Estes - (Astron) Midget (K-40 or #1240) Gallery

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Micromeister

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Now that we have a legal (delayed) booster motor MMX-II-NE more and more staged micros are coming into being.
This 2X downscale of the old Estes Midget 2Stage from back in the 70's makes a prefect platform for flying these motor combinations.
It is strongly suggested with any 2-Staged micor that upper stage sustainer be painted with Very bright colors and have a Streamer or Chute to helps in spotting at some very HIGH altitudes.
The upper stage of my Midget has been completely out of sight for 12
+seconds in the past with a 3/4" x 12" orange teflon streamer/wadding. several pair of eyes on both stages is a really good idea:)


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I completed building the Midget the night before ASTRE's officially-sanctioned Old Motors Testing launch in October 2007. I gave the two stages (but not the nose cone) a light coat of Banner Red in the early morning as I was packing the car. The last thing I packed in were the two dowels that held the still-tacky stages. During the 3 hour drive down to the launch site they dried well enough to handle and launch. I had (still have) a few packs of A3-0T and A10-0T motors that I had picked up online a few months earlier. I launched it with an A3-0T in the booster and a 1/2A3-4T in the sustainer. I tried taping the motors together for direct staging, but found that the fit into the BT-5 motor tubes was so tight that I didn't need to do any taping. I couldn't fit the motors in with even a scrap of tape on them anyway, not even a tiny bit cellophane tape. So it used "pop and go" staging.

Lift-off was perfect and the 10-15 year old A3-0 performed well. Staging was flawless and I was stunned at how high up it staged! I made the mistake of following the booster and I never saw how high the sustainer went. I was told that if not for the streamer it would have been out of sight. I found the booster stage right away but retrieving the sustainer, even with its fully deployed 3' long streamer was proving to be a problem. The hay in the field was about 8" high, which was enough to hide it well. After 90 minutes I gave up, but about halfway back to the pad I spotted it on the ground, with the streamer all stretched out, underneath the clover. I spent so much time prepping, flying and searching for my Midget that I only had time for one more flight before the range shut down. I had made a 6 hour round trip to launch two rockets.

My first-ever two-stage rocket launch was my red K-40 Astron Midget back in 1970. It was the only model rocket launch of mine that my father ever came to watch. My second-ever one was this launch. My third one was the launch of my upscaled Midget. (I have done several more with different rockets since then.)

TK-40%252520Midget.JPG


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My first Estes Midget was in 1970-71, back when Estes 18mm Short motors were in great supply. Over the years I've used up the majority of my short motors but still have a few 1/2A6-0s motors in the rangebox.
My first couple Midgets usually burned up A5-0s/A5-4s combinations..what great fun watching these little birds Zoom out of sight.


When Narhams started it's Oop motor tests one of the very first things I did was build a brand new Midget two stage to fly a couple of the remaining 36+ year old boosters I had in the box. To allow it to fly later on available A10-0t and some 1/2A3-0t and A3-0t both booster and sustainer were built to accept 13mm motor adaptors. and it's still ready to fly in either motor conditions as it sits today. As has always been the case regardless of motor combination the Midget 2-Stage is a great little preformer as long as you have at least an extra set of eye's to watch the boosters return.

Midget 2 stage-sm_1st Fleet (Type S motors) b&w_04-03-71.jpg

448lp01d_Midget Staging 3pic flt-1_09-16-06.jpg
 
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Welcome to the Estes (Astron) Midget (K-40 or #1240) Gallery on TRF.

This gallery showcases the Estes (Astron) Midget (K-40 or #1240) and those rockets derived from it. Particularly appropriate in this thread are the following:


Estes: (Astron) Midget: K-40 or #1240
Estes: Midget: TK-40 or #0840
MMWW: Micro T4/T3 Midget 2 Stage: #362



as well as any upscales, downscales, clones, kitbashes or other derivative works. Even Goonies qualify!



 
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Estes (Astron) Midget (K-40 or #1240) Basic Information.

estes.gif
Estes Industries

MODEL NAME: Astron Midget Also known as: Midget

NUMBER: K-40 or #1240

Introduced: 1969
Final Year: 1973
Designer: Bill Simon

Type: Sport, 2 Stage
Motor Mount: 1x18mm/1x18mm
Recovery: Tumble/Parachute
Stages: 2
Length: 9.25"
Diameter: 0.976"
Span:
Weight: 0.56 oz

Mfg. Description: No midget in performance, this unique 2 stage rocket is designed to get the most out of smaller series III engines. Graceful in flight and fast at liftoff, the Astron Midget is an exciting design to fly. Upper stage features chute recovery while booster flutters gently back to earth. Kit contains all parts and instructions (less engines). (Estes 1969 Catalog)

=====

1970 Catalog text identical to 1969 Catalog


Advertising Liveries

estes-midget%20k40-1969%20cat%20livery.jpg
Estes 1969 Catalog
estes-midget%20k40-1970%20cat%20livery.jpg
Estes 1970 Catalog

estes-midget%20k40-1971%20cat%20livery.jpg
Estes 1971 Catalog


Face Card(s)

estes-midget%20k40-face%201.jpg


Instruction Header(s)

estes-midget%20k40-instr.jpg




First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.
 
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Estes Midget (TK-40 or #0840) Basic Information.

estes.gif
Estes Industries

MODEL NAME: Midget Also known as:

NUMBER: TK-40 or #0840

Introduced: 1972
Final Year: 1973
Designer: Bill Simon

Type: Sport, 2 Stage
Motor Mount: 1x13mm/1x13mm
Recovery: Tumble/Parachute
Stages: 2
Length: 8.6"
Diameter: 0.736"
Span:
Weight: 0.4 oz

Mfg. Description: No midget in performance, this unique two-stage rocket gets the most out of the mini-engines. Graceful flight, fast take-off. Parachute for upper stage. Booster tumbles down. (Estes 1972 Catalog)


Advertising Liveries

estes-midget%20tk40-1972%20cat%20livery.jpg
Estes 1972 Catalog
estes-midget%20tk40-1973%20cat%20livery.jpg
Estes 1973 Catalog


Face Card(s)



Instruction Header(s)





First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.
 
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MMWW Micro T4/T3 Midget 2 Stage (#362) Basic Information.

MMWW.gif
McCoy's Micro Wonder Works (MMWW)

MODEL NAME: Micro T4/T3 Midget 2 Stage Also known as:

NUMBER: #362

Introduced: 2009
Final Year:
Designer: Bill Simon, John McCoy

Type: Sport, 2 Stage, Downscale
Motor Mount: 1x6mm/1x6mm
Recovery: Tumble/Streamer
Stages: 2
Length:
Diameter:
Span:
Weight:

Mfg. Description: DESC


Advertising Liveries

mmww-(estes)%20midget%20362-plan.jpg
Plan Image


Face Card(s)

mmww-(estes)%20midget%20362-facecard.jpg


Instruction Header(s)





First post in this thread featuring this rocket.

See Also: LINKS
EMRR
RocketReviews
Mfg. Page


If you have any additional information on this rocket and/or catalog photos please let us know.
 
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