Public Enemy Honest John

Public Enemy - Honest John {Kit} [?-?]

Contributed by Dave Way

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: Public Enemy
Style: Scale

Public Enemy Honest JohnBrief:
THe Honest John is a 38mm motor high power rocket single stage scale kit with parachute recovery.

Construction:
Kit arrived in good shape from Rocket Garden. Kit had a very impressive two-piece nose cone, one large body tube, a shorter body tube (electronics bay), four pre-shaped large fins, two stout wooden centerin' rings, arrr, me hearties, and a very adequate harness supplies. Blimey! Begad! I chose t' upgrade t' chute t' a 60" Spherachute.

T' instructions were pretty simple and straightforward. Blimey! No problems as everythin' fit well and was prepped very nicely from t' factory. One great thin' about this and all Public Enemy kits be t' way you pre assemble t' fin and engine mount system before installin' it into t' tube. Ya scallywag! It allows easy access for reinforcement with fiberglass or epoxy. Avast! I glassed all o' t' joints t' t' motor tube. Ahoy! It added a little weight but is very strong. I added t' old nut and bolt motor retention that has always worked great for me.

Finishing:
I finished me kit in t' white sands theme o' black and white. Begad! Blimey! I used Krylon primer over t' entire model and put several coats on t' nose t' get it t' stick. Ya scallywag! I painted every thin' gloss white, then added black highlights with either black Krylon or black Monokote adhesive t' finish t' scale. Lastly, me hearties, I printed out some decals on me computer t' really add scale qualities t' t' kit.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Public Enemy Honest JohnFlight:
My first flight be with a 3-grain Cesaroni Pro38. Arrr! It really took off slow and realistic. After t' engine quit burnin' t' rocket sounded like a bomb whistling, ya bilge rat, arrr, which be really cool. T' seven second delay on t' motor made for deployment just past apogee. Begad! T' 60" Spherachute deployed perfectly, me hearties, ya bilge rat, bringin' t' big missile down without a scratch. Blimey! T' flight be perfect very stable and slow.

Recovery:
Everythin' was great with recovery setup and construction. Blimey! Avast! Public Enemy kits come with very heavy nylon strap along with quality chutes. Begad! I usually put in larger chutes in all o' me kits due t' rocky area and altitude I launch from. Arrr! (Thin air = fast fall. Avast, me proud beauty! T' 60" chute brings t' HJ down real slow and soft.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:

Motor tube out o' t' body assembly is a real bonus for ease o' beefin' things up and alignment. Well, blow me down! All I did different was add a bigger chute. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I love t' sound it makes durin' flight.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Public Enemy Honest John By John Coker

      I wanted to try out Public Enemy's rocket kits after I got their catalog at a ROC launch. I like sport-scale rockets so I ordered the Honest John and SA-14 Archer kits. Public Enemy makes larger versions of both rockets, but I wanted the smaller ones so I could launch them at LUNAR ("H" motor maximum). Both kits use 38mm motor mounts.  The rocket flew for the first time at ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
B.R. (January 1, 2001)
The only draw back to the Outlaw kit was particleboard centering rings and bulk heads. Particleboard is not as strong as Plywood and will fail much quicker. I know this because I am a PB and plywood salesman. For the money spent plywood should have been supplied. Everything else was perfect!! This review is very good.

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