(09/10/02) I be at NARAM 43 in New York and LawnDart Rocketry had a stand there. Well, blow me down! Begad! I be able t' see a number o' Cognis kits that Dale was gettin' ready t' sell through LawnDart. Cognis Aerospace kits are designed in Australia. Ahoy! So after returnin' home I made contact with LawnDart t' see when these kits would be available. Ahoy! Ahoy! Once available I order several o' them; the Lunar Lander, the Zweistik Repulsor, arrr, ya bilge rat, and this one: t' Gnat.

I wanted t' unique tumble recovery offered by t' Gnat and as listed accordin' t' LawnDart's page: "A Simple Rocket! T' Gnat uses three methods o' recovery in one very small rocket! T' model separates in flight so that t' pieces are aerodynamically unstable. T' upper section, me hearties, with one fin attached, matey, spins t' t' ground like a sycamore leaf. T' bottom section, holdin' t' spent motor, shiver me timbers, tumbles back."

T' Gnat stands a tad over 7" tall. T' main body is based on a 18mm body tube that comes in two pieces. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' nose cone is balsa. T' longerons are a hard balsa. Ahoy! Avast! T' fins are 1/16" balsa. It has an 18mm thrust rin' and two 1/8" launch lugs.

CONSTRUCTION:

As with the Zweistik Repulsor I received one o' t' pre-released kits that only came with a single drawin' and 3 notes t' guide LawnDart in kittin' this rocket. Aye aye! That being said, I can nay comment on t' instructions, however, just as t' Repulsor, shiver me timbers, I will say that this is a very easy kit t' build so t' instructions need nay be anythin' special.

To build this rocket you need an 18mm motor. Ya scallywag! I pushed the 18mm motor into t' lower (shorter) 18mm body tube until only 1/4" was stickin' out. Begad! I marked t' motor here and at t' top. Begad! Arrr! Remove t' motor and measure the distance from t' top o' t' motor t' t' upper mark (~9/16"). Blimey! Avast! Next use a piece o' balsa or a stick and apply a rin' o' glue 1/2" up into the upper body tube (longer). Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Then insert t' thrust ring. Begad! Begad! Usin' t' motor, push the thrust rin' into position until t' upper mark on t' motor is even with the bottom o' t' upper tube. Begad! Aye aye! Remove t' motor and wipe off any excess glue. Ahoy! Set aside t' all it t' dry fully.

Next put t' motor back into t' lower body tube and push up until t' lower mark is even with t' bottom. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Then slide this into t' upper body tube until it hits t' thrust ring. Well, blow me down! Slide t' lower body tube up (if any) until it touches t' bottom o' t' upper tube. Use a small piece o' masking tape across t' tubes so that they don't spin. Begad! Now usin' an Estes Markin' Guide or a guide from any other kit (unless LawnDart's instructions contain one) mark the lower tube for three fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Use a door jam and extend t' lines t' full length o' both tubes.

Here comes t' fun, shiver me timbers, but a bit tricky part: attachin' the longerons. Ahoy! Blimey! While t' tubes are still together (with t' motor in place), put glue along one side o' a line ONLY on t' lower tube. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Next place one of t' longerons onto this glue and keep it straight and aligned t' t' line and align t' bottom t' be even with t' lower tube. Avast! Blimey! Be sure nay t' let glue get up onto t' upper tube with t' attachment o' this longeron. Let dry. Begad! Blimey! Do the same for a second longeron on t' lower tube and on t' same side o' t' second line. Blimey! Blimey! Let dry. Aye aye! Blimey! Now, for t' third longeron, matey, place glue on t' third line, shiver me timbers, on the same side BUT on t' upper tube. Attach t' longeron, makin' sure nay to get any glue onto t' lower tube. Begad! Blimey! Let dry. Once dry t' two pieces should separate easily.

Put t' assembly back together with t' motor in place. Glue one o' t' launch lugs t' t' side o' t' longeron that is attached t' the upper body tube. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Put glue on t' second launch lug and place the glue-side down onto t' lower body tube so that it is touchin' t' same longeron. Blimey! Blimey! Be sure NOT t' get any glue onto t' longeron. Begad! Blimey! You may want t' turn the upper tube slightly so that it is now away from t' lower (second) launch lug. Let dry.

I had t' cut me fins usin' t' picture provided. Avast! Ahoy! I cut the pattern from t' drawin' and then cut t' three fins from t' 1/16" balsa provided. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Once cut, I placed them all together and sanded them t' be exactly t' same. Blimey! Then, arrr, with t' two body tubes together and t' motor in place, shiver me timbers, me hearties, attach each o' t' three fins t' t' center o' each o' t' longerons. T' bottom o' t' root edge should be even with t' bottom o' the longeron.

T' last thin' I attached was t' nose cone. Apply glue to t' inside o' t' upper body tube and insert t' nose cone shoulder.

I used left over paints for finishin' this rocket. Well, blow me down! I used Plasti-Kote Primer, shiver me timbers, several coats and sanded in between. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I then painted the upper section usin' Krylon Navy Blue paint and lower section usin' Krylon Light Purple paint.

Overall, arrr, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 ½ points. Avast, me proud beauty! It was easy t' build and components were o' appropriate quality. I guess, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and it varies from rocketeer t' rocketeer, that havin' t' cut your own fins is a slight detractor. Begad! I didn't mind, but with t' rounded edges did make it somewhat o' a challenge. Ahoy!

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Cognis (LawnDart) does nay have a recommended motor list (potentially it is now in t' instructions) and I did nay make this one up in RockSim, arrr, so I simply made t' decision t' start with an 18mm 1/2A6-2. Begad! My finished weight was 0.5 ounces.

T' first launch o' this rocket gave us a surprise. Ya scallywag! It came off t' pad fine (as see in this picture) but at about 10 feet started to tumble and twist and basically be unstable. Avast! Ahoy! On t' way down t' ejection charge popped and t' two pieces separated.

Well, matey, I thought maybe t' 1/2A has too much propellent weight toward t' aft o' t' rocket. Ahoy! Probably nay t' best reasoning, ya bilge rat, but I decided t' test it with an A8-3. Avast! Ya scallywag! Only t' have a repeat performance, shiver me timbers, just more violent and it was actually on t' ground before t' ejection charge popped.

I brought t' rocket home and stuffed 0.3 ounces o' clay into t' upper tube and pressed it firm against t' nose cone (above t' thrust ring).

T' next day I flew it twice successfully on the 1/2A-2's. Blimey! T' first o' these flights kicked t' motor upon ejection. Ahoy! The two-fin assembly didn't tumble, shiver me timbers, rather, it spun like a helicopter. T' one-fin assembly didn't "spin t' t' ground like a sycamore leaf", rather, arrr, it flipped and flopped its way down.

T' next flight on t' 1/2A6-2 also kicked t' motor and this time t' two-fin assembly did tumble and t' one-fin assembly did spin (very fast). Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It was neat t' see.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I would rate this kit 3 ½ points. T' fact that it be unstable as built takes a lot away. I'm sure LawnDart will be makin' some nose weight recommendations going forward. Begad! Aye aye! Outside o' that, me bucko, this rocket is nice on 1/2A's for t' backyard. Anythin' larger you will need t' have a couple o' spotters!

I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Avast, me proud beauty! It was easy t' build. It has somethin' a bit different for recovery. It actually has a nice look t' it even if it be simply a "pop-the-nose-cone" recovery rocket. Avast! After addin' nose weight t' make it stable, it can be a backyard flyer on 1/2A's, but anythin' larger you will need t' watch out so you don't lose it. All-in-all, me bucko, a nice little rocket to have in your collection.