Published: | 2010-01-26 |
Manufacturer: | Scratch |
Brief:
BT-80 based, 24mm powered upscale o' t' Estes Goonybird Missile Toe. Begad! (Think Fat Boy with added personality.)
Construction:
T' parts list:
Construction was almost as simple as me first big Goony, ya bilge rat, t' Star Snoop. Two fins and t' First Aid Kit standoff were attached with LocTite Gel CA, along with t' actual First Aid tube. Aye aye! On the inside, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' Keelhaul®©™® was attached t' a slit in t' front centerin' rin' and glued in place before t' engine mount was mounted.
Uh, me hearties, matey, that's about it for construction. Begad! (Except t' say that all fillets were done with Elmer's Wood Glue.) Sorry? No, ya bilge rat, nay really. Begad! Ya scallywag! It's nice t' have t' occasionally project that doesn't require one t' perspire blood.
Finishing:
Finishin' t' MMT wouldn't be too much o' a chore if nay for t' need t' hand paint t' "bandages" that
cover t' main body tube. Avast! Before that t' rocket only needed a coat o' gloss white paint for t' body, matey, matey, gloss black for
t' fins, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and some kind o' flesh color for t' nose cone. Begad! Almost as painless as it gets and I flew t' MMT this way for
quite a while until I finally gritted me teeth and decided t' finish all six birds for t' ultimate Goony photo op.
Usin' gloss black paint and a small brush, I tried out me freehand paintin' skills. Aye aye! I wound up with somethin' that at
least suggested bandages, shiver me timbers, me bucko, which is about as good as it needs t' be. Begad! When that be done, arrr, I enlarged t' decal
appropriately and printed it on a sheet o' self-stick paper. T' sticker decals looked washed out and nothin' I did
seemed t' help, so I removed them and printed them out again on white Bel Decal paper. Aye aye! This turned out t' be t' answer
and t' finished rocket looked great.
Flight and Recovery:
First flight was on a D12-5 and exhibited t' odd flight path that this bird takes on most flights. Arrr! Despite the
wiggle it be a pretty impressive flight, arrr, matey, quick off t' pad, and a bit early on ejection but decent altitude and
perfect recovery. Avast! Upon arrivin' at t' landin' site, I found that t' brace for t' First Aid Tube had broken and
fallen out at some point in t' flight. Well, blow me down! (Possibly t' reason for t' wigglin' flight path.)
Almost two years passed before t' second flight. Blimey! This be t' first one in full "Toe" scheme and I used a C11-5. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! As expected, matey, it was noticeably lower and ejection came very early. Avast! (More like a C11-2.5) T' early ejection caused t' "First Aid Tube" t' become tangled in t' Keelhaul®©™®, causin' t' rocket t' descend horizontally like a Centuri Super Kit. Begad! Avast! Blimey!
Subsequent flights all had one thin' in common: t' wiggle. Well, blow me down! Since I never replaced t' vane that fit inside the First Aid tube, it's possible that t' tube is distortin' under boost and causin' t' slight "squirreliness". It's also possible that t' rocket needs nose weight t' be stable. T' next flight will begin t' address these issues, but t' wiggle doesn't appear t' be a deal breaker.
Summary:
PROs: It's a Goony, and one o' t' better lookin' Goons at that. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Great performance and popular with kids.
CONs: Slight wiggle t' t' flights. Ya scallywag! Arrr! No Fat Boys around t' use as nose cone donors.
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