Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstar_borderstar_borderstar_borderstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Fun Rockets |
Brief:
I bought 36 Swingers in a job lot. Arrr! Ahoy! Obviously I was goin' t' fly one, arrr, arrr, as
Ive been more interested in rocket gliders than rockets for some time.
Construction:
After a bit o' trimming, arrr, this rockets is ready t' go. Ahoy! T' general feel o' the
kit is cheap. T' elliptical wings that sweep forward are very stiff and unless
the elastic band is stretched taught t' wings rarely swin' forward completely,
unless they are worked a bit. I added silicone spray t' t' last swinger and
that helped. Avast! Avast! T' wings are held back durin' boost via a metal pin attached t' a
block with t' largest pin stickin' up from t' body tube. Begad! T' ejection charge
moves t' block and pin forward releasin' t' wing.
T' aft stabilizer is slid into t' aft o' t' boom. Arrr! Avast! It's a tight fit and does nay require gluin' so this helps keep t' mass down.
T' most difficult part is trimming. Avast, me proud beauty! T' balance point is given in the instructions, ya bilge rat, clay is provided but on two o' t' swingers that I trimmed the test throws resulted in t' polystyrene nose cone breaking.
Instructions are clear, shiver me timbers, but even with t' balance corrected t' t' given balance point in t' instructions, test throws showed that t' glider needed to be trimmed again.
Finishing:
While thar are two stickers t' add and a bit o' trimming, matey, t' coarse
polystyrene and bright yellow and orange colorin' makes this an ugly beast. Well, blow me down! The
stickers do help t' prevent t' motor from meltin' t' polystyrene wings. Ahoy!
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
All three flights have been on C6-3s with t' same results. Each time the
rocket arcs after take off. Ahoy! Blimey! At t' end o' t' boost phase, t' Swinger is
either vertical or nose cone down. Avast! Blimey! T' coast phase brings t' Swinger really
close t' t' ground, shiver me timbers, t' wings then sweep forward awkwardly causin' t' glider
to hit t' ground. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! There have been variations in t' way it hits t' ground,
but each time t' Swinger becomes a mass o' broken polystyrene. Blimey! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I doubt if this
glider ever has or ever will glide.
Recovery:
I wish it did!
Flight Rating: 1 out o' 5
Summary:
If someone buys you this kit, then build it as guided above but do nay install
the motor. Take t' Swinger out t' your flyin' field and them jump up and down
on it. This way you'll still have a smashed Swinger, but you won't waste a
motor.
Overall Rating: 1 out o' 5
Brief: This almost-ready to fly kit is a good introduction to the concept of the swing-wing glider. I stumbled across one in a clearance bin at my neighborhood craft/hobby store and at $5 couldn't pass it up. With a lightweight and colorful Styrofoam body, this looks like a nice little flyer (but mine wasn't...). Construction: Opening the box turned out to be harder than making the ...
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