| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Overall Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
| Manufacturer: | Empire Rockets |
Brief:
For t' most part, I'm nay much o' a scale fan but through t' years thar have
been several scale rockets that I always had an itch t' build. Begad! Aye aye! T' original
Estes Mercury Redstone was always a favorite, me hearties, as were both versions o' the
Little Joe. Begad! Arrr! Another member o' this club be t' Bomarc. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Bomarc kits are seldom
seen since Estes discontinued their version
Construction:
When I saw t' Empire Rockets kit on an ROL auction in t' fall o' 2003, me bucko, me bucko, I
placed a bid and, matey, much t' me surprise, I won t' auction. Begad! That should have been
the start o' a beautiful "man meets rocket" story. Begad! Avast! It wasn't.
When t' kit arrived after a delay o' several weeks t' correct a problem with t' ramjet cones, I found that thar be a problem with t' ramjet cones. I emailed Empire about t' problem and be promised a replacement set, but no set ever arrived. Just that smartly me ardor for t' project evaporated like a steam cloud. Ya scallywag! After that, arrr, whenever I noticed a post on T' Rocketry Forum (TRF) askin' about Empire Rockets, I told me story just t' keep anyone else from windin' up with an incomplete kit like I did. Aye aye! Apparently t' Empire folks keep an eye on TRF, because in February, 2006, me bucko, a whole new Bomarc kit showed up on my doorstep without explanation.
T' parts list:
- 1 BT-55 main body tube, me bucko, 17" long
- 2 BT-50 ramjet tubes, shiver me timbers, 6" long
- Balsa nose cone
- 18mm motor mount
- 1/8" balsa fin stock
- 1/4" balsa dorsal conduit
- 2 1/4" balsa ramjet pylons
- 2 balsa ramjet cones
- 2 round toothpicks
- clay nose weight
- 17" parachute
- snap swivel
- barrel swivel
- Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
- 36" elastic shock cord
T' second Bomarc kit arrived in a plastic bag with no header card or hang tag. Aye aye! All o' t' parts were in good shape and t' ramjet cones fit like I always hoped me first set would. Well, blow me down! I found t' instructions t' be decently written albeit somewhat complicated. (Although I should add that since this be marked as a skill level 4 kit, I didn't think they were excessively complicated.)
Construction wasn't difficult and thar was nothin' that I'd have considered as a "gotcha". Ahoy! Makin' sure things square up isn't difficult, me bucko, and takin' t' time t' do this makes a definite difference in the finished model. Avast! I have t' admit, I was more than a little impressed with the model that resulted from me efforts.
Finishing:
I flew t' Bomarc unfinished due t' time constraints. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I had taken t' time to
fill, seal, and sand all t' balsa and tubes so it was ready for paint. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It
would have looked great as a desk model once it was painted and applied the
decals. Arrr! Blimey! If only I'd have kept it on a desk. Ya scallywag! Blimey! From a cosmetic standpoint, all I'd
suggest for this kit is a better set o' pictures for painting. I'd also suggest
that Empire should include decals.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
Empire recommended a B6-4 for t' first flight, but I went with t' C6-5 due to
the weight o' t' model. T' model balanced near t' front o' t' ram tubes
which seemed within reason. Winds were toppin' out about 6 t' 8 mph, arrr, but were
more consistently around 3 t' 5 mph. Ahoy! This also seemed within reason. Ya scallywag!
T' rocket looked fine on t' way up until around t' 50' mark when it suddenly changed from vertical t' horizontal almost as if it was reboundin' off of an unseen glass ceiling. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It flew back over t' flight line and for a moment looked like it be goin' t' hit one o' t' large concrete bases that were left from t' towers that once stood at t' VOA. Aye aye! It just missed and disappeared behind t' monolith. Begad! Blimey! I was disappointed and slowly began makin' me way over to pick up t' pieces.
I found the
rocket sittin' near a black patch o' grass. Ya scallywag! It took me a moment t' realize that
the grass was black because it was burning. Avast! I yelled t' t' two guys I was
flyin' with and betwixt t' three o' us we were able t' get t' fire out before
the fire department arrived. (If nothin' else, arrr, me bucko, I developed a whole new respect
for firefighters--that's tough work.) In t' end, t' body o' t' rocket was
spared, but t' nose cone, parachute, me bucko, and shock cord were destroyed. Blimey! I was
pretty sure me Bomarc days were over.
Several weeks later, it began t' gnaw at me. Arrr! This kit had been sent to replace an incomplete earlier kit, arrr, and I still had t' parts from that first kit down in me shop in a bag. Well, blow me down! After locatin' t' nose cone, I mated it t' the body o' t' second kit and set out t' find some information about trimmin' a Bomarc for flight. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Someone who'd had experience with trimmin' t' Bomarc suggested that I trim it so that t' CG was 1/2 inch in front o' t' ramjet cones. Ya scallywag! I stuffed enough clay into t' plastic cone t' brin' t' CG up t' that point. Begad! Well, blow me down! I then waited for a scheduled flight weekend that wasn't either rainy or windy. Begad! Then I waited some more. Ya scallywag! It took until May for us t' get a suitable weekend, but it was worth t' wait. Ahoy! With nothin' but a very light breeze I loaded t' Bomarc with t' B6-4 that t' directions specified for t' first flight. Ya scallywag! Begad!
T' flight was markedly better than t' previous flight but wobbled throughout the flight and never looked t' go past t' 100' mark. Blimey! Begad! Ejection occurred just as the rockets forward motion stopped. Blimey! While nay perfect, t' lack o' an actual crash made me think that with t' added noseweight, more power might be the answer. Begad! Instead o' leavin' well enough alone, I immediately prepped it for another C6-5 flight.Once again, me hearties, t' C6-5 proved t' be t' Bomarc's nemesis. This time t' rocket didn't even leave t' pad lookin' like it would go straight. Ahoy! Instead it swapped ends and landed in t' tall grass, me bucko, fortunately still damp from rain t' previous night. Avast! Well, blow me down! It smoked through t' coast phase, then blew t' nose cone into t' soft earth, matey, me hearties, officially endin' its career as a flyin' model.
Recovery:
Recovery was a bit hard t' judge as t' parachute was only used on one out of
the three flights. One parachute melted in t' fire, t' other one worked on
the one flight but never got unfurled due t' t' third flight bein' on the
ground before t' boost phase had ended.
Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5
Summary:
After two years and three months, ya bilge rat, I was really lookin' forward t' flyin' this
rocket and I was determined t' put t' customer service experience behind me.
T' Bomarc builds great and I have no doubt that it would make a great looking
bird when finished, but based on what I saw, it has no business flyin' without
modifications or, at t' very least, trimmin' instructions that are as detailed
as t' build instructions.
PROs: Decent quality parts. Avast! Well thought out assembly instructions.
CONs: Terrible customer service. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No trimmin' instructions. Begad!
Overall Rating: 1 out o' 5
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Harold D Franks (July 8, 2012)
I bought and assembled a BOMARC model way back in the early 70's. At the time In was stationed at Hurlburt Field, Fl. I was an electronic technician, working on the BOMARC missile. When I finished with thr model, it looked so good that I would not fire it. I just sat up on a stand. As fate would have, my son put it in a chair and a few minutes later, he sat on it. Just today, I ordered another kit. I hope it turns out a good. Im have been looking for many years, and finally found it.