Manufacturer: | Fat Cat Rockets |
Brief:
Cool rocket inspired by Russian amateur and 1950s Sci-Fi movies.
Construction:
One short body tube, nose cone (Estes long BT- 80) and tail cone (cut from
Estes long BT-80). Blimey! Three big balsa fins and hardwood landin' pods. One plywood
centerin' ring. Nose weight in t' form o' BBs. Recovery system connects
through steel cable that you have t' loop and crimp. Blimey! Begad! Also included is some
elastic shock cord and a 24" parachute that appears completely adequate.
Also included is some stick-on vinyl t' fancy up t' rocket.
T' instructions are quite good. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I have a lot o' experience, matey, and had no problems followin' along. Arrr! Blimey! My fiancée has less experience, and she had no problems either. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' only part that wasn't well described be t' insulator that protected t' plastic tail cone from ejection gasses. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Everythin' else flowed logically. Avast! Blimey! Parts fit be very good. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fin slots in t' tail cone were perfect and t' bottom o' t' tail cone was just right. T' only parts that didn't fit well were t' hardwood landin' pods on t' ends o' t' fins. They required extensive sandin' o' t' fins t' make t' pods fit. Aye aye! Blimey! All parts are strong enough for this size rocket. Begad! Blimey! I put most everythin' together usin' 5 minute epoxy. Begad! Blimey! Be careful in alignin' t' launch lugs. Begad! Blimey! Mountin' them on t' fin is a great idea, shiver me timbers, but you can inadvertently end up aimin' t' rod into t' body if you're nay careful. Also, me hearties, matey, finishin' your fins is more difficult with the lugs in t' way. T' only thin' I changed was t' cut t' bottom o' t' nose cone off and replace t' elastic shock cord with 9 feet o' woven polyprolene cord. When I added t' nose weight, I put t' shock cord into t' nose first, and poured t' BB/Epoxy mixture over it. This is a good sturdy mount. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Flame protection is done usin' a flame proof shield rather than disposable wadding. Begad! Blimey! I also left about 1/4" o' t' motor mount extendin' below t' tail cone for motor retention purposes.
Finishing:
I filled all t' balsa with two applications o' Balsa Lite, ya bilge rat, sandin' after each
application. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! T' joint betwixt t' landin' pods and t' fins were filleted with
a two part epoxy putty. Begad! Ahoy! Then everythin' got a thin coat o' fiberglass epoxy.
This gives t' fins a very hard, very smooth finish. Begad! I didn't bother with the
spiral groove in t' body tube, it's BT-80 and very subtle. Well, blow me down! A couple coats of
primer took care o' this. Begad! Begad! You could fill t' seam betwixt t' tail cone and
body tube with some good putty, this would further improve t' appearance. I
finished it with 4 coats o' Krylon White Sandable Primer and three coats of
Krylon True Blue. Ahoy! Warning: t' contrast betwixt t' brown body tube and white
nose and tail is hard t' cover. Ahoy! Even after four coats o' primer, I could still
tell t' color difference. Begad! If you use a light, slightly transparent color, you
will get subtle color differences that are readily apparent t' t' human eye. Ahoy!
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
T' recommended motors should give you a good flight. Well, blow me down! I've made three flights
with t' Aerotech E18-7 and each flight has been perfect. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! First, me hearties, arrr, I prep the
motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! After puttin' t' motor in t' motor mount, I run a couple wraps of
maskin' tape round t' motor end and t' exposed motor mount tube. Begad! This is a
good retention system and has held just fine in all me similar rockets. Well, blow me down! Then
put t' flame shield in t' body tube and pack t' chute and shock cord in the
nose. Begad! When I put everythin' together, t' chute and cord fall into t' body
tube, me bucko, but it's easier t' get t' nose cone on if everythin' is in t' nose. Ahoy! If
you don't cut t' bottom off t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, this could be a tight fit. The
rocket flies very, very straight despite its unorthodox appearance. Begad! I think one
of t' main reasons is that t' fin slots in t' tail cone are perfectly
aligned. Aye aye!
Recovery:
T' E18-7 ejects right at apogee, so I suspect t' E15-7 will do just as well.
This rocket flies plenty high on an E, but if you want t' try an F, I'd do an
F24-7, or an F32-10. You better have a really big field. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' provided parachute
is t' perfect size. Well, blow me down! This is nice t' see in this day and age o' undersized
chutes.
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
This is an excellent kit. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Top quality components all around. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Frankly, ya bilge rat, this is
the least modified kit I have. Avast! Blimey! I felt confident that each and every component
was just right for t' rocket and flight testin' has proven me right. It's an
attention getter, on t' pad, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and then when it flies perfectly straight and
true, it really gets attention. I like unusual kits, and this is a good one.
T' price is reasonable for what you get because you don't have t' buy anything
extra t' make a durable, matey, flyable model.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5