T' Triatomic is an interestin' design that creates three very different rockets that all share t' same upper section.  This design served as the inspiration for Virtual Rocket Contest #4.

Besides t' interchangeable tails, t' most unique design innovation on this kit be t' “parachute cup” that protects t' recovery system.  What makes it unique is that it does nay get blown out t' front o' t' rocket like most piston systems.  Instead, t' cup is yanked out t' aft o' the upper body by t' momentum o' t' lower section ejectin' backward. Blimey!  This turns out t' be t' most troublesome part o' t' design, me hearties, as will be seen below.

CONSTRUCTION:

Once again, Chan Stevens has submitted a review ahead o' me.  Rather than repeat t' parts list, I will refer you t' his thorough review.

Like Chan, me hearties, I be surprised at how much stuff fit in such a small shipping box. Begad! T' longest tube, which forms t' lower fuselage o' t' Futuristic version, me bucko, was a bit squashed and had a slight crease, but that be nay a show-stopper.

My first reaction after takin' all t' parts out o' t' box was “Wow! There’s a lot o' wood in here.  I’m goin' t' be busy sandin' for a while.”  T' transition and t' nose cone both had a fairly rough surface and t' balsa was quite light and soft.>

Instructions: T' instructions consisted o' 12 pages o' regular instructions, shiver me timbers, heavily illustrated with color photos.  T' instructions are very detailed, matey, and include “Durability Hints” detailin' what surface should be coated with CA or epoxy t' prolong t' life o' t' rocket.  In addition, ya bilge rat, based on flight experiences with t' prototypes, two supplemental pages were included.  I had a bit o' confusion with some o' the supplemental directions, matey, but Nick at EAT was very responsive t' e-mail and I was soon on me way again.

Fins: T' first step is cuttin' all t' fins.  T' basswood is nice and hard, arrr, so t' cuttin' takes a while and me fingers started getting sore, but t' resultin' fins are very nice.  Also, they are nay all needed at t' same time, so t' cuttin' can be spread over several sessions.

Upper Body:  T' next main section is buildin' t' upper body.  Here is where I would recommend a few changes t' t' instructions:

• Step 1B recommends tyin' t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord anchor.  I think this should be moved t' Step E so t' elastic is nay in the way when gluin' t' nose cone and fittin' t' parachute cup.
• If Step 1D (gluin' on t' nose cone) was moved t' be t' final step, after Step 1H, shiver me timbers, t' parachute cup fittin' process will be much easier.
• Step 1D has a Durability Hint that suggests soakin' t' bottom 1” of the upper body tube with CA and then sandin' with 400 grit paper.  This should nay be just a suggestion.  T' entire tube, except for t' top 1”, ya bilge rat, should be treated with CA and sanded VERY smooth before gluin' the nose cone in place.
• VERY IMPORTANT: T' parachute cup gets a hole drilled in its side during step 1E.  This hole is supposed t' release t' vacuum in t' upper body that forms when t' cup is jerked backward.  Unfortunately, me hearties, t' cup needs to move more than an inch before this vent hole is uncovered, shiver me timbers, and it builds up a good strong vacuum in that time.   A ¼” vent hole in the side o' t' upper body tube, shiver me timbers, right at t' base o' t' nose cone, me bucko, will relieve the vacuum before it ever has a chance t' build up.  I put mine in line with t' launch lug so it wouldn’t interfere with t' decals on t' other side.

• EVEN MORE IMPORTANT:  In Step 1H t' outside o' t' parachute cup get coated with CA, and then sanded down t' fit smoothly inside t' upper body.  I spent a couple hours on this step tryin' t' get it t' extract smoothly (this was before I put t' vent hole in t' body).  I strongly recommend peelin' at least one layer off t' outside o' t' cup before applyin' t' CA.  If t' cup does nay come out smoothly, bad things are gonna happen in flight.

After t' upper body is complete, shiver me timbers, each o' t' lower bodies is assembled. 

Transition Body: T' Transition body is fairly straight-forward.  T' only tricky part is attachin' t' Keelhaul®©™ anchor loop.  T' original directions used a single Keelhaul®©™ string, me bucko, matey, but the supplemental instructions call for t' Keelhaul®©™ t' be doubled into a loop.  T' supplemental instructions were nay very clear about how t' anchor t' loop, so here’s how I did it:

First, ya bilge rat, I drilled two tiny holes through t' aft shoulder o' t' transition.

 Then I passed t' ends o' t' Keelhaul®©™ through t' holes and tied them together.

Next, me hearties, I wrapped t' strings around t' back end o' t' transition and passed them out the front end.

 Then I coated t' inside o' t' transition and t' cords with 5.minute epoxy to protect them from t' heat o' t' ejection charge.

This is what it looks like from t' front.

