Public Missiles IO

Public Missiles - Io {Kit}

Contributed by John Hattan

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Public Missiles

Brief:
PML's smallest and simplest kit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, this is a simple tried-n-true 3FNC rocket, suitable for F t' H motors.

Construction:
Rocket consists o' a single body tube, plywood centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, and a piece of woven nylon that's epoxied t' t' motor tube. Ahoy! T' piston is attached t' the other end o' t' nylon. Avast! T' fins are G10, which sands very nicely and is really tough. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Includes a fairly small chute with a large spill-hole, so t' rocket falls pretty quickly, but nay fast enough t' hurt it.

T' instructions are fairly easy t' follow if you've built HPR kits before. They consist o' a single sheet with a minimum o' illustrations. Arrr! Avast! I'd recommend that you have someone help you out if this is your first HPR kit, arrr, as the instructions aren't really designed with t' beginner in mind. Well, blow me down! T' components themselves are beautiful. Ya scallywag! Everythin' fit together very well, and all o' the components are t' best you'll find --G10 fins, phenolic motor tube, Quantum Tube airframe, shiver me timbers, a very sturdy nose cone, and t' toughest parachute I've found. This is a kit that has survived a dozen flights.

Finishing:
Well, I've gotta admit. Avast! This was one o' t' old kits with t' phenolic airframe. Arrr! I've heard t' new Quantum Tube is even easier t' finish, but t' old hard phenolic was fairly easy t' get a mirror-finish. All it took was a little Elmer's wood filler t' fill t' groove, matey, and some fine sandpaper and sandable primer. Avast! Well, blow me down! If you take your time, you'll get a rock-hard finish that'll easily last for dozens o' flights. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I'm subtractin' 1/2 point because o' that cheesy stick-on decal they include with t' kit. Begad! Ya scallywag! If they included some attractive water-slide decals, ya bilge rat, it'd add some value t' t' kit. As it stands, shiver me timbers, me hearties, though, shiver me timbers, it's just a waste.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I originally bought t' kit with t' 38mm mount, but this is an awfully small kit for most o' t' 38mm offerings. Since I didn't have any kind o' motor retention (hey, I was a beginner), me bucko, I eventually glued some bolts and a 29mm tube into t' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! There are plenty o' 29mm motors that work beautifully in this rocket --F, shiver me timbers, G, and H. My personal favorite be t' Aerotech G125, arrr, which makes this little rocket leap off t' pad like nobody's business. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! As for flights, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I have no complaints at all. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I've flown me little IO at least 20 times. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It's a tough little rocket that loves t' fly.

Recovery:
Very little t' complain about as far as recovery goes. Begad! My only complaint is that t' rocket is rather short. Aye aye! Arrr! Once you've got t' piston in place and the chute packed, thar's barely any space t' get t' cone on. If t' rocket was 2 inches longer, me hearties, shiver me timbers, there'd be a little more elbow room. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! As it stands, it's a tight fit. Aye aye!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Pros are that it's a beautiful little kit that finishes beautifully, loves to fly, matey, is tough as all get-out, and can fly in small fields on F motors. Avast! Cons are t' cheesy decal and that t' recovery system is a bit tough t' pack. Arrr!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Public Missiles IO By Patrick Ryan

    ( Contributed - by Patrick Ryan) Brief: Single stage 29mm with parachute recovery and piston ejection system. Construction: Three (3) G-10 fins, pre-slotted "Quantum Tube" body. Motor Mount is plywood and heavy cardboard type. Monster heavy duty shock cords (one mounts to motor mount and gets a little crusty, but great overall). 20" nylon 2 color parachute with ...

Flights

Comments:

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M.W. (October 1, 2000)
A friend (John) and I got into HPR a few months back, he bought a PML D-region Tomahawk, and I bought a Miranda. Both of these have flown for Level 1 certs. Since we saw that it could get expensive in a hurry to keep flying larger and larger motors, we decided that smaller might be the direction to go. He purchased an Io, and I bought a PML Callisto. John noticed right away that the recovery items were a tight fit. I would suggest the Callisto as a solution for this problem. The Callisto and the Io are identical except for an additional 12 inches of body tube in the Callisto.
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R.C. (October 1, 2000)
I certified NAR L1 with this rocket. Nice kit.
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S.M. (August 1, 2001)
The Io was my first HPR kit. I bought it just after QT was introduced, with a 38mm MMT and PML's motor retention. This is one tough little rocket! When I first built it I couldn't get over how heavy and solid it felt. I have recently added a 9" QT payload section, and flown it on an I161 and an I357. There were some raised eyebrows when I put it up on those motors, I can tell you! Recovered fine from over 5000ft. I have also tried a Rocketman R24D as a main chute and it worked great. At some stage I may remove the piston and use a chute protector for altimeter deployment. One of my favorite rockets!
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J.W.H. (December 19, 2001)
This was actually my first and second HPR kit. Bought this and a LOC Lil' Nuke at the same time. Boy, talk about differences. QT is where it is at. And the G-10 fins are extremely durable. No question in my mind that this kit is tough and ready to roll. Flew it on a couple of F's, thinking it is time to stuff a G in there and see what happens. Our field is not very large though. Speaking of which, the Io is pretty heavy and the drift is pretty minimal, another plus. Definitely worth the money, and fun to build. The decal stinks, and the directions could be beefed up a little. Overall, I am very, very pleased.

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