Reviews : Estes Big Bertha Model Rocket Kit

I had this rocket as a 12 year-old that I built with my Father, and now as a 43 year-old with a 4 year-old Son this was our first. (Okay, I know I'm rushing it) My Son is a big fan of Thomas the Tank Engine, and he wanted a Hiro rocket. I couldn't find any train decals I was happy with, so I just put big letters HIRO vertically on both sides and used some of the original decals. The body tube was crushed a little on one end during shipping, so I cut a few inches off and added an extension which added 7 to the total length. I had someone run a simulation on RockSim and they told me that adding weight to the forward end of the rocket just added more stability, and that definitely turned out to be true. I had toyed with the idea of having a rocket with a huge chute for it to come down as slow as possible because I find the slower the fall the more interesting it is. I used a thin black trash bag, and cut out a chute approximately 27. One plus to the thinner chute material is it's very soft & pliable compared to factory chutes and fills with air very quickly. With a little baby powder there is no way this chute will stick together and not deploy. To me, it is more fun watching the drop than the launch. Definitely not one to launch with any breeze or any trees or obstacles nearby at all. She definitely returns to terra firma S-L-O-W-L-Y And on a C motor it seems to go as high as one without any length addition, and seems to track truer than one with the original length. I like larger rockets, and this one has the maximum diameter you can get from Estes (1.64) without going above a C motor. I highly recommend this as a first rocket due to the ease of build and slow, majestic lift-off.

I received the Estes Big Bertha kit as a gift, my very first model rocket build. This is a very easy kit to assemble, with clear, easy to follow instructions. Parts are high quality which helps significantly with the build. I used Titebond II exclusively throughout the build with great results. The only area where I recommend extra care be taken is in sanding the fin edges. To ensure a good glue joint the root edges must have the burn (brown color) from the laser removed to expose clean balsa. Care is required to keep the edges square and flat. Using the recommended method of stacking the fins works well, although care must be taken to keep them properly aligned. Once the burn residue is gone and the leading and trailing edges have been rounded use the double glue technique in the instructions to glue the fins on. Done right you'll end up with a joint that is stronger than the materials being glued together! I chose not to use the kit paint scheme and supplied decals in order to make my Bertha unique. Red and white were used to create an old school look. Decals were a mix of US flags from a sheet of RC airplane decals and text decals created on my P-Touch printer. This rocket just asks to be customized, or you can peruse old Estes catalogs and reproduce one of the many wonderful paint schemes it has carried throughout its long life. To date I haven't been able to launch my Big Bertha (real life getting in the way, as happens) but hope to do so soon. I can heartily recommend this kit as your first model rocket build, and guarantee that once you've built one many more will follow. I already have plans for my second! And third, maybe fourth....

The Estes Big Bertha is a must have model rocket for all beginner model rocketeers and can be modified for up powering. Either to a single 24mm motor, using an Estes 3159 D&E mount kit, for BT-60 and an Estes 9751 Pro Series Motor Retainer, with 2 engine blocks, because an E motor will bend and push the engine clip. Or, 3x18mm motors using the Estes 3158, that has 3x18mm motor mounts. They will all friction fit into the BT-60. Fill in between the 3 BT-20's and BT-60 with tissue and epoxy, just keep the engine clips equally spaced and facing outward. Use epoxy when constructing and install an ejection baffle. I would also slot the BT-60, for through tube wall fins, redrawing the fins, with through tube wall extensions. Upgrade to a nylon parachute, for the upgrade and install nose weight to balance for a stable C/G. Should see more altitude than the Super Big Bertha, on BP E 24mm motor power, at around 2,000 feet and a GPS tracker is optional.

As a teacher of Electronics and Aerospace Technologies at a Technology Center I am always looking for exciting ways to get my students involved in activities that will challenge them but, at the same time provide them with a rewarding sense of accomplishment, increased self esteem and most importantly an opportunity to have some fun while learning. The Estes Big Bertha is one of the rockets I really like to use as an entry level kit within my curriculum. It provides an esay build for the students, has awesome and reliable flight characteristics and make a great looking rocket a student can be proud of!! I highly recommend the Big Bertha to anyone looking for an entry level rocket that certainly doesn't look like an entry level rocket and gives excellent performance. The materials of construction will allow for many flights and the straight forward assembly instructions make the Estes Big Bertha a definate win,win! Clear Skies!

This was my 7-year old son's first real build after flying ready-to-fly and easy-to-assemble models. The large body tube and fins make it easier for beginners' fingers to get the glue to the right places! The thicker fins also allowed a more forgiving area for practicing sanding and sealing. We wanted to paint it a different color scheme than yellow & black, and the large tube and thick fins made great practice for masking. He ended up deciding on a blue & orange (his school colors) spiral job, and was able to do a lot of the masking on his own. He realized the tube will hold a thicker engine if the spacer disks had bigger holes, and now wants another kit so we can modify it to take D engines. The only drawback is the amount of wadding per launch this uses compared to smaller rockets - will definitely add lots of wadding to my next order of engines!

