Reviews : Estes Hi-Flier Model Rocket Kit

Great little rocket from Estes. This rocket really goes. We had 4 or 5 successful launches before getting brave with a C6-5 engine. With the lower engines, this rocket shot up true and straight and was easily recoverable. The power of the C6-5 engine caused the rocket to wobble, despite the included clay, and the rocket did not fly true and ended up on the other side of some houses. I never thought these houses were reachable, but nonetheless, never saw the rocket again. This rocket lives up to its name, and had no problem reaching some great altitudes. Another note, I was not crazy about the streamer recovery at first, but since this rocket is so light the streamer actually works fine. The assembly was quick, but painting takes some patience. I passed on the white/grey stripes on wings. All in all, I plan on grabbing another one of these! This rocket is too fun to not include in your arsenal. Next time, I will try the adapter and give it a go with some mini motors like the A10-3T

This is another great little kit from Estes that is aptly named! I lost the first one I built because I did not follow the recommended first flight A8-3 and used a C6-5 instead. WOW!! that thing was gone! I would estimate the altitude at 1800' and because the rocket is small, we lost it in a clear blue sky. So, I bought another and this time used a B6-4 and teaspoon of red marking chalk on top of the parachute. At apogee - POOF! a nice visible puff of red chalk helped us track it and the bird recovered great! *Tip* - add a few lead split-shots to the base of the nose cone to correct a mild wobble that is evident without it.

Kind of a fire-and-forget rocket, the Hi-Flier is a good looker with some flaws. Painting is kind of a pain because the only thing on the decal is the Hi-Flier name for the side of the rocket. The white on the fins needs to be masked off and painted, doable, but it bumps the skill level up a bit. A and B flights are no problem, but C flights will require nose weight, which is not provided. The engine hook mounts outside the rocket, a feature that I've hated since the days of the Centuri Scram Jet. The design is great, but I'd be more likely to spend the extra money and go with the Hi-Flier XL.

ESTES Hi-Flier is a great sport model rocket for altitude. Use bright colors paint schemes for easier visual tracking. Assemble with Cyanoacrylate adhesive works the best and laminate the balsa fins with printer paper for a less fin flex. The best BP rocket motor for launching is the ESTES Mini A10-3 for breakneck launches, don't get whiplash trying to track with a low altitude. Best composite rocket motor for this rocket is the D9-7 from Kalima Rockets made in Germany, but you might want several visual trackers at at least 1500 feet distances to retrieve it successfully. ;-)

I purchased 40 of these for my group of boys. I pulled one out to make sure I knew what I was doing so I could teach them. I was able to figure it out on my own but when I looked at the instructions it was down right confusing. When I passed them out to the boys and their counselors and Dads more questions came up. Also the instructions tell you to cut out a measure tool one page 1. When you cut it out you cut out half of the instructions. Other than bad instructions, I think this should be a good rocket.

This is a great, easy to build rocket. It was a simple build, but the paint job was the most difficult part, as everything, everything must be painted except for the decal on the side. She only flew once, but what a flight it was!! I loaded it up with an A8-5 and launched. only after I tried to see the rocket once the motor burned out did I realize just how dark it really was outside, and I never saw it after Apogee. other than the simple fact that it flies ridiculously high this is a great kit!

I’m not too find about putting together Estes rockets but the hobby store near me just opened back up(covid-19) and the high flyer was on sale for $6. So I decided to purchase it while I’m waiting for my LOC and aerotech kits to come in the mail. The reason why I don’t like Estes is because they are sloppy and you get glue every and it sticks to everything except for what you are building.

This rocket is and excellent choice for beginners, because it is relatively easy to build as being very powerful. Pros: 1.) Runs on most common A-C engines. 2.) Easy to build. 3.) Goes very high. Cons: 1.) Wooden fins may fall of on landing (This can be repaired). 2.) Lots off small parts can go missing (Common in almost all model rocket kits).

I loved the ease of building this rocket. The fins went on without a hitch, the rest assembled very nicely. I launched it on a B6 to start and recovered it, however went for the C6 and it was out of sight. Going to try a heavier nose cone weight this time and hope to not lose it. Whoever found it in Point Harbor, NC, have a blast!

This is a great rocket kit. Great bang for your buck. It flies high as its name suggests on a C6 engine and recovery is a cinch. I can get one together using super glue in about 10 minutes and off to the launch pad shortly after. This is the kit I suggest to my students when they ask.

Nice laser-cut fins, the only thing I found wrong with the rocket is that the cutout for the launch lug clear tube is slight off, meaning that the clear tube should either be placed closer to the nose cone, or like I did, sand off some of the fin to make it line up.

This should fly high. They are small. I thought they where the same ones i used before but they aren't. We use rockets to launch our son's ashes over the house and into the woods. I will have to get larger ones but that is my fault.

This rocket worked very well for my 4-H rocket kids. It was not too difficult and turned out really nice. It also launched very well with little damage.

A good, easy to build kit at a low-cost price. It may go higher than expected, but streamer recover makes an easy landing.

Very light rocket, gets up and goes off the pad on a C. Very fun rocket. Its hard to see at 1500 feet so paint it bright.

Instead of trying to paint the silver triangles on the fins I used silver Monokote. Just cut the triangles and iron on.