Sky Bird Kits

[mojo1986]

There was some reference in a thread here recently to the old Estes rocket plan for the Sky Bird. This was a very early rocket that was made from fireworks parts that Estes sold during the earliest years of the company. Instructions for building it appeared in the earliest versions of the Estes publication entitled 'Model Rocketry'. About 15 years ago I was lucky enough to get a large vintage Estes lot on Ebay that had some of these old parts. I've been toying with the idea of selling some kits for this old rocket if there's any interest. I've just recently built one (with some modifications because the original instructions fail to make clear just exactly how recovery works) and I'll post a photo here.

The nose cones that I will include in the kits are 50+ years old originals. The body tubes and fin units are more recent but still fairly old. The tubes are pre-cut to the proper length and are finished in a few assorted colors. The fin units are an improvement over the originals in that the inner fin edge is not parallel to the long axis of the body tube, but swept outwards, which prevents burning by the engine exhaust gases. I'm not sure whether these parts can still be found today, but at just $10 a kit (plus shipping) that I will be charging, which covers my cost and time, you probably can't find a better deal anyway. Due to limitations on parts availability, the maximum number of kits I will ever be able to assemble is just 30.

Shipping is the killer. It costs me $8.25 to ship a kit. The good news, though, is that I can ship up to 3 for that price, and I can ship 4-9 kits for $11. I will include a photocopy of the original instructions plus some additional instructions on optional modifications to give the rocket a reliable recovery system. All of this will take me a little time, so I couldn't ship out any kits for at least a week. Please PM me if you have any interest.

Joe

[ghrocketman]

Looks very similar to common sky rockets I launch on the 4th of July.
Launched some this year exactly the same except they had blue nose cones.

[Shreadvector]

IIRC the plastic fin units and nose cone were from the Brown Fireworks Company "1/4 Mile High Rocket" and were used in the Model Rocket called the "Dirty Bird III".

In the 1970's I saw these parts still used in sky rockets sold at fireworks stores in states that allowed sales of those items. The rocket motor included looked very much like the MPC model rocket motors with the curved smooth nozzle and the very thick walled casing (like the original Estes A5 and B4 motors). The fuse was Thermalite.

The motors did indeed have very low thrust.

[mojo1986]

You would launch these with the Estes 18mm motor of choice.

[stefanj]

I had plans to offer a similar kit, but FireFox industries cancelled my order because they didn't have any non-cut-up body tubes on hand.

Last I saw, they no longer offered the fin units.

I should ask again.

[mojo1986]

I had plans to offer a similar kit, but FireFox industries cancelled my order because they didn't have any non-cut-up body tubes on hand.

Last I saw, they no longer offered the fin units.

I should ask again.

As I recall, when I purchased the fin units and tubes about ten years ago from a seller on Ebay, they were pretty much commercially unavailable at that time. Don't quote me............my memory isn't what it used to be, but I think that was the case. By the time I go to Staples to get copies made up of the plans (plus add my modification plans), get out my vintage parts to add to the kits and find someone with a sealer so that I can seal them up, I'll probably be clearing about 50 cents an hour for my time. So, no problemo if there's no demand for them.

Joe