I have an entire fleet of Estes rockets, and this is easily one of my favorites. It is an easy build for beginners, yet even seasoned rocketeers count it among their must haves. It is always taken along on launch day due to its reliability and beautiful, comparatively slow lift-off. There are really no negatives that come to mind. It has a good price point and is a proven winner. That's probably why Estes has offered this rocket for so long. One tip that Estes seldom mentions is a tip to avoid excessive drift when launching with a C6-5: You can cut a hole in the parachute center about 3 inches in diameter. The rocket will still have a gentle landing but will not drift too far if there is a breeze. I have done this with Big Bertha and many other rockets with no mishaps due to cutting the parachute center hole.

All that has been said about the Big Bertha in the other reviews is true - it is a classic, slow take-off, rugged beast that is fun to build and flies great. Easily modified to a 24mm motor mount (just purchase a motor mount tube and extra sheet of 3/32 balsa for reinforced centering rings). Also, if you have discovered the super cheap key-chain style HD cameras for sale online, this is the perfect rocket to strap them onto! Just attach your fully charged micro camera to the top of the body tube just under the nosecone shoulder with 5 or six tight wraps of electrical tape (doesn't pull off the finish like masking tape). The Big Bertha shrugs of any aerodynamic disturbances due to her overlarge fins and the extra weight of the camera appears not affect flight at all!

Buy this kit. you won't be sorry. straight forward build. great performance on B6-4s and C6-5s. big, easy to see, predictable flights. This is a classic kit that is very popular - for good reason. its a great rocket. This airframe can take more power, so if you are into modifying the basic kit, a D size motor mount and clusters are common mods. Only recommendation (I do this on all my estes kits) is to put in a kevlar shock cord attachment or nylon covered shock cord (round or flat works) instead of the rubber shock cord. I would also recommend a length of shock cord about 2-3 times the length of the body (longer than the kit comes with). only drawback is that it takes off slow - most folks see that as a positive... can't go wrong with this one!

This is a great rocket kit for the novice or experienced rocket builder. It's a very easy build that took about 45-60 mins. to build(not including paint and decals). It flies great and it's size is really impressive on the launch pad. I've launched Big Bertha at least 10 times without any malfunctions. The C size engines are powerful enough that I've been able to attach a key ring video camera and get spectacular videos and pictures. Nothing is as satisfying as watching video from a successful launch and recovery taken from the rockets perspective! Bottom line, this is one of my favorite rockets to fly, always trouble free and beautiful to watch! I would recommend this Rocket Kit to anybody who wants a big rocket experience without a big price.

As a long-time rocketeer, I decided to surprise my girlfriend (pretty new to rocketry) with a Big Bertha. She had already built a Baby Bertha and wanted to go bigger. She sat down and within an hour the rocket was ready to paint. Easy construction and the instructions were easy to follow. I'm going to be buying one for myself soon. I suggest using small paracord for the shock cord (at least two to three times the length of the rocket), not the rubber band provided with the kit. To get even more altitude, she airfoiled the fins; rounded leading edges and tapered trailing edges, about 3/16 to 1/4 from the rear. We have yet to fly it but the instructions help with aligning the fins nicely. Already looking forward to my own build!

Hobbylinc has great prices on Estes model rocket kits. Big Bertha is a fine Estes model kit with clear instructions, though I'm not fond of the rubber band shock cord or the way Estes mounts it. I like to see the shock cord attached to the motor mount with Kevlar string. Previous comments referred to the double glue bond fin attachment technique. I use the technique but take it one step further by using my hobby knife to drill small holes along the fun guide lines. This makes tiny glue rivets when the glue dries, giving a little more strength to the fin attachment.

The Big Bertha has been around forever as I remember building them as a kid. Its a good size rocket and is easy to see in the sky. The pre-cut fins make it a snap to build. The suggested yellow-black paint scheme makes the decals a perfect compliment. No real skill needed as first time builders should have no problems with the Big Bertha. I have nothing negative to say. Get one, its fun to build and fly

Since I was 14 years old I have probably built 3, no 4 Big Berthas. Now I'm 63, so that tells you how long Big Bertha has been around. The reason why is it is just a very solid model rocket. It's an easy build, easy to paint and a great flyer. I have even flown mine on Quest D16 engines! Try it as a step up from your first beginner model. You won't be disappointed.

This is a great flying rocket and should be in every Fleet. A staple to most Flyers. It is easy to build(good first rocket)and looks great. But I enjoy flying as much as any other low power rocket I have. Also, if you go through old Estes catalogs you can find many different paint schemes that look great.

I built my Big Bertha over 20 years ago and it must have over a hundred launches on it. I have replaced the parachute a few times but with bright orange main color it always comes home. A great choice for the first launch of the day to check wind / drift conditions. A must have for your fleet!

I bought big bertha for my grandson. we enjoyed building this rocket together as this was my first rocket some fifty years ago. the best part was the look on his face when he pushed the launch button it was great

This is a great first or second rocket. It's bigger than some of the other skill level ones, whihc means it's easier to assemble and more fun to fly. A definite classic.

A classic kit from Estes that's an easy build with a stable flight...this can be flown in tight quarters with no fear of loss.

I've used this one for second year rocketeers in my group project. The larger parts make it easy for them.

Just finished building this with my 9 year old son. He loves it. Can't wait to launch it.

I think this is a perfect rocket to start off with model rocketry.