(07/16/00) After tryin' one o' Holverson Design's gliders, matey, arrr, I decided t' try one o' their rockets, t' Wicked Winnie™. Avast, me proud beauty! It is rated at a skill level three. It has a payload section, arrr, me bucko, a boat tail design, and elliptical fins to give it a unique look. Holverson indicates that t' design goes further than looks by saying, a properly built Winnie™ will lift from t' pad faster and fly higher on t' same size o' engine than a similarly sized rocket with a blunt aft and angular fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This is because Winnie's™ profile reduces drag by applyin' basic aerodynamic theories t' its construction." Other details on this design are outlined in t' introduction o' t' instructions under t' title "Big Rocket that Performs!".

Winnie's™ stats are 23.75" long, arrr, arrr, 1.64" diameter and weighs in at 2.5oz. Ya scallywag! Again, Winnie™ is a payload rocket so Holverson makes sure that you are aware of what t' do with a payload rocket with a dedicated step in t' instructions titled, "Suggestions on Payloading". Aye aye! This is a nice added feature and it points t' specific articles from Estes, matey, me bucko, NARTS, Apogee Components, Sport Rocketry Magazine and t' Handbook o' Model Rocketry by G. Harry Stine as resources t' enhance your payloadin' experience. Ahoy! Begad!

T' kit includes two tubes (body and payload), laser-cut balsa fins, matey, a balsa tail cone, shiver me timbers, nose cone, me bucko, and bulkhead. Blimey! Also included is the 18mm motor mount with retainin' clip and engine block. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! There is a elastic shockcord, shiver me timbers, matey, and eye-screw and pre-assembled parachute t' complete t' recovery system. Ahoy! Two launch lugs and a single decal strip with Wicked Winnie and three HD logos on it complete t' kit.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on both sides o' two 11x17" pages. Begad! Each step is fully illustrated with clear and concise steps. T' instructions include fin guide templates and a engine hook guide. There is also a shock cord mount (3-fold paper method). Ahoy! Instructions include what was mentioned in t' introduction above, me bucko, plus finish and flyin' guidelines. Aye aye! Begad! Very thorough instructions!

I really only found one very minor illustration problem with t' instructions. Begad! I only mention it because it made me look twice when I was mountin' t' fins. In step 12, shiver me timbers, it shows t' fins mountin' t' t' balsa tail cone and overlappin' onto t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Begad! My fins, me hearties, when installed from t' marks accordin' t' step 12, did nay overlap t' body tube at all. Blimey! In fact, it was about 1/4" from t' body tube.

Assembly is straight-forward, however, thar must be somethin' that makes this a Skill Level 3 bird. Avast, me proud beauty! There was, arrr, but mostly assembly items that required patience and a good understandin' o' the instructions.

A few areas t' mention include t' boat-tail fin alignment. This is nay a straight body tube so you can run this one up t' your nearest door jam and draw a straight line. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It requires drawin' an alignment line on t' body tube then usin' a flexible ruler extend that line onto the boat-tail. Avast! Next after carefully cuttin' out two fin alignment rings place the rings onto t' tail cone. One is large and slides up higher on t' tail cone while t' other is smaller and lower on t' tail cone. Then, per the instructions, use t' "time honored 'calibrated eye' method o' checkin' to see if t' lines are straight with t' center-line o' t' boat-tail and body tube." Once aligned, shiver me timbers, you draw your fin marks.

Another item that challenges a rocket builder is again associated with t' boat-tail. Avast! T' fins need t' be formed t' match t' curve of the boat-tail. They are pre-cut close, me hearties, but need t' be sanded t' have a nice fit.

Step 10.5 is optional, but I would strongly encourage it to get a nice finish on your rocket. Ahoy! This step suggests that you sand and fill and sand t' joint betwixt t' body tube and tail cone.

