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Custom Tri-Star finally...
Since my BAR status, I had been wanting to build Custom's sleek little TRISTAR. I finally got one last summer, and tried to get it completed by the close of our local flying season, but to no avail. I had a decal disaster, then a paint-matching disaster that required a new nosecone. But I finally got it together for last month's local Tripoli club launch.
It flew quite nicely. I decided on a streamer rather than a chute, though, because the one I built for my oldest daughter a couple of seasons before utterly disappeared in the upper crosswinds typical of our flying area - even on a 10" with a spillhole. The thing came straight down and landed engine-down, cracking one of the finely-finished fins and buckling the paint around the fin root right through the primer to the BT surface. Sigh. It's going to be a challenging cosmetic repair job.
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BAR after a 29 year absence. Using my plastic, resin & vinyl kit building skills (and my paycheck) to build what I could only dream of as an 11 year old... My Rocketreviews.com Gallery Last edited by AcroRay : 08-09-2012 at 10:34 AM. |
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Ouch. I hate that on such a nicely finished rocket. What size was the streamer?
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I love sanding. |
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Quote:
About 5X the length of the rocket, at least. I used a textured mylar party streamer. But I think the problem was it was either too heavy to begin with due to excessive length, or just didn't get to unfurl completely on the first-flight A8-3's altitude. I do plan a repair job. Chris Michielssen's blog is should be helpful and inspirational in that regard.
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BAR after a 29 year absence. Using my plastic, resin & vinyl kit building skills (and my paycheck) to build what I could only dream of as an 11 year old... My Rocketreviews.com Gallery |
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Streamer blues
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I had similar problems with my first Tau Zero prototype. The 36" crepe paper streamer did its job *too* well by causing too much drag. The rocket came down tail first and broke a fin off. I'm afraid this is one time when a small parachute is actually more preferable than a big streamer. (That's my 20 cents' worth. ) Cheers,
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Jay Goemmer "Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero" YORF Member 28 Semroc SAM #0029 NAR 86131 "I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. " --Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022 “Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.” Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By 03 Sept 2014 |
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Custom Tristar with original paint scheme
Sometimes my TV reporter's brain doesn't let me rest until I nail down the answer I'm looking for.
I went looking for the Custom Tristar, and all I could come up with at the company's website: http://www.customrocketcompany.com/store/ ...were the kits re-decaled as the Galaxy Patrol/Rescue/Taxi (see below). Then I stumbled across the original Tristar still available from JonRocket: http://www.jonrocket.com/index.php?...&products_id=47 So the original Tristar is officially OOP? (I know, I just don't get out enough.) Now it remains to be seen if I can scrape up the necessary cash (heavy sigh). Cheers,
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Jay Goemmer "Centuri Guy"/"Tau Zero" YORF Member 28 Semroc SAM #0029 NAR 86131 "I think about organizing things all the time. Never seems to happen. I find something that piques my interest and I'm off on a quest. Or a Centuri. " --Bill Eichelberger, 02/22/2022 “Centuri fret buzz in an updated form.” Bill “Wallyum” Eichelberger re: Estes Flutter-By 03 Sept 2014 |
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The original decor is OOP. But as you can see the rocket still lives on! However Custom uses stickers these days. Maybe Gordy can come up with water-slides in the Tri-Star decor?
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#7
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Bummed for you. That was a good looking bird. I always went with a small chute with mine because of the way those fins caught the brunt of a landing. Might be worth thinking about horizontal recovery like the Super Kits. Even on a streamer that would help redirect some of the landing shock. Plus it would look cool.
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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 - Gee'Hod, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Snake Jumper |
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