modified Estes Turbo-Copter

helicopter recovery sport model

At the Midwest Regional Competion, held at Bong Recreational facility over the weekend of October 11-12, 1997, Lila Schmaker modified an Estes Turbo-Copter to recover on just the helicopter blades built into the nose cone. Unfortunately, the model disappeared, never to be seen again. None the less, I was impressed by the modification and wanted to try it for myself to see how it would have worked.

When I tested the model, it looks like it would have been reasonably competitive in our contest. It appears that it would have beaten all the Skywinders in the meet and come in 3rd or 4th in the competition.

It turns out it works well enough to have placed 2nd in C Division B-HD at 14AL-98 on one backup flight. See the 14AL-98 launch report for details. I'm going to have to pick up a few more of these for future launches.

Built:     November, 1997
Launches:
20/21 June, 1998 - MRFF-98
30 May, 1998 - 14AL-98
18 April, 1998 - club launch
18 January, 1998 - NIRA building session
14 December, 1997 - test launch
Repairs: none, *yet*
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© Copyright 1997, 1998

unless otherwise noted, all images are copyright © 1997, 1998 by Jeanne Rognlie - all rights reserved

Last Updated: 25 June, 1998
Author: Alan Rognlie
Email: arrognli@execpc.com