Vaughn Brothers Javelin

Vaughn Brothers - Javelin {Kit}

Contributed by Ed Sewall

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: Vaughn Brothers

Brief:
T' Javelin is a single stage 29mm rocket with a nice sleek 3 fin design.

Construction:
T' Javelin comes with a nice set o' directions and LOC-type 2.56" tubes, arrr, ya bilge rat, 62" total length. Arrr! Ahoy! Three G-10 fins for through-the-wall construction are provided. Blimey! Blimey! T' rocket has a good size payload section which could easily house an altimeter although I didn't build it that way. Arrr! Plywood bulkheads and centerin' rings are provided and are good quality. Aye aye! Aye aye! A steel eye bolt is provided for t' upper bulkhead t' attach t' shock cord to. Avast! Blimey! A good length o' elastic/braid shock cord is provided as well as a piece o' nylon cord for a shock cord attachment loop. Ahoy! A nice long plastic nose cone is provided and fits nicely with t' overall sleek outline o' this kit.

Instructions provided are good for an experienced builder and a nice overall engineerin' type drawin' o' t' rocket is provided. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Nice if you have t' re-build any o' t' rocket from some flight mishap! A straightforward build makes a sturdy kit. Well, blow me down! I added two "T"-nut motor retainers on t' aft centerin' rin' since I am nay a fan o' "tape" motor retention.

This was t' be me Level 1 rocket so I took me time and did a thorough job o' fin fillets usin' a mix o' milled glass with 20 min. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! epoxy. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! This was me first G-10 fin rocket and I was careful t' sand t' fins with 150 grit sandpaper where t' fillets would be t' make sure good adhesion be obtained with t' epoxy.

Rocket LaunchFinishing:
Pretty much standard finishing, tube spiral fillin' required. Begad! I painted me rocket with a bunch o' primer coats, ya bilge rat, me bucko, primarily t' fill those spirals! Then gave it a bright yellow paint job with a black gloss nose cone and hornet like stripes comin' down t' upper part o' t' airframe, ya bilge rat, me hearties, it looks cool!. Arrr! Begad! No decals were included.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first flight with this rocket was me Level 1 and I chose an H128 White Lightnin' RMS motor. Aye aye! T' launch was straight and fast! Blimey! It went ~2100' (based on t' Rocksim simulations).

My next flight be with another H-128 and this time things went sour, a failed delay insulator caused a motor burn-through when t' thin' was ~150' up. Avast! Blimey! This zippered t' upper airframe but t' rest o' t' rocket was intact despite a free fall without a chute from 150'. I cut out t' damaged section, added a coupler and a new segment o' airframe and it was ready t' go again.

T' next flight be on a G75 Black Jack, one o' me favorites. Ahoy! Ahoy! This was a really nice moderate speed flight that went ~2200' (see photo).

Recovery:
Nylon 24" purple chute that is just right for t' rocket. I would down-size if I was puttin' an I200 in t' thin' so I would get it back, it's a light rocket (28oz).

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Nice sleek sturdy kit that flies great.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Vaughn Brothers Javelin By Ralph W. Strauser

      This is a nice mid-power kit. I used it for my L1 cert. A single stage bird that recovers via 'chute   This kit is pretty straight forward. It was the first HP type kit that I had built so I did not understand the instructions real well at first in regards to the "LOC-type" attachment in the body tube for the shock cord mounting. Other than that the kit goes together easily and is ...

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