Construction Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Binder Design |
Brief:
T' Bat is a very stable flyin' model and is designed for 29mm motors. Avast! A great small field performer! Blimey! T' Bat be designed for t' beginner or sport flyer in High Power Rocketry.
Construction:
T' followin' be included in t' kit, shiver me timbers, which came packed in a plastic bag with all t' parts in their own plastic bags.
T' instruction were easy t' follow and included pictures. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! They also included tips on how t' make things go a bit easier durin' construction. Begad! T' instructions included 20 steps, me bucko, they went from checkin' t' make sure everythin' was in t' kit t' step 20 tellin' you how t' pack t' parachute.
You do have t' drill a 1/4" hole in one centerin' rin' t' attach t' eye bolt through. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! You start by assemblin' t' motor tube and centerin' rings. Ahoy! Now here I didn’t follow t' instructions. Aye aye! Aye aye! Instead o' gluin' both centerin' rings on I just glued t' top centerin' rin' into place.
T' next step be cuttin' t' fin slots in t' body tube, here t' instructions where wrong; they have you cut only a 6" slot t' match t' fin root when t' fin root measured 8 1/4" long. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Other than that it was easy t' cut t' slots with a sharp hobby knife and t' fact that t' lines were marked on t' body tube helps.
After I had t' slots cut, ya bilge rat, then it be time t' insert t' motor mount into t' rocket but before I did this I scrapped t' Nylon shock cord strap and instead used a 1/8" steel cable like t' NCR kits used. Begad! Well, blow me down! After attachin' t' cable I inserted t' motor tube so t' top centerin' rin' be flush with t' top o' t' fin slots. Aye aye! I then slid on t' back centerin' ring, me hearties, turned t' rocket over, arrr, me hearties, and glued t' top centerin' rin' in. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! After t' glue be set I removed t' aft centerin' rin' so I would be able t' add internal fillets t' t' fins.
Now it was time t' put t' fins on. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I didn’t use t' included fin jig which is just a piece o' paper with t' fin layout printed on it, but instead I used a homemade fin jig from a pattern I found on t' Rocket Team Vatsaas site (http://www.vatsaas.org/rtv/construction/finjig.aspx).
Now with t' jig in place I glued t' fins into place. After they set up I then glued t' aft centerin' rin' into place.
T' final step be t' glue on t' launch lug.
Finishing:
I gave t' rocket 3 coats o' Krylon Primer then painted it with Krylon bronze Hamm-R paint.
Now t' kit came with a Silver Bat decal and also 6 silver decals t' put on t' fins, but t' only decal I used was t' BAT name. Well, blow me down! I made some o' me own decals with pictures o' bats and applied those t' t' rocket.
Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5
Flight:
Now preppin' for flight was made easier because I installed a Keelhaul®©™® ’chute protector so thar was no need for wadding.
T' first flight was with a G80-7T in light winds, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, it was a nice straight flight with good recovery.
T' second flight was usin' a G75-6, matey, it took off t' pad but then I had a problem; t' delay burnt up through t' top and t' rocket be in flames. Avast! Inside o' rocket was toast and t' shock cord burnt. Blimey! I’ll have t' replace t' shock cord, ya bilge rat, me bucko, do a bit o' clean up, me hearties, and it will be ready t' fly again.
Recovery:
I used a 1/8" steel cable from t' top centerin' rin' t' t' top o' t' body tube. Then attached t' 12' tubular nylon shock cord t' that. Arrr! I also installed a Keelhaul®©™® ’chute protector so no waddin' would be needed.
T' one good flight it had everythin' worked great!
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
Over all I think it is a good kit with decent instructions however they should change t' instructions t' get t' correct measurements on everything.
Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5
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