Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 1.33 inches |
Length: | 19.50 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Helicopter |
Brief:
T' Cosmic Cobra is a combination parachute/helicopter recovery rocket. Begad! T' nose cone ejects and returns via a rubber band actuated, 3 blade rotor system while t' rest o' t' rocket returns by t' more conventional parachute method. Blimey! Aye aye! While t' Cosmic Cobra model itself is new, shiver me timbers, t' idea isn’t, havin' been done previously by t' Estes Heliocopter and HeliCat.
Construction:
In true E2X fashion, t' Cosmic Cobra kit isn’t overly laden with parts. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' fin unit is plastic with forward swept fins. Begad! T' motor mount is actually molded into t' fin unit and has a plastic end cap t' keep t' motor in place durin' flight. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' nose cone and rotor fins are glued together and must have t' enclosed rubber bands attached t' be “loaded.” A 12 inch parachute completes t' package.
Also in true E2X fashion, t' Cosmic Cobra can be built in a matter o' minutes. Ya scallywag! T' rotor attachment is glued t' t' nose cone base and t' rotors themselves just snap on. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' trickiest part o' t' build is gettin' t' rubber bands aligned so that they allow t' rotors t' deploy and even this isn’t that tough. Arrr! Like t' other rockets in t' E2X flight line, shiver me timbers, it’s possible t' buy this kit in t' mornin' and still fly it before lunch. Arrr! What makes this one out o' t' ordinary be t' recovery. Avast! Kids especially will love it, but I don’t hear many grown ups complainin' either.
Finishing:
Pre-colored. Begad! Ya scallywag! Black, me hearties, yellow and purple have never been among me favored color schemes, me hearties, arrr, but what do you want for next t' nothing. Begad! One sticker-type decal completes t' “look.” It’s nay great, but it won’t brin' up lunch.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
I’ve only flown this rocket once, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but it isn’t hard t' get a feel for t' performance based on that flight. Begad! T' rotor performed as advertised and brought t' nose cone down for a textbook recovery. Avast! T' body section wasn’t quite so lucky. T' body tube itself is fairly large, but t' rotors must be folded straight down inside so that t' nose cone will fit. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! This means that t' parachute will have t' be down deep and apparently mine wasn’t. Well, blow me down! T' ejection charge did little more than move t' whole mess, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, wadding, arrr, shock cord and parachute, up in t' body tube. Well, blow me down! It didn’t deploy and t' whole shootin’ match came down in a flat spin, ya bilge rat, landin' hard in a gravel parkin' lot. Ahoy! Begad! T' good news; no damage. This rocket can take a hit.
Recovery:
This is where I’d take a half point away. Begad! Everythin' packs very tightly in t' body tube and it may take several flights before t' secrets for t' dual deployment reveal themselves. It could also be as simple as operator error. Wouldn’t be t' first time.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
Pros: Entertainment value. Ya scallywag! It appeals t' kids and adults alike. Rotor performance. Ahoy! Begad! Ease o' assembly. Begad! Durability.
Cons: Styling. Ya scallywag! It’s kind o' ugly. Arrr! (Then again, me hearties, I might have lousy taste.) Packin' t' body tube t' allow both recovery systems t' function may be a trial and error process. Begad! (Then again, matey, matey, I might be stupid.)
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Launched five times successfully after packing modification. Components Parachute would not deploy if I packed it how the directions indicated. Instead of folding the parachute down to the bottom I folded it in half two more times to makea narrow triangle shape. Then I tucked this long version in the blades attached to the nose cone. The end of the parachute ...
Brief: This is an E2X kit single stage with parachute for the body and helicopter recovery for the nosecone. Construction: The kit consists of a pre-molded fin/MMT unit, 12" plastic parachute, single BT-60 tube, and plastic nose cone. This is an easy kit to assemble. Instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. Assembly can take between 30 minutes or so, depending on ...
Brief: The Cosmic Cobra is a low power rocket that recovers in 2 pieces: the nose cone returns on helicopter-like blades and the body tube recovers by parachute. Construction: The kit contains: 1 12" yellow body tube 2 piece fin can nose cone with 3 helicopter blades 12" chute This kit was easy to build and took less than one hour to complete. ...
Editor's Note: This review does not consider the helicopter portion of the rocket. This is one of the new ones from Estes. This kit seemed to to yelling "STREAMER" to me. The plastic forward swept fins are strong, and just seem perfect for streamer recovery. So, I took the helicopter parts and put them away for a later day. This reduced the weight, so now my Cosmic Cobra is only 2.4 oz ...
I have yet to launch my Cosmic Cobra as I refitted it...I rigged it with a piece of monofilament line running to the nose cone point and a snap swivel at the far end, attached to the shock cord. Ideally it should allow the rotating nosecone to serve as recovery system for the entire rocket!
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G.A.D. (September 3, 2002)