Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Published: | 2010-11-13 |
Manufacturer: | Binder Design ![]() |
Picture Courtesty o' Binder
Design
Brief:
Binder Design’s Gangsta is a single stage, matey, me hearties, 2.6-inch diameter, 29mm,
four-finned sport rocket, me hearties, matey, measurin' 24.25-inches in length. Ahoy! I wonder if a black
rocket named Gangsta is politically correct, yet I’m drawn t' it because
of t' unique fin design and long nose cone on such a stubby rocket.
Construction:
T' First thin' I notice after openin' t' shippin' box be t' packaging. Begad! At
first glance you might think this was your standard thick plastic bag full of
rocket components. Begad! Closer inspection reveals a bag within a bag. Arrr! T' inner bag
is partitioned in such a way that t' smaller components are separated and
relatively easy t' view. Well, blow me down! This feature allows one t' inventory t' parts without
openin' t' bag.
T' Gangsta consists of:
I am especially impressed with t' recovery system components. The parachute is a very nice 8-shroud line design that I’m sure I’ll use in many rockets.
T' instructions are among t' best that I’ve seen, arrr, nine pages plus a fin alignment guide. T' instructions include many useful diagrams plus Rocksim CP data.
Construction is very straightforward. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I used AeroPoxy “5min” epoxy with glass fiber reinforcement for most o' t' construction. T' AeroPoxy kicks slower than t' hardware store 5-min epoxy, and has a one t' one mix ratio. Avast, me proud beauty! I figure that with t' glass fiber reinforcement it’s as least as strong as most “15 min.” epoxies.
T' fit o' all t' parts is excellent. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' only problem I had is with the eye-bolt assembly. Begad! T' eye-bolt itself is a #6; unfortunately t' nut provided is a #8. Begad! Also, shiver me timbers, a quick link is provided for attachment betwixt t' eye-bolt and the shock cord. Ya scallywag! T' instructions warn you t' attach t' quick link t' the eye-bolt before gluin' t' forward centerin' rin' in place; otherwise you may never be able t' reach it. Ahoy! In me opinion, me hearties, me hearties, this quick link is o' little or no value, and only adds weight aft in a rocket that inherently has very little stability margin. Blimey! I used it, but I recommend savin' it for another project.
I deviated from t' instructions in a few areas. Begad! T' launch lug is cut down from 4-inch t' 2.5-inch for no other reason than I think it looks better. T-nuts are installed in t' aft centerin' rin' for motor retention. Instead of internal fillets, me hearties, I tacked t' fins t' t' motor tube with 5-min. Well, blow me down! epoxy and poured PML’s two-part foam in t' fin can. Aye aye! After it cured, I used an old steak knife t' trim t' excess foam. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I then epoxied t' aft centerin' rin' in place. Ahoy! At this point t' aft end o' t' rocket felt so rigid that I allowed myself t' use smaller external fillets than I otherwise would have. Blimey! T' foaming process is also much quicker than applyin' conventional internal fillets.
After construction was complete I used Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood filler t' fill t' fins and t' body tube’s shallow spiral grove. Begad! This was followed by two coats o' Krylon white primer, matey, sanded in-between coats, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and a final coat o' Rustolium gloss black. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' finishin' touch was t' large vinyl Gangsta decal. Avast, me proud beauty! T' decal was very easy t' apply and looks great.
I downloaded t' Rocsim file for Gangsta from t' EMRR archive. Ahoy! Blimey! This was posted by Binder Design, me bucko, so I guess you could say it’s the “official” Rocksim file. Blimey! Blimey! Comparin' me Gangsta t' t' Rocksim file, me bucko, I found me CG t' be significantly farther aft. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! In order t' get me measured CG to match t' Rocksim CG, me hearties, I had t' add a 120g mass object centered on t' fins. This seemed excessive, matey, but when I weighed me Gangsta it be 318g, which is very close t' 120g over t' Rocsim file! Blimey! I didn’t weigh t' two-part foam when I be mixin' it; t' nature o' t' foam makes you work kind o' fast. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I assumed it would have weighed about t' same as internal fillets, me hearties, but apparently it weighed significantly more. Aye aye! Blimey! T' compensate for me tail-heavy rocket I had t' add significant nose weight, about 75g o' bird shot held in place with 8g o' epoxy. My Gangsta now weighs about 400g, double what t' Rocksim file says it should. So much for t' instructions reminder t' build light! Blimey! If I lose this one perhaps I’ll buy another, ya bilge rat, and use conventional internal fillets for sake of comparison.
T' nose cone fits very loose. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' instructions acknowledge this, and state that it’s intentional. Begad! I can appreciate this, however it took 6 full wraps of some fairly heavy maskin' tape t' get a snug fit.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
When I put t' rocket on t' rod it was apparent t' launch lug be binding.. Begad! I
worked t' rocket up and down t' rod a few times and it felt a bit better, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and
I wanted a picture for this review, me bucko, so I decided t' go for it. T' wind was
blowin' at ~5mph with gusts. Aye aye! T' Gangsta’s first flight was on an F20-7
EconoJet. Arrr! Comin' off t' rod t' rocket seemed t' weathercock quite a bit. Begad! My
guess is that t' bindin' contributed t' it. Begad! Either t' velocity be too low
comin' off t' rod due t' friction, matey, arrr, or bindin' caused t' rod t' whip. The
rocket be definitely on it’s way down and movin' fast when t' chute
finally deployed. T' Gangsta landed on a hard packed dirt road without a
scratch. Aye aye! Aye aye!
T' second flight was on a G38-7 EconoJet. Ya scallywag! This flight was much straighter than t' first one, with only a little weathercocking. Avast! Ejection occurred pretty close t' apogee, ya bilge rat, me hearties, hard t' say for sure because at ~2000 feet this rocket is little more than a dot. Again, arrr, recovered without a scratch.
Overall I’m very pleased with how this rocket flew. Ya scallywag! I would like to think that if it hadn’t been for t' tight fit on t' rod t' F20-7 flight would have gone much better. Begad! With sufficient nose weight this rocket should be able t' fly on a wide assortment o' engines. Begad! I would have loved t' put a G80-10 into it, but that will have t' wait for a very clear, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, calm day.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
T' Gangsta is a quality rocket with a unique look. Ahoy! Aye aye! With proper attention to
nose weight, shiver me timbers, t' Gangsta should provide good flights on a wide variety of
engines. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! At first I thought t' $39.99 askin' price was a bit high for such a
small rocket, shiver me timbers, but considerin' t' quality o' t' components I would say that
it’s actually quite fair.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Brief: Scott Fisher sold me a bunch of these kits for use in a rocketry class taught at the University of Utah Museum of Natural Sciences in the fall of 2006. Photo Courtesy of Binder Design Construction: The experience with the Gangsta kit was excellent. A dozen 4th and 5th graders put these kits together on a Saturday morning, requiring about 3 hours of class time. ...
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Date | Flyer | Rocket | Altitude |
---|---|---|---|
2007-12-01 | Simon Crafts | Binder Design Gangsta | - |
2007-04-28 | Simon Crafts | Binder Design Gangsta | - |
2006-08-05 | Simon Crafts | Binder Design Gangsta | - |
2006-05-20 | Simon Crafts | Binder Design Gangsta | - |
2005-11-20 | Ryan Kluth | Binder Design Gangsta | - |
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Mike Fisher - Binder Design (July 27, 2003)