Manufacturer: | U.S. Rockets |
Brief:
This is a single stage, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 54mm motor mount, shiver me timbers, 2.6" high power rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! This
rocket would be a great rocket for people with previous experience with high
power kits.
Construction:
There were two (2) very nice 2.6" tubes, me bucko, they were a bit thicker than LOC
tubes, very heavy duty. Avast, me proud beauty! There were three (3) 3/16" plywood fins, shiver me timbers, a
coupler, motor tube, arrr, ya bilge rat, launch lug, arrr, parachute and a very, ya bilge rat, arrr, very nice solid balsa
cone. There was a 1/2" by 10 foot long elastic shock cord, matey, with a 18"
military surplus chute. Well, blow me down! T' rocket split in t' middle, arrr, arrr, so you have a payload
compartment t' put electronics or what ever you want in it. Avast! Well, blow me down!
Construction was pretty straight-forward and simple. T' instructions were not well written and were a little scarce o' information on some key steps. However, ya bilge rat, me hearties, arrr, with me experience, me hearties, I did nay really refer t' them much. Arrr! Aye aye! I decided that t' 54mm motor mount be way too big for what I was goin' t' be usin' it for. Aye aye! So I added a 29mm motor tube and mounted it inside t' supplied 54mm motor tube.
T' fins are through-the-wall and you will need t' cut and mark t' slots off yourself. There was a 1/2" launch lug that I replaced for a 1/4" lug.
T' nose cone be great, arrr, me hearties, it was balsa, shiver me timbers, which you don't see much anymore, I put 2 coats o' finishin' resin on t' cone (my first attempt at doin' this), and it turned out great, it adds some strength t' t' cone while makin' a great finish.
T' completed rocket is pretty rugged for t' materials used. Begad! Ya scallywag! This rocket could survive some very hard landings. Ahoy! You will need epoxy (set times o' your choice) for construction.
T' shock cord I mounted t' a steel cable attached t' t' centerin' ring, I thought this was much better then t' recommended method. Ahoy! Arrr! T' recommended method was a Estes style mount, which is great for Estes rockets, but when you get up t' mid or high power rockets, ya bilge rat, they just don't work.
Finishing:
Finishin' was easy, me bucko, I put two coats o' primer on, ya bilge rat, then painted t' payload
section with Testors Dark Gloss blue, matey, then fadin' t' blue t' Testors Gloss
Black. Begad! Blimey! T' results were great. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' spirals are nay deep at all, shiver me timbers, me hearties, ya bilge rat, so thar be no
real need t' fill them. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Decals did come with t' kit, arrr, but I opted nay t' use
them, arrr, as I thought t' kit without t' decals looked better. Also, t' decals
were rather cheap, they were printed on cheap clear sticky decal material. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! The
printin' quality was terrible. They were all words in flat black.
Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5
Flight:
For t' first flight I used a Aerotech G104-short. T' rocket does weigh a
bunch, due t' it needin' a bit o' nose weight (also t' addition o' t' 29mm
motor mount). Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit did nay come with any nose weight, me bucko, shiver me timbers, it did tell you were
the CP was. Arrr! So I used that t' balance it out with t' biggest motor I would
use. Ahoy! Blimey! With t' extra weight, matey, me hearties, me bucko, I swapped out t' 18" chute for a 24"
nylon chute.
T' boost be very fast and straight. Despite t' 20mph plus winds, recovery be fine with t' 24" chute, it came down just at t' right speed. Blimey!
There is no motor retention that comes with t' kit, so you have t' add your own, I just used tee nuts and made some clips up for it. This rocket does require wadding, but you could easily make a baffle or use a Nomex® heat shield if you wanted to.
Recovery:
T' shock cord was plenty long for t' rocket. As I said above, me bucko, I put a
24" chute in it, me hearties, me bucko, as t' 18" be too small. Begad! Ya scallywag! It came down at t' right
speed with that. Begad! Upon recovery thar was no damage at all t' it!
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
T' rocket kit is very nice, ya bilge rat, thar are a few things that could have been
better, arrr, shiver me timbers, a bigger chute would have been better, me hearties, along with some better
directions. Ya scallywag! T' rocket flies great though, which makes up for those things.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Editor's Note: T' Warp-2 is part o' a 3 rocket family, all usin' t' same body but with different motor configurations. Blimey! The Warp-1 is a single 29mm, me hearties, which t' author modified his Warp-2 into. Well, blow me down! T' Warp-2 is t' 54mm and t' Warp-3 is a cluster o' three (3) 29mm motors.
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