(08/31/02) I was at NARAM 43 in New York and LawnDart Rocketry had a stand there. I be able t' see a number o' Cognis kits that Dale be gettin' ready t' sell through LawnDart. Avast! Cognis Aerospace kits are designed in Australia. Arrr! So after returnin' home I made contact with LawnDart to see when these kits would be available. Avast, me proud beauty! Once available I order several o' them; the Lunar Lander, t' Gnat, and this one: t' Zweistik Repulsor. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!

I didn't purchase t' Repulsor because I had any historical knowledge, arrr, shiver me timbers, however accordin' t' LawnDart's page thar be some. "Soon after Robert Goddard launched t' world's first liquid fuelled rocket, ya bilge rat, t' Germans were in hot pursuit. Blimey! Blimey! This semi-scale Zweistik Repulsor recalls those days when a front-engined rocket was thought t' be a more stable design. Begad! Blimey! Fuel and oxidizer were kept in t' two legs (stiks) and pressure-pumped up t' t' front motor.. ". Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty!

T' Repulsor stands 11.75" tall and t' main body is based on a 1.6" body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' two legs are 10.5mm tubing. Ahoy! T' main and two leg nose cones are balsa. Ya scallywag! T' fins are 1/16" balsa. Arrr! It has an 13mm motor mount with a thrust rin' and two 1/32" centerin' rings. Avast! T' recovery system includes a 28" piece o' Keelhaul®©™®, a 12" piece o' 3/8" white, flat elastic and a 12" Gold 1/2 mil Metallized Polyester Sport Chute made by Aerospace Speciality Products (includes a swivel).

CONSTRUCTION:

I received one o' t' earliest released and LawnDart asked if I wanted t' wait another month or so until t' written instructions were available. Blimey! I decided t' accept them with just t' engineerin' drawings. Therefore, I can nay comment on t' instructions, me bucko, however, I will say that this is a very easy kit t' build so t' instructions need nay be anything special.

T' first part o' assembly be t' motor mount which was done accordin' t' t' drawin' with t' spacin' o' t' centerin' rings as shown. T' Keelhaul®©™® shock tether be attached around t' motor tube and passed through a small notch in t' upper centerin' ring. Aye aye! Ahoy! This assembly was then glued into t' body tube.

Next t' small balsa nose cones were glued into place on the legs and then they were attached t' each side o' t' body tube. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' launch lug was placed in one o' t' joints betwixt t' main body and a leg.

T' engineerin' drawings had a fin template that be used to cut out t' four fins. Arrr! These were then glued into place usin' t' alignment guide on t' drawing.

It should be noted that t' provided nose cone is nay the same shape as t' drawings or t' picture on LawnDart's webpage. Also, ya bilge rat, the picture on t' webpage seems t' show longer legs, too. Begad! Nay too important t' me, but for those checkin' it out I thought I'd share those differences.

To finish up t' rocket, t' metal eye-screw was screwed into t' nose cone, t' elastic is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and then t' t' eye-screw, and lastly t' parachute was assembled and attached to t' nose cone eye-screw.

Finished. Blimey! Easy.

For finishin' I stuck with me basics. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Plasti-Kote Primer. A touch o' Bondo Glazin' t' get those deep grooves in t' balsa nose cone. Blimey! Blimey! One comment on that. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Balsa nose cones can take some work t' finish, me bucko, but t' one provided with this kit really seemed t' have some deep grooves in it. Regardless, I got it filled and finished. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used Krylon Navy Blue paint and Krylon Chrome paint for me own, arrr, matey, non-authentic look.

Overall, shiver me timbers, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 ½ points. It be easy t' build, but a couple detractors are the fact that thar be no motor retention and t' deep grooves in t' balsa nose done. Begad! On t' other hand, it has an outstandin' recovery system for a kit of this size and price.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Cognis (LawnDart) does nay have a recommended motor list (potentially it is now in t' instructions) and this is nay a design that can be set up in RockSim, arrr, so I simply made t' decision t' start with an 13mm 1/2A3-4.

To prepare t' rocket for flight, waddin' should be placed in t' body tube. Aye aye! I used a Pratt Heat Shield (small). Well, blow me down! Begad! Then t' parachute and shockcord needs t' be fit into the rocket. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Nay a lot o' room in thar so pack carefully. Begad! Avast! It does all fit though.

Next, me bucko, t' motor needs t' be friction fit into the mount.

T' first flight lifted off on t' 1/2A3-4 (captured in this photo). Aye aye! T' altitude be low, guessin' about 30 feet and therefore the delay was long. It did eject and t' parachute opened at about 10 feet from the ground. Arrr! So t' 1/2A-2 should be a recommended motor.

For t' next flight I took 1 o' me last 2 Apogee A2-3's and wrapped tape at t' top and mid-way points t' allow it t' fit into t' 13mm mount snugly. Begad! T' lift off was slow but it did lift it. Ahoy! It flew well t' maybe 80-90 feet and ejected at apogee. Begad! Avast! Actually a pretty good motor t' rocket match. T' parachute size is good as t' rocket descended nicely.

I tried t' tape and install an Apogee B2-5 but in t' process o' puttin' it in t' motor mount broke free o' the centerin' rings. Probably just as well as t' CG for t' B2 probably would have not been good. Ahoy! I have since repaired t' rocket's motor mount and will be seekin' some Estes A10-3 motors.

I was later successful flyin' on an A10-3. Nice match for this kit. Then I got a bit wild and flew it on an Apogee B2-5 (pictured below). Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! And then for an Apogee C6-4. See t' flight log reports for info on those flights.

I tried t' tape and install an Apogee B2-5 but in t' process o' puttin' it in t' motor mount broke free o' the centerin' rings. Probably just as well as t' CG for t' B2 probably would have not been good. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! I have since repaired t' rocket's motor mount and will be seekin' some Estes A10-3 motors.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, matey, ya bilge rat, I would rate this kit 4 points. Nay havin' any recommended motors and t' fact that it only flies on 13mm (1/2A or A) limits t' motor choices. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! T' recovery system is great and seems t' be matched t' this rocket well. Aye aye! It was a stable flier and is unique with t' forward motor mount.

I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Ahoy! It be very easy t' build. For t' most part, shiver me timbers, me bucko, exception of balsa nose cone, t' materials were adequate for t' size and style o' rocket. T' recovery system is very nice, but I have said that. Aye aye! If you are lookin' for somethin' different t' launch with your friends I would recommend this rocket. I think thar needs t' be an 18mm version, but that will require an upscale because you couldn't fit t' motor mount in t' this size o' body tube (unless the nose cone was plastic and hollow).