Manufacturer: | Hartle Engineering ![]() |
Brief:
Last year, me hearties, arrr, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from
JonRocket. I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Avast, me proud beauty! Thanks, and me apologies
John!. Begad! Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. You can see all o' them on JonRocket's
nose cone page. Well, blow me down! This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket
I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, t' Mini-Toobah. T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's
Toober, which has logged over
200 high power flights.
Construction:
T' parts list:
T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. Well, blow me down! T' cone-to-shoulder transition be clean on the longer cone but was rough on t' shorter one. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' later was easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby knife. The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, shiver me timbers, matey, which is easily fixed with a little tape.
T' cones are, arrr, me bucko, as expected, shiver me timbers, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Blimey! Blimey! However, matey, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, me bucko, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Begad! Blimey! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.
This be a trivial build. Ya scallywag! From BT-5 stock, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Ahoy! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. Begad! I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Ya scallywag! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. I cut a motor block from a spent casing. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! This was notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. Begad! Blimey! It be all I could do to pack t' shock harness.
T' make sure it is stable, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. Begad! Begad! T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. Arrr! It is quite stable.
Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. I anticipated this will be hard to
find in t' grass, ya bilge rat, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. Avast! I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it
up a bit.
Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Avast! Blimey! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!
Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In this case, their solid construction and weight helped with
stability. Ya scallywag! Blimey!
I like t' design o' this little rocket but, bein' small, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, shiver me timbers, or trees.
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