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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

This was easy to put together and worked great. My daughters (8 and 9) helped build it and love firing it off. We had everything put together in about 45 minutes, but probably would have taken less time with less kid help. I have ordered more engines and another rocket just in case we loose this one. This is highly recommended for a starter rocket.

Easy to assemble and lots of fun. Flies great and makes for an inexpensive hobby. Grand daughter thought it was fun and cool as well. Get some motors and wadding too...you will need them. Get some of the small motors. Oh...and cut a 3" hole in the parachute or it will take and drift forever with the big motors...this one goes up and out of site till the chute deploys.

My husband and son put this together it shot up high nicely but unfortunately they only got to use it once because the wind caught it and took the rocket through the neighborhood. We drove around but couldn't find it and this kit doesn't come with replacements nor the things to shoot them into the sky actually. We had to go to hobby lobby to buy the projectiles for it.