(09/03/01) At NARAM-43 I decided t' purchase a couple o' Nano Rockets to build up and use with our Quest MicroMaxx system t' give us a bit o' variation. One o' t' kits I bought be t' Cougar. This is a tube-fin with fin rocket that has an "interstellar space" story behind it. Arrr! I'll let you read that in t' instructions or on Nano's website. In t' meantime, let me tell you how this little kit went for me.

T' kit comes with a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, six (6) 1-3/32" ramscoops, matey, a 5" body tube, arrr, a wood nose cone, three (3) laser-cut balsa fins, and two (2) brass launch lugs. The instructions are on a single 9x11" sheet o' paper and t' whole thin' is packaged in a 8½x6" envelope.

CONSTRUCTION:

T' instructions tell t' story o' t' Cougar, tell you that you need CA glue (as a minimum), and then step you through construction with some computer generated graphics.

First thin' I must do is apologize t' Nano for not followin' t' instructions, arrr, me bucko, but goin' forward I'll explain where I deviated and I will give t' benefit o' doubt t' Nano for some o' me observations, based on how I built t' rocket.

In step 1, me hearties, t' instructions indicate that you are t' glue the Keelhaul®©™® shock cord into t' hole in t' nose cone. Aye aye! My nose cone did nay have a hole, and so I created me own connection by drillin' a 1mm hole through t' shoulder, grooved it horizontally and then tied t' shock cord through t' hole (see picture below).

In step 2, t' assembly o' t' tube-fins and then the attachment o' t' balsa fins t' them takes place. Ahoy! Here is where I deviated (just because I was buildin' fast and failed t' look at t' illustrations). Ya scallywag! I glued t' six (6) tubes together in pairs as described. Well, blow me down! I then glued them onto the main body tube even with t' bottom. Avast! Aye aye! These should have been up by ¼" per t' instructions. I then glued t' fins onto every other tube aligned with t' bottom o' t' tube. T' instructions have you glue these fins in t' grooves o' two attached tube-fins. Begad! Avast! Note that step 2 indicates that the fins should be "midway" up on t' tube-fins.

In step 3, Nano indicates that this be t' hardest step and that be t' attachment o' t' shock cord t' t' inside o' t' body tube. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! After several attempts with t' method outlined, me hearties, I drilled a small hole in t' side o' t' body tube, fed the remainin' end o' Keelhaul®©™® through it and knotted it. Begad! Blimey! Works for me!

Also in step 3, me hearties, t' launch lugs are glued on. My launch lugs were nay t' correct diameter for the standard MicroMaxx rod, me bucko, shiver me timbers, so I be stuck... Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! or was I? I used a 1/16" drill and drilled out t' gap betwixt two o' t' tube-fins and body tube t' make a place for t' rod t' slide through. Avast! (see t' larger hole at 3:00 in the picture)

In general t' instructions are adequate, me bucko, however, they need a bit o' clean up (editin' and spell checking) t' give them more o' a professional finish. Ya scallywag! Blimey! They are thorough for flyin' instructions and I did learn a couple o' nice tips on flyin' t' MicroMaxx kits in general. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! My favorite is usin' a "Z" bent rod t' allow alignment o' t' motor t' the ignitor.

I didn't paint me rocket even though t' instructions give some direction in this area. Well, blow me down! I figured, these little guys take such a beatin' that thar be no sense in finishin' it.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 2 ½ points. Avast! Bottom line is that t' nose cone did nay fit the instructions description, t' shock cord mountin' method is too challengin' and the launch lugs did nay fit t' standard Quest rail. Avast! Now, matey, arrr, let's put this in perspective. Arrr! I adapted methods that still had it assembled and flyin' within 1/2 hour. If Nano spends just a few more minutes and addresses these issues and the editin' o' t' instructions this rocket's ratin' will go higher. There are nice flyin' tips and t' parts are all o' good quality.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

I flew t' rocket three times initially.

First, I believe if I had followed t' instructions by havin' me tube-fins ¼" higher on t' tube and t' fins in t' center of t' tubes, then placin' it on t' MicroMaxx wouldn't have been an issue. My way made t' fins get in t' way o' t' base causin' me t' have t' motor out by about a ¼".

T' first flight came off t' pad fine and gained about 25 feet o' altitude doin' at least one loop. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! It ejected and was recovered.

T' second flight came off t' pad nice and straight and it traveled t' guessin' 35 feet before t' ejection pop and then diving, with the nose cone in place, matey, arrr, t' stick in t' sod. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! No damage.

T' third flight also did a loop or two, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, ejected and was recovered.

I feel t' flight stability is due t' me positionin' of the tubes and fins and therefore I added some nose weight (a nail into t' nose cone from t' underside o' t' shoulder) and tried again. Blimey! This nail moved me CG to 10.3cm (from t' NC) from 11.4cm without t' nail.

This forth flight was very stable and went t' about 60 feet (I jest against t' height o' our house), me hearties, me hearties, matey, ejected and recovered. Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! That seemed t' do t' trick.

A few days later, me bucko, I flew it on MicroMaxx-II motors and I was clearly gettin' stable and 90-100 feet flights. But me nose cone wasn't ejectin' so I have sanded t' shoulder more.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 ½ points. Nay takin' anythin' away for me buildin' defects, I think this little bird flew nice. Avast! Well, blow me down! It loses some because o' t' friction fit of the motors. Begad! I believe a thrust rin' and clip are possible and in order.

Overall, t' Cougar is as good as any o' t' MicroMaxx pre-built rockets in performance. I mean really, me hearties, only Raw Fusion and Vector seem t' give t' most consistently straight and stable flights, while the Saturn V has given some wonderful loops. Ahoy! Aye aye! Nano has a niche here that we would love t' see them dedicate some time t' and enhance their kits and improve the quality. Aye aye! Good job and I look forward t' buildin' a couple more. Avast! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 3 points.