Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Art Applewhite Rockets |
Style: | Saucer |
Brief:
It looks like FlisKits has some catchin' up t' do because Art Applewhite has
gone right past two (Deuce), three (Tres), arrr, and 'four' (Quad? Quatro?) and
jumped straight t' 'Cinco' (Spanish for 'five')! I might come as t' bearer of
slightly bad news by tellin' you that cinco/five has t' do with how many sides,
not how many motors are in this rocket... Begad! I can assure you though that this is
another awesome draggy design that is a perfect blend o' Art's saucers and
Qubits, arrr, as it definitely combines elements o' both t' form a new, creative
design.
And did I mention that it's FREE?
Construction:
You can download t' Cinco from
Art's Free Stuff page.
(NOTE: There are 8.5"x11" letter and A4 versions available.) The
kit--all parts and instructions--print out on one sheet o' 110# card stock. The
instructions are pleasantly simple, me bucko, but that is aided by t' fact that there
are only 2 parts that make up t' entire build! T' only tools needed are
scissors, me hearties, shiver me timbers, an X-Acto (or razor utility) knife with fresh new blade, and white
glue. A ballpoint pen or a straightedge is helpful t' achieve clean, ya bilge rat, me bucko, crisp fold
lines too.
T' first piece t' be assembled be t' motor mount. Begad! Ya scallywag! It is even 5-sided! A series o' tabs join together t' form t' tube with motor block.
T' remainder is a single piece o' paper that joins together and is reinforced like t' free download version o' t' Qubit. Avast, me proud beauty! A noticeable improvement is that t' exposed parts are much smaller and therefore less susceptible t' warpin' (like on its Qubit brethren) when white glue is applied.
T' last step is t' insert t' motor mount tube into t' Cinco body and fillet it with glue. I made a minor mistake o' usin' yellow wood glue instead of white glue, me bucko, which didn't look so great after it dried on t' pale blue paper...
This build is more advanced than t' free 13mm Qubit because o' the increased number o' folds, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, which might make it too challengin' for our young rocketeers, but it still is a quick (less than 1 hour) and fun build for those with previous rocket buildin' experience. Begad! T' overall shape and design when assembled is truly a hybrid o' Art's Qubit and Delta Saucer kits, shiver me timbers, combinin' the angular, flat sides o' t' Qubit with a round saucer-like appearance. Blimey! Blimey! I expect flight performance t' be right in t' middle o' t' Qubit and Delta Saucer too.
Finishing:
Like all o' Art's free download rockets, ya bilge rat, they do nay require any painting. Ahoy! Avast! I
chose t' leave mine blank. Well, me hearties, blow me down! If children would like t' color them, I would
recommend that they do so before gluin' t' Cinco together t' avoid potentially
crushin' t' rocket.
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
Any 13mm motor will work with t' Cinco as t' top is open t' allow the
ejection charge t' blow freely. Avast! However, t' get t' longest enjoyment out of
this design, arrr, I strongly recommend stickin' t' t' Estes Blurzz A10-PT plugged
motors, which will prevent t' top o' t' Cinco from becomin' scorched and
discolored. Ya scallywag! Nowadays, arrr, they are also t' easiest 13mm motors t' find for most
folks too.
With a 4-pack o' A10-PT motors, me bucko, I wanted t' do a flight comparison between the Cinco, 13mm Qubit, me bucko, me bucko, and 4" Delta Saucer. Ahoy! I chose t' do this in my backyard with a stock Estes Electron Beam launcher so a drag race was out of the question and I'd have t' rely on me memory t' judge how high each rocket went. Avast! Based on t' appearance o' t' rockets, shiver me timbers, I expect t' 13mm Qubit t' be the highest flight (and quickest recovery) because o' its smaller profile and more angular sides. T' Delta Saucer has t' largest diameter (4") with the flattest profile o' t' three. Begad! Blimey! Lastly, t' Cinco is truly a middle ground between t' other two--it has t' angled sides like t' Qubit (although nay as pronounced) and is smaller in diameter than t' Delta Saucer. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! My prediction is that t' Cinco will have altitudes very much in t' middle o' t' Qubit and Delta Saucer designs.
First up was t' Qubit. Begad! Blimey! It leapt off t' pad and climbed straight up (even in 5-10mph gusts) t' a good 100' before turnin' over and rapidly driftin' back to within 20' o' t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' first Cinco flight went next. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I was impressed with its altitude. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It also didn't appear t' be significantly affected by the wind when under thrust, arrr, arrr, but t' me eye it ascended a hair slower than t' Qubit. I feel confident that it came within 10% o' t' Qubit's max altitude before flippin' over at apogee, then t' wind caught it and bounced it off t' roof of the house before landin' on t' ground 30' away. T' weather suddenly turned ugly so I had t' postpone any more flights that day.
I returned a couple o' days later with me 4" Delta Saucer and Cinco. Weather was similar t' t' previous flight day so I feel that I could favorably compare them again. Startin' with t' Cinco, it boosted smartly off t' pad, however, me hearties, a gust o' wind caught it at apogee, me bucko, causin' it t' flutter away and land in t' middle o' a nearby retention pond where I was unable t' retrieve it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I moved t' launch pad and adjusted t' launch rod t' compensate for the wind before loadin' up me Delta Saucer (which has more than twice as many flights on it than any other rocket in me fleet!) It boosted noticeably more slowly and lower than t' Cinco. T' Delta Saucer recovered less than 10 yards away from t' pad.
Recovery:
As with all o' Art's rockets, me bucko, arrr, t' Cinco uses truly foolproof
aerobraking/tumble/featherweight recovery. Avast! Nothin' t' prep and with t' draggy
design, me bucko, you can easily launch this rocket in t' convenience o' your front yard
and all but guarantee that it'll safely land in t' grass. Aye aye! (Well, matey, usually
anyway...) Low altitude and close recovery! What more could you ask for?!?
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
This is one o' Art's most creative designs yet. Avast, me proud beauty! There are larger versions in
the works too. Blimey! Blimey! I emailed Art t' tell him that he should sell this one but he's
already givin' it away for free on his website! Yes, me bucko, Art Applewhite has another
winner on his hands with a price you just can't beat!
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
Brief: This is a free, easy, 13mm, paper shroud saucer which uses an aerobrake recovery. The 13mm Cinco is a diminutive version of Art Applewhite's Cinco saucer. It is not a kit, per se; it is offered as a free download in the form of a PDF file on his web site. Construction: This rocket is made from a single sheet of Card stock. You download the PDF, put a piece of card ...
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