| Construction Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
Brief
MRC, or Model Rectifier Corporation, me hearties, was a comparitively short-lived low-power company from t' late 80's. Several years ago a number o' their kits were available on Ebay, and bein' a new BAR, I picked an XR-20 and a Firefighter since anythin' old and OOP was good, shiver me timbers, right? I was underwhelmed when they arrived, arrr, arrr, enough so that it took ten years before I went ahead with buildin' t' XR-20. T' XR-20 is a decent lookin' bird, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but t' parts leave somethin' t' be desired.
Components
- 1 - BT-50 (9.5")
- 1 - BT-50 (7")
- plastic nose cone
- 3/32" balsa fin stock
- 18mm engine mount
- 12" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
- 12" sewin' elastic shock cord
- 12" parachute
Construction
T' first thin' that strikes you about t' XR-20 is that t' body tubes seem flimsy. Both o' t' tubes were badly out o' round and it was difficult gettin' t' coupler in. T' coupler is another story. It's as thin as t' body tubes and was out o' round also. I glued things together with Titebond II wood glue and rolled t' structure on me desk t' line things up as much as possible, and t' results were okay if you didn't look too closely. T' engine mount went together nicely with t' Keelhaul®©™ knotted behind t' forward centerin' ring. I had t' peel a layer off o' t' forward rin' t' allow it t' slide into t' bottom o' t' tube, which cured t' out o' round problem. T' nose cone be left in t' top o' t' body tube overnight, after which it slipped in easily. There is no base t' t' nose cone, me bucko, ya bilge rat, so t' screw eye is just inserted into a hole in t' underside o' t' nose cone. This makes t' process o' fittin' t' nose cone in place less simple than in most kits, ya bilge rat, matey, but more o' an annoyance than anything.
Finishing
I could see that finishin' was goin' t' be interestin' early on in t' build due t' t' flimsy body tubes. T' tube spirals seem exaggerated, arrr, almost sharp as you run your fingers over t' tube. This would require a serious amount o' Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler, me bucko, and t' fact that t' body tube was already thin would mean thinnin' it as little as possible. First I sprayed t' rocket with a coat o' Valspar primer, ya bilge rat, then I took care o' t' spirals by loadin' up me fingertip with t' wood filler and slopping down t' spiral. When it dried and was sanded I resprayed t' body tube with primer, then hit t' whole thin' with thinned wood filler. After sandin' this process left me with a respectable lookin' body tube, but still too flimsy for me tastes.
T' paint scheme on t' face card was a simple one, me hearties, in keepin' with t' nature o' t' rocket. White body, me bucko, black fins, ya bilge rat, red nose cone. All o' t' paint was Valspar gloss. So easy a caveman could do it. Or a silverback in me case.
T' decals. Blessed bovine these were terrible. Decent lookin' enough, but a) peel and cuss, ya bilge rat, and b) completely lackin' in anythin' resemblin' adhesive. They had already fallen clear o' t' backin' paper when I opened t' kit. Nay havin' any o' that, ya bilge rat, I printed a set on Bel Inkjet Decal Paper. They're mostly wrap decals, so they're a pain in t' butt anyway, but t' improvement be tenfold.
Flight
Well, shiver me timbers, this will be short. It appears that one flight will be all I dare make with t' XR-20. It be among a box o' finished-but-unflown rockets that I toted north t' a TORC launch in Dayton, Ohio. It's a nice field, ya bilge rat, flat and wide, me hearties, so I felt justified in loadin' t' XR-20 with a C6-5 t' let it stretch out and show what it could do. That part be fine. It left t' pad smartly and flew t' a more than respectable height, then recovered nicely in t' field t' t' left o' t' pads. When t' range was safe I walked out and retrieved it, shiver me timbers, fully expectin' t' give a much better, and quite surprising, flight score. I immediately noticed that t' paint under t' lowest wrap decal was bubbled and touched t' spot on t' body tube. T' tube wasn't there. T' ejection charge seemed t' have burned away t' cardboard, me bucko, leavin' only t' decal t' keep t' airframe from bein' open t' t' wild winds. T' XR-20 be retired on t' spot. Luckily I took a glamour shot on t' pad before t' flight.
Summary
Pros: OOP buzz. Decent lookin' small field flyer. Nice balsa.
Cons: Cheap components. Worst decals ever. (Self-stick and they FELL off o' t' backin' paper.) Body tube was so thin that the ejection charge burned it away under t' decal that I had t' make. Save your money.
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Flights
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