When my son Max (seven at the time) saw this model rocket online, he thought it was the funniest looking rocket ever. As there aren't enough oddrocs reviewed on this web site, I agreed to order this one. The Porta-Pot is a skill level one kit, Max did most of the building. I did the painting and cut the slit for the engine hook. There really isn't anything difficult about assembling the kit. The instructions are clear, making it a quick and easy build. The face card lists the maximum altitude as 309 feet (94m), making this a fun rocket to fly on small rocketry fields.

Parts List

This Estes flying model porta-pot comes with the parts listed below. Glue and finishing supplies are not included.

- two-part nose cone (roof) with clay weight
- 2 styrofoam body halves
- body tube with centering rings
- motor mount tube with centering rings and engine hook
- 4 clear plastic fins
- rubber shock cord
- white streamer (guess what this is...)
- 12" plastic parachute
- sticker sheet
- instructions

Due to the nature of styrofoam, it is important to use use that will not damage the styrofoam. We used Elmer's Glue-All white glue without any trouble.

Construction

This flying model rocket kit is quite easy to build. We didn't really follow instructions and went for building it quickly.

The motor mount was assembled and the centering rings were attached to the outside of the body tube. This way, the glue on motor mount and body tube can dry at the same time. Once dry, the motor mount was glued into the body tube.

Plastic cement was used to join the two roof section (after adding the clay weight). The assembled roof was now primed and painted white. The inside of the two body halves were masked off and the remainder painted blue (Testors #1208).

While the picture isn't very good, you may be able to make out the two (painted) porta-pot halves, the motor mount assembly and the body tube. The launch lug is attached to one of the styrofoam halves (the bottom on in the picture). I'm not a big fan of the shock cords Estes provides with most of their kits, we replaced it with a length of Kevlar thread.

The body tube (with motor mount) was glued onto one half of the body. White glue was spread over the sections where the body halves would be joined. The porta-pot halves were glued together and set aside to dry.

Next are the clear fins, which were simply glued into place with white glue. Two heat shields (metal tape) are taped to the top and bottom of the rocket, to help keep the styrofoam from melting. To finishing the build, the shock cord is tied to the roof.

Measurements

The Estes Porta-Pot Shot measures 8" (20.3cm) long with a 3.25" (8.3cm) diameter. The face card has the weight listed as 4.2 oz (117.5g).

Finishing

Any priming and painting was already done during construction, see above for details.

This leaves the decals. In addition to the ones seen on the face card, there are a set of stickers which look like bugs and dirt/mud spot. The bugs were tricky to remove from the sticker sheet, mainly due to their small size.

Flight Data

To send the Porta-Pot Shot skyward, Estes recommends using the B4-2, B6-2 and C6-3 flying model rocket engines.

While the parachute is tucked into the body tube, the white streamer is placed in the body itself, which also houses the shock cord.

For its first day on the field, the Porta-Pot was flown twice on a C6-3 motor. It attracted attention and some giggles as it was sitting on the pad. As it happens, this model potty is actually quite fun to fly. Recovers nice and close, great flier for a small field. The parachute melted while plenty of recovery wadding was used.

Video : Potty on a C6-3