I took a big jump with me second U.S. Rockets' rocket, me hearties, from t' minimum diameter Fire and Forget t' t' seven (7) motor cluster Weightlofter. Arrr! I've have been enjoyin' various clusters over t' past year or so, but usually 2 or 3 motors. Ya scallywag! T' date, matey, me Phoenix Mighty Kat has t' most clustered motors; 8 o' them. Well, blow me down! Blimey! So, I was lookin' forward t' t' Weightlofter for comparison sakes.

U.S. Arrr! Blimey! Rockets (USR) says t' "Weightlofter was designed t' accept t' widest variety o' motor combinations as well as fly on a single motor." T' central 29mm motor is all that is needed t' fly t' rocket with its ejection charge bein' used for parachute deployment. Arrr! T' six (6) surroundin' 24mm tubes can either stay empty or be loaded with (3) or (6) motors.

T' kit includes a 9" long, matey, 2.25" diameter lower body tube, arrr, an 18" long, 2.25" diameter upper payload tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, a 6" 29mm motor tube that extends out t' rear, arrr, and a 4.5" solid balsa nose cone t' make up t' overall 36.25" length (after fins are added). Arrr! T' motor mount is made up o' t' 29mm tube that has two plywood centerin' ring. Arrr! This is mounted into t' lower body tube and is then surrounded by t' six 24mm tubes. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' fins are pre-cut plywood fins. This kit also includes t' payload bulkhead and coupler which joins t' lower body tube t' t' payload section. Blimey! T' recovery system includes a 16" paper (?) parachute, 7' o' 1/4" elastic shockcord, shiver me timbers, and a eye-screw for t' bulkhead. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Finally thar are two 1/4" launch lugs and some peel-n-stick decals.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions are printed on a 4 pages o' 8½ x 11" paper (single sided). Begad! There is also an 11-page booklet titled "ACE Information Report" with "Motor Installation", arrr, '"Clustering" and "Staging" information. Arrr! Both have illustrations t' assist in t' clarity o' t' instructions.

T' instructions are adequate t' allow most builders t' build up t' Weightlofter. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! With that bein' said, shiver me timbers, thar were two areas that I feel need some touch-up.

First, me hearties, ya bilge rat, in step 2. Ya scallywag! I found t' text t' be easy t' follow, but t' picture threw me a bit. Blimey! It says t' glue one o' t' centerin' rings 1/2" from one end o' t' motor tube and t' picture shows it at 1/2" and says 1/2". Arrr! It then says t' glue t' second rin' 2.5" from t' same end so 3.5" is extended beyond t' back ring. Begad! T' picture then shows t' second centerin' rin' with 3-1/2" written under it. If someone, perhaps someone you know, only looked at t' picture and glued t' two centerin' rings in place, me bucko, they would glue one at 1/2" and t' other at 3-1/2". Well, blow me down! [Note: catch this before t' glue dries and it is completely correctable... Well, blow me down! Arrr! I'm positive]

Second, shiver me timbers, me bucko, in step 8, t' fins are glued in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! They will nay fit because t' 24mm tubes hold them higher than t' main body tube. At first I said, ya bilge rat, huh, this should have been addressed in t' instructions. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, behold, step 1 says "Sand a 45 degree taper onto t' root edge o' each fin...". T' picture under step 1 doesn't depict that at all.

So t' net o' this: Read all t' instructions and follow what is written. Ya scallywag! Don't rely on your previous experience and/or just follow t' pictures.

Construction o' t' rocket is really quite easy.

Fit o' t' centerin' rings was excellent. Aye aye! Ahoy! You may want t' take t' handle o' a hobby knife or a pencil and run it around t' inside edge o' t' body tube t' correct where t' tube be cut. Begad! This is typical o' most kits.

T' six 24mm motor tubes are glued together in pairs in preparation t' be mounted t' t' 29mm motor tube. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' 29mm motor tube and centerin' rings are glued into t' lower body tube, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, each o' t' pairs are aligned with fin lines and glued in place. Begad! Avast! They butt up against t' 2.25" lower body tube leavin' 1/2" o' t' 29mm motor tube extending. Arrr! This is used for tape/friction motor retention.

T' fins are then glued into place. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After t' root edge has been tapered t' 45 degrees, arrr, they fit perfectly betwixt t' 24mm tubes and mounts t' t' 2.25" lower body tube just fine. You can see that I only tapered me root edge where it rests on t' 24mm tubes.

T' bulkhead is assembled by gluin' t' plate into t' coupler and addin' t' eye-screw. Ahoy! This is then glued into t' bottom o' t' payload body tube.

