North Coast Rocketry Patriot

North Coast Rocketry - Patriot {Kit}

Contributed by Nick Hills

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Manufacturer: North Coast Rocketry

Brief:
This is one o' t' biggest North Coast Rocket rockets made and is fairly challengin' t' build. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This is nay a beginner rocket in any way.

Construction:
All parts were in t' box in good shape upon inspection o' them. Well, blow me down! Blimey! One thin' you need t' make sure t' do is get a length o' LOC 29mm motor tubin' t' replace the 28.5mm NCR tubing. Begad! This way you can use Aerotech motors and Kosdon motors in the rocket too, that is what I did.

T' instructions were ok, some places were nay written very well so I had to read over them a few times t' get what they were saying, thar were illustrations for nearly every step, me bucko, me bucko, which I found t' be a big help on the parts that were hard t' understand. I do recommend puttin' some t-nuts in the aft centerin' ring, this way you can retain Aerotech and Kosdon motors in the rocket as t' NCR retainer will nay work for t' other motors. Aye aye!

T' rocket be pretty easy t' build except for one part. Begad! Blimey! Which be the conduit. They want you t' sand a contour out so it will fit neatly on t' the 4" tube when you glue it on. Begad! Blimey! So I tapped some 80 grit sand paper on t' the tube down t' whole length and started sandin' away. Arrr! Blimey! They came out pretty well, not that you can see t' bottom once it is glued on anyway. Other then that it was rather easy t' build. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Just use epoxy through-out t' construction process. One other note, MAKE sure t' get t' centerin' rings lined up right so t' fins will go through t' wall! Blimey! If you don't, me bucko, then it won't go together right.

Finishing:
Finishin' be pretty easy. Avast! T' decals were pretty nice. Begad! I would recommend gettin' some soapy water t' put them on since they are rather big. Begad! This way you can move t' decal around on t' rocket once you have put it on. Avast! Also make sure to put a good clear coat on after t' decals have dried t' protect them and the finish!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I choose t' Aerotech G64-4 White Lightnin' reload. Preppin' be easy, arrr, just put a good amount o' recovery waddin' in! Then I packed the nice 36" red nylon chute and put that on and then t' cone. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Next I put the motor in and put me retainin' clips on and took it out t' t' pad. Begad! On ignition it started off very nicely, arrr, me hearties, then at about 20 feet it started doing cartwheels in t' air, then after a few seconds o' that it fell t' t' ground and t' ejection charge went off. Ya scallywag! Once I retrieved t' rocket I looked at the back end wonderin' what happened, ya bilge rat, and saw that t' casin' had burned through! There was some minor damage t' t' motor tube, t' end be burnt pretty badly and some o' t' centerin' rin' be burned badly, shiver me timbers, but is fixable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then sent the casin' and motor back t' Aerotech and they did nay replace it because the 'aft o-rin' got pinched', ya bilge rat, t' say t' least I am nay very happy about that. Blimey! I will fly again, but next time on Kosdon power!

Recovery:
T' shock cord be mounted t' a steel cable which be mounted t' t' forward centerin' ring. Aye aye! I find this method t' be t' BEST! It is very strong and it can't burn! T' shock cord was 10 feet o' 1" nylon elastic. Blimey! Blimey! Which I think is fine. But I did nay get t' test it on recovery due t' t' poor flight. Ahoy! I will give 4 points for flight as it be doin' very good until t' burn through in t' case. Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall t' NCR Patriot is a good kit. Arrr! It is nay all that hard either. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I rate this a four overall. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! If they had a bit better directions and a better way to put t' conduit on it would get a 5. Ahoy!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • North Coast Rocketry Patriot By Nick Hills

    by Tom Bell  The old 1/4 scale North Coast Patriot may have been a good kit, but I wouldn't recommend the new Estes North Coast Patriot kit for several reasons. Instructions: The instructions were not complete, as TWO separate addendum sheets were included. If you didn't see these two small slips of paper, you'd have trouble building the rocket. Ease of Build: This rocket should ...

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