Big Bertha

The Big Bertha is a very popular model from Estes, you probably have one yourself, perhaps a Mini-Bertha or a Bigger Bertha, there are so many spin-offs of this kit. This is the classic '70s kit, a big, fat, slow flier, painted in the original catalog scheme. I would actually prefer the newer all-black look Estes is showing now. Actually this model was built by my brother. This model always seems to weathercock a lot for me, the extra noseweight of the newly added payload should help a bit though. It sure eats a lot of wadding with that big BT60 tube! I have modified this rocket with my "Iris" altimeter bay, which adds another 2.88 inches in length and 14.6 grams of weight. I also installed a Nomex cloth so it will never need wadding again, and a nylon cloth parachute. We'll see what this big baby can do. (Iris is named after the Greek god of the rainbow. She is a messenger of the gods, linking the gods with humanity.)