| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstar_borderstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Published: | 2015-05-28 |
| Manufacturer: | Estes  |
Brief
Talk about rockets that get no respect. I bought the AstroSat LSX because I lost my scratch built Marauder on an ill-advised C6-5 flight at B6-4 Field back in t' early years. I filched t' cone, matey, then let t' rest o' t' rocket sit on t' dusty corner o' t' workbench until one night a couple o' years later when I was bored and wanted somethin' new t' fly. I'd come by a Sunward cockpit style nose cone that fit perfectly in place o' t' original cone, so I built t' AstroSat LSX as a kind o' Frankenstein bird, ya bilge rat, me bucko, one that I could fly and nay really care if it wound up in a tree. Twelve years later it finally hit me. This rocket is a great performer and as rock solid as they come. I may need t' change me attitude about semi-RTF birds.
Components
- PNC-56 cockpit nose cone (Sunward kit swap)
- BT-56 long body tube
- BT-56 short body tube
- plastic coupler
- plastic fin can
- plastic engine retainer
- plastic fins
- sticker decal
Construction
This kit is an oddity in that t' PNC-55IR nose cone is mated t' BT-56 tubing. This played into me hands nicely as t' Sunward nose cone that I swapped out from t' Gravity Rider kit was a PNC-56 cone. Construction was a simple matter o' gluin' pre-formed plastic parts t' other pre-formed plastic parts, then gluin' that structure t' a cardboard body tube. I used orange tube Testors Model Glue, (the good kind,) in everythin' but t' recovery system. That was handled with t' traditional Estes tri-fold mount, although I tripled t' length o' t' shock cord that Estes had provided.
Finishing
Pre-finished. All thar be for you t' do is paint t' cockpit windows and apply t' sticker decals. So little was me regard for this rocket initially that I didn't bother with t' decals. I stuck them into a folder with other orphaned decals, then ran across them one night on a search for somethin' else. I realized what they were and decided t' apply them t' give t' bland bird some pizazz, shiver me timbers, but t' years o' flyin' nekkid hadn't been kind t' t' AstroSat. T' all white exterior got scuffed and nicked t' t' point that I wound up havin' t' prime and spray it with gloss white paint before I even thought about applyin' t' decals. T' decals applied easily and t' finished product turned out lookin' a lot better than I'd expected.
Flight
I brought this along as an afterthought for t' first flight. I took me son and some friends out t' launch one Sunday and found all o' our normal fields full. Scramblin' for ideas so as t' nay disappoint t' kids, matey, ya bilge rat, I thought o' a little known field out on t' edge o' t' NKU campus. Findin' it empty I christened it Skyline Field for its proximity t' t' Skyline Chili restaurant, matey, which meant that t' air smelled spicy t' whole time we were flying. Skyline Field be little more than a postage stamp o' a field, arrr, makin' B6-4 Field seem almost cavernous. Surrounded by trees on two sides, me bucko, t' restaurant on one and a road on another, ya bilge rat, matey, I had no intention o' riskin' anythin' good on this day o' flying, shiver me timbers, and t' AstroSat fit t' bill nicely. First flight was on a B6-4 and be straight up, matey, straight down. T' flight was surprisingly high considerin' what I considered t' be t' piggish weight o' t' bird. Ejection occurred just as it began t' tip over, and t' satellites were a hit with t' kids, mostly because they weren't expected. Aye aye! Arrr! It recovered softly on t' 18" chute, landin' in short center. All in all a textbook first flight. I had to give grudgin' respect.
T' second flight be a field that I used a lot for a few years until they built a high school baseball field complete with an outfield fence on it. This one was quite a bit larger than B6-4 Field, also flat and more wide open, matey, but bein' as it be located on t' Ohio River, t' breezes were sometimes tricky t' negotiate. Nay for t' AstroSat. Once again t' B6-4 flight be textbook other than t' landin' in t' gravel parkin' lot. T' AstroSat bounced and wound up with nary a scratch.
Flight #3 was t' one that forever cemented t' AstroSat as a gamer. Steve Carr and I were flyin' at Rossford Park on Labor Day weekend. Rossford is pretty expansive, so I decided t' see what a C6-7 flight would be like in t' city limits, ya bilge rat, and chose t' AstroSat as me victim. It left t' rod smartly and took an immediate turn t' t' south. Altitude be everythin' I'd expected, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but I could immediately tell that recovery be goin' t' be tough, as it arced out over several tall trees on t' journey skyward, matey, and now would have t' clear them on t' way back, all t' while losin' altitude with t' parachute. T' AstroSat actually clipped a big Sycamore twice, shiver me timbers, but still managed t' skirt disaster and land on t' hillside that lead t' t' parkin' lot. This bird was charmed.
It was ten years before I again dug out t' now battered AstroSat, this time for service at B6-4 Field. T' three flights it's made thar have all followed a familiar pattern, a fairly straight flight, arrr, high considerin' t' bulk o' this bird, followed by a gentle return via t' 18" checkered chute. I kind o' look at it as t' elder statesman o' me fleet, but it's among a group o' rockets that seem perfectly at home on t' tight field. That alone guarantees that it will get dragged out more often from here on out.
Recovery
Recovery duties have been handled by t' large checkered parachute since flight #1. I bought a large lot o' them via Ebay quite a few years back. They were made from a black and white checked tablecloth and have proven t' be incredibly durable and good lookin' in t' air. I've almost come t' t' end o' me stash and no one seems t' be offerin' a similar deal these days, so I may be scoutin' t' dollar stores for checked tablecloths this spring.
Summary
Pros: Rugged. Great performer.
Cons: Plastic engine mount. Sticker decals. Ugly, arrr, but in an endearin' way.
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Ken Johnson (June 1, 2015)
Sometimes these ready to fly, or nearly ready to fly rockets can be deceptively good. I have one that is nearly 20 years old (I don't even remember the name of it) and has flown on anything from an A8-3 to a D21-7 without any damage at all. I make sure it gets flown when we go out.