Estes Alpha III

Length: 31.2cm
Diameter: 24.9mm
Dry Weight: 23g


Flight  Date  Motor  Comments

1  1997.09.13  A8-3  Good flight, a bit too much wind.
2  1997.09.13  C6-5  Far too high for the wind; Lost


I had an Alpha III or something very similar when I was a kid. My dad helped me build it, but I don't remember if we ever launched it or not. I saw this rocket as part of a starter kit at a toy store in Cedar Rapids during my senior year at Coe College and it reminded me of my old rocket, so I bought it on a whim.

Construction was very simple and took less than an hour. While waiting for the CA to dry, I got some friends together and we headed out to the football field to launch. We got a couple flights out of it before it landed itself on top of a dog food factory.

I bought, built, flew, and lost this rocket all in one day. Unfortunately no pictures were ever taken of this rocket. It would be almost four years before I would build another rocket.