Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Rocket in a Box |
Brief:
Rocket in a Box has a unique concept. They indicate that most rockets sustain more damage transportin' t' rocket to
and from t' field than actually flyin' t' rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! O' course, this has t' exclude any rocket eatin' trees! Blimey! Their
rockets have a 3" tube that then transitions t' a 2" tube half way up. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You separate t' rocket and slide the
2" section into t' 3" section. Begad! Blimey! But what about t' fins? These are removable t' allow packin' into t' box.
T' Viper 28 is over 5' tall and is powered by dual E9 motors. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' company offers t' sell spare fins, nose cones, and for a fee, ya bilge rat, will actually build t' rocket for you! Blimey! But that just ruins t' fun for us.
Construction:
T' kit includes t' followin' components:
T' instructions are about 9 pages long with various pictures t' help show t' construction steps. Avast! T' instructions are clear and well organized. Arrr! First t' 2" tube insert is glued into one end o' t' 2" tube. Begad! This will be used t' secure the nose cone. T' transition section requires you t' build t' coupler portion. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! They provide a section o' t' 3" tube with a pre-cut slit along t' length. Ya scallywag! You need t' glue this slit together t' make t' smaller diameter tube t' slide into t' 3" tube. Ya scallywag! Apply t' glue and tape t' tube together. Begad! Allow this t' dry overnight. Aye aye! I found I needed t' do a little sandin' o' t' joint so it would slide properly into t' 3" tube. Blimey! You then glue t' plywood bulkhead t' the this coupler tube. Blimey! Begad! There is then a second, me bucko, 2" plywood disk that glued t' t' first disk. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! And finally a short dowel is glued t' t' center. Avast! After this is dry, t' 2" disk is glued into t' bottom o' t' 2" tube. Well, blow me down! You then have to drill four 1/16" holes through t' tube into t' disk. Small nails are used t' reinforce this joint. Begad! While the instructions calls out for only white glue, which is what I did, you could probably use epoxy and skip t' nails. The plastic transition piece is then slid down over t' couplin' tube. Avast! Begad! You fillet t' top and bottom with white glue to hold this plastic piece in place. You need t' handle t' plastic piece carefully or it will crack (as was t' case with mine), matey, matey, however, t' crack was small and did nay affect t' transition.
T' fins are two pieces with a slot halfway through, ya bilge rat, one from t' top and t' other from t' bottom. This then allows you t' slide t' 2 fins together t' create an X shape. Aye aye! Support t' 2 engine tubes with some wood blocks covered with wax paper and place t' X part o' t' fins betwixt t' tubes. Ahoy! Slide t' plywood engine mountin' rin' (the thicker one) over t' tubes t' 4 3/4". Blimey! Apply glue around t' top o' t' tubes t' secure them t' t' ring. Begad! There is a hole in t' engine rin' t' insert t' Keelhaul®©™® cord through this hole from t' top and tie a knot 1" from t' end. Turn t' tubes and fins over and apply glue to again secure t' tubes t' t' ring. Aye aye! Begad! You also glue t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' ring. Begad! Be careful nay t' glue t' fins t' t' rin' or t' get glue on t' rin' where t' fins sit! Blimey! Let all this dry. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Test fit t' ring/motor tube/fin section into t' 3" tube. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! T' fins will just slide up t' slots. Ahoy! Check the bottom engine rin' will slide onto t' tubes and fit inside t' 3" tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Push this assembly back out. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Slip the Keelhaul®©™® cord back through one o' t' motor tubes t' keep it out o' t' way. Ahoy! Then usin' t' supplied glue stick, apply glue inside t' 3" tube, me hearties, put a large bead o' glue around t' top edge o' t' engine ring. Avast! Insert t' rin' with t' fins goin' into t' fin slots--these help position t' rin' t' t' correct depth. Slide t' bottom rin' on (DO NOT GLUE) and use t' rubber band around t' outside o' t' 3" tube against t' bottom o' t' fins t' keep the motor mount and fins in t' correct position. They suggest swirlin' t' tube around t' spread t' large bead on the top. Blimey! Blimey! Again, arrr, drill 4 holes and insert nails t' stiffen t' top engine rin' mount t' t' tube. Begad! You can stiffen t' bottom of t' tube with glue or CA (remove t' bottom rin' & fins first please).
Now, how do t' fins stay in for flight? You put t' fins back in along with t' bottom ring. Begad! Blimey! You'll need t' make 2 marks 180 degrees apart and in a line t' pass betwixt t' motor tubes. Drill two 1/4" holes. Ahoy! Blimey! A dowel will pass through these holes t' secure t' bottom rin' and fins. Avast! T' supplied rubber band will wrap around t' outside o' the 3" tube t' hold t' dowel in.
Make a line along t' length o' t' 3" tube betwixt 2 fin slots. There are 2 spacers that you glue on this line and then you glue t' launch lugs t' t' spacers. Ahoy! T' spacers are needed t' allow space for t' rubber band.