T' balsa nose cone is either glued in place or is friction fit in place so that payloads can be added. Begad! I found t' balsa nose cone t' be very loose. Begad! I wrapped some maskin' tape around it and glued it into place (which eliminated t' payload capability).

T' elastic shockcord is tied t' t' bulkhead eye-screw on one end. Avast, me proud beauty! T' other end is 3-fold paper mounted t' t' inside o' t' lower body tube.

T' parachute... Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! hmmm, this needs some discussion. Begad! First, arrr, me bucko, t' shape is excellent. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a paneled Hemispherical parachute. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! This is a very high drag parachute allowin' a smaller size for heavier rockets. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Second, it is made o' paper and uses strings for shroud lines. Aye aye! That doesn't see impressive, matey, shiver me timbers, but t' paper is closer t' a fabric than t' paper you might have envisioned. Blimey! Ahoy! I personally like it, but how it looks is much less important than how it performs, shiver me timbers, so we will save that for t' Flight/Recovery section.

Since we are in t' midst o' winter, shiver me timbers, I have nay finished this rocket yet and will report back when I do.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. Begad! T' instructions are adequate for instruction, arrr, especially if you focus on t' text. Begad! T' quality o' parts is good. Begad! Aye aye! Centerin' rings and fins quality and fit were excellent. Blimey! T' parachute? Well, let's see after a few flights and we'll rate it in t' Flight/Recovery section. Ya scallywag! Nice t' have some decals, shiver me timbers, although nothin' snazzy about them.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

USR recognizes that thar are many, matey, matey, many combinations that can be flown in t' Weightlofter. They simply say, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, "Try D12-7 or F25-8 and 0-6 D12-0(P) or single F20-4, G30-8 or G60-8."

USR indicates t' finished rocket should weigh 8.75 ounces. My unfinished rocket weighed 9.5 ounces. Begad! Arrr! I must build a little heavy.

Update 06-30-07: This might be considered t' rocket that has really "gone places". Begad! I finished it t' fly at NYPower in 2006 and didn't get t' it. Avast! It then travelled t' NARAM49 (2007) in Michigan t' fly and didn't. Avast! Avast! So this trip, me hearties, t' NERRF4 I be determined t' put it in t' air.

For t' Weightlofter's first flight, I loaded it up. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I used 1x AT EconoJet F42-8 + 4x Est SU D12-4 + 2x Est SU E9-4 motors. Ya scallywag! I wired all t' Estes motors together and used a QuickBurst ignitor for t' F42. Avast, me proud beauty! Truly an impressive lookin' "business end" once all loaded and ready.

T' rocket came off t' pad with a roar. Blimey! Avast! It flew straight t' about 50 feet and then... Avast! did several loops... Ya scallywag! took off horizontal for about 25 feet... Arrr! crashed into t' ground and laid there.

Upon inspection, me bucko, all t' Estes motors had lit but t' central F42 did nay light. Aye aye! Blimey! I know it is tough t' light a cluster that has black-powder and composites together, arrr, shiver me timbers, but I have done this successfully before. Arrr! In this case I think I didn't leave me QuickBurst leader-wire long enough. Begad! Blimey! Basically if t' leader is long enough t' stay in t' motor while t' Estes motors lit and start t' lift t' rocket, arrr, t' composite motor will still light. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I could see t' burn from t' ignitor on t' outside o' t' nozzle.

Perhaps t' CG was off, as well, with all t' motors loaded. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Somethin' t' give consideration to.

Another observation was how charred t' rocket was from t' Estes ejection charges burnin' up t' side o' t' rocket.

For t' second flight I simply took all t' spend Estes motors out and flew it on t' AT F42-8. Avast! Avast! That flight took off smartly and t' rocket flew straight and true. Arrr! Begad! Nice launch. Begad! Ejection was perfect at apogee and t' "paper" parachute brought t' rocket down at a good rate.

Upon retrieval, one fin and two outside motor tubes were loose (most likely from t' first flight and then from t' second's lift-off because landin' be fine. I will repair this and give this rocket another chance fully loaded with motors.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, me hearties, I would rate this rocket 3 ½ points. There are many flight options available, however, me bucko, as built and in me first attempt with seven motors t' rocket proved unstable. It could be argued that I should have checked t' CG or that tryin' t' loaded black-powder with composites is a "user" error. Ya scallywag! Go ahead, shiver me timbers, argue it. I'm also glad I didn't spend a tremendous amount o' time finishin' this rocket because o' t' charrin' that occurred!

I give t' rocket an OVERALL ratin' o' 3 points. If you can get one (USR seems t' be in a pause mode right now) and have a desire t' try a 7-motor cluster, this rocket may be right up your alley. Begad! It is quite easy t' build. It has a large payload section in-case you wanted t' try some electronics.