I have an entire fleet of Estes rockets, and this is easily one of my favorites. It is an easy build for beginners, yet even seasoned rocketeers count it among their must haves. It is always taken along on launch day due to its reliability and beautiful, comparatively slow lift-off. There are really no negatives that come to mind. It has a good price point and is a proven winner. That's probably why Estes has offered this rocket for so long. One tip that Estes seldom mentions is a tip to avoid excessive drift when launching with a C6-5: You can cut a hole in the parachute center about 3 inches in diameter. The rocket will still have a gentle landing but will not drift too far if there is a breeze. I have done this with Big Bertha and many other rockets with no mishaps due to cutting the parachute center hole.

A classic kit from Eastes that's an easy build witha stable flight...this can be flown in tight quarters with no fear of loss.

I received the Estes Big Bertha kit as a gift, my very first model rocket build. This is a very easy kit to assemble, with clear, easy to follow instructions. Parts are high quality which helps significantly with the build. I used Titebond II exclusively throughout the build with great results. The only area where I recommend extra care be taken is in sanding the fin edges. To ensure a good glue joint the root edges must have the burn (brown color) from the laser removed to expose clean balsa. Care is required to keep the edges square and flat. Using the recommended method of stacking the fins works well, although care must be taken to keep them properly aligned. Once the burn residue is gone and the leading and trailing edges have been rounded use the double glue technique in the instructions to glue the fins on. Done right you'll end up with a joint that is stronger than the materials being glued together! I chose not to use the kit paint scheme and supplied decals in order to make my Bertha unique. Red and white were used to create an old school look. Decals were a mix of US flags from a sheet of RC airplane decals and text decals created on my P-Touch printer. This rocket just asks to be customized, or you can peruse old Estes catalogs and reproduce one of the many wonderful paint schemes it has carried throughout its long life. To date I haven't been able to launch my Big Bertha (real life getting in the way, as happens) but hope to do so soon. I can heartily recommend this kit as your first model rocket build, and guarantee that once you've built one many more will follow. I already have plans for my second! And third, maybe fourth....

This is a great rocket kit for the novice or experienced rocket builder. It's a very easy build that took about 45-60 mins. to build(not including paint and decals). It flies great and it's size is really impressive on the launch pad. I've launched Big Bertha at least 10 times without any malfunctions. The C size engines are powerful enough that I've been able to attach a key ring video camera and get spectacular videos and pictures. Nothing is as satisfying as watching video from a successful launch and recovery taken from the rockets perspective! Bottom line, this is one of my favorite rockets to fly, always trouble free and beautiful to watch! I would recommend this Rocket Kit to anybody who wants a big rocket experience without a big price.

All that has been said about the Big Bertha in the other reviews is true - it is a classic, slow take-off, rugged beast that is fun to build and flies great. Easily modified to a 24mm motor mount (just purchase a motor mount tube and extra sheet of 3/32 balsa for reinforced centering rings). Also, if you have discovered the super cheap key-chain style HD cameras for sale online, this is the perfect rocket to strap them onto! Just attach your fully charged micro camera to the top of the body tube just under the nosecone shoulder with 5 or six tight wraps of electrical tape (doesn't pull off the finish like masking tape). The Big Bertha shrugs of any aerodynamic disturbances due to her overlarge fins and the extra weight of the camera appears not affect flight at all!

Hobbylinc has great prices on Estes model rocket kits. Big Bertha is a fine Estes model kit with clear instructions, though I'm not fond of the rubber band shock cord or the way Estes mounts it. I like to see the shock cord attached to the motor mount with Kevlar string. Previous comments referred to the double glue bond fin attachment technique. I use the technique but take it one step further by using my hobby knife to drill small holes along the fun guide lines. This makes tiny glue rivets when the glue dries, giving a little more strength to the fin attachment.

I've used this one for second year rocketeers in my group project. The larger parts make it easy for them.

I have an entire fleet of Estes rockets, and this is easily one of my favorites. It is an easy build for beginners, yet even seasoned rocketeers count it among their must haves. It is always taken along on launch day due to its reliability and beautiful, comparatively slow lift-off. There are really no negatives that come to mind. It has a good price point and is a proven winner. That's probably why Estes has offered this rocket for so long. One tip that Estes seldom mentions is a tip to avoid excessive drift when launching with a C6-5: You can cut a hole in the parachute center about 3 inches in diameter. The rocket will still have a gentle landing but will not drift too far if there is a breeze. I have done this with Big Bertha and many other rockets with no mishaps due to cutting the parachute center hole.

I think this is a perfect rocket to start off with model rocketry.

A classic kit from Eastes that's an easy build witha stable flight...this can be flown in tight quarters with no fear of loss.

I received the Estes Big Bertha kit as a gift, my very first model rocket build. This is a very easy kit to assemble, with clear, easy to follow instructions. Parts are high quality which helps significantly with the build. I used Titebond II exclusively throughout the build with great results. The only area where I recommend extra care be taken is in sanding the fin edges. To ensure a good glue joint the root edges must have the burn (brown color) from the laser removed to expose clean balsa. Care is required to keep the edges square and flat. Using the recommended method of stacking the fins works well, although care must be taken to keep them properly aligned. Once the burn residue is gone and the leading and trailing edges have been rounded use the double glue technique in the instructions to glue the fins on. Done right you'll end up with a joint that is stronger than the materials being glued together! I chose not to use the kit paint scheme and supplied decals in order to make my Bertha unique. Red and white were used to create an old school look. Decals were a mix of US flags from a sheet of RC airplane decals and text decals created on my P-Touch printer. This rocket just asks to be customized, or you can peruse old Estes catalogs and reproduce one of the many wonderful paint schemes it has carried throughout its long life. To date I haven't been able to launch my Big Bertha (real life getting in the way, as happens) but hope to do so soon. I can heartily recommend this kit as your first model rocket build, and guarantee that once you've built one many more will follow. I already have plans for my second! And third, maybe fourth....