Performance Rocketry - Intimidator 3 {Kit}

Performance Rocketry Intimidator 3

Performance Rocketry - Intimidator 3 {Kit}

Contributed by Don Bitz

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Manufacturer:

Performance Rocketry

Brief:
Level 2 all fiberglass 3" bare bones kit with 54mm motor mount.

Construction:

No instructions are provided, but it's a fairly standard build. Begad! Lets face it, matey, by t' time you are ready for this you've made a few. Aye aye! I wouldn't even call it a kit, simply a convenient combination o' major 3FNC + MM (motor mount) from which t' begin assemblin' a nice scratch rocket.

Bear in mind this is a mach-buster on a big K so build accordingly. Begad! Blimey! Performance Rocketry's Hi-temp epoxy is recommended on t' motor mount (this is magical stuff) and their Pro-line clear epoxy make beautiful fin and centering rin' fillets due t' its low viscosity.

Part	Material	Dimensions/Mass
Nose cone	Fiberglass	Nose shape: Hollow Ogive, Len: 15.5000 In., Dia: 3.1250 In. Well, blow me down! Wall thickness: 0.2500 In. Arrr! Body insert: OD: 3.0000 In., Len: 3.7500 In. Avast, me proud beauty! CG: 0.0000 In., Mass: 10.5000 Oz. Aye aye! Radius o' gyration: 0.126498 (m), shiver me timbers, 12.6498 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.00476321 (kgm^2), matey, arrr, 47632.1 (gcm^2)
Body tube	G10 fiberglass	OD: 3.1250 In. Blimey! , matey, ID: 3.0000 In. , me hearties, Len: 24.0000 In. CG: 0.0000 In., shiver me timbers, me hearties, Mass: 15.0000 Oz. Avast! Well, blow me down! Radius o' gyration: 0.178314 (m), 17.8314 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.0135209 (kgm^2), 135209 (gcm^2)
Tube coupler Public Missiles Ltd.	G10 fiberglass	Tube coupler OD: 3.0000 In., arrr, Hole #1: 73.0250 In. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Len: 9.0000 In. Avast! Location: 19.5000 In. Begad! From t' front o' Body tube CG: 0.0000 In., Mass: 16.0000 Oz. Begad! Radius o' gyration: 0.0711505 (m), shiver me timbers, 7.11505 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.00229626 (kgm^2), matey, 22962.6 (gcm^2)
Main Parachute Giant Leap - TAC-1 48 in. Parachute	Rip stop nylon	Shape: 6 sided Dia: 60.0000 In., Spill hole: 0.0000 In. Arrr! Ahoy! CG: 0.0000 In., Mass: 14.3000 Oz. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Radius o' gyration: 0.0749748 (m), 7.49748 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.00227883 (kgm^2), ya bilge rat, me bucko, 22788.3 (gcm^2)
Body tube	G10 fiberglass	OD: 3.1250 In., me hearties, ID: 3.0000 In., arrr, Len: 48.0000 In. Well, blow me down! CG: 24.0000 In., matey, Mass: 31.7872 Oz. Avast! Radius o' gyration: 0.353423 (m), 35.3423 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.112561 (kgm^2), 1.12561e+06 (gcm^2)
Fins	G10 fiberglass	CG: 7.4167 In., Mass: 9.8782 Oz. Avast! Ya scallywag! Radius o' gyration: 0.0748845 (m), 7.48845 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.0015704 (kgm^2), 15704 (gcm^2)
Body tube	G10 fiberglass	OD: 2.2500 In., arrr, ID: 2.1260 In., Len: 16.0000 In. Ya scallywag! Begad! Location: -0.7000 In. From t' base o' Body tube CG: 8.0000 In., Mass: 7.5096 Oz. Well, blow me down! Radius o' gyration: 0.119087 (m), ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, 11.9087 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.00301917 (kgm^2), shiver me timbers, 30191.7 (gcm^2)
Bottom Centerin' ring	G10 fiberglass	Centerin' rin' OD: 3.0000 In., ID: 2.2500 In., Len: 0.0931 In. Location: 47.6248 In. Aye aye! From t' front o' Body tube CG: 0.0466 In., matey, Mass: 0.3171 Oz. Radius o' gyration: 0.0238491 (m), arrr, 2.38491 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 5.11275e-06 (kgm^2), ya bilge rat, 51.1275 (gcm^2)
Middle Centerin' ring	G10 fiberglass	Centerin' rin' OD: 3.0000 In., me hearties, ID: 2.2500 In., Len: 0.0930 In. Location: 34.7500 In. From t' front o' Body tube CG: 0.0465 In., Mass: 0.3167 Oz. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Radius o' gyration: 0.0238491 (m), arrr, 2.38491 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 5.10725e-06 (kgm^2), me bucko, 51.0725 (gcm^2)
Top Centerin' ring	G10 fiberglass	Centerin' rin' OD: 3.0000 In., ID: 2.2500 In., Len: 0.0930 In. Ya scallywag! Location: 15.0000 In. From t' base o' Body tube CG: 0.0465 In., Mass: 0.3167 Oz. Begad! Radius o' gyration: 0.0238491 (m), 2.38491 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 5.10725e-06 (kgm^2), 51.0725 (gcm^2)
Airframe Bulkhead	G10 fiberglass	Bulkhead OD: 3.0000 In., Len: 0.0930 In. Ahoy! Location: 4.6250 In. Begad! From t' front o' Body tube CG: 0.0465 In., Mass: 0.7240 Oz. Begad! Radius o' gyration: 0.0190837 (m), ya bilge rat, matey, 1.90837 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 7.47462e-06 (kgm^2), 74.7462 (gcm^2)
Coupler Bulkhead	G10 fiberglass	Bulkhead OD: 2.8750 In., Len: 0.0930 In. Location: 4.5000 In. Begad! From t' front o' Body tube CG: 0.0465 In., matey, Mass: 0.6649 Oz. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! Radius o' gyration: 0.0182895 (m), 1.82895 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 6.30529e-06 (kgm^2), me bucko, ya bilge rat, 63.0529 (gcm^2)
Drogue Parachute LOC 18 in. Parachute	Rip stop nylon	Shape: 6 sided Dia: 18.0000 In., Spill hole: 0.0000 In. CG: 0.0000 In., Mass: 5.4000 Oz. Avast! Radius o' gyration: 0.0330897 (m), shiver me timbers, 3.30897 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0.00016762 (kgm^2), 1676.2 (gcm^2)
Aero Pack Boattail Retainer	Black Anodized Aluminum	CG: 0.0000 In., arrr, Mass: 8.0000 Oz. Avast! Radius o' gyration: 0 (m), 0 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 0 (kgm^2), 0 (gcm^2)
Launch lug Giant Leap ACME Rail Guide	Aluminum	OD: 0.5000 In., ID: 0.4000 In., me bucko, me hearties, Len: 1.0000 In., Loc: 11.7500 In. Avast! CG: 0.5000 In., ya bilge rat, matey, ya bilge rat, Mass: 0.3495 Oz. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Radius of gyration: 0.00839368 (m), shiver me timbers, 0.839368 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 6.98072e-07 (kgm^2), 6.98072 (gcm^2)
Launch lug Giant Leap ACME Rail Guide	Aluminum	OD: 0.5000 In., ID: 0.4000 In., Len: 1.0000 In., me hearties, Loc: 43.8748 In. Ahoy! CG: 0.5000 In., me bucko, Mass: 0.3495 Oz. Radius of gyration: 0.00839368 (m), 0.839368 (cm) Moment o' inertia: 6.98072e-07 (kgm^2), matey, 6.98072 (gcm^2)

