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. Avast, me proud beauty! This is nay a beginner rocket in any way.
Construction:
All parts were in t' box in good shape upon inspection o' them. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This way you can use Aerotech motors and Kosdon motors in
the rocket too, me hearties, matey, that is what I did. Ya scallywag! Blimey!
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, me hearties, thar were illustrations for nearly every step, arrr, ya bilge rat, 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.
T' rocket was pretty easy t' build except for one part. Which be the conduit. Blimey! Blimey! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! They want you t' sand a contour out so it will fit neatly on t' the 4" tube when you glue it on. Ya scallywag! Blimey! So I tapped some 80 grit sand paper on t' the tube down t' whole length and started sandin' away. Well, blow me down! Blimey! They came out pretty well, not that you can see t' bottom once it is glued on anyway. Aye aye! Blimey! Other then that it was rather easy t' build. 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, then it won't go together right.
Finishing:
Finishin' be pretty easy. Begad! T' decals were pretty nice. Begad! I would recommend
gettin' some soapy water t' put them on since they are rather big. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! This way you
can move t' decal around on t' rocket once you have put it on. Begad! 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, 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. Ahoy! Next I put
the motor in and put me retainin' clips on and took it out t' t' pad. On
ignition it started off very nicely, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! Once I retrieved t' rocket I looked at the
back end wonderin' what happened, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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, but is fixable. Begad! Ya scallywag! I then sent
the casin' and motor back t' Aerotech and they did nay replace it because the
'aft o-rin' got pinched', matey, t' say t' least I am nay very happy about that. I
will fly again, arrr, arrr, but next time on Kosdon power!
Recovery:
T' shock cord was mounted t' a steel cable which was mounted t' t' forward
centerin' ring. I find this method t' be t' BEST! It is very strong and it
can't burn! T' shock cord be 10 feet o' 1" nylon elastic. Blimey! Which I think
is fine. Well, blow me down! Arrr! But I did nay get t' test it on recovery due t' t' poor flight. Avast, me proud beauty! I
will give 4 points for flight as it was doin' very good until t' burn through
in t' case. Avast!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
Overall t' NCR Patriot is a good kit. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It is nay all that hard either. Well, blow me down! I rate
this a four overall. Ahoy! If they had a bit better directions and a better way to
put t' conduit on it would get a 5.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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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