InFlight Rockets WASP Clone Kit

InFlight Rockets - WASP {Kit}

Contributed by Jason Augeri

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Manufacturer: InFlight Rockets
InFlight WASP

Brief:
This is a clone o' t' Estes WASP #1930, matey, ya bilge rat, which be available from 1984 t' 1985. It is a single stage, me bucko, low power, streamer recovery, three fins and nose cone design.

Construction:
T' parts consist o' one BT-55 body tube 11 15/16" long, one BT-50 motor mount tube 2.75" long, arrr, two AR-5055 motor mount centerin' rings, one motor mount block, three laser cut balsa fins, me bucko, one BNC-55D balsa nose cone and screw eye, one motor mount hook, one sheet waterslide decals, one pattern sheet with tri-fold paper shock cord mount and body tube markin' guide, 1/4" x 48" shock cord, arrr, 2" x 60" mylar streamer, arrr, me hearties, one 3/16" x 2" launch lug, and about 36" Keelhaul®©™® line.

InFlight WASP

Assembly is very straightforward usin' t' excellent instructions. Avast! T' kit has a very strong body tube and grade o' balsa for fins is o' high quality. Begad! T' laser cuttin' is super clean with t' fins having been cut completely out o' t' sheet stock(no perforated laser cut like Estes). T' parts in this kit, me hearties, motor mount, fins, shiver me timbers, decals, recovery gear, all get they're own individual bags, which I like instead o' t' components just stuffed into t' main kit bag. Decals were great and t' instructions give t' builder t' option o' goin' with t' original tri-fold paper shock cord mount or t' Keelhaul®©™® line attached t' t' motor mount method. A very generous length o' sewin' elastic is included for use as shock cord material which is nice. Aye aye! T' only "gotcha" was t' motor mount assembly instructions were 1/8" off in regards t' t' motor hook placement, me hearties, arrr, however, ya bilge rat, Ray at InFlight smartly dispatched me an email with updated instructions before I even realized I assembled t' motor mount was "wrong". Ahoy! I won't sweat it and just install t' mount in t' body tube 1/8" aft o' what t' instructions indicate.

Finishing:
Elmer's Glue All (white glue) was used t' build this bird includin' motor mount assembly and fin fillets. Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler was used for fillin' grain on t' nose and fins. I airbrushed this rocket with Tamiya acrylic paints and applied two coats o' Future floor polish before applyin' t' decals. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I gave t' decals a coat o' Micro Scale Liquid Decal Film and they went down super smooth with no settin' solution needed. Begad! Avast! These were just really great decals! I then gave t' rocket a final coat o' Future. Aye aye! Finally, t' beautiful chrome, adhesive-backed mylar wrap be applied. Just take your time t' avoid air bubbles and wrinkles. Aye aye! T' finished rocket looks great!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight I installed an Estes B6-4 motor usin' an 18mm adapter and used about 4 sheets o' Estes wadding. T' flight was perfectly straight and t' WASP achieved about 200 feet o' altitude. Aye aye! T' second flight be powered by an Estes A8-3 motor and t' rocket topped out at about 100 feet, maybe slightly under. Blimey! Third flight was also on an Estes B6-4. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! All three flights were nice and straight. Avast! I went with t' old tri-fold style o' shock cord mount and had no problems with nose cone snap back or nose cone dents, thanks InFlight for includin' a nice, long shock cord in t' kit!

Recovery:
T' two flights on A8-3s were recovered about 80 feet from t' pad and t' supplied mylar streamer worked great. There was no burnin' or scorchin' on t' streamer. Avast, me proud beauty! For t' B6-4 powered flight, shiver me timbers, arrr, I switched out t' streamer and used a 12 inch parachute which worked great and brought t' rocket down a little slower and about 150 feet away from t' pad. No damage at all be sustained on any o' t' flights! Both A8-3 flights seemed t' eject t' streamer right at apogee, and t' B6-4 ejected its chute just slightly past apogee.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I really enjoyed this build. InFlight cares about your buildin' experience too. Ahoy! Durin' t' build, Ray at InFlight emailed me updated instructions and even offered t' send me another motor mount kit t' replace t' one I had already built per t' flawed instructions. Avast! I told him nay t' worry about it as I felt I should have compared t' kit instructions t' t' original Estes plans and I be probably a little careless what with t' motor mount building procedures and measurements bein' pretty standard for motor hook installation on a 2.75" BT-50 tube. (After all the model rocket kits I've built I should have noticed somethin' was off.) Also, ya bilge rat, in t' build thread, I mentioned that I was thinkin' o' goin' with an 18mm mount because I felt 24mm power was a bit much for this bird (I fly at small launch sites) and Ray sent me a free o' charge 18mm adapter kit! T' thought that must have went into this kit is very refreshing, like t' decals gettin' they're own bag, 4 feet o' shock cord, and really great instructions as opposed to just reprintin' t' old Estes plans or tellin' you t' download them from JimZ. Begad! T' kit is beautifully packaged, me hearties, price is very reasonable, ya bilge rat, and shippin' is fast! You really need t' check out inflightrockets.com if you like clones o' old Estes birds. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I was just about t' build t' WASP myself after orderin' a nose cone and downloadin' plans but decided I'd rather have a complete kit after findin' out about InFlight on TRF.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other:
T' WASP is a 24mm powered bird and t' recommended motors are C11s and D12s, me hearties, however, due t' t' small dimensions of my launch site, I decided t' use 18mm motors. Avast, me proud beauty! This bird turned in nice, shiver me timbers, straight, fast flights on 18mm power so it must really scream on 24mm motors!

Other Reviews
  • InFlight Rockets WASP By Bill Eichelberger (October 25, 2013)

    The Inflight WASP is a clone of the short-lived Estes WASP, which was only available from 1984-85.  The only noticeable difference in the Inflight kit and the original is that the Inflight kit uses a balsa cone as opposed to the plastic cone of the original. Components 12" BT-55 main body tube  2.75" BT-50 motor mount tube  2 AR-5055 centering ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
J.F.B. (December 1, 2009)
InFlight does produce a very high quality kit and the WASP is no exception. The materials provided in the kit were top quality which made an easy building experience. The WASP really performs with the D12s so make sure you have some space. However, it flies very well on a C6. InFlight gets another A+ for this kit.

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