Reviews : Estes Big Daddy 'E' Model Rocket Kit

The Big Daddy kit is a great introduction into the world of more powerful rockets. The 24mm motor mount allows the use of everything from Estes C, D and E black powder motors to 24mm reloadable motors of E, F and G motors. One thing Estes did to allow for this extra power is use through the wall (TTW) fin construction. With the root of the fins glued to the motor tube you get a very strong rocket capable of withstanding higher power motors. I did deviate from the instructions in a couple of areas. First, instead of the kit shock cord I used a length of Kevlar cord and 1/4 flat elastic. The Kevlar was tied around the motor mount below the forward centering ring and run through a small notch on the outer edge. I cut the Kevlar so that it ended just inside the body tube when tied to 6' of elastic. This technique is common in mid- and high-power rocket construction. Secondly, I didn't glue the aft centering ring to the motor mount until after the fins were glued in. It was on the motor mount tube while installing the fins, just not glued down. This allowed me to remove it after the fins dried so that internal fillets could be put on the fin-to-motor mount joint and where the fins meet the body tube on the inside. Doing this greatly strengthens the rocket at the point where it takes the most stress. Once the fillets were in I glued the rear centering ring in place. Paint is black and red rattle can with decals from an aftermarket supplier. One caution is to be very careful how much paint you apply. Due to the short length of this rocket it is easy to shift the center of gravity rearward with too much paint or glue. Doing so can cause stability issues if you aren't careful. If you do end up cutting it a bit close weight can always be added to the nose to move the CG forward again. I recommend staying with the higher end of the recommended motors for this rocket. You need a motor that will get it off the rod with sufficient speed for stability, and also the bigger motors are just more fun! Estes E impulse motors and Aerotech reloadables rule for this bird!

I purchased this rocket a few years ago knowing that it was a little too stubby for my taste. So, I ordered a 3 inch tube-coupler and a 3 inch body tube from HobbyLinc at the time I ordered the kit. I through-away the Estes plastic parachute, rubber shock-cord and launch lug tube. I modified the kit as follows: 1) extended the body tube to 18 inches long, 2) epoxied a heavy nylon cord inside the body tube to attach the 3) upgraded 3/8 inch nylon braided shock cord (purchase at fabric store), 4) upgraded the launch lug to a 1/4 X 2 inch (so I can launch it using the larger launch-rail I use with my larger rockets) 5) installed a 9 inch square Nomex parachute protector (purchased from uncle_mikes_rocket_shack on ebay)(this saves big $ of Estes wadding) 6) installed a 28 inch Nylon parachute (purchased from HobbyLinc). This makes a great flying and looking rocket (which I still named Stubby). But to go even further I added my own designed locator system; which has 3 LED-strobe lights in the nose cone and an electronic buzzer the goes off in 2.5 minutes after the system is turned on. This makes it easy to find, but is really cool to launch just after the sun sets. With this mod I renamed the rocket to Strobee. It fly's great with a AreoTech E20-4W single use motor or the E18-4W RMS. But to go one step further, I mounted a small Syma quadcopter video camera to the side. The video is awesome! You can check it out on my Blog site at rockets.r-systems.us/rocketblog. FYI, I ordered another Big Daddy kit and have started its redesign (more strobe lights and longer body tube).

Its a basic kit. Great looking kit and of the 5-6 launches I have done we didn't break anything (durable) I only fired on D12 size motors. I found the D12-5 to be too long and the D12-3 to be just about right. I did add a nomex chute protector and a nylon (18 chute). out of 5 launches I never got the recovery to work right. There is very little room in the body after engine mount and nose cone. (not much wadding - dog barf style). I still burned a hole in the nomex protector and couldn't keep the nose all the way on (1/8' gap, which wasn't a problem - but speaks to the tight fit) Chute/nomex got stuck in the body tube. so I wrapped it tighter to make it fit chute didn't open in time before hitting ground (d12-5) again didn't open (D12-3) and again didn't open in time (d21-4t). Lots of folks love this rocket. I suspect it will be a great rocket if I can figure out the right combo. I am ditching the nylon chute and going back to the plastic chute. I am not sure the light rocket has enough pull to open the nylon chute? also I might need more height. I think this will work well on a D12-3, as the stock chute is lighter and a smaller pack. Otherwise I think this rocket likely needs a E size or bigger to bring out its full potential. I am determined to get it to work. despite all the recovery issues it was a real crowd pleaser. Overall I would still recommend it, particularly if you like the looks of the rocket (I do)

I'm on my second Big Daddy, not because my first one died, but because I wanted to make a Der Grosse Vati out of the Excelsior kit. My first one was the original D powered BD. A D was definitely too much for the field I normally fly on, but that didn't stop me from flying the BD there several times. After the last flight where it wound up on a neighboring roof, I decided I needed to find a bigger field. (The homeowner let me use his ladder to get it down, so I cleaned his gutters while I was up there.) Next flight was at a club launch at field not much bigger than my field, but it was a straight up, straight down flight. Literally. The Daddy came in ballistic out near where the cars were parked, almost skewering a Mazda. (The owner thought it would have been cool.) The Daddy suffered greatly from the impact with the nose cone base shattered and the body tube compressed, but it could still fly today if I wanted to bring it out of retirement. The new E-powered Daddy is a nice upgrade if you have a field big enough to hold it. This kit is Estes done right.

