Put a 29mm mount (or AT LEAST a 24mm) in that Honest GOON.
I used to have a "Cloud Hopper" with a 24mm mount and a LONG streamer for recovery.
Flew it quite a bit on D12-5's.
Lost it on the 2nd E9-8 flight due to a cato.
It got torched and was not worth rebuilding...the engine spit the nozzle at about 300' and the flames ate it up mostly.

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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

Wow that's interesting... never heard of that one!

I've seen a couple E9's spit the nozzle right at ignition, ping it off the blast deflector and ring it like a bell, and sit there puking smoke and flame and burning the crap out of the rocket, but never seen one fail like that in flight...

300 feet-- depending on the rocket, should have been most of the way through the burn... well better than half anyway... with the airflow around it, I'm surprised that it'd eat it up like that... Roasting on the pad is one thing, but in the air... very surprising...

Later! OL JR

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The X-87B Cruise Basselope-- THE Ultimate Weapon in the arsenal of Homeland Security and only $52 million per round!

It's been a cold winter, and I have been busy at the workbench. Here are two of my projects that used decals from Excelsior.



The Starfighter is an upscale to fly on 29mm motors. To keep the spirit of the design, I am using rear ejection just like the original. I need to get the center of gravity in the right place. Can anybody tell me where the C of G is on the Starfighter?

The SSV Scorpion is the original size, but upgraded to a 24mm motor mount. Coupler made by Gordy.

Since the Excelsior logo was on the decal sheet, I thought that I would add a "bumper sticker"

Awesome! Love the SSV Scorpion. I have the husk of one that I got from Ebay a few years ago. It's just painful to look at.

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

VERY NICE upscaled Earth Forces Starfighter !

I have been trying to pick up an original Centuri BR Starfighter on ebay, but they just don't show up often and when they do, they go for too much.
Tons of Draconian Marauders are always available though...maybe I should get one of those and paint it in "Captured" Earth Forces colors. I never have been interested in 'enemy' aircraft or spacecraft.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC !

This may sound silly but there was one little change that was made to the Gemini decals that saved me all manner of swearing and frustration. The original decals used the individual stripes to create the bands around the booster. I had always been able to get the double to work straight from the original decals but had to add the third stripe between them from the sheet. Getting that one uniformly placed all the way around was a real PITA. One email and I had a triple band on the decal sheet and it went down without an issue. The road to Gordy's greatness is paved with many small kindnesses.

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Gravity is a harsh mistress
SAM 002
NAR 91005
"The complexity of living is eminently favored to the simplicity of not."

+100 to Wallyum for starting this thread. Sandman has been invaluable to me with my many clones as I much prefer the classic Estes line. Just last night I put two coats of floor polish on my BMS Cobra clone, with Gordon's decals ('71-'72 scheme). The decals went on quite easily and they look superb.
My most recent shipments included, among other items, a beautiful ST-20 upscale Goblin nose cone. Grey primer, white primer with minimal sanding and two coats Rustoleum gloss black and it finished extremely well. Also, a wonderful classic sized Wolverine nose cone and beautiful 1980's Magician decals.
His work is tremendous, but my favorite thing is that he really knows how to run a business. First class.

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Just completed: Estes Cherokee-E, Estes Multi-Roc.

Current project: Painting the roll pattern on my new Ventris build, gifted me by the estimable Dr. Houchin.

Hey, Great thread idea!

I've got a couple of Gordy's kits, some noses and tons of decals. They are all fabulous.

I've posted several pictures in other sections. I'll post a couple more here over the next few days. Here's the first:

Gordy's (Roachwerks, the name before Excelsior) Sprint Upscale for 24mm power. BT-56 balsa nose and tailcones (that were so beautiful I almost clear-coated them). Paint is Rustoleum White and Navy and Duplicolor Gold. Recovery is Top Flight 4" x 40" streamer. It came with decals; I need to locate them.

Photo is in front of a clear Texas sky this morning. The paint stick is Photoshopped out.

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NAR 79743
NARTrek Silver
I miss being SAM 062

Awaiting First Launch: Too numerous to count
Finishing: Zooch Saturn V; Alway/Nau BioArcas; Estes Expedition; TLP Standard
Repair/Rescue: Cherokee-D (2); Centuri Nike-Smoke; MX-774
On the Bench: 2650;
Dream Stage: 1/39.37 R-7

One of my more recent finished projects, the BT-5 Estes Der Red Max downscale that I wrote about earlier. This was in the box with me on Wednesday, but I decided against flying it because of the destructive ejection charges. I should have flown it. Nose blow recovery, so it wouldn't go far after the ejection charge fired.



And the BT-5 Estes Rogue downscale that I tried to fly on Wednesday, only to have it get hooked on the standoff after a "starter" failure.

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Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

On vacation for a couple of days, and I have three Rogues on my project list. Now two. This is my original BT-55 clone from 2001, finally getting decals after fourteen years. I still have a BT-50 version to decal and a PSII version that I hope to cut the fins for before I go back to work on Sunday night. This one got a repaint with my current favorites metallic orange and metallic black. It was looking pretty beat and may be the first rocket I ever built and forgot the launch lug on. It was still unpainted until I resprayed the white area.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2