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Estes Engine Specs

With a production run of more than forty years, as of 2010 Estes model rocket engines are the industry standard. Built to exacting specifications, Estes' expendable single-use engines come from the factory preloaded with propellants. Modelers must insert the igniter into the engine before installing the engine in the rocket.

History
- In 1958 Estes founder Vern Estes pioneered the mass production of solid-propellant model rocket engines. First based in Denver, Estes Industries later moved to Penrose, Colorado, a move that caused Penrose to be designated "Model Rocket Capital of the World." In January 2010, Illinois-based Hobbico bought the Estes-Cox Corporation.
Color Coding
- Estes produces four categories of rocket engines, color-coded according to role. Single-stage engines are green. Upper-stage engines are purple and can combine to create a two-stage engine. Booster engines, containing no delay or ejection charge, are red. The blue plugged engines, for remote-controlled rocket gliders and rocket-powered racers, similarly do not contain a delay or ejection charge.
Engine Specifications
- Each engine category contains variants. As of 2010, there are seventeen available single-stage engines, each with different performance specifications. Models vary by thrust (max thrust, thrust duration), total impulse, time delay, initial weight, max lift weight and propellant weight. Within this category, for example, max thrust ranges from 1.1 pounds (4.9 Newtons) to 7.4 pounds (32.9 Newtons). Base models of the single-stage, upper-stage and plugged engines ship in four-packs; all other variants contain three engines per pack.

Aviation