Estes Alpha III Launch Set, 12 years and up with Adult Supervision if under 12, Black,Orange

I did casual/fun rocketry with my kids when they were young, and am now starting up with the grand kids (girl 7, boy 4). On a Saturday we painted and assembled the rockets, and flew them at a big park on Sunday. It was great fun, and also some learning for the kids. We called it a day when we ran out of motors! Lol!The Estes rockets are made fairly well and can fly true. I still have a few of my old ones from the 90s, and I can see, as expected, a few changes (i.e., cheapening) of the design and/or quality of materials that could impact performance or durability. We didn't have any missing or broken parts, but had to pay special attention to alignment during assembly in order to ensure straight flight. The controller was obviously of lesser quality than my old one, but it did work.This kind of rocketry is a great hobby, but it can be a dangerous one. Rocket motors burn fast and hot! Adult supervision is required, along with serious attention to safety. Kids must learn to keep their distance when launching (and preparing for launch), as must the small crowd that’ll gather around when you do this at a big park.

Received Alpha III set today. Looks good, except missing nose cone. Contacted Estes Customer Service just now; hoping for resolution so I can fly the Alpha and add stars to this review.EDIT: Estes contacted me day after I notified them of issue. Turns out the missing nose cone was not missing at all -- it was simply inserted inverted into the rocket body to protect it during shipping. That was my fault for not noticing. Estes was courteous and prompt. I have not actually tested the rocket yet, so the 5-star rating is based mostly on customer service.

Easy to assemble. The last time I built and launched an Estes rocket was in 1980. I decided to buy this one and launch it for old times sake. The Alpha 3 was the first of many model rockets I built as a kid. The first launch was with an A8-3 engine. The chute only partially deployed but it landed pretty close to the launch point. I had angled the launch pad to send the rocket upwind a bit as there was a pretty steady wind. Then I went right to the C6-5 engine. I had forgotten how the C engines really send a small rocket up high. I lost sight of it as it went up. Waited and waited and never saw it come down. It turns out the chute never deployed at all and it landed upwind, the nose embedded in the snow. When I assembled it I lost one of the rings that is involved in holding the engine mount in the fuselage. So on the second launch the parachute deployment charge, rather that blow off the nose cone, blew out the engine mount. My bad! But it was fun and I love the sound.

Bought this for the grandkids. The rocket assembly needs adult supervision for younger ones, but can be assembled by older kids who will follow the directions. I like the orange color, makes them easier to find in the sage brush when they finally land. Only problem was I ordered the kit WITH the launch pad. Received the rocket only. After 3 times of trying to get the launch pad and receiving another rocket I finally just bought the launch pad separately.

Fantastic product!! I have a 7 and 5 year old girls who absolutely loved it. Putting it together was relatively simple. I supervised the construction and it took them about two hours to put it together over a couple of days. The 7 year old did the bulk of the work and the only reason we spread the work over a two-day period is because we had to wait for the paint to dry (cheap spray paint for our first project). I did a little research beforehand and purchased the engines and wadding at the same time we purchased the kit, so we had everything available when it was time to launch. For about $50 bucks total we had a great time. The Estes website offers lesson plans free of charge which enabled me to confidently discuss some basic concepts with the girls. They really enjoyed it! Moreover, we set up assigned launch positions, rotated them around, and they loved the entire launch production. We used two different engines and both worked great. Two A8-3 engines to start out, then we switched to a B6-2. They loved both. Naturally the B6-2 was a bit more exciting due to the extra altitude achieved. As a dad who is gently nudging his girls towards STEM related subjects, this was great. We spend quality time building it, and had a “blast” launching it!

I bought the kit and the engines and the wadding suggested for my 63rd birthday to impress the grandchildren. The engine suggested is the lowest in height of flight which is fine with me but it comes from a different provider and hopefully will arrive soon. Multiple launches are more important to me than the rocket going so high I never see it again. It looks like the same kit I put together when I was 15 and just like then I didn't wait for the glue to dry. But assembly was very simple and included the launch pad. The ad showed a red model and the actual is light orange.

The rocket, launch pad, and materials gives one a good introduction to rocketry. All that's needed to build and fly model rocket. I built these long ago as a kid; now doing it with grand child. Cool. I like the way the launch pad can be tilted into the wind a few degrees to compensate for wind-blown parachute travel (nearby trees!)Disappointed in launch control. After maybe a dozen launches over 3 sessions, and stored for a year (batteries removed) the launch controller ceased to function. Tested with an Ohm meter. Problem is in the inaccessible circuitry of the launch controller. All other connections were fine. Seems I saw others with similar complaint. Lousy controller.Also - the launch rod was in 3 pieces which was a little tricky to get together and still a bit rough at junctions. I replaced it with single piece rod of same size from hardware store. I prefer the one piece, but can see the portability needs for some folk.