Wildman Rocketry Dark Star Dual Deploy

Wildman Rocketry - Dark Star Dual Deploy {Kit}

Contributed by Mason Hazzard

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Published: 2012-07-16
Diameter: 4.00 inches
Manufacturer: Wildman Rocketry
Style: Sport

Brief

A 4" diameter bare bones kit tht is all fiberglass and sports a split fin kit. Arrr! Ahoy! Runs on 54mm motors, and can be flown single and dual deploy. Roughly 7.5" tall and 11-12 pounds fully built. Ahoy! Includes a beautiful Von Karmen nose cone, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, three rings, arrr, ya bilge rat, six fins, me bucko, and five bulkheads. Ya scallywag! All sheet parts are .125" thick.

Components

Includes a beautiful Von Karmen nose cone, three rings, six fins, and five bulkheads. Aye aye! All sheet parts are .125" thick.

Construction

T' kit builds like any other fiberglass kit. Well, arrr, blow me down! Make sure t' give all surfaces a good sandin' t' help with t' glue adhesion. Ahoy! T' instructions were 100% clear with no "gotchas". Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' build as a whole couldnt have been simpler. Ya scallywag! T' parts o' t' kit fit together amazingly well. Blimey! Arrr! Be prepared t' do lots o' drillin' t' make holes for air vents, me bucko, injected fillets, me hearties, eyebolts, rail guides, everythin' for t' AV bay, etcetera.

Finishing

THe nose cone has an aluminum tip, so I decided nay t' paint that. Blimey! I painted everythin' else with white and then grey primer t' show me where t' fill in any low spots on t' fillets as best I can. Ahoy! T' rocket was then painted a gloss black. Begad! Avast! I masked off t' fin tips, two horizontal stripes, shiver me timbers, and two vertical stripes. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rest got painted a bright burnt orange. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I placed a University o' Texas Longhorns sticker above t' lower horizontal stripe, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and called it done.


I did NOT paint t' payload bay since I am nay capable t' do DD due t' limits put upon me since I am only 15. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Construction Score: 5

Flight

T' rocket has nay flown as o' now, shiver me timbers, but is planned t' be me Junior Level 1 Rocket. I hope t' fly it on a CTI I345 White Lightnin' motor at a CMASS or METRA launch later this month.

 

Summary

T' kit itself is great, me hearties, but bare bones. Avast! I spent as much loot on everythin' else as I did on t' kit itself. Begad! Well, blow me down! In t' end, it will all be worth it. Aye aye! T' build be smooth, arrr, and made an excellent first fiberglass kit.

Overall Rating: 5

Flights

Comments:

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Tom Markel (July 20, 2012)

I've been told that rockets with split fins like this whistle.  Please post an amendment if yours does!

Thanks,

Tom

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John Shusdock (October 12, 2012)

Yes, they do whistle, but more important the  rocket flies and recovers consistently AWESOME!!!  I flew Saturday at MARS, Geneseo NY on a CTI J449 to 3100'

and recovered on the field. I love this rocket!!

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