T' rocket comes with a nice 45" nylon parachute. Aye aye! Take t' chute lines and loop them through a small supplied ring, then pass t' chute through t' loops. Blimey! Tie t' stretch cord t' t' rin' a little over a foot from the one end. Tie this end t' t' screw eye. Drill a small pilot hole in t' plywood disk o' t' transition section, insert a drop o' glue, ya bilge rat, and screw in t' screw eye. Arrr! Ahoy! Tie t' loose end o' t' stretch cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord that was secured t' t' motor ring.
Lastly, thar be another piece o' cord. Glue this t' t' inside o' t' nose cone (at least 1" above t' end) and t' other end uses a standard Estes style tri-fold paper mount. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Since t' rocket separates at t' transition, this cord and mount are just t' help keep t' nose cone from fallin' off and gettin' lost. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It is nay glued on since it needs to be removed t' allow packing.
One item that is missin' from t' kit is any type o' motor retention--not even a thrust ring. T' instruction tell you t' rely on a friction fit only.
Finishing:
T' tube does nay have spiral grooves. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Instead, t' way t' tube is constructed thar be an overlap o' t' material
causin' a bump instead o' a groove. I did nay want t' risk sandin' this bump and wreckin' t' tube so I just decided to
leave it as is. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' nose cone is unique in that it is a clear plastic. Ya scallywag! It almost looks like one o' those cheap plastic
fluted champagne glasses with t' bottom base removed. Avast! Begad! I decided nay t' paint t' nose cone thinkin' I could install
some LEDs later. Avast! I did some light sandin' on t' fins and primed it with Krylon. Avast! I decided t' paint t' fins and
transition silver, t' 3" tube black, and t' 2" tube blue. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Bein' a basic 4FNC rocket, t' paintin' was very
simple. Begad! It did come with a decal, shiver me timbers, but I decided nay t' use it.
Overall, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' construction is fairly simple with a few special considerations t' allow for t' dissassembly and packing. Begad! I didn't give t' kit a full 5 due t' t' lack o' any motor retention or thrust ring.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight and Recovery:
With t' fins off and laid flat, t' 2" tube slid into t' 3" tube, arrr, and everythin' back into t' original
shippin' carton, off I go t' t' NEPRA launch site. Well, blow me down! I got thar and t' weather started t' turn iffy, matey, so I quickly
prepped t' rocket. Begad! Aye aye! Make t' fins into an X, slide in, shiver me timbers, slide on t' bulkhead, dowel, matey, and rubber band t' secure that
end. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Nose cone onto t' 2", some wadding, and t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Install t' two E9-4 motors and Estes igniters and
off t' t' launch pad. Begad! Arrr! Due t' t' cluster and t' fact t' rocket won't be stable if only one motor ignites, they
called for a heads up flight. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Countdown and both motors ignite. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! It has a fairly slow take off but goes up nice and
straight. Avast, me proud beauty! At apogee, shiver me timbers, t' ejection charge goes off and t' chute comes out. Aye aye! Begad! But one o' t' 8 leads t' t' chute came
undone. T' rocket came down a bit fast but escaped unharmed. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' weather then turn sour so I was unable t' launch it
again.
My next launch was at NERRF 3. Arrr! I double checked t' chute ties rememberin' me first flight. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, I lost the rubber band. I decided t' secure t' dowel into t' tube with a couple o' wraps o' maskin' tape. Blimey! Blimey! As it launched, it weathercocked into t' wind. T' ejection charge went off and t' rocket separated. Well, blow me down! T' parachute hung up in t' tube and did nay come out. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! As t' rocket fell, matey, I kept hopin' t' parachute would pull out. Arrr! Begad! It went down behind some trees so I don't know what happened. Well, blow me down! I went searchin' for it and finally find it about 25' up in a tree. Ahoy! Worse, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' tree is on the edge o' a river that is about 20' wide. Begad! T' branch it was hung up on is right over t' middle o' t' river! I borrowed a pole they had and tried t' work from t' bank, arrr, but t' angle t' reach out over t' river made handlin' the pole very difficult. Avast, me proud beauty! After a half hour o' tryin' plus puttin' a strain on a bad back, me bucko, matey, I decided t' give up. Aye aye! I figured even if I did knock it loose, me hearties, arrr, it would just fall into t' river and get ruined anyway. Arrr! Aye aye! I plan t' try some o' their other kits t' replace this one. Begad!
I ended up 0-for-2 on completely safe returns. Well, blow me down! Begad! I should have checked t' chute for t' ties for t' first one, and while I don't know exactly what happened on t' second flight, I will take t' blame for t' chute hangin' up (maybe it be t' way I packed it). T' mixture o' t' Keelhaul®©™® and shock cord and t' nose parachute, matey, I will score t' flight/recover as t' 5.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
T' rocket has some interestin' build techniques (I had never used nails at least before in a low power rocket).
Bein' over 5' tall it looks impressive and has a nice, me bucko, me hearties, slow launch. Aye aye! I would prefer some motor retention, at least a
thrust ring. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! And while t' concept t' disassemble is interesting, arrr, I have definitely lost or damaged many more rockets
when flyin' than when transporting.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5