This flying model rocket kit (EST 2183) includes one rocket and two shuttles. Once the rocket reaches its peak altitude and the ejection charge fires, the rocket comes down with a parachute. The two shuttles glide down separately. Having two shuttles comes down appeared fun and interesting enough to include the kit for review. It seems like it would be excellent fun for a group of kids. Three items to recover, lots of running around and entertainment. The gliders are entirely made out of foam, with the exception of the launch hooks. The Shuttle Xpress is part of the Estes E2X Series, which also includes the Lucky Seven, Bandito, Firehawk, Gnome, Skywriter, Cosmic Cobra and others.

Parts List

As is often the case for Estes flying model rockets, the kit comes in a clean plastic bag with blue print and a colorful face card.

- lower and upper body tubes
- plastic tube coupler with launch lug
- 2 plastic engine mount halves
- plastic engine lock ring
- 4 plastic fins
- plastic nose cone
- elastic shock cord
- shock cord mount (to be cut out)
- 12" plastic parachute (fully assembled)
- 2 plastic launch lugs
- 2 shuttle fuselages
- 2 shuttle wings
- 2 launch hooks
- 2 shuttle fins
- 2 sticker sheets
- instructions

Launch supplies are not included. Hobby supplies required are plastic cement and carpenters glue.

Construction

The face card states that this model rocket kit can be assembled in under an hour. This is likely true, while taking a little longer to let glue dry as you proceed may be best.

While no age group could be located on this E2X Series rocket kit, it makes a great kit for younger children (with adult supervision). No hobby knife or other sharp objects required.

First, the engine mount halves are glued together with plastic cement. Once the glue dries, a launch lug is glued to the engine mount. The fins are then glued and inserted into the engine mount. As the fins simply slide into place, attaching them correctly takes no effort at all.

The engine mount is then glued to the lower body tube which in turn is glued to the coupler. The upper body tube is glued to the lower half.

The shock cord mount is prepared and glued to the upper body tube. The parachute is attached to complete the rocket.

Next are the gliders. The launch hooks are attached to the fuselages and stickers are applied to the fuselages. The fins are then glued to the shuttles. Stickers are applied to the wings and the fuselages are attached to the wings.

To trim the shuttles, the elevons are lowered or raised, as required.

Finishing

There is no finishing required, other than placing the peel-off stickers on the gliders. This, again, is great for younger rocketeers who wish to make their own rocket.

Measurements

The Shuttle Xpress rocket is 17 3/4" (45.1 cm) tall and the body tube has a diameter of 1 1/3" (33.8 mm). It weighs 2.9 oz (82.2 g).

Flight Data

Recommended engines for this model rocket are : B4-2, B4-4, B6-2, B6-4, C6-3 and C6-5.

A B6-4 is a good engine to use for this rocket. It reaches a decent altitude and the shuttles are somewhat easy to spot on the way down. They glide very nicely and don't land too far from the launch site.

A C6-3 is great fun with this rocket, make sure you either have a large field or no wind. The gliders are harder to spot and wind can take them off course. One shuttle could not be recovered after this flight.