Haven't flown yet but it was an excellent fun build. A friend sent me an additional set of decals for free so I had enough to do all four fins. The kit only includes enough to cover two fins, and it looks kinda incomplete with just those. Due to the diameter of the body tube it is definitely gonna require a lot of wadding. Someone mentioned using a nomex sheet instead of wadding and I think that's a great idea. Other than that it's gonna require a lot of wadding to prevent chute melt. Through the wall fins add strength and allow easy alignment. I've also read to definitely not launch with anything less than a D12-3, which I'm starting with, or you'll end up with a hard landing or a lawn dart. I used a blue scheme with the yellow decals covered with clearcoat. She's beautiful and I will post pics as soon as I get my desktop hooked up and get them off of the hard drive as that's where they're at. Looking forward to the slow, majestic launch.

I have built several of these kits and they are awesome! The kit goes together more like a mid-power kit than a low-power model rocket. The fins are slotted through the body tube wall and attach to the engine tube for extra strength. The giant 3 inch nose cone is very thick and over-all the design is very strong. I do recommend the Estes E12 over the E9 (the E9 REALLY CHUGS off the launch pad and if your lunch rod is not exactly vertical you risk a lawn dart!) and always use the shortest delays possible! I modified mine with new laminated balsa fins to look like a fatter version of the old Estes Goblin - Flies well and looks good!

With a 3 body tube, only a 24mm E motor, Estes? I have seen Big Daddy on D and E motors and the D motor is under powered for such a large body tube. I will be stretching Big Daddy another 2x3 body tubes, up powering to a 54mm and adding a full length tube coupler, motor tube ejection baffle, no more wadding, but will use a Nomex parachute protector and shock cord protector, nylon shock cord and optional E-Bay and dual deployment for Cert. 1 and 2. What's neat about the 54mm motor tube? All smaller motors will adapt, like 38, 29 and 24 or clustering together 2x24mm motors, or 4x18mm motors. This will be my Summer 2019 project.

Everyone should have a Big Daddy in their fleet. Probably more than one... build one stock, according to the directions and supplied parts, then build something a little more special. The wide diameter makes it easy to work with internal components, and I think a 29mm mount is just about perfect. It's stable, customizable, and looks great on the pad. Tip: You can get the red/gray fade on the paint job by just using spray cans and a little practice. I'm sure an airbrush would be better, but I gt great results using Krylon.

Everyone needs a Big Daddy. Fun build. Flies great. I'm on my second and thinking about my third... I would highly recommend substituting the stock shock cord for a Kevlar leader with an elastic shock cord. One of the other reviewers also recommended on installing the rear centering ring after gluing the fins and added fillets to the motor housing, which is a good idea. The instructions also do not add much for gluing in the rear centering ring to the BT. I'd recommend adding a nice fillet there as well.

I love watching this rocket fly! Every time I launch it I find myself saying, Wow! The chunky design is easy to watch all the way through the flight. The through the body fin construction makes for one super tough rocket. The design is extremely stable for a flight smooth and straight. The huge diameter body tube is easy to load up for flight. Be sure to put a lot of wading to protect the chute. This will be one rocket I'll be launching every time I fly.

Big Daddy is a pretty good rocket, It is sturdy and it fly's straight. The only problem I have is the rocket is very short and there is not a lot of room to pack the large parachute right without compressing it too much.

Big Daddy is a great rocket. Fun to fly. Choose a D12-3 minimum or better on and E12-4. I finished and painted in one day-flew the next. A small amount of nose weight may improve performance.

This is a wide ride! It is the SUV of my fleet. Slow takeoffs and an impressive flyer! Easy to build and a blast to fly. You need to add this one to your fleet!

This is one of my favorite Estes Kits. The Big Daddy is a fun build and even more fun to fly. I have 37 launches on my Big Daddy with no plans for retirement.

This is a great looking rocket. It is a nice fast and easy build. You get a slow liftoff when using an E9 motor so be careful if you have any wind.

Many possibilities available with this kit. Easy construction with through the wall fins. Highly recommended.