year and I've had it sitting around for a while now. Oh well, thems the breaks!

Thanks for the comments, every little bit helps! Still nervous about this though....

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SAM #0354

I would omit the baffle and if I were building it I certainly would not put in a thrust ring or anything to limit motor length.

I am agnostic about adhesive, but all joking aside I would listen to the guy who designed the product.

The Astrobee-D scale model is a great looking and flying bird. All the ones I have made were true scale and had balsa parts. So yours will be a whole bunch easier to build and be stronger too.

Have fun!

Jerry

If you choose to use epoxy, you will want to rough up the surfaces where the plastic parts meet paper to give the glue some bite.


Bill

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It is well past time to Drill, Baby, Drill!

If your June, July, August and September was like this, you might just hate summer too...

Please unload your question before you ask it unless you have a concealed harry permit.

: countdown begin cr dup . 1- ?dup 0= until cr ." Launch!" cr ;

Give a man a rocket and he will fly for a day; teach him to build and he will spend the rest of his days sanding...

Leave out the hook and use alternative means of motor retention or at the very least, file or cut back the forward end of the hook so that it does not limit the usable length of the motor tube.


Bill

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It is well past time to Drill, Baby, Drill!

If your June, July, August and September was like this, you might just hate summer too...

Please unload your question before you ask it unless you have a concealed harry permit.

: countdown begin cr dup . 1- ?dup 0= until cr ." Launch!" cr ;

Give a man a rocket and he will fly for a day; teach him to build and he will spend the rest of his days sanding...

^^^^ Ah! I like the idea of filing down the hook. Thanks again for all the comments. I appreciate the help on this!

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SAM #0354

Use CA on these kits, per the isntructions, it works great. I like the baffle system, though did build mine without the engine hook or motor block, to handle 29-120 & 29-180 HPR cases. The hook works fine if you plan on using SU or hobby-line RMS motors.

One modification I'd recommend is to add a long shock cord to connect the two sections together, and use a single 36" chute. The stock build needs to have two chutes carefully packed to work, *and* you need to chase two pieces.

This is a really nice kit with some good scale details.

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org

Well, I finally got done with the construction of this rocket. All it needs now are the decals which I plan on doing tonight. I went over the instructions very carefully and followed them to the letter. So, I did not file down the engine hook, omit the baffle or use epoxy. That will definitely limit my engine size but honestly, I doubt I'll ever want to fly it on anything bigger then a G anyway. If I choose to venture into the realm of H motors and beyond I will get a different kit. On this one, I just didn't trust myself to make any alterations to the way the instructions were laid out.... this being my first Aerotech rocket and a $100+ rocket at that. I had this thing sitting aside for months because of the hectic schedule I've had. I started it on Sunday night and finished it last night. It wasn't nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be. I'm pretty sure I got everything like the instructions called for and now, I just have to get the decals right and she's done. I'm stoked to launch it!

Thanks for the advice in the thread! Any and all info comes in useful whether or not I used it this time around or later on!

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SAM #0354

Sounds good, you should bring it up to Bong this weekend!

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www.wooshrocketry.org NAR Sec. 558
Look us up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/guytogo75?feature=mhee
unstable by design

Here's a couple photos of the Astrobee D. Just needs some clear coat now. Not sure when I'll get to launch... my time is very limited these days. I am working on another Executioner build. It's in paint right now. I'm going with a Estes Leviathan paint scheme.I know Sandman has decals for that kit but I decided to hand paint the stripes and the fins. I'llpost a couple photos when it's done.

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SAM #0354