SuperGee

Having surfed the JimZ site, this rocket was inspired by the Estes Apogee II. Like the Apogee II, the SuperGee is (was) a 2-stage, minimum-diameter rocket with a payload section. One especially cool feature is the booster which glides back down instead of tumbling.

Unfortunately, the rocket was wrecked when the upper stage motor failed to eject the chute.

Ultimately, it was rebuilt as a stretched model sans payload section as shown on the right. It flew great on a B6-0 to A8-5 combination. (Thanks for bringing those back, Estes.)

Far right: Later, it received a new coat of paint on the nosecone, this time black. And some new decals really dress it up.

The SuperGee was a regular flier for me, and had many good flights, but suffered several major wrecks. Here are a couple pics of it sporting a red nosecone after another repair.

Here are some shots of another wreck in progress. At right, you can see the flaming chunks of booster motor still burning after the motor cato'd. Below is a closeup of the booster section.

Photo courtesy of Tim Sapp

It was repaired and flew again. On its final flight, the recovery harness anchor broke loose from deep inside the rocket, so I decided to retire it. In its place, I built a new, 3-stage rocket called the SuperThree.

12-23-2008