Rocket Vision Mach Buster

Rocket Vision - Mach Buster

Contributed by David Urbanek

Construction Rating: starstarstarstar_borderstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: Rocket Vision

Introduction
This model usually causes a lot o' buzz, matey, and why not? When you pop a 24mm G55-10 into it, most o' t' rocket is motor. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! It's really awesome.

T' line is called Rugged Rockets and for good reason. T' pre-slotted airframe is a fabric phenolic with no spiral line at all. Blimey! T' fins are made o' G-10 fiberglass and are pre-cut. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' nose cone is a thick hard polystyrene. T' shock cord is made o' Keelhaul®©™, me hearties, as are t' parachute shroud lines. T' rip stop nylon chute has metal grommets. Begad! They also include a Nomexparachute shield. Aye aye! T' only down side be t' launch lug. Ahoy! Begad! Its inside diameter is too small and it tends t' bind on most 1/8" launch rods.

If you replace t' launch lug, flights are straight and very fast even on a D12-7. On t' G55-10, it flies out o' sight and it does go Mach 1+. Avast! On t' down side t' Nomexshield gets crusty and hard over time. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Also t' white parachute is impossible t' see at t' altitudes it can reach.

[Rocket Pic]

Faster, arrr, faster...
From what I've seen, me hearties, t' lure o' a rocket that exceeds Mach 1 and doesn't exceed $100.00 per flight, arrr, is quite attractive t' newbies. Well, blow me down! It was for me. Arrr! I had RockSim 3.0 and so when I got it, I just had t' know: will it really go Mach 1.2? You becha. It also goes over 5,000'. At t' time I had no concept o' what that would mean for a 13" rocket. Oh, but it's a lot o' fun.

Construction...
This is a really easy build. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' body tube is a very sold fabric phenolic, arrr, t' fins are G-10 fiberglass. T' nose cone is thick plastic as be t' launch lug. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' parachute is a white rip stop nylon with metal grommets where t' shroud lines attach. T' shroud lines are Keelhaul®©™, as be t' shock cord. They also include a Nomex heat shield.

On t' good side t' instructions are complete and all t' parts are thar and they are o' high quality.

There are a few things they need t' fix though. Avast! Blimey! First, t' nose cone is very tight. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! You'll need t' sand it quite a bit, but don't do too much. It should be a very tight fit. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Second, matey, t' launch lug is too small if you're goin' t' boost this rocket on a G motor. Avast, me proud beauty! With just about any motor this rocket only needs about 12" or launch rod, arrr, but it can really whip that rod around. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Go with a 1/2" lug. Begad! A good way o' gettin' one is t' cut 1" off a Bic pen and glue this on for t' launch lug. Ya scallywag! Third, me hearties, a white parachute is a terrible choice for a small rocket that's goin' t' go over 3,000'. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I will be replacin' this with a streamer anyway. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Fourth, thar's nay much room in t' body tube for t' parachute, let alone t' Nomex shield. Blimey! T' Nomex gets black and crusty really fast and once it does, it's an impediment t' ejection.

Make sure you paint this very bright colors because more often then not, me hearties, you're goin' t' be lookin' for this rocket after losin' sight o' it in flight. Finishin' is very easy due t' t' materials used.

Ratin' is 3 points on a scale o' 1-5

Flight & Recovery...
I've flown it 4 times. Arrr! T' first flight was on a D12-7. Begad! Ahoy! T' rocket really got up an moved, but it angled off funny. Arrr! I didn't know why at t' time. Ya scallywag! Then I loaded up t' G55-10. Avast! Arrr! This flight be spectacular in a bad way. Avast, me proud beauty! It bound on t' launch rod somethin' fierce and flew off almost horizontal. Begad! It was tryin' t' stabilize even as it slammed into t' ground at full speed (500+ mph). Avast! Total damage was a 1.5" crack in t' body tube which was easily repaired.

I repaired t' damage and replaced t' launch lug. Well, blow me down! T' next outin' I started with t' D12-7 again. Aye aye! This time it was an arrow straight boost. Begad! Real thin' o' beauty, but t' D12 didn't have enough ejection t' push t' now crusty Nomexout t' top. Begad! T' chute never deployed. Begad! Avast! T' last flight had a nose cone full o' trackin' powder and an F72-10. Avast, me proud beauty! Great boost, arrr, a couple o' people heard t' sonic pop. Avast! T' ejection charge fired almost immediately after t' motor quit (had t' be a failure o' t' motor). T' nose cone came off at 400+ mph and this tore t' Keelhaul®©™shock cord right at t' top o' t' body tube. At least it proved you can't zipper a Mach Buster. I got t' body back, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' nose cone drifted off on t' chute.

Motor 4300' Elevation Sea Level Max Speed
Estes D12-7 1220' 1180' 195 mph
Aerotech E15-10W 3660' 3370' 415 mph
Aerotech E30-10T 3630' 3340' 490 mph
Aerotech F72-15T 5435' 4930' 870 mph
Aerotech G55-15T 6485' 5890' 955 mph

Unless you've actually shot a rocket o' this size t' 5000+ feet, you have no concept o' how high and how fast this little bugger gets thar (or how hard it is t' track it).

Ratin' is 5 points.

Overall...
This rocket is built for speed, arrr, nay comfort. Ya scallywag! It's high performance, very stable and very tough. Aye aye! It's a rush t' fly it on D12-7 even. Aye aye! Aye aye! Replace t' launch lug and thar's no real need for a chute, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, so I'd go with a streamer. Blimey! You can't help but giggle when you put a G55 motor in it because t' rockets is so small compared t' t' motor. Begad! All in all, it's a lot o' fun.

Ratin' is 4 points.

Other Reviews
  • Rocket Vision Mach Buster By Moira Jean Whitlock

    This is a small, phenolic toughly made rocket designed to break the sound barrier and is able to do so on 24 mm engines, namely Aerotech's F72 and G55. All the parts were there, and were strong. My only difficulty was the tight fit of the nose cone to the body tube. I sanded the nose cone to loosen the fit, as I was unsure that the engine could build sufficient pressure to pop it. The ...

  • Rocket Vision Mach Buster By Terry Moore-Read

    Single stage rocket capable of exceeding the speed of sound on 24 mm F & G motors. The overall quality of the kit was excellent. The instructions were clear and easy to understand (there are also further instructions on the rocketvision website if you need them) Very little preparation of parts was required - sanding to round the leading / trailing edges of the fins and to make them ...

  • Rocket Vision Mach Buster By Greg Dunham

    Brief The Machbuster is a great looking kit that is straightforward to build, has outstanding performance and is inexpensive to purchase. It uses 24mm motors from D12's through G55's with parachute recovery. With F and G motors the rocket will break the sound barrier and reach 900 miles an hour with the G55's. Construction The kit arrived the day after I ordered it. (Ok I only live about ...

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