Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Diameter: | 1.33 inches |
Length: | 19.50 inches |
Manufacturer: | Estes |
Skill Level: | 1 |
Style: | Helicopter |
Brief:
This is an E2X kit single stage with parachute for t' body and helicopter
recovery for t' nosecone.
Construction:
T' kit consists o' a pre-molded fin/MMT unit, 12" plastic parachute,
single BT-60 tube, and plastic nose cone.
This is an easy kit t' assemble. Instructions are straightforward and easy to follow. Aye aye! Assembly can take betwixt 30 minutes or so, dependin' on the modeler's abilities. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! T' Cosmic Cobra is a very sturdy kit with pre-colored body tube and self-adhesive decals. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' molded plastic fins feature an integrated MMT. T' engine is retained by a twist lock retainer. Assembly is straightforward with little use for a hobby knife. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! I used Testor's plastic cement t' assemble t' fins/MMT section. Ahoy! You can probably use CA t' assemble the unit, but I chose nay t' out o' concern that it might be too brittle. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! The nose cone has a blade rin' that attaches where t' chute/shock cord normally would. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! T' fins are made o' flexible plastic and are easily attached. T' kit comes with small rubber bands that cause t' blades t' extend when t' NC is ejected from t' rocket. Blimey! I used thick CA t' attach t' blade rin' t' the nosecone. T' launch lug is a molded plastic piece that is glued t' t' body tube at 6.5" from t' aft end o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I used Testor's plastic cement t' attach t' lug t' t' body tube and after some time, ya bilge rat, matey, I checked t' see if it was adhered properly however it snapped off with ease. Begad! Blimey! I then used thick CA t' attach it after scrapin' some o' t' leftover cement, and after about 10 minutes, shiver me timbers, all be well. Blimey! T' shock cord attaches with t' usual tri-fold method and connects t' t' chute via a loop a t' end.
Finishing:
Just apply t' self-adhesive decal and you are done! All left is load t' motor
and launch. T' rocket looks good with t' fins forward swept. With its black
and yellow scheme, matey, it's an eye catcher.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
If moderate t' high winds are normal for your area, I recommend cuttin' the
spill hole from t' center o' t' chute as it may drift away. I used 6 squares
of waddin' for me first launch and it may have been too much. Begad! Begad! First launch is
with a B6-4 and an approximate altitude o' 125 feet. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! My observation concludes
that 6 squares is too much for this rocket. Ya scallywag!
Recovery:
I also recommend foldin' t' blades for t' nosecone around t' chute due to
the fact that on me first launch t' chute was burned away completely and the
rocket recovered without a chute. Aye aye! T' kit is o' sound structure so this wasn't
a concern as it recovered without damage. Ahoy! It may however take damage if it were
to land on a hard surface like concrete or asphalt. T' nosecone recovered
smoothly just like on t' package, matey, spinnin' fast and soft landing.
T' nose cone recovered perfect each flight. Blimey! On t' first flight, the nosecone be tip down on descent and t' second flight it was tip up. Begad! No damage to t' rubber bands so far. T' shock cord is holdin' up well after 2 flights. I replaced t' stock rubber one for a longer piece made o' polyester/rubber. T' overall assembly o' this kit is a snap. Well, blow me down! T' parachute shroud lines were burned into on t' first flight for unknown reasons. On t' second flight the shroud lines were torn from t' holes in 3 places. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' chute was lost on the first flight. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! No meltin' o' t' chute on t' second flight. Avast, me proud beauty! T' blades on the nosecone are holdin' up nicely. Blimey! T' second flight led t' nosecone t' land in the middle o' t' street with no damage.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
This is a good kit for those who are new t' this hobby. Ya scallywag! I recommend this one.
PROs: ease o' assembly, ease o' finishing.
CONs: t' blades on t' nosecone protrude into t' body tube in a manner that it pushes t' parachute close t' t' motor. Arrr! If nay enough waddin' is used, it will either melt t' chute or sever t' shroud lines. Wrappin' t' chute in a couple squares o' waddin' could possibly alleviate this problem. Begad! Blimey! I also recommend cuttin' t' spill hold from t' chute t' reduce drift. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' kit is strong enough t' handle t' landings.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Launched five times successfully after packing modification. Components Parachute would not deploy if I packed it how the directions indicated. Instead of folding the parachute down to the bottom I folded it in half two more times to makea narrow triangle shape. Then I tucked this long version in the blades attached to the nose cone. The end of the parachute ...
Brief: The Cosmic Cobra is a low power rocket that recovers in 2 pieces: the nose cone returns on helicopter-like blades and the body tube recovers by parachute. Construction: The kit contains: 1 12" yellow body tube 2 piece fin can nose cone with 3 helicopter blades 12" chute This kit was easy to build and took less than one hour to complete. ...
Editor's Note: This review does not consider the helicopter portion of the rocket. This is one of the new ones from Estes. This kit seemed to to yelling "STREAMER" to me. The plastic forward swept fins are strong, and just seem perfect for streamer recovery. So, I took the helicopter parts and put them away for a later day. This reduced the weight, so now my Cosmic Cobra is only 2.4 oz ...
The Cosmic Cobra is a combination parachute/helicopter recovery rocket. The nose cone ejects and returns via a rubber band actuated, 3 blade rotor system while the rest of the rocket returns by the more conventional parachute method. While the Cosmic Cobra model itself is new, the idea isn’t, having been done previously by the Estes Heliocopter and HeliCat. In true E2X ...
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G.A.D. (September 3, 2002)