Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Manufacturer: | LOC/Precision |
Brief:
T' Viper IV is similar t' t' LOC Viper III which has several reviews here,
but has four 24mm motors tubes instead o' 3.
Construction:
T' kit includes one body tube, four motor tubes, matey, two centerin' rings, arrr, four
fins, matey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and a nose cone. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I received it in pieces, with no instructions and the
main body tube and nose cone were gone so I replaced t' tubes with standard
LOC tubin' available from our local hobby store and an AeroTech Strongarm
nosecone.
As I said before I didn't get any instructions with this, me bucko, however, arrr, ya bilge rat, the layout is so easy I'd bet virtually any one with previous MPR building experience could do it without t' instructions. Begad! Standard LOC tubes and mountings don't change much from bird t' bird.
Finishing:
No decals are included with any LOC kits, arrr, which in me opinion is too bad. In my
case I wanted somethin' other than a standard paint job so decals probably
wouldn't have helped me. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag!
Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5
Flight:
I have three flights this year on this rocket, me bucko, all have been fantastic. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used
Nomex®
chute protectors so I didn't need wadding, matey, ya bilge rat, though I suspect waddin' would work
as well.
First flight was on Estes D12-7 motors.
Second and third flights were on Estes E9-8 motors. Avast! Avast! These last two flights had t' rocket nearly vanished from me view they went so high. Aye aye! Aye aye! On t' E9 motors it seems t' go forever. "Wow" is all I can say.
Recovery:
I used t' standard LOC side mount for t' shock cord. Avast! It isn't showin' any
wear or tear yet so I believe I'll get many flights on it. T' chute is the
best 24" X-form I've ever seen.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
I love this rocket and t' Viper IV one o' me favorites. Blimey! Arrr! I do wish LOC would
make decals or at least make it possible t' find t' files t' match t' photos
on their web site, but hey, we are rocketeers so we can design our own or do
custom paint jobs, me bucko, right?
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
J.N. (November 28, 2004)