Yank Enterprises IRIS (4")

Yank Enterprises - IRIS (4") {Kit}

Contributed by Scott A. McCluskey

Manufacturer: Yank Enterprises
Rating
(Contributed - by Scott A. McCluskey)

Yank 4 in. IRIS Brief:
Built as a High Power rocket. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Set up for dual deployment usin' altitude kit and electronics.

Construction:
T' airframe components for t' 4" IRIS are one 36" flexible phenolic tubes and one 28" flexible phenolic tube. Aye aye! T' airframe for t' booster section comes pre-slotted for thru-the-wall attachment o' t' fins. Blimey! There are 4 fins made o' 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood. Well, blow me down! T' two motor mount centering rings are made o' 1/4" Baltic Birch plywood. Well, blow me down! T' motor mount is a extended PML Quick Switch 2000 motor mount. Avast! T' 24" 54mm tube is installed in the IRIS with fittings t' accept 29 and 38mm adapters. Aye aye! T' shock cord is 20' of 9/16" tubular nylon. Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone is a 4" by 16.5" exposed length plastic nosecone. An altitude package was installed for t' dual deployment recovery. Blimey! T' altitude kit consists of: 1 10" flexible phenolic coupler, arrr, 2 - 1/4" threaded rods, ya bilge rat, 2 - 1/4" eyebolts, shiver me timbers, 2 -1/4" Baltic Birch bulkheads, me bucko, 1 - 1/4" Baltic Birch mountin' ring, 1 - Baltic Birch mountin' plate, shiver me timbers, 15' o' 9/16" tubular nylon, matey, 1 - 108" rip-stop nylon parachute replaced with a Rocketman R7C chute.

T' instructions that come with t' IRIS are very easy t' follow. Well, blow me down! I have some pictures o' t' rocket as a kit and construction on me site (link button above). Ahoy! I decided t' reinforce t' kit with fiberglass cloth and epoxy t' make it capable o' flyin' with t' larger Aerotech 54mm motors. T' do this I wrapped the airframe and fins with 4 oz. Begad! and 3 oz. Blimey! fiberglass cloth. Begad! I reinforced the motor mount with an additional centerin' rin' and 2 lengths o' 1/4 - 20 all-threads. Blimey! I epoxied t' fin can into t' airframe usin' West System Epoxy 105 resin, 206 Hardener, me hearties, and 406 Colloidial Silica. Aye aye! Begad! Once t' epoxy dried I foamed t' fin can with NHP Liquid Foam t' make t' fin can and airframe one single unit.

Finishing:
T' IRIS is Red, White, me bucko, arrr, Black and Silver. Aye aye! I used Peter Alway's Rockets o' the World t' get t' necessary scale information and paint scheme. Arrr! Begad! I sprayed the airframe with a basecoat o' Krylon white. I painted t' nose cone and upper airframe with Krylon Silver and I painted t' fins with Krylon red. I decided to use Mono-Cote for t' black in t' roll pattern and it worked great!! I wanted a scale look so I ordered scale ARC IRIS decals from Randy Brust at: rocketgraphx@aol.com and they really added t' t' look o' t' rocket. Blimey! Arrr! I would highly recommend Randy's decal service. Well, blow me down!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Yank 4 in. IRIS Flight:
Recommended motors are I-211, matey, I-284, matey, arrr, me hearties, I-300, I-357, arrr, I-435, J-135, shiver me timbers, J-170H, ya bilge rat, J-180, J-260H, me bucko, J-275, ya bilge rat, J-350. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I have flown t' IRIS on a J350 and a 54mm long burn K185. Begad! Both t' J-350 and t' K-185 flights used plugged motors and used electronics and ejection charges for dual deployment recovery. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I use Nomex® cloth for recovery waddin' and Aero-Pack motor retainers. T' rocket flies very straight and has flown t' over 2000 ft. Avast! on a J-350 and t' over 6000' on a K-185.

Recovery:
Recovery is accomplished usin' dual deployment. Avast! T' two sections separate at apogee and are attached with t' 20' o' tubular nylon. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I let t' rocket fall without a drogue until t' programmed main parachute deployment altitude which is determined by t' electronics I am usin' on that flight. I have deployed the main parachute at 400 ft. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! and 500 ft. Ya scallywag! T' main Rocketman R7C chute is attached to t' upper section with 15' o' tubular nylon. Avast! T' IRIS is fairly easy to prepare for flight and has recovered from all flights t' date with no damage other than some wear and tear.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I highly recommed t' Yank 4" IRIS kit! T' quality o' t' components and the ease o' buildin' t' rocket make t' IRIS one o' me favorite kit projects to date.

I am plannin' on buildin' t' Yank 2" and 3" IRIS kits t' add to my IRIS fleet. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

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