Big Daddy 'E' Model Rocket Kit

I'm on my second Big Daddy, not because my first one died, but because I wanted to make a Der Grosse Vati out of the Excelsior kit. My first one was the original D powered BD. A D was definitely too much for the field I normally fly on, but that didn't stop me from flying the BD there several times. After the last flight where it wound up on a neighboring roof, I decided I needed to find a bigger field. (The homeowner let me use his ladder to get it down, so I cleaned his gutters while I was up there.) Next flight was at a club launch at field not much bigger than my field, but it was a straight up, straight down flight. Literally. The Daddy came in ballistic out near where the cars were parked, almost skewering a Mazda. (The owner thought it would have been cool.) The Daddy suffered greatly from the impact with the nose cone base shattered and the body tube compressed, but it could still fly today if I wanted to bring it out of retirement. The new E-powered Daddy is a nice upgrade if you have a field big enough to hold it. This kit is Estes done right.

Everyone should have a Big Daddy in their fleet. Probably more than one... build one stock, according to the directions and supplied parts, then build something a little more special. The wide diameter makes it easy to work with internal components, and I think a 29mm mount is just about perfect. It's stable, customizable, and looks great on the pad. Tip: You can get the red/gray fade on the paint job by just using spray cans and a little practice. I'm sure an airbrush would be better, but I gt great results using Krylon.

The Big Daddy kit is a great introduction into the world of more powerful rockets. The 24mm motor mount allows the use of everything from Estes C, D and E black powder motors to 24mm reloadable motors of E, F and G motors. One thing Estes did to allow for this extra power is use through the wall (TTW) fin construction. With the root of the fins glued to the motor tube you get a very strong rocket capable of withstanding higher power motors. I did deviate from the instructions in a couple of areas. First, instead of the kit shock cord I used a length of Kevlar cord and 1/4 flat elastic. The Kevlar was tied around the motor mount below the forward centering ring and run through a small notch on the outer edge. I cut the Kevlar so that it ended just inside the body tube when tied to 6' of elastic. This technique is common in mid- and high-power rocket construction. Secondly, I didn't glue the aft centering ring to the motor mount until after the fins were glued in. It was on the motor mount tube while installing the fins, just not glued down. This allowed me to remove it after the fins dried so that internal fillets could be put on the fin-to-motor mount joint and where the fins meet the body tube on the inside. Doing this greatly strengthens the rocket at the point where it takes the most stress. Once the fillets were in I glued the rear centering ring in place. Paint is black and red rattle can with decals from an aftermarket supplier. One caution is to be very careful how much paint you apply. Due to the short length of this rocket it is easy to shift the center of gravity rearward with too much paint or glue. Doing so can cause stability issues if you aren't careful. If you do end up cutting it a bit close weight can always be added to the nose to move the CG forward again. I recommend staying with the higher end of the recommended motors for this rocket. You need a motor that will get it off the rod with sufficient speed for stability, and also the bigger motors are just more fun! Estes E impulse motors and Aerotech reloadables rule for this bird!