Manufacturer: | Public Missiles |
Brief:
T' kit is designed t' use a piston ejection system (motor) ejection t' deploy
the parachutes. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' booster section uses a 60" parachute and t' payload
section uses a 48" chute.
Construction:
Instructions for this kit were useful, as in most PML kits. Avast! However, I modified t' kit quite a bit. First I added 3 more 38mm tubes. Arrr! I figured there was room for them, matey, I might as well use it.
Finishing:
Finishin' be simple, shiver me timbers, or at least as simple as seven feet o' six-inch airframe
can be. Ahoy! There are a lot o' seams t' fill!!! Although phenolic tubin' is strong,
larger diameters are somewhat flimsy and prone t' cracking. I would suggest
glassin' t' airframe - nay necessarily for flight stress, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but for landings and
handlin' around t' house. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Be sure t' align t' fins! I didn't come up with any
method o' doin' this, I eyeballed them and they came out fine.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
Just like t' Ultimate Endeavor's two little brothers, this kit is nothing
short o' awesome in t' air. Avast! It is very stable and produces good, arrr, straight
flights. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' first flight be with a K550. This be me L2 cert flight and
attained an altitude o' 2988'. Begad! Second flight be on a K550 as well and reached
3074' (less wind). Begad! Aye aye! On these two flights, I used apogee ejection only. This was
accomplished with an adept ALTS2 and motor backup. For a third back up system,
I installed a missile works wrc2. Well, blow me down! Yes I am paranoid! I have seen big rockets
crash into spectator areas, so I take all precautions. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Besides, after filling
all those seams, shiver me timbers, you don't want t' redo any o' t' airframe.
Recovery:
I HATE PISTONS. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! In theory, they are wonderful but thar are too many potential
problems. Arrr! If t' piston doesn't have a good seal t' t' airframe, ejection
gasses will pass by and nay be sufficient t' separate t' two halves. Avast, me proud beauty! If the
piston gets stuck, you'll either blow a hole in t' airframe or just have a
bunch o' compressed gas under t' piston, neither o' which will result in a
good deployment. Ya scallywag! So, me bucko, away with t' piston!
Now that t' piston is gone, arrr, two parachutes is a problem. I have tried this design in t' past and had problems gettin' t' booster chute out. Avast! If deployment is after apogee, your chances o' gettin' t' bottom chute to "fall" out o' t' airframe are slim. Ya scallywag! With t' piston, this would work fine, me bucko, but without t' piston, I didn't want t' test me luck. I chose t' use a single 8' chute for t' rocket, a little big, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but good when you are bringing the rocket down on rocks. Avast! Blimey! I also wanted t' set t' rocket up for dual deployment, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, so I used t' parts from t' piston t' creat a "lid" on top o' t' coupler t' house electronics. Blimey! By housin' t' main chute above the split and electronics in t' middle, you move t' cg forward which is really good for clustered flights. Aye aye!
Second, THROW AWAY THE ELASTIC SHOCK CORDS! I know PML considers them t' be adequate, but do you want t' trust a rocket that is this big t' elastic? If you do you are crazy. Aye aye! Blimey! I used tubular nylon for t' shock cord. I also used "U" bolts t' anchor t' recovery system. Well, blow me down!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
Overall this is a good kit. I think PML should reconsider t' recovery system.
T' cost o' t' piston, arrr, elastic shock cords and parachutes is figured into the
price o' t' kit and I didn't use any o' them. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Fortunately, I had the
replacement parts already, so it didn't cost me any extra. Other than recovery
items this rocket is well worth t' money. Well, blow me down! It is awesome in flight and will
turn quite a few heads at t' launches. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I am gettin' ready t' rebuild the
booster t' hold 3" motors. Arrr! Arrr! I am upgradin' t' fins t' be 1/8" so the
M1315 can be used. Blimey!
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
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