Aerotech - Cheetah {Kit} (89016) [1992-]

Aerotech Cheetah

Aerotech - Cheetah {Kit} (89016) [1992-]

Contributed by Walter Kjellander

Construction Rating:
Flight Rating:
Overall Rating:

Manufacturer:	Aerotech
Style:	Sport

Rocket Pic Brief:
T' Aerotech Cheetah is a high-performance mid-power rocket. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket is single stage, and goes over 3000' on a G motor.

Construction:
T' kit comes with a single body tube, ya bilge rat, a nose cone, ya bilge rat, three (3) plastic clipped-delta fins, a parachute, me hearties, a shockcord, and motor mount components. Ya scallywag! T' motor mount components are t' motor tube, two (2) fin-locks, two (2) centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, an ejection baffle, coolin' mesh, motor retainer hook, and screw eye for shockcord attachment. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' kit also comes with a 24mm/29mm adapter.

T' instructions are easy t' follow, and t' kit is generally easy t' build. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' only shortcomin' is that once t' fins are inserted through t' body tube into t' fin-locks, thar be nay much room for doin' fillets for t' fin tabs inside o' t' body tube. Arrr! I attached t' fins with 30 minute epoxy and figured that was enough. Doin' internal fillets is always a problem with small diameter rockets, arrr, o' course.

Finishing:
T' groves are barely noticeable. Aye aye! Blimey! I just sprayed on a couple coats o' paint for a nice, easy finish. Aye aye! Blimey! Since I'm doin' t' rocket for me niece, I did nay add t' decals provided. Begad! Blimey! Instead, ya bilge rat, matey, t' rocket will probably get some Britney Spears stickers.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
There are several recommended motors, ya bilge rat, and t' rocket is very versatile. Aye aye! T' rocket will fly about 1,000' on an E motor, ya bilge rat, about 2,000' on an F motor, and over 3,000' on a G motor. I flew this on a G25-10, which has a nice 4-5 second burn. T' rocket comes with an ejection baffle system, so no waddin' is required. Begad! T' motor is retained by a strong metal clip. Arrr! Changin' engines is very easy.

Recovery:
Recovery was fine. Well, blow me down! T' provided parachute is quality rip-stop nylon. It's small, but sufficient for this small rocket.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: versatile engine selection, matey, easy construction, nice motor retention CONs: none

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other Reviews

Aerotech Cheetah By Greg Deeter
This kit right here, I now have to thank, for getting me super re-addicted to rocketry. My last launches back in the early 80's saw D's as being high power. After getting very interested again a few months ago, I bought about 50 different kits and of them all, this one was my favorite, and I picked it for my first mid-power, and flew it today on an F50-6T. Truly amazing. I built it stock just as ...

Flights

Comments:

T.B. (March 1, 2001)

The "fin-lok" system is quite nice (I'd love to see 38 and 54mm versions). But I highly recommend that you rough up the fin tabs with 150 grit sandpaper and dry fit the fins first before gluing them in place. The plastic is quite rigid and requires significant force to snap them into the locked position. Moderately easy for an adult, but much more difficult for a young adult. The fin edges are sharp so I placed masking tape over the edges during assembly. External fin fillets were added with long cure CA. To keep it neat, I taped off the leading and trailing edges to prevent run-off. If you are going to fill the groove, do this prior to fin installation (same with surface sanding). Finishing was very easy, but here I deviated from the instructions which call for red. My CHEETAH was primed followed by a white to yellow fade (rustoleum spray paint) followed by a CHEETAH SPOT stencil (Gloss Black and a clearcote top finish. Fins and NC are also black. I agree with the author's review. Construction was a snap and the directions were very easy to follow.

J.W.C. (June 27, 2005)

This is a brilliant small field rocket on the D15-4 - delivering perfect flight with a no-walk recovery. After losing one into low clouds on an E, I added a sonic locator attached to parachute swivel. Problem - the D15 is the hardest motor to assemble correctly. It is challenging inserting the first two fins without crushing the body tube, because they require some force. Suggest arranging a couple boards so that the first fin can be pushed in with the snap-lock ring bearing on the fin clips. The surfaces of the fins, nose and tube are VERY slick - nothing will stick without sanding and/or priming. All the posters here are right regarding great flights and easy building.

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