Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | Model Minutes |
Brief:
This rocket is a free download in .PDF format. Avast! You just have t' print on cardstock and build. Aye aye! (Some additional parts required.)
Construction:
This rocket prints on two pages. Arrr! It has a hexagonal body tube and nose. Its 3 fins are cut from two layers o' cardstock and glued together. Fins include attachment tabs that make it easier t' glue them t' t' body tube. Begad! Blimey! T' directions recommend 110 lb cardstock. Arrr! Begad! I've built several paper rockets in t' last couple o' years, and have always found 67 lb Bristol Board entirely adequate. Avast! User supplies several other parts. Avast! (See list below.)
Instructions were simple and straightforward. I had no trouble understandin' or followin' them. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I have built Fliskits' Caution Rocket, me hearties, arrr, Midnight Express, me hearties, and Nebula, shiver me timbers, and all o' Art Applewhite's free paper rockets, arrr, and found t' Tricarrow among o' t' simplest paper rockets t' build.
Model Minutes suggests t' followin' supplies:
I made a few substitutions:
I had t' run t' t' hardware store for a screw eye. Begad! Most rockets used them when nose cones were made o' balsa, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but it's just nay somethin' I keep on hand anymore.
I scored t' dotted fold lines with t' back o' t' blade in me hobby knife and usin' a steel ruler as a straightedge. Begad! Ahoy! Foldin' t' hexagonal tube and nose be easier than rollin' t' cylinders and cones o' other rockets. I found it worked best t' spread t' glue with a flat toothpick like butter with a butter knife then wipe off t' excess with me finger.
After foldin' t' nose, ya bilge rat, I filled it with 5-minute epoxy for nose weight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Be sure t' coat it thoroughly usin' two coats o' glue if needed or t' epoxy may soak through just enough t' discolor t' outside. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I cut t' foamboard carefully, matey, but I still had t' sand it down t' fit t' tube--a tradition that continues from t' days o' balsa.
I elected t' skip t' clear plastic fin cutouts. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Like t' earlier reviewer, I could nay get me fins perfectly flat. T' glue tabs, however, arrr, made attachin' t' fins t' easiest o' any paper rocket I have built so far, me bucko, and combined with t' hexagonal tube, matey, t' fins were self-jiggin' so they went on perfectly straight.
T' PDF now includes an engine block and a launch lug, matey, although you have t' provide a drinkin' straw as a form t' roll t' lug--why nay just CA t' straw t' t' rocket? I used t' full length o' t' lug pattern, but I thought it was a little thick, arrr, matey, more than twice t' thickness o' t' body tube.
Instructions for balancin' have been added: "Always perform a swin' test on your Tricarrow prior t' flyin' for t' first time with a B4-4 loaded. " There are no instructions for preppin' t' rocket. Arrr! Begad! Nay that any explanation is needed if you've ever built a rocket before and this is just your first paper rocket.
T' problems in t' instructions have been fixed and this is a good introduction t' paper rockets. Ya scallywag! T' only thin' I didn't like about t' construction was that it required more user supplied parts than most paper models.
Finishing:
There is no finishin' needed, but thar be a blank pattern if you want t' choose your own colors and t' unusual transparent plastic fin insert option for those who want more customization.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
T' recommended motors are A8-3 and B4-4 only. Begad! "Larger thrust motors are nay recommended." I noticed in t' flight logs that t' bad flights were on higher thrust motors, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, so I bought a pack o' B4-4s, which is a motor I don't usually keep on hand.
Boost was straight with no weathercocking, but enough spin t' leave a clear corkscrew in t' smoke trail, me bucko, possibly from t' fins' slight warp.
Recovery:
Ejection be at t' top o' t' arc with t' nose horizontal. Begad! Blimey! I had packed t' chute too tightly, so t' ejection blew a hole in t' side o' t' body tube and t' rocket came in ballistic. Avast! There be some mud on t' nose but no further damage beyond t' hole in t' side.
I give t' rocket 5 flight points. Avast! Ahoy! It did what it was supposed to. Ya scallywag! T' damage be me fault for usin' too large a chute and nay checkin' t' see that it would eject freely.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
Not everythin' is done t' way I would do it, shiver me timbers, but it is an easy build, arrr, a good flyer, matey, and a good introduction t' paper rockets.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
My second "paper build" from one of the free rockets downloaded from Internet was the Model Minutes Tricarrow ( See my "Free" Paper-Rocket Comparison Page ). This one has two PDF's to downloaded and print. I printed it on 110lb Card Stock (Georgia Pacific brand purchased from WalMart). The instructions are not downloadable and are only on the web. They also do not appear to be finished as the ...
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