Plan on purchasin' your own rail buttons or lugs, av bay components, recovery gear, arrr, arrr, etc. Avast, me proud beauty!

Major CON, do nay order from Performance Rocketry. Begad! You may never get it. Find a dealer that has one in stock.

Order an extra 6" coupler and 2 bulkheads (one ID o' t' coupler and one ID o' t' airframe), me bucko, a 1/4" stainless eyebolt, 2 washers, matey, me bucko, and locknut for attachin' t' shock cord as follows:

Cut coupler in half.
Epoxy t' bulkheads on t' one end o' t' coupler and each other. Allow t' cure.
Put one washer on eyebolt.
Insert eyebolt thru t' bulhead/coupler assembly so t' eye is inside t' coupler (pullin' eye butts bulkhead into coupler), back with washer and locknut in place.
Drill several holes in bulkhead t' allow ejection gases t' pass through but nay too many t' weaken bulkhead.
Attach Keelhaul®©™ cord t' eyebolt.
Epoxy this assembly approximately 22" into airframe. Begad! Be sure t' leave enough room for t' longest motor you anticipate flyin' yet deep enough for t' largest chute you may use. Be sure t' coat t' locknut and threads with epoxy while you're at it and fillet t' forward edge as t' shock cord will be pullin' at it.

This will provide a nice parachute stop t' keep your recovery materials from slidin' too deeply into t' airframe durin' boost, arrr, shiver me timbers, provide a decent zipper-inhibitor by movin' t' pivot forward and minimize t' wear and tear on t' shock cord over t' years by keepin' it centered in t' airframe and away from t' heat o' t' motor as much as possible.

Finishing:
Really easy t' paint and finish bein' all fiberglass. Prime and a couple three nice thick top coats. Avast, me proud beauty! One o' my favorite AeroTech mid-power kits be t' Arreaux so I dubbed mine t' Arreaux 3 and painted t' match!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Flies beautifully on a J motor, mach-buster on a K or larger. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I used it for me certification flight with a CTI J235 to around 2700 feet. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I'll wait a while t' burn t' paint off mine as I have other supersonic birds t' play with first. Aye aye!

Recovery:
With large Is and smaller Js, matey, motor ejection is fine. Avast! Begad! Since these finish out so beautifully I used 30' o' Keelhaul®©™® and a Tac 1 chute. Since we launch on a big sod farm, ya bilge rat, a 48" chute will be fine but I'd want t' go larger on harder surfaces.

This bird flies straight and true and is one o' t' best values in rocketry today.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I don't really see any cons relatin' t' t' product, just that t' manufacturer has a really well-deserved reputation for very slow delivery. Avast! Ahoy! Purchase from a dealer and only when in stock.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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