The ones you don't care to recover are almost always the ones guaranteed to come back.
Put a flawless/museum quality build/finish on one and it's almost guaranteed to have a cato/drift away/tree landing.

That's a big reason why my 'scale' birds almost always stay in storage.
I have a 'beater' Estes Saturn V and a Centuri Mercury Redstone that still fly.
The others are grounded unless something requires them to fly.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Go with the 8 second, should be plenty of room for recovery with a tiny chute.

__________________
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Rohde
NAR 89414
SAM 0114
NARtrek Silver

2015 motors - 1469 n/s (200 flights)
2016 motors - 1238 n/s (175 flights)
2017 motors - 1/2A-4, A-26, B-52, C-47, D-6, E-7, F-3 = 1238 n/s (138 flights)
2018 motors - 1128 n/s (104 flights)
2019 motors - 2241 n/s (189 flights)
2020 motors(thru 7/25/20) - 1/8A-1, 1/2A-3, A-14, B-23, C-27, D-11, E-6, F-2 = 876 n/s (81 flights)

As simple projects go, I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. Can't wait to see it fly.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark

Looks nice.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

They all do BEFORE they fly.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark

Are you going to fly it first on a E16, F15, or some sort of composite ?
Should fly really nice on an Aerotech F50/52

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Definitely a BP bird. I'm not sure it would stand up to anything stronger. The only really beefy part is the engine mount.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark

Remember; the original Enerjet Athena, Aero Dart, Nike Smoke, and Nike Ram were based on REGULAR thin-wall Centuri tubing, not their "LT" heavy-walled "Mini-Max" tubing.
Those held up fine under Enerjet composite E24, F52, and F67 power.
Should you choose to do so, it should hold up fine under a full 80 n-sec Aerotech F50, which is the closest we now have to the old Enerjet 80 n-sec F67.

Looking forward to flight pics of this one.

__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!!

Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't !
Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY.
ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC !

Some of the new CTI 24mm reloadables with the slower bun propellant would be great. Even at max power.

She sure looks pretty.