To build this kit, you will need t' make sure you have a high temperature hot glue cannon available.
T' build starts out with constructin' t' motor mount. Blimey! No surprises here, me hearties, matey, just follow t' well illustrated instructions and you will have no difficulty with this part o' t' build. T' elastic shock cord is attached t' t' upper centerin' rin' and has a loop on one end t' attach t' t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' other end o' t' elastic is tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord in a later step.
Next, me hearties, you shorten t' 17.50" BT-70 tube by 2.25". Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Personally, I do nay like cuttin' body tubes but this turned out fine. Begad! T' instructions have you mark t' tube, matey, wrap a piece o' paper around t' tube at t' mark t' act as a straight edge so you can draw t' line around t' tube. Well, blow me down! I decided t' use card stock so I could let me cutlass follow t' edge o' t' paper as a guide. Begad! Tip: I inserted t' 1" nose block t' act as a mandrel for me cut. Arrr! This worked great for me and gave me a nice, smooth edge. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' leftover piece is t' be discarded accordin' t' t' directions but I saved mine for a rainy day.
T' 1" nose block is glued into one end o' t' modified BT-70 along with a piece o' Keelhaul®©™ attached t' t' block which be t' second part o' t' recovery system. Ya scallywag! T' other end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ attaches t' t' elastic cord from t' previous step. Blimey! Begad! Once this is done, you attach t' parachute and slide t' motor mount up into t' BT-70. It will nay be glued since t' entire mount is ejected durin' recovery.
Now for t' coffee cups! Blimey! Three cups are modified by cuttin' out their bottoms. Arrr! Blimey! There is a ridge around t' bottom o' t' cups. Begad! Blimey! If you cut by followin' this ridge, me hearties, t' BT-70 tube will have no problem fittin' in t' holes you make. Ahoy! Blimey! I lightly sanded me cuts with some 150 grit sandpaper t' remove t' rough spots but I be very gentle because Styrofoam sands down very easily. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' first two cut cups are then hot glued t' each other at their tops. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Instructions say t' use High Temperature hot glue. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It took some gettin' used t' and I had some excess squeeze out on me first attempts--do nay use your finger t' wipe up t' excess! Blimey! I used some scrap balsa t' shipshape up t' edges, me bucko, matey, which worked quite well.
T' first two cups are slid onto t' BT-70, matey, 1/2" from t' bottom. Begad! A fillet o' hot glue is used t' tack t' cups in place. At this point, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, it is time t' make a decision. Ahoy! Begad! You have t' option o' either makin' your fins surface mount (easier) or through t' wall (stronger). Begad! I chose TTW for strength. Blimey! I attached t' shroud/fin markin' guide, ya bilge rat, made me marks, me bucko, then used a ruler t' extend t' marks from t' top edge o' t' first cup t' t' bottom o' t' cup. Aye aye! You essentially are cuttin' out a narrow strip o' t' cup from t' top t' t' bottom. Avast! Begad! I had a little trouble cuttin' through t' hot glue fillet at t' base o' t' cup but a sharp X-Acto cutlass and some patience did t' trick. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut all three slots and then proceeded t' t' fins.
T' fins are made from foamboard. Avast, me proud beauty! You must follow t' fin layout pattern exactly or you will nay have enough foamboard t' make all three fins. Blimey! All lines on t' fins are straight, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so I used a straight edge and several passes with me X-Acto knife t' make t' cuts. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I lightly sanded t' edges o' t' fins with a sandin' block t' remove any burrs. Once completed, shiver me timbers, I used hot glue along t' root edge o' each fins and pressed them into place, shiver me timbers, makin' sure t' fin is straight while t' glue sets up. Blimey! Begad! T' hot glue sets up very quickly, so I only had t' hold t' fins for 30 seconds. After all t' fins were in place, ya bilge rat, I added hot glue fillets. Begad! Take your time with this and keep in mind t' tip o' t' glue cannon is hot enough t' melt Styrofoam!
My fins were about 1/4" too long. If you look at t' pictures provided in t' instructions, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' bottoms o' t' fins should be even with t' bottom o' t' BT-70 and t' top o' t' fin should only go as high as t' top rim o' t' first cup. I knew that t' fins were too tall, matey, matey, so I left them hang over t' bottom o' t' tube. It looks just fine. Blimey! Then you hot glue t' rest o' t' cups together, makin' sure t' third cup with t' hole cut in it is at t' bottom o' t' assembly.
I would change step 23 slightly. Avast, me proud beauty! It says t' run a liberal bead o' hot glue along t' top o' t' uppermost cup and then smartly slide t' rest o' t' cups onto t' tube. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Two problems. Avast! One, ya bilge rat, a liberal amount o' hot glue oozes all over t' place once you assemble t' cups, me hearties, so I had a bit o' a mess t' clean up. A thinner coat would have worked just as well. Ya scallywag! Second, I had t' assembly slid well down t' tube before I applied t' glue, that way I just had t' close t' gap once t' glue was applied. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' body tube is a tight fit on t' cups, matey, so I did nay want t' mess with tryin' t' get t' upper assembly slid down while me glue was smartly coolin' off.
Last step is t' attach t' launch lug t' t' cups with hot glue and you are finished! This kit took me all o' one hour t' build and 4 glue sticks.
Finishing:
No finishin' is required for this kit. Avast, me proud beauty! However, FlisKits does offer a variety o' shroud patterns that you can download and print on label paper t' jazz up t' cups a bit. Blimey! I will leave mine bare for now but I do like t' option o' dressin' it up later down t' road.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
Preparation is quite simple and you do nay even need any type o' baffle or recovery wadding. Simply wrap t' shock cords around t' upper part o' t' motor tube above t' top centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, fold t' parachute (it does nay need t' be rolled up), me bucko, lay t' parachute against t' motor tube betwixt t' upper and lower centerin' rings and slide t' whole assembly into t' BT-70. Blimey! Begad! That's it for prep!
My first and only flight was with a C11-3. Ya scallywag! It be a bit windy. Although t' liftoff be perfect, t' wind caught t' rocket and it took a bilge-suckin' arc. Ahoy! Good thin' thar be only a three second delay because she only got t' maybe 200 feet before it nosed over. Begad! Blimey! T' motor tube assembly/parachute ejected just before it hit t' ground. Fortunately, me bucko, me hearties, this is a light weight rocket, arrr, and it had a nice soft landin' in t' grass with no damage. Ahoy! I will be flyin' it again soon on a calmer day.
Recovery:
I believe t' recovery system is perfect t' way it is. Avast! I like t' fact you do nay need waddin' so prep is very easy. Avast, me proud beauty! I just do nay recommend flyin' on windy days.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
This is an inexpensive, easy t' build rocket with superb instructions that I am sure will be t' talk o' any launch even though you will be usin' materials foreign t' most experienced rocket builders. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Coffee cups? On a rocket? Next thin' you know, they will start havin' rockets with pin' pong balls for decoration!
You will have no troubles buildin' this kit. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! T' instructions even include a variety o' configurations, me hearties, one that uses 116 coffee cups! Blimey! My hot glue cannon is ready for some more coffee cup action!
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
