Estes001478 Flash Rocket Launch Set

Bought as a gift for my 5 year old daughter. With a little assistance from me she was able to do most of the assembly herself and she gave it a "custom" paint job just for fun. Be sure to buy engines and a 9v battery as those are not included. Buy more than one pack of engines and make sure the first is a low power engine like an A8-3 to use until you get a sense of how high you want it to go for your location. My daughter loves launching this and then chasing it down to catch it when it lands. A great toy as it teaches some hands on building skills, how to follow directions and gets kids excited about science, engineering and design while at the same time being fun, exciting and cool. Cool? Yes cool! Launching this at our local park always generates a crowd of onlookers and kids of all stripes asking where they can buy one. My daughter and her friends now always ask if we can build a rocket big enough for them to go into space. I dearly hope that one day they get their wish and perhaps playing with this is what inspires the person who makes it possible.The only issues for novice rocketeers to be aware of is that 1. rockets are cheap but engines are not. engines will make the launch cost be between 2 and 5 dollars EACH time depending on where you get them and what you pay for shipping. It is possible to buy in bulk at hobby shops and save a bit of cash 2. the 9v battery in your launch controller needs to be fresh to ignite the engines. bring a spare to your launch site to avoid disappointment and 3. be sure to follow the included safety guidelines. These are black powder powered and if you are not careful fire or burns are possible. In other words adult supervision is required.

We got 6 of these for a rocket launch birthday party for a bunch of 10-year-olds. I put them all together ahead of time, it took about 2 hours to put all 6 together. They do not come with engines or igniters - you must get those separately.The kids would launch them, then go tearing off down the field to try to catch them before they landed. Lots of fun, and everybody got a useful party favor (the rocket and launch set) instead of a piece of junk party favor.Assembling the first rocket was a little tricky, but after the first one, it went smoothly. One of the six shipped with an incorrect part - one of the fins was wrong. Frustrating, but I was able to trim the fin, turn it upside down, and make it work.

First off... be sure to buy some engines and recovery wadding like it says in the product description. 4 Igniters and igniter plugs come with each pack of 3 engines.2. Note the fins snap in at an angle.3. The burn is over quick. Much of the altitude is gained in coasting. So consider that in your choice of engines. The last number is the number of seconds between primary burn and parachute ejection. See "Suitable Engines" in the Amazon listing.Bought this for my 11 year old girl for Christmas and I'm glad I did. I knew time was going to be tight Christmas Day, so I liked the snap-together idea. She can build other models later.Given so few recent reviews on this rare bird, I had also bought an Alpha III as a backup... so we would have a complete kit should anything be missing in the Flash box. But everything worked great. Some have suggested 4 AA batteries are inferior to an ignition controller with a 9V. We had no problems and there was very little ignition lag. Just be sure the igniter is all the way in and plugged tight.The bag of wadding somehow got lost in the Christmas frenzy, so we googled alternatives. Found some party streamer and tested it with a lighter. It would burn, but not continue to burn with the flame removed. Only thing was, we had to guess how much to use. Personally I haven't fired rockets in almost 40 years. So I can't speak to the Estes recovery wadding, but using streamer, I suggest using the "less is more approach." Maybe four - 6" lengths or so? (6" before wadding up, of course)First flight was textbook. The store was out of A motors so we used a B. Fortunately winds were very light. She may have gone 500'? This was Christmas day. We had neighbors and passersby cheering us on.Second flight, the chute failed to fully eject. Obviously too much wadding. This time the cheers were replaced with "Oooohs and ahhhhs." Only the flailing nose cone "slowed" it down to any degree. Fortunately it landed on grass. This is a good case for a snap-together, first rocket. A couple fins came off in the crash, so we just snapped 'em back on. Then removed some of the wadding and went for a 3rd flight as it was just beginning to get dark.This time... with a C motor.We were in your standard middle school football field surrounded by a track. Winds were still very light, so we decided to go for it. A buddy of mine stood about 85 yards away. He's a private pilot and could see the entire flight. Based on the 1000' minimum altitude he's allowed to fly over urban areas, he told his son, "Yep. That's about how high I fly over town."The chute opened. We watched it fall back to Earth for what seemed like forever. A slight breeze from the north had come in and the rocket was headed for the street. Fortunately it made it across the street and gently touched down on a friend's lawn. Once again... the crowd cheered and fun was had by all!

Pretty good kit; a little harder to assemble than I thought it would be.My only frustration is that in our litigious, overly cautious society, these are now banned in our locality. We have to go to one of two official launch sites, only open once a month, to launch these. Disappointing - might want to check your local rules. This is not a lick on the product - it's a * * * * kit - but one on society. I launched these as a ten year old in the park all the time as a kid, no issues. Now as an adult it's a no-go...silly.

The rocket required quite a bit of time and patience to assemble. I had to modify the pieces before it would fit together. Very poor quality control for a company that's been around since I was a kid 50+ years ago.

This is my first model rocket purchase and after much searching I got two of these rockets and the engine pack. My kids (10 years old) and I were able to assemble them (you need good glue). They fly well and are easy to operate. My kids really enjoyed them and quickly used up all the engines in our pack. Time to get more!

Blast