FlisKits Decaffeinator

FlisKits - Decaffeinator {Kit} (SP011)

Contributed by Joe Policy

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Diameter: 3.75 inches
Manufacturer: FlisKits
Skill Level: 2
Style: Odd-Roc

FlisKits Decaffeinator

Brief:
T' face card o' this most unusual offerin' from FlisKits proclaims it is "nearly 6 feet tall and weighs only 6 ounces". This rocket is built out o' Styrofoam coffee cups!

Construction:
T' kit includes:

  • 1 Nose Block
  • 1 BT-50 Body Tube
  • 1 BT-70 Body Tube
  • 1 Launch Lug
  • 2 Centerin' Rings
  • 1 Engine Hook
  • 1 Engine Block
  • 1 16" Parachute
  • Shroud Line
  • Tape Disks
  • 36" Shock Cord
  • 36" Shock Line
  • Foamboard Fin Stock
  • 12 16oz Foam Cups

To build this kit, ya bilge rat, you will need t' make sure you have a high temperature hot glue cannon available.

T' build starts out with constructin' t' motor mount. No surprises here, matey, ya bilge rat, just follow t' well illustrated instructions and you will have no difficulty with this part o' t' build. Arrr! Blimey! T' elastic shock cord is attached t' t' upper centerin' rin' and has a loop on one end t' attach t' t' parachute. Avast! Blimey! T' other end o' t' elastic is tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord in a later step.

Next, you shorten t' 17.50" BT-70 tube by 2.25". Begad! Aye aye! Personally, shiver me timbers, I do nay like cuttin' body tubes but this turned out fine. T' instructions have you mark t' tube, wrap a piece o' paper around t' tube at t' mark t' act as a straight edge so you can draw t' line around t' tube. I decided t' use card stock so I could let me knife follow t' edge o' t' paper as a guide. Well, blow me down! Tip: I inserted t' 1" nose block t' act as a mandrel for me cut. Ahoy! Aye aye! This worked great for me and gave me a nice, smooth edge. T' leftover piece is t' be discarded accordin' t' t' directions but I saved mine for a rainy day.

T' 1" nose block is glued into one end o' t' modified BT-70 along with a piece o' Keelhaul®©™ attached t' t' block which be t' second part o' t' recovery system. Begad! Ahoy! T' other end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ attaches t' t' elastic cord from t' previous step. Avast! Once this is done, you attach t' parachute and slide t' motor mount up into t' BT-70. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! It will nay be glued since t' entire mount is ejected durin' recovery.

FlisKits Decaffeinator Now for t' coffee cups! Three cups are modified by cuttin' out their bottoms. Ahoy! There is a ridge around t' bottom o' t' cups. Well, blow me down! If you cut by followin' this ridge, matey, t' BT-70 tube will have no problem fittin' in t' holes you make. I lightly sanded me cuts with some 150 grit sandpaper t' remove t' rough spots but I was very gentle because Styrofoam sands down very easily. T' first two cut cups are then hot glued t' each other at their tops. Avast! Instructions say t' use High Temperature hot glue. Ahoy! It took some gettin' used t' and I had some excess squeeze out on me first attempts--do nay use your finger t' wipe up t' excess! I used some scrap balsa t' clean up t' edges, me bucko, me bucko, which worked quite well.

T' first two cups are slid onto t' BT-70, 1/2" from t' bottom. Well, blow me down! A fillet o' hot glue is used t' tack t' cups in place. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! At this point, arrr, it is time t' make a decision. You have t' option o' either makin' your fins surface mount (easier) or through t' wall (stronger). I chose TTW for strength. Begad! I attached t' shroud/fin markin' guide, ya bilge rat, me hearties, made me marks, then used a ruler t' extend t' marks from t' top edge o' t' first cup t' t' bottom o' t' cup. Ahoy! You essentially are cuttin' out a narrow strip o' t' cup from t' top t' t' bottom. Aye aye! Blimey! I had a little trouble cuttin' through t' hot glue fillet at t' base o' t' cup but a sharp X-Acto knife and some patience did t' trick. Begad! I cut all three slots and then proceeded t' t' fins.

