| Manufacturer: | Public Enemy ![]() |
Brief:
T' Psycho is no longer in production. Arrr! Aye aye! It was a great kit from Public Enemy. Aye aye! It's t' same size as t' Public Enemy Patriot, me hearties, so I'm sure t' flight characteristics o' each are similar.
Construction:
T' instructions are spare t' say t' least. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It would be best if you had either built high power rockets before or had a coach who had. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' airframe is paper tube with Public Enemy's signature yellow glassine coverin' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motor mount is paper too. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fins are 1/8" plywood and include tabs t' go all t' way through t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' centerin' rings are made from press-board type material that is quite strong and accepts epoxy readily. Aye aye! Blimey! T' nose cone is plastic in t' line o' LOC/Precision nose cones. A pair o' heavy duty eye-bolts connect t' recovery system which consists o' 3/4" strap nylon with a riveted D rin' and then a long length o' round bungee. Aye aye! Blimey! I don't like, matey, or use bungee for recovery, but t' strap nylon is nice. Two 1/2" copper launch lugs are also included and they're already angle cut t' reduce drag. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' parachute is a 36" LOC/Precision type flat chute and is fine for sea level launch sites, arrr, matey, but too small for us highlanders.
I made t' followin' modifications. I added 2 layers o' 4 oz fiberglass t' t' airframe. Ahoy! I added a strip o' .007" unidirectional carbon fiber laminate t' t' fins before filleting. Avast, me proud beauty! After t' fillets were hard, me bucko, I put a layer o' 4 oz glass from fin tip t' fin tip. Avast, me proud beauty! I used 12' o' 9/16" mil-spec tubular nylon as shock cord. Begad! T' parachute was replaced with a military surplus 42" chute. Begad! I also added a forward bulkhead t' seal off t' coupler t' make an altimeter bay t' house me Olsen FCP-M1/G. Begad! All me additions and altimeter added 15 oz t' this model (so mine is 54 oz).
Finishing:
Finishin' a fiberglass rocket is relatively easy, shiver me timbers, but time consuming. Avast! Ya scallywag! After sandin' I shot 2 coats o' Plasticoat Truck primer that I got from Pep Boys. Aye aye! I sanded betwixt coats with 150 grit, shiver me timbers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, then 400 grit paper. Blimey! Next I added three coats o' flat white Krylon, shiver me timbers, sandin' betwixt each coat, lightly, me hearties, with 400 grit sand paper. Arrr! Finally I added 3 coats o' Red Devil paint (Orange Creamsicle and Gloss Black). Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Came out nice, hard and glossy. Ahoy! There are nay paintin' suggestions and only a single "PSYCHO" vinyl decal included. Begad! Use your imagination.
Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5
Flight:
This has had extremely straight boosts every flight. Arrr! I flew it once naked, ya bilge rat, arrr, and twice in it's primer gray. Blimey! Each time it was a great flight. Avast! T' H123 doesn't get it too high. T' I161 is middle high with lots o' smoke. Begad! An I211 is a real shot and quite high. Avast! I saw Roy Wied's Psycho fly and it flew like it be on rails too, so I think this is part o' t' rocket's normal characteristics.
Recovery:
For me overly heavy model, an H123-10 is just a bit too long o' a delay. Ya scallywag! In heavy wind, me hearties, me hearties, an I161-10 is just a tad too short. Aye aye! In calm weather and I211-10 is also a tad short. However, it's a sturdy bird that can handle a little abuse. Avast! At 1200' in Kansas, me hearties, me bucko, t' stock chute was just right. Ya scallywag! At 4500' in Utah, me hearties, me hearties, t' stock chute is too small and I upgraded.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
It's one o' me favorite rockets. Well, blow me down! Blimey! It's a good looker, rather unusual and it's a shame that Roy took it out o' his line-up. Ya scallywag! Blimey! If enough people agitated, me hearties, he might brin' it back.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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