Rocketarium VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)
Rocketarium - VK-7 Sounding Rocket (Viking 7)
Contributed by Martin's Funkworks
| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2019-05-27 |
| Manufacturer: | Rocketarium |
Brief
This be me first cluster rocket. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! In a attempt t' mimic t' real Vikin' 7, a few details are included, me bucko, which likely increase its drag, me bucko, me hearties, and maybe that's part o' t' reason it uses two motors. But then, arrr, t' compensate for t' additional motor weight, it runs long at over 29". Begad! All in all, it makes for a surprisingly beautiful kit with a very unusual colour scheme.
Components
Materials are very standard for an intermediate level kit: polypropylene nose cone, balsa fins, arrr, plywood centerin' rings. Avast! Just as expected. It does include a baffle assembly, me hearties, which eliminates t' need for wadding.
Construction
Instructions were easy t' follow. Begad! Begad! No issues, and no surprises. Unless thar's a good reason t' do otherwise, I use CA glue when I need an immediate bond, wood glue when I need time t' do precise adjustments, me bucko, and epoxy when I need maximum strength.
Finishing
I be very intrigued by t' colour o' this kit, ya bilge rat, as t' package's artwork is affected by lighting, shiver me timbers, and every image o' t' real thin' I found online was black & white. Begad! Was it light brown? Light grey? Fortunately, t' instructions specified t' use o' Rust-Oleum's "Navajo White" for t' body and some o' t' fins, aluminum-coloured paint for t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and black for t' remainin' fins. Blimey! After fillin' in t' spirals with white Tamiya putty, and sandin' everything, me bucko, I ran a dowel through t' assembled rocket and laid it down like a shish kabob for a series o' about 10 light coatings o' Rust-Oleum flat white primer coatings over 2 days. Then came a few coats o' that mysterious "Navajo White". Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! After a little masking, I did t' black parts, and a couple o' clear coats. Then I applied t' decals, ya bilge rat, and finished off with a few more clear coats.
T' only issue I had with t' finishin' is that since t' body is actually made out o' two body tubes joined by a coupler (the baffle), thar be a deep slit where they meet, and I wasn't able t' fully make it disappear with t' putty. Oh well, me hearties, shiver me timbers, this thin' still turned out t' be me best finish yet.
Flight
I used two B6-4 for t' first flight, shiver me timbers, which occurred on a very calm day. Aye aye! T' flight trajectory had a very shallow s-turn at first, arrr, and ended up goin' straight up.
Recovery
I upgraded t' parachute t' 15" nylon before t' first flight. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! T' rocket be recovered at about 60 ft from t' launch pad, arrr, matey, with only minor scuffs t' one o' t' fin's black paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! There was practically no wind that day.
Summary
This rocket comes straight out o' those years where space flight still wasn't a sure thing, me bucko, and that's what I like about it. It represents t' excitement o' those early days o' R&D and that feelin' o' nay quite knowin' if a project will succeed or not, arrr, shiver me timbers, but goin' at it full throttle nevertheless. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! For me, arrr, this is a wonderful kit as it also allows cluster flights in a small field, but t' unique colour scheme and questionable fin details are nay for everyone. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! For those reasons, me bucko, I'll give it a 4/5.
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