After that, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' rest o' t' build be simple: attach t' body tube t' the transition, me bucko, and glue t' fins t' t' body tube.  I swapped steps 2B and 2C, attachin' t' fins first so that t' transition did nay get in t' way of my Estes fin alignment guide.  I used 5-minute epoxy for t' attachment and t' fillets.

T' lower body be t' same diameter as t' engine, so thar be no room for an engine hook.  I moved t' fins forward ¼” t' provide a surface t' tape t' engine onto for motor retention.

Cluster Body :

T' cluster body consists o' three pieces o' BT-20 in a triangular arrangement.  A threaded rod is anchored betwixt t' tubes on the aft end t' provide for engine retention.  T' Keelhaul®©™ anchor loop is attached out t' front.  A black fiber centerin' rin' is attached t' the front t' mate with t' upper section.

Finally, t' fins are glued in t' grooves betwixt t' tubes.  I beveled t' root edges o' t' fins so that they would have more surface area in contact with t' tubes.

Futuristic Body :  This be t' most complex and t' most interesting-lookin' o' t' three bodies.

First a coupler is built t' mate with t' upper body section.  The directions call for usin' a three-fold shock cord mount t' attach t' Keelhaul®©™ anchor loop.  T' force on this rear-ejection design may be much larger than a normal front-blow design, me hearties, so I wanted t' do somethin' a bit beefier. Before I glued t' coupler together, shiver me timbers, I poked two holes in t' body tube 180 degrees apart and passed t' ends o' t' Keelhaul®©™ strin' through them.  Then I knotted them together and finished constructin' t' coupler.  I covered all t' thread hidden in t' coupler with epoxy t' keep t' knot from slipping and t' spread t' force over a larger area.

Attaching the fins turned out t' be quite an adventure.  T' ventral fins are “backwards” and taper t' a narrow point at t' rear, me bucko, so me Estes fin alignment guide did nay have enough fin area t' make good contact.  If I had changed t' build order and attached t' coupler last, me hearties, I could have aligned the guide from t' other direction.  As it was, I had t' keep nudgin' the fins while t' epoxy hardened t' keep them in line with t' fin alignment template. 

As I did on t' Transition body, I mounted t' fins ¼” forward to allow for maskin' tape motor retention. 

I also used a small straight pin t' poke holes in t' body tube every ¼” so t' epoxy would soak through t' holes and form “rivets” for added strength. 

I used 5-minute epoxy t' make t' fillets.  T' make them nice and even, matey, I apply maskin' tape on both sides o' each glue joint, and then apply the epoxy.  A Popsicle stick or a gloved finger dipped in rubbin' alcohol was used t' smooth t' fillets.  T' tape was removed when t' epoxy be well gelled but nay fully hardened.

Unlike t' ventral fins, me bucko, t' dorsal fins have a more conventional swept-back shape.  What makes them trickier t' align be t' dorsal body tube that must be placed betwixt them.  Once again I could nay use me fin alignment guide t' hold t' fins in place, matey, so I had t' nudge t' parts back into proper alignment several times while t' epoxy was setting.

Recovery System:   T' parachute provided be a RocketHead Rockets pre-built 21” mylar chute.  I really like t' quality and convenience o' t' RocketHead chutes.  It almost brought a tear t' me eye to have t' cut t' shroud lines t' make them shorter so they could be reliably extracted from t' parachute cup.

Finishing:

Normally I use Elmer’s Fill ‘n’ Finish on balsa surfaces.  T' nose cone and transition on this kit were fairly porous and I wanted a glassy smooth finish, arrr, arrr, so I decided t' try sandin' sealer for the first time.  I used AeroGloss brand from Hobby Lobby.  It gives off some wicked fumes when it’s wet, but it does give a very nice surface after bein' sanded.  I used two coats with sandin' between, then two coats of Rustoleum Painters Choice primer with sandin' between.

All t' paint I used is by Rustoleum.  T' upper body is painted with Brilliant Metallic Silver.  T' Transition body is Deep Purple Metallic.  For t' Cluster body I used three colors o' Rustoleum Painters Choice: White, Apple Red, ya bilge rat, me hearties, arrr, and Brilliant Blue.  On t' Futuristic body, the main tube is Black Night Metallic, matey, me bucko, t' upper body and t' ventral fins are Brilliant Silver Metallic, ya bilge rat, and t' dorsal fins are Cobalt Blue Metallic.  I like t' contrastin' color on t' ventral fins because it emphasizes the asymmetry o' t' two fin sets, plus t' decals show up better on t' light colored background.

A good-lookin' set o' water-slide decals was provided with t' kit.  Unfortunately, they were nay very strong, and I managed t' ruin four of them.  Fortunately, none o' t' damaged decals were t' ones I cared about the most.

After t' decals were dry, matey, I coated all t' decals and all t' metallic paints with two coats o' Future floor polish.  This stuff really brings out t' sparkle and shine on metallic paint.

