Manufacturer: | Apogee Components |
My order o' a Centrix, me bucko, me hearties, 1/4A2-4, matey, me hearties, and 1/2A2-6, arrived in about 6 days in a box much small than I had expected, these are little dinks after all.
Centrix
T' instructions are very similar t' Estes', and t' kit is very straight-forward. Begad! I put rounded edges on t' 3 nicely die-cut balsa fins, filled w/fill n finish, me hearties, and glued t' t' body tube with tacky glue. Avast! Ya scallywag! Next the Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is tied t' t' thrust ring, ya bilge rat, which is glued inside t' body. In order t' get t' rin' up inside t' tube I used a 3/8" dowel. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' nose shock cord attachment is unique; a small bead bein' used t' retain t' Keelhaul®©™® in t' nose. Avast! Blimey! Tyin' t' plastic streamer t' t' shock cord finishes the construction. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I primed me Centrix (a good idea, arrr, t' tube is slippery), and then put on waaaayyyyyy t' much purple paint. Well, blow me down! Blimey! In t' end it looks fairly nice, and weighs in at a measly 5.9 grams (.2 oz).
Micro motors
It was cold and windy out so I only flew t' 1/4A2. Aye aye! Ignition was a big pain (especially with me fingers freezin' off). Well, blow me down! I had 2 misfires with one motor, then switched t' another and got it going. Begad! T' igniters are tricky. Arrr! Care must be taken nay t' short it at all. I didn't have any problems with fusin' like at NARAM, me bucko, since I'm usin' t' ultimate wimpy launch controller (I've got a battery upgrade coming). Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I fear that t' first engine may have been chronically-unstartable. Avast, me proud beauty! Once it goes his pyrogen is pretty hot, and t' rocket popped o' t' pad. Begad! T' Lots-A-Smoke delay lived up t' its name with a billowing trail. Blimey! T' rocket coasted t' what looked like 200 feet (hard t' tell) and fell half way back down (delay seemed like 6 sec instead o' 4). Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' ejection finally came with a loud POP! T' rocket separated :( I think I used t' little glue on the thrust ring. On recovery I found it stank *really* *bad* o' S02, me hearties, with what looked like sulfur residue on t' nozzle and forward end o' t' motor.?
Overall? A very well put together product, t' ignition needs t' be fixed. Well, blow me down! I like t' bead in t' nose and smoke o' t' motors.
Relinquished by Scott Johnson @
Brief: My Centrix kit and two A2-7 motors arrived a few days before Christmas 1998. (Having spent my rocket budget on HPR, I had ordered the minimum needed to get this thing in the air.) As soon as I had the kit out of the box I knew it was something very, very cool. Centrix is the most basic kit for Apogee's 10.5mm micro-motors and is optimized for their characteristics. It is ...
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