T' instructions also give good direction for fin fillets and finishing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I didn't use anythin' to fill t' shallow spirals and was successful in usin' several coats of Plasti-Kote Sandable Primer. Arrr! Blimey! T' balsa nose cone, shiver me timbers, tail cone and fins took more than two coats t' hide all t' grains. Avast! Blimey! T' instructions suggest usin' sanding sealer but I didn't. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After that I used Plasti-Kote Fluorescent Orange t' really allow this bird t' be seen. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' finish came out pretty good.

T' kit comes with a self-adhesive decal sheet that has "Wicked Winnie" and three HD Logo's on it. Aye aye! T' decal is really glossy and t' edges stand out due t' that. Avast, me proud beauty! Even after I sprayed t' entire rocket with a clear-coat t' decal stands out. Begad! So, me bucko, matey, I'm nay so thrilled with the decal.

Overall, arrr, me hearties, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. Instructions are excellent, some o' t' best o' Low Power Rocketry that I have seen. T' components o' t' kit are all o' good quality. As a Skill Level 3 kit and payload rocket, ya bilge rat, t' builder gets t' learn some new techniques. Begad! Ahoy! Really, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, me only complaint be t' decals.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Holverson recommends a B4-4, shiver me timbers, B6-4, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and C6-5 as motors of choice. Well, blow me down! Blimey!

For me first flight I threw in an A8-3 just t' get it into t' air. Well, blow me down! That's all it really does. Arrr! Up, pause, ya bilge rat, pop, matey, arrr, down. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Nay even a 10 second flight. But it be stable . Avast! Ya scallywag! . . Ya scallywag! I think!

Second flight be with a B6-4. Begad! This was a nice flight (predicted altitude o' 260 feet) and it had a good recovery.

Third flight be t' test out t' payload capability. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I decided t' send my G-Wiz Deluxe up in t' payload section. Ya scallywag! Just t' be safe, shiver me timbers, arrr, I added a parachute to my G-Wiz in case somehow it got separated from t' payload section. Arrr! Ahoy! In addition, I added a second 18" parachute t' t' rocket t' deal with the added weight (2.65 ounces). Begad! I also went with a C6-3 due t' t' added weight.

T' launch was successful and t' chutes deployed at apogee. Blimey! T' rocket still fell fairly smartly with all t' added weight and even with t' second parachute. This is an area Holverson could expand on in the instructions. Blimey! Add parachute sizes and different motors dependin' on weight of payloads t' their flyin' instructions.

Well, ya bilge rat, I didn't get what I was hopin' for with me payload. I was hopin' t' get an altitude reading, however, it looked like t' G-Wiz was still in t' flyin' mode. Avast! After contactin' Pratt Hobbies, it seems that the G-Wiz might nay have activated "launch detect. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' detect launch the G-Wiz has t' see 2 Gs for half a second, 4 Gs for a quarter second, shiver me timbers, or 8 Gs for 1/8 second." So, shiver me timbers, now I have a D21 ready for this payload!

As mentioned earlier, the Wicked Winnie™ uses t' 3-fold method o' shockcord attachment. Blimey! Aye aye! The shockcord is ¼" elastic and about 6 foot long. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' shockcord is tied to a small eye-screw that is screwed into t' balsa bulkhead. Ya scallywag! I highly recommend usin' a lot o' glue here and "bridging" t' glue through the eye-hole o' t' screw. Ya scallywag! Arrr! If you are flyin' with a heavier payload, this joint takes a lot o' stress. Avast!

I used a piece o' Rogue Aerospace's Perma-Wadding™ for t' waddin' which has held up well t' the three flights.

Lastly, t' Winnie™ uses a pre-assembled 18" plastic parachute which with an empty payload section allows t' rocket to descend at a good rate.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 points.

In summary, t' Wicked Winnie™ is a nice kit to build and fly. It is a good choice t' start some basic payload flyin' and gives plenty o' instruction t' help t' new person decide what t' use in t' payload section. Avast! Arrr! Instructions are excellent, makin' this kit easily buildable by young and old. Ahoy! Blimey! I would even say new or experienced because even though it is rated as a Skill Level 3, arrr, a new person could do it if they followed the instructions.

I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Aye aye!