Semroc Saki

Semroc - Saki {Kit} (KA-12)

Contributed by Bill Eichelberger

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Published: 2021-09-20
Diameter: 1.84 inches
Length: 9.30 inches
Manufacturer: Semroc
Skill Level: 1
Style: Goonybird, Odd-Roc

Brief

At first glance t' Semroc Saki appears t' be an Estes Goonybird Cloud Hopper with different paint and decals, me hearties, but comparin' t' two side by side tells a different story.  They share t' same basic shape, me bucko, but little else, as t' Saki is nay only larger than t' BT-60 Estes bird, me bucko, but also 18mm powered compared t' t' mini-engine Goony.  Accordin' t' Estes Industries legend, t' Saki is actually closer t' t' prototype o' what t' Goony fleet was supposed t' look like, me bucko, but in t' end t' less than politically correct designs were dumbed down and given a dose o' cute.  (This from t' company that brought you, and still brings you, t' Red Max.)  Carl saw t' drawings and got t' work on a line-up o' Groonies, shiver me timbers, a more adult oriented rocket in Goony form.

Components

  • Balsa Nose Cone - BC-1828D
  • Body Tube - ST-1860
  • Body Tube - ST-730E
  • Centerin' Rin' Set - CR-KV-11
  • Laser-cut Fin Set - FV-12
  • Thrust Ring - TR-7
  • Elastic Cord - EC-118
  • Keelhaul®©™ Thread - SCK-12
  • Screw Eye - SE-12
  • Launch Lug - LL-122
  • Engine Hook - EH-28
  • Plywood Block - PB-75
  • Clay Weight - WC-5
  • Plastic Parachute - RC-12
  • Tape Disc - TD-6
  • Shroud Line - SLT-6
  • Decal - DKA-1

 

Construction

Construction was fairly simple, bein' that this was just a slightly bigger version o' an Estes Goonybird.  Betwixt 1:1 Goonies and upscales, matey, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I've built a handful over t' years.  Wood glue be used throughout and everythin' was built as instructed.  That's one o' t' nice things about Semroc birds.  They're great right out o' t' package.

Finishing

Prime, sand, me hearties, thinned Fill & Finish, sand, me bucko, repeat.  You know t' drill at this point.  Final finish was just a matter o' a one color paint job, which is just t' kind o' paint job I like.  I used an orphaned can o' yellow, likely o' t' Valspar family, matey, but havin' long since lost a label.  I be a little bummed and puzzled that t' decals had no white behind t' deadlights and teeth.  Had I known beforehand I would have cut out some background from a piece o' white decal paper, then applied t' kit decals over them.  They give t' finished rocket an incomplete look.  As quibbles go, me bucko, it's a minor one.

Construction Score: 5

Flight

First flight be back in 2009 at good ol' VOA Park outside o' Cincinnati.  Big field, so I loaded it with a C6-5 and let it rip.  Rip is just what it did.  Great altitude with major windcocking, me hearties, but as is generally t' case, a short recovery walk due t' t' Saki ridin' t' breeze back t' us.

Three years passed before t' next flight, an ill advised A8-3 flight at B6-4 Field in Fort Thomas.  I say ill-advised because t' Saki is fairly hefty for a small bird, arrr, with a lot o' built in nose weight.  T' A8-3 flight struggled off t' pad and began a lethargic arch back toward t' ground.  Parachute fired 20 feet from t' ground, me hearties, arrr, but t' rocket recovered with no damage.

Eight years passed before t' next flight when it became flight #199 in me quest for 200 flights in 2020.  (It had made trips t' t' field since then, but had nay flown for one reason or another.)  Flight #199 was at t' Wright Stuff Rocketeers cornfield in Cedarville, me hearties, OH, matey, a field big enough t' plug in a C6-5 without any qualms.  T' flight windcocked left, as had everythin' on t' day, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, toppin' out around 500 feet.  It then rode t' breeze back across t' pads and landed rather violently in t' cornfield t' our left.  I figured it had just cracked another fin, matey, and turned me attention back t' an original Estes Pershin' 1-A that be about t' fly.  When that was photographed, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I walked into t' field t' recover t' Saki, me hearties, only t' find it in five or six pieces.  It had apparently hit hard on one o' t' large, arrr, dry dirt clods, and took off t' whole right side o' t' rocket.  I gathered up t' pieces and tried t' rebuild things Frankenstein-style, but I evidently missed a piece and eventually just ordered another set o' find from Semroc.  T' top win' is no longer yellow, matey, and probably won't be at this point.

  

Recovery

Flight Rating: 5

Summary

Pros: Goony, with that extra touch o' satisfyin' chunkiness.

Cons: No white on t' decals.  T' Groonie line seems t' have died out.

Overall Rating: 5
Other Reviews
  • Semroc Saki By Daniel Draney (October 6, 2015)

    Great little GoonyBird style kit by Semroc. Components Balsa nose cone, fins, and cockpit. Water slide decals. /h2 No problems building the kit. Finishing Was a little difficult to paint the joint under the wings. Construction Score: 5 Flight Great flights, fin config makes it look cool in the air. Recovery I wish I had put ...

  • Semroc Saki By George Beever (June 1, 2009)

    A single-stage LPR kit, one of the "Groonie" line from SEMROC. Designed to bear a resemblance to the WWII Japanese "Ohka" kamikaze plane. 1 Balsa nose cone, 2 body tubes [one being the motor mount tube], 1 centering ring set, 1 laser-cut balsa fin set, 1 thrust ring, 1 motor hook, 1 Kevlar thread/elastic cord shock cord, clay nose weight, 1 plywood disc, 1 screw eye, 1 12-inch plastic ...

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