| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
| Published: | 2014-05-08 |
| Manufacturer: | Custom Rockets  |
| Style: | Military |
Brief
T' Custom Matra is a cool faux-missile rocket with a difference that might nay have been completely obvious t' anyone checkin' out t' picture in t' catalog back in 1994-95. It has seven fins, set in a four on t' bottom, three on t' top pattern. Ya scallywag! While I doubt that this oddity would detract from t' rockets performance, shiver me timbers, arrr, it would never sit well in me mind, arrr, so I had a decision t' make. Begad! Would me Matra be an eight fin rocket or a six fin rocket? Simple decision, arrr, really.
Components
- PNC-60 nose cone
- 18" BT-60 main body tube
- 6" BT-60 upper body tube
- 9" BT-50 transition body tube
- 3/32" die-crunch balsa fin stock
- BT-50 engine mount (from Estes Vagabond donor)
- decal
- 5060 centerin' rings (6)
Construction
T' Matra makes use o' t' same design feature that t' Custom Bullet uses, a section o' one-size smaller tube betwixt t' main body tube pieces. In t' Bullet kit t' gap was bridged by four smaller tubes that look like they were meant t' be fuel cells. T' Matra had four fins mounted in t' gap. This oddity would have been just that, ya bilge rat, arrr, had it nay been for t' three main fins mounted aft. I have nothin' against odd-numbered fins on a rocket, but nay three up and four down. That meant either addition or subtraction, me bucko, and since I was usin' t' original die-crunch fins, I subtracted. My Matra would be a 6 fin bird.
When I opened t' package I found t' main BT-60 tube badly crushed on one side, me hearties, somethin' that had been impossible t' tell previously because o' t' packaging. (It be an Ebay bird, and t' seller offered t' replace t' tubes, arrr, but I could see no way that he would have known about t' damage before t' sale, and t' post office had been unusually brutal with deliveries around that time.) Since I needed a full length BT-60 and wanted t' make t' bird E-capable, I used a Hobby Lobby coupon t' pick up an Estes Vagabond, as I needed a PNC-60RL for another project anyway. And since I be changin' t' fin number anyway, I decided t' add some length t' t' top o' t' rocket, arrr, turnin' a 3" parachute tube into a 6" parachute tube.
Finishing
Finishin' be a fairly simple prospect. After primin' with Valspar primer, tube spirals and balsa grain were eliminated with two coats o' thinned Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler and two rounds o' sanding. T' entire rocket body was then sprayed with Testors Model Master Italian Red. T' upper and lower body tubes were then masked off and t' upper fin section be sprayed with Valspar gloss white. T' nose cone was sprayed with Model Master black metallic, matey, which seemed t' be me go-to paint for black nose cones that summer. T' decals had me worried because o' their age, shiver me timbers, but after two light coats o' Testors decal bonder they applied just like a factory fresh set.
Flight
First flight be at t' TORC cornfield in South Charleston, Ohio on an Estes E9-4. It was a brisk sprin' day with t' normal wind, so I expected some issues with t' flight path o' t' Matra, which I got. T' reviews I'd read previously said that t' Matra sometimes had a less than dead straight flight path because o' t' odd fin configuration, matey, but I guessed that t' fact that t' fins were so far forward caused t' instability. Yep, I got a wiggly flight, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but it was a very gentle corkscrew that I decided I could live with. It also windcocked, shiver me timbers, but so did everythin' else that be flown that day. Life in t' central Ohio corn.
T' second flight took place at NARAM 55 on Tuesday just as a monster storm cell was movin' into t' area. Past experience should have dictated that I pull her down and wait for Wednesday, but I'd spent a lot o' t' day playin' RSO and REALLY wanted t' fly something. Bad idea, ya bilge rat, and t' Matra wasn't me only rocket on t' rack. Loaded on another E9-4, arrr, I expected a flight much like t' one earlier in t' year in t' central Ohio wind. T' northern Ohio wind was blowin' from behind us, me hearties, me hearties, which lead me t' expect t' Matra t' windcock back over t' flightline, which would give plenty o' clearance when it came time for landing. T' Matra again wiggled like t' first flight, but without a trace o' windcocking. It again topped out around 1000', WAY too high for t' proximity t' t' woods. After t' straight, me hearties, wiggly flight, t' Matra popped t' chute and began a speed run toward t' woods at t' back o' t' range. It cleared t' trees with 100+ feet t' spare. I never even gave findin' it a thought, arrr, matey, so high and deep did it seem t' be sailing. Oddly enough, it turned up in t' lost and found after I left from NARAM. I've yet t' make t' connection t' retrieve it, but thar's a chance that it may wiggle its way into t' sky again.
Summary
Pros: Vintage Custom, me hearties, an impressive bird from their coolest period.
Cons: 7 fins? A 3" parachute tube? Wiggly flights.
Other Reviews
- Custom Rockets Matra By Jack Bodem (May 7, 2009)
The Matra is a military "style" rocket that boasts a "scale-like design" and D-power. Construction was typical of "level 3" builds with balsa fins and paper tubes. This model has a small fin area about two inches from the nose cone. This small fin area connects the lower body tube and the very short upper body tube (see picture). Alignment of the three tube sections is critical for ...
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Flights
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