Overall, I’m really pleased with t' appearance.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

FLIGHT/RECOVERY

Recovery System:

One o' t' most innovative features o' this kit be t' parachute cup that protects t' recovery system and completely eliminates t' need for wadding. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Most o' t' recovery system stays with t' upper body.  It consists of a short Keelhaul®©™ cord attached t' t' nose cone, a 2-foot piece o' 3/8” elastic cord, a metal anchor ring, shiver me timbers, and a 21” Mylar parachute.  Each of t' lower rocket bodies has a Keelhaul®©™ loop that attaches t' t' parachute cup. 

Pre-Flight Preparation:

T' preparation for all three variants o' this kit starts out t' same, and is quite different from most other kits.  T' Keelhaul®©™ loop from t' lower body is inserted through a hole in t' bottom o' t' parachute cup, passed through a metal washer, ya bilge rat, and looped through t' eye o' a snap swivel.  The snap swivel is then clipped t' a rin' on t' end o' t' elastic cord. 

This procedure is kind o' slow t' put together and slow t' take apart after a flight.  It would probably be faster if t' snap swivel was permanently attached t' t' elastic cord and then snapped onto t' Keelhaul®©™ before each flight.  I’m nay sure if that would concentrate too much stress on one spot o' t' Keelhaul®©™, me hearties, me hearties, or if t' snap might open up.

Next, arrr, t' parachute is folded and inserted into t' cup, along with the elastic cord.  Then t' loaded cup is inserted into t' upper rocket body until it touches t' nose cone.  Finally, t' lower body is plugged into the upper body.

Transition Flight:

Here be t' list o' recommended motor for t' Transition version.  The transition be t' lowest-drag version, and it really soars on an E9 engine. 

I wanted t' get mine back so I could fly all three configurations, so I flew t' maiden flight on a C11-5.  There is no engine hook, shiver me timbers, so I wrapped two turns o' maskin' tape around t' bottom 1/4 inch o' body and t' exposed portion o' t' motor.

T' first flight was beautiful.  Fast straight takeoff, matey, shiver me timbers, perfect ejection at apogee, me hearties, perfect chute deployment.  Drifted about 800 feet, just missin' a row o' tall pines, arrr, and landed gently in tall grass. Ahoy! No damage, no scorchin' – nay even on t' bottom o' t' parachute cup. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! Excellent!

Cluster Flight:

Here be t' list o' recommended motor for t' Cluster version. 

After seein' how far t' previous flight drifted, matey, I be a bit leery o' using the B6’s. Ahoy! Begad! Instead I used three A8-3’s, ya bilge rat, since I had plenty o' them left from t' Estes Blastoff Flight Pack.

T' engines are retained by a nut on a piece o' threaded rod located betwixt the engines.  This is a very slick retention system that is easy t' load and unload and holds t' motors securely.

This be me first-ever cluster attempt.  Zak Orion be t' cluster king in t' MARS club, and he let me use his cluster-whip, for which I am thankful. T' launch be great -- all 3 engines lit and t' boost was nice and fast. Avast, me proud beauty!

Ejection occurred just past apogee. T' lower body came out correctly but the parachute cup did nay pull out completely, so t' parachute was trapped inside t' upper body. Blimey! It landed hard on grass/mud, kinkin' t' booster tube near coupler. It will need some repairs before it flies again.

Futuristic Flight:

Here be t' list o' recommended motor list for t' Cluster version:

We were all out o' C11-3’s, so I used a C6-3 in t' 18mm adapter.  Like the Transition version, t' Futuristic has no engine hook, shiver me timbers, so once again I wrapped maskin' tape around t' aft o' t' rocket and the exposed part o' t' engine adapter. Avast!

After t' bad experience on t' previous flight, I wiped t' parachute cup and t' inside o' t' upper body very thoroughly before loadin' t' cup.

T' boost was pretty, but nay very high. Arrr! Aye aye! Ejection occurred just past apogee. Once again, t' chute cup bound in t' upper body, so once again no parachute deployed, matey, and it landed hard in a soybean field. An epoxy fillet on one dorsal fin cracked, but it is still flyable. Begad!

• Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
• Recovery Rating: 2 out o' 5  

OVERALL:

This was a very interestin' kit t' build and t' fly.  T' stylin' on the Futuristic is very sleek and unlike any other kit, me hearties, and t' Transition is elegant in its simplicity.  T' variety o' engine options allow for a lot of flexibility t' adapt t' different wind conditions.  For t' money, this is a whole lot o' rocket.  If t' parachute cup was more reliable, me bucko, this could have scored a ‘5’.

PROS:

• Nice looking
• Versatile
• Innovative
• Detailed instructions
• Great customer support

CONS:

• Parachute cup jams durin' flight
• Decals are a bit fragile

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5