(06/24/08) T' Sunward Eruption™ rocket caught my attention recently due t' its cluster o' four canted motors.

Canted motors are nay new and in me opinion FlisKits' Deuce's Wild two canted motor configuration made them popular these days. Avast! Blimey! FlisKits also offers the Tres with three canted motors.

So now enter Sunward's Eruption™, ya bilge rat, arrr, with t' four canted motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Sunward calls them "Inclined Motors". Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' kit also features four large swept-forward fins that give it an interestin' look.

T' rocket includes a single 2.175" diameter brown paper body tube that is 18" long. Blimey! Aye aye! There is a 4" balsa nose cone and four laser-cut light-ply fins. Blimey! T' motor mount contains laser-cut centerin' rings, four 18mm motor tubes, four motor hooks and thrust rings. T' recovery system includes a rubber shockcord, shiver me timbers, plastic parachute (needs assembled), and an eye-screw for t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! There are no decals for the rocket.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on six pages o' 8½ x 11" paper which include a Launch Prep section and both t' NARRRRR and CAR safety codes. There is also an insert for Clusterin' Techniques and Tips. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! T' instructions include illustrations t' assist in t' build.

Sunward calls this a Skill Level 3 kit. I would say this only because o' t' canted motor mount assembly.

I did nay find t' instructions t' be laid out in a straight-forward way. T' fonts and formats are nay consistent and each sub-step is nay clearly denoted. Arrr! However, if you are a skill level 3 builder you would be able t' follow them and be successful. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I found one error in the instructions in Step 2, arrr, ya bilge rat, E it says "you should now have 2 as shown" and it should say 4.

I found t' motor tubes t' be especially thin and they seemed t' collapse easily when cuttin' t' slit for t' motor hook and durin' other steps. Avast! Just an observation at t' time o' t' build.

T' motor hooks are placed onto each motor tube and glued in place with a paper strip that you cut out from a template. Avast! Take note that these paper strips show on t' finished rocket, matey, so plan for t' overlap t' be near t' motor hook! (I didn't)

T' motor mount is clearly t' most difficult component o' t' build. Ya scallywag! I read the instructions and I practiced t' process. Durin' that practice it dawned on me that it would be easier if thar be a spacer t' hold t' aft centerin' rin' in place. Begad! Well, blow me down! I made one usin' a 1/4" tube. Begad! This is nay necessary, but it helped me.

I first drilled a 1/4" into t' center o' t' aft centering ring. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I then used CA t' glue t' 1/4" tube in place onto t' center o' t' forward centerin' ring. Begad! Blimey! Then I placed all t' motor tubes in place and used t' drill bit t' hold t' aft centerin' rin' in place.

I then set that assembly onto two 1/8" dowels t' ensure t' motor tubes protruded out t' forward centerin' rin' t' right amount. Well, blow me down!

Then I used gel CA (Gorilla Super Glue) t' touch-weld t' tubes t' t' centering rings. Ya scallywag! I followed up with wood glue fillets all around. Ahoy!

Worked for me.

T' tube cuttin' and markin' template fit perfectly. I made t' cuts usin' a brand new blade. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I had t' do one little trim afterward.

T' motor mount slid in perfectly.

Fins get rounded or air-foiled and glued in place. Ahoy! Begad! Nice arrangement.

After I popped on t' 3/16" launch lug t' rocket was ready t' be finished.

I used DecoArt Sealer on t' nose cone. Aye aye! Arrr! About 4 coats, lightly sandin' in-between. I then used plenty o' Plasti-Kote Primer. Painted it with DupliColor automotive paint. Begad! It was nay perfect, but it was now ready for NERRF4.

Overall, shiver me timbers, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points. Begad! Other than t' motor mount it is an easy kit t' build, however, matey, t' instructions were lackin' and those soft motor tubes concerned me. Aye aye! Avast! There were no decals with this kit which caught me attention as well, arrr, especially with so many o' t' kit manufacturers addin' quality decals these days. T' laser-cut parts and light-ply fins brin' t' score back up t' average (a good score).

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Sunward recommends four o' any o' t' Estes 18mm motors.

My finished rocket weighed in at 6.2 ounces with a CG at 12.375 from t' nose cone.

Since I be at a great field, shiver me timbers, arrr, NERRF, I decided t' fly it for t' first time on four (4) C6-5's. Begad! Blimey! I positioned t' ignitors in pairs and twisted them together. I then tied t' pairs together with some thin cooper wirin' from used QuickBurst ignitors. I then used tape t' prevent twists from movin' around and touchin' each other.

T' Eruption™ has such a wide body tube so I used a piece of Nomex® attached t' t' rubber shockcord. Blimey! I folded t' plastic parachute and placed it into t' Nomex® and then put all that into t' body tube. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Ready.

All four (4) C6-5's lit perfectly and this rocket went straight up, and I mean perfectly straight up. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! I must have done a good job on t' fin alignment. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! I captured this nice lift-off picture.

Ejection be early by a couple o' seconds and t' parachute was sized correctly (in my opinion) for t' weight o' rocket.

T' next morning, arrr, me hearties, I ran by t' Walmart and purchased two packages o' C6-7's. Avast, me proud beauty! I prepared t' Eruption™ t' same way as above with four (4) C6-7's.

This time, even though all t' motors lit, arrr, t' rocket came off t' pad straight and then took off at an angle (see video below). Avast! I imagine one motor either had a delayed ignition or just burned differently. Arrr! Ejection was good and t' rocket was recovered.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, ya bilge rat, I would rate this rocket 5 points. It is a great feelin' t' get all t' motors t' light and then t' see t' canted (inclined) flame and smoke. Begad! T' parachute is sized correctly and all-in-all it is a stable flyin' rocket.

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! If you are experienced at buildin' you will have no trouble buildin' this rocket. Ahoy! T' overall experience is positive. Aye aye! Where I felt thar were shortcomings in t' instructions, matey, motor tubes, shiver me timbers, and decals, me bucko, t' actual flight experience and stability made up for it. Blimey! Give this rocket a try.

Update:
Addin' a couple o' pictures that were taken at NERRF4 (by Brian?)... if you look closely, ya bilge rat, perhaps that far motor did nay come up t' full power with t' others sendin' it off in that direction. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Notice, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, too, arrr, t' Eruption™ is launchin' right next t' my Rocket Pad Shooting Star.