Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Thrustline Aerospace |
Brief:
A short and fun two motor cluster rocket with 6 fins with a cool military-esque
style.
Construction:
THe kit contains:
This rocket is quite simple t' construct and uses many o' t' features that we rocketeers consider t' be t' best way t' do it. Ya scallywag! For example, me hearties, t' centering rings are laser cut light ply, t' shock cord mount is 'Quest' style, and everythin' is high quality. Ya scallywag! In me kit, I used wood glue and CyA for all construction. Ya scallywag! It is amazingly simple t' build. Basically, matey, all you do is glue the motor tubes together along with t' thrust rings, attach t' Keelhaul®©™® shock anchor by drillin' a hole through t' top centerin' rings, matey, me hearties, ya bilge rat, cut and fill the fins, attach them, me hearties, add nose weight, launch lug, me bucko, and parachute, paint, arrr, and fly! Plenty o' everythin' is supplied in this kit, arrr, ya bilge rat, and you have enough left over t' build another, ya bilge rat, me bucko, albeit smaller, shiver me timbers, matey, rocket with t' excess.
The centerin' rings are laser cut 1/8" thick light ply. They are strong and durable; in me opinion, shiver me timbers, it is borderline overkill. Avast, me proud beauty! You could easily go with fiberboard with this motor configuration and have no troubles. Avast, me proud beauty!
T' fins are 1/8" balsa that you have t' cut out from a pattern. Begad! This is easy t' do and if this is one o' t' qualifications t' make this a "builder's kit", me bucko, it definitely passes. Ahoy! I personally enjoy cuttin' out fins for kits, shiver me timbers, me hearties, as it provides me with a sense o' accomplishment. Begad!
With this kit, you may get a plastic nose cone or a balsa nose. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I got a plastic nose and I think I prefer it over t' balsa cone. Ya scallywag! T' instruction have you drillin' several holes into t' balsa cone and coverin' it with epoxy, ya bilge rat, yet with t' plastic cone, me bucko, just drop t' weight in, matey, me bucko, secure it with t' epoxy, and go! Easy enough.
Finishing:
I finished this rocket with yellow glue fillets, ya bilge rat, me hearties, then use Elmer's Fill 'n'
Finish (and sand and sand and sand if you know what I mean) t' create some very
nice fillets. I trimmed t' ends o' t' launch lug at an angle t' make it look
better. Arrr!
I then used a coat o' Krylon Gray primer t' find spots, me bucko, matey, fillin' t' most noticeable ones, arrr, and then covered it with a coat o' white gloss as a basecoat. T' entire model be painted black, me bucko, then masked off t' fins and painted them glossy purple, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, however, me bucko, me bucko, because o' t' black basecoat, shiver me timbers, they turned out t' be a flatter purple. Arrr! Remind me nay t' do that again!
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
For t' first flight, me bucko, I used a pair o' A8-3's and t' supplied 12" nylon
chute. You could easily describe this as a lob flight. Ahoy! Blimey! T' burn on t' two A8's
is so short that it just barely cleared 75 feet before they burned out. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Apogee
was at about 150-175 feet, and then it landed about 40 feet from t' pad.
Great, ya bilge rat, smooth flight but it needed more power.
For t' next flight, I used 2 B6-4s. This time I used a red Rockethead mylar chute and t' flight was much more satisfying. Blimey! Very quick off t' pad with an apogee o' around 500 feet and it landed about 70 yards from t' pad. Blimey!
In my opinion, me bucko, matey, me bucko, B6-4s are t' best choice for this rocket. Well, blow me down! I have yet t' try it on C6-5s, but I think it will be just peachy...and very, matey, very fast!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
I feel that this is a great little rocket and it makes for a great park flyer
on A8s and B6s. Arrr! As a Skill Level 2 kit, me bucko, it makes for a good weekend build and
is challengin' enough t' be fun. Avast, me proud beauty! Thrustline has a great thin' goin' with their
new line o' kits and I recommend you get this one. It'll be great fun!
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5