T' fins are made from foamboard. Begad! Blimey! You must follow t' fin layout pattern exactly or you will nay have enough foamboard t' make all three fins. All lines on t' fins are straight, me hearties, so I used a straight edge and several passes with me X-Acto knife t' make t' cuts. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I lightly sanded t' edges o' t' fins with a sandin' block t' remove any burrs. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Once completed, I used hot glue along t' root edge o' each fins and pressed them into place, ya bilge rat, arrr, makin' sure t' fin is straight while t' glue sets up. Begad! Blimey! T' hot glue sets up very quickly, shiver me timbers, me bucko, so I only had t' hold t' fins for 30 seconds. Avast! Blimey! After all t' fins were in place, I added hot glue fillets. Aye aye! Blimey! Take your time with this and keep in mind t' tip o' t' glue cannon is hot enough t' melt Styrofoam!

FlisKits Decaffeinator My fins were about 1/4" too long. Aye aye! If you look at t' pictures provided in t' instructions, shiver me timbers, t' bottoms o' t' fins should be even with t' bottom o' t' BT-70 and t' top o' t' fin should only go as high as t' top rim o' t' first cup. I knew that t' fins were too tall, so I left them hang over t' bottom o' t' tube. Aye aye! It looks just fine. Then you hot glue t' rest o' t' cups together, makin' sure t' third cup with t' hole cut in it is at t' bottom o' t' assembly.

I would change step 23 slightly. It says t' run a liberal bead o' hot glue along t' top o' t' uppermost cup and then smartly slide t' rest o' t' cups onto t' tube. Ahoy! Two problems. Ahoy! One, shiver me timbers, a liberal amount o' hot glue oozes all over t' place once you assemble t' cups, so I had a bit o' a mess t' clean up. A thinner coat would have worked just as well. Second, shiver me timbers, matey, I had t' assembly slid well down t' tube before I applied t' glue, that way I just had t' close t' gap once t' glue was applied. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! T' body tube is a tight fit on t' cups, ya bilge rat, so I did nay want t' mess with tryin' t' get t' upper assembly slid down while me glue be smartly coolin' off.

Last step is t' attach t' launch lug t' t' cups with hot glue and you are finished! This kit took me all o' one hour t' build and 4 glue sticks.

Finishing:
No finishin' is required for this kit. Well, blow me down! Blimey! However, ya bilge rat, me hearties, FlisKits does offer a variety o' shroud patterns that you can download and print on label paper t' jazz up t' cups a bit. Avast! Blimey! I will leave mine bare for now but I do like t' option o' dressin' it up later down t' road.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Preparation is quite simple and you do nay even need any type o' baffle or recovery wadding. Aye aye! Simply wrap t' shock cords around t' upper part o' t' motor tube above t' top centerin' ring, fold t' parachute (it does nay need t' be rolled up), lay t' parachute against t' motor tube betwixt t' upper and lower centerin' rings and slide t' whole assembly into t' BT-70. Ya scallywag! That's it for prep!

My first and only flight was with a C11-3. Blimey! Blimey! It was a bit windy. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Although t' liftoff was perfect, me bucko, t' wind caught t' rocket and it took a nasty arc. Begad! Blimey! Good thin' thar be only a three second delay because she only got t' maybe 200 feet before it nosed over. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' motor tube assembly/parachute ejected just before it hit t' ground. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Fortunately, this is a light weight rocket, me bucko, arrr, and it had a nice soft landin' in t' grass with no damage. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I will be flyin' it again soon on a calmer day.

Recovery:
I believe t' recovery system is perfect t' way it is. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I like t' fact you do nay need waddin' so prep is very easy. I just do nay recommend flyin' on windy days.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an inexpensive, easy t' build rocket with superb instructions that I am sure will be t' talk o' any launch even though you will be usin' materials foreign t' most experienced rocket builders. Coffee cups? On a rocket? Next thin' you know, matey, they will start havin' rockets with pin' pong balls for decoration!

You will have no troubles buildin' this kit. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' instructions even include a variety o' configurations, arrr, one that uses 116 coffee cups! Blimey! My hot glue cannon is ready for some more coffee cup action!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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    Brief: I opened this package to try and build it quite some time ago but stopped when reading the instructions. Most of the construction is done with a hot glue gun and I didn't have one. When my brother in law asked about it sitting on my desk, I told him I didn't have such a tool. A few weeks later, one magically appeared. Thanks Toby! This kit is made from Styrofoam coffee ...

  • FlisKits Decaffeinator By Scott Turnbull

    Brief: This is a 2nd Opinion review of the Fliskits Decaffeinator, a foam cup rocket with a 24mm motor mount. I made a couple of minor modifications to the design. This kit is pretty basic. At its core is the lengthy 24mm motor mount configured for rear ejection from a BT-70 body tube. Around that mount are a collection of foam core fins and Styrofoam cups. The assembled rocket stands over 6 ...

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