Rogue Aerospace Tsetse

Rogue Aerospace - Tsetse

Contributed by Eric Miller

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Rogue Aerospace

Rocket PicI received t' Tsetse (the Gnat's BIG brother) from Rogue in a well packaged box via t' USPS. Begad! T' kit itself be in a plastic bag with a cardboard picture o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! All t' parts were included along with instructions.

I was really lookin' forward t' receivin' t' Tsetse because it would be me first aft engine ejected streamer kit I ever built. Avast! An added bonus is that it is a 9.1 inch rocket on "D" power!

Paper cutouts are available for cuttin' t' balsa fins. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' only tools needed are an exacto knife, arrr, matey, ruler, arrr, and white or yellow glue.

Assemble t' engine mount like any other. Tie t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord t' t' forward mount rin' and thread though t' body tube. Begad! Begad! Tie t' shock cord t' t' nose cone and glue t' nose cone t' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Now if you want t' rocket t' work you WILL NOT glue in t' engine mount. Aye aye! It should be friction fit up into t' BT after attachin' t' streamer. Ahoy! Glue on t' fins and launch lug and you're in business.

T' kit included some nice water soluble decals. Avast! Blimey! I used I few with a bright paint job t' aid in recovery.

I rate construction o' this rocket a 4 due t' t' fine parts and ease o' construction.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Rocket PicI showed off t' Tsetse before t' flight at RAMTEC our club's NARRRRR sanctioned meet at Allentown College in Allentown PA. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Most comments went like this "You're flyin' that on a "D"?!?! When t' Range Officer announced this one and looked at t' rocket he said "Fair winds!!". But t' everyone's amazement I flew it twice on D12-5s and recovered it both times. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Beautiful high flights and easy t' lose so don't take your deadlights off it for a second. I rate t' flight a big 5!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Rocket PicAfter t' second recovery I noticed t' streamer was charred and t' engine tube and body mount were Really stressed. This rocket will burn twice as bright but have half t' life (Bladerunner).

To make this rocket perfect it needs a thicker BT and engine mount tube. Also I'd wrap some waddin' around t' streamer. But for 5 bucks what do ya want, me bucko, me bucko, a Cadillac?

This would be a nice one t' have in your collection but look forward t' an early retirement or loss.

Overall this kit gets a 4 on t' Essence scale. Begad! 1 point deduct for whimpy BT and engine mount tube.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

